I was spotted by the heroines while doing the quick-travel mission.

But before he could get close to Yang Liu, Liu Jinyuan pulled him by the collar from behind and he stopped.

"Stay away from my 'sister', you're like a reckless man." Liu Jinyuan pulled the man away with a smile, not forgetting to say a word of disdain.

"Hey, hey! Who are you calling me? I'm just excited because I haven't seen my royal sister for a long time!" Liu Chaohe was almost knocked down by the pulling and started swearing.

Yang Liu smiled and covered her lips.

The laughter attracted the attention of the two people who were bickering. Yang Liu was stunned for a moment, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, third sister, are you doing well?" Liu Chaohe opened his mouth and asked about the 'quiet and indifferent' Yang Liu.

Yang Liu was stunned, looked at Liu Jinyuan and blinked, then looked at Liu Chaohe, "What did Fourth Brother say? What if I'm not doing well? Can Fourth Brother take me out of the cold palace?"

"Uh……"

Yang Liu's joke left Liu Chaohe speechless.

"Okay, 'Jinyuan' was just joking with you. Let's go in and sit down first. I want to go see my mother." Liu Jinyuan was too lazy to watch the two people 'reminiscing about the past', so he interrupted them directly, took a step forward, pulled Yang Liu and walked forward.

"Well, then I'd better forget it. If my mother knew that I secretly came to see the former Imperial Noble Consort, she would probably scold me. Since my third sister has also seen her, I'd better leave first." Liu Chaohe was quite perceptive. He knew at a glance that this was a family reminiscing about the past. There was no point in him getting involved, so it was better for him to leave early.

Liu Jinyuan didn't even think of keeping him, so he nodded in agreement and made a gesture to chase him away. Yang Liu looked at Liu Chaohe's back with deep meaning in her eyes.

"Jin Yuan, why did you bring him here?" There was no one else at the scene, and Yang Liu was too lazy to pretend. She walked a few steps to sit on a stone bench nearby, propped up her cheek and asked.

Liu Jinyuan patted the dust stuck on his face from climbing the wall and sat down. He had no intention of going to see Yu Zhishu at all. He said expressionlessly, "I had no intention of coming here. It was not the time we agreed on, but he kept urging me to come to see you, so I had no choice but to bring him here."

"Our fourth brother is really kind-hearted." Yang Liu smiled with her eyebrows curved. Her eyes seemed to be looking in the direction where Liu Chaohe left, but also seemed to be empty, and she muttered to herself.

"Yeah, it's because you saved his life that year, and since then he's been attached to me and can't be shaken off."

Although Liu Jinyuan's tone seemed to be complaining, there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, which did not seem fake like when he was pretending to be Yang Liu.

"What can I do? I can't just stand by and watch him die. After all, I'm a father." Yang Liu spoke in a vulgar tone and leaned back in the chair like a big boss.

As Liu Chaoyuan, she could be carefree, straightforward and sensible, and be herself in every sense. But now she has put on the skin of Liu Jinyuan. Even though she is an actress, she cannot bear to pretend to be another person for so many days in a row. She always feels like she is about to have schizophrenia.

Liu Jinyuan is different. She seems to be a natural actor. She grasps Yang Liu's character very well and does not seem to be uncomfortable at all. She even enjoys it sometimes.

"Sister, why don't we change back today? I see that you look a little unwell." Liu Jinyuan carefully looked at Yang Liu's decadent expression and spoke cautiously.

It's no wonder she said that. Liu Jinyuan had always known what Yang Liu was doing behind her back, but she believed that Yang Liu would not harm her. She spoke up at this time because she was worried that it would disrupt Yang Liu's plan, but seeing Yang Liu's depressed look, she couldn't bear it.

"Huh? You don't want to go to class tomorrow?"

Yang Liu looked up at Liu Jinyuan, her eyes full of confusion.

"Well, I want to take a break." Liu Jinyuan lied.

"Alright."

When the two parted again, Yang Liu and Liu Jinyuan had already changed back to their identities. Yang Liu took the lead in leaving the cold palace and went to Jiyue Palace.

Liu Jinyuan calmed down and went to Yu Zhishu's room.

As soon as Liu Jinyuan entered the house, he saw Yu Zhishu burning a piece of creed. The flames licked the paper, leaving only black ash that swirled upward and then dissipated. She looked a little depressed. She didn't know when the calmness and indifference of these days disappeared. When she saw Liu Jinyuan coming in, her expression was dull, and her beautiful eyes looked over without life, but they penetrated Liu Jinyuan directly and looked into the distance hidden by layers of red walls.

"Jinyuan."

Yu Zhishu's voice was hoarse. She was actually not a cold-hearted mother. At least at this moment, facing Liu Jinyuan, the daughter whom she could have easily given up, she also felt a trace of sympathy. She couldn't bear to see her rot with her in this dark cold palace.

"Go to bed early today."

Yu Zhishu retracted her gaze and quickly glanced at Liu Jinyuan's face, which was 60% similar to hers. Looking closely, she realized how similar Liu Jinyuan and her were.

"Yes, mother, you should go to bed early too."

Liu Jinyuan felt a little uneasy. Her intuition told her that something big was going to happen tonight and she should try to save it. However, when she saw Yu Zhishu's lifeless face, she couldn't say a word that was appropriate for the moment. She could only take the things, bowed hastily and left.

The moon was bright tonight, the stars were sparse, and the breeze was gentle. The dead trees in the yard were shaking their branches and creaking, which was a bit creepy. Yu Zhishu sat in front of the dressing mirror, holding a wooden comb and combing her long hair again and again, and then put it on her shoulders. Even without makeup, she was still stunningly beautiful, but her expression was sad, and her brows were filled with lingering worries. She stood up, threw the shawl onto the beam, and then grabbed one end and pulled it down, then tied the two ends into a knot and tried pulling it. Yu Zhishu's eyelashes drooped, and she let out a sigh, and then there was a loud bump. Yu Zhishu struggled for a moment, and then hung upright on the beam.

On the second day, the door of the cold palace was finally opened. Liu Jinyuan was kneeling in the room, next to her was Yu Zhishu, who she had just put down. Her face was covered with a handkerchief. The emperor stood at the door and looked down at the poor mother and son.

"Your mother once secretly handed me a letter. The child is innocent. Jin Yuan, since your mother has been hanged for fear of punishment, I have thought about it and it is absolutely right. Today, you will be moved out of the cold palace."

Liu Jinyuan didn't know how to describe her mood at the moment. She blindly tried to find Yang Liu in the crowd, but she couldn't see him no matter what. She felt lost and even anxious for a moment. She couldn't remember when she thanked him or when she packed up and left the yard. When Yang Liu hurried over from the academy in the evening, she felt her soul returning to her place and everything around her became warm. The noisy and fragmented sounds in the environment suddenly filled her ears. Liu Jinyuan took a deep breath, as if she had been holding it for a long time, and her eyes turned red in an instant. She grabbed Yang Liu, her breathing rapid, panicked and helpless as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw. She took a few hard and rapid breaths before speaking in a trembling voice.

"When I opened the door today, my mother hanged herself."