After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Fu Qingbai remained silent, quietly supporting his grandmother, afraid that she might collapse from anger.

Grandmother Fu is seventy years old this year. In the capital, all the elderly people her age already have great-granddaughters and are enjoying their golden years at home. How could they be like her, still worrying about a large family in her old age?

In fact, Grandmother Fu never truly let go of her worries throughout her life.

She fought on the battlefield in her youth, worrying about her parents in the capital. Later, she met her grandfather amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, married him, became pregnant, and spent her time on the battlefield until she gave birth before having to return to the capital, raising her son while worrying about her husband at the border.

When her son grew up, he went to the border with her husband, and the people she cared about became two.

When her husband died in battle in her middle age, she forbade her son to abandon the border and send her husband's body back to the capital. She put on armor that she hadn't worn in a long time, rode alone to the border, and while painfully bringing back her husband's body, she did not forget to encourage her son.

Now that I'm getting old, I worry about my grandson.

Fu Qingbai said softly, "My grandson likes her, but it's impossible for us to be together."

"How do you know it won't work? Did you just tell Princess Miankang? You and your grandfather are just like that! You keep your words on the tip of your tongue. I think being hypocritical and saying one thing and meaning another is a tradition of your Fu family. But she's the person you love, not some mountain of knives or a den of dragons and tigers. What are you afraid of?"

"Back then, when I was on the battlefield with a knife to my throat, living a life where I didn't know what tomorrow would bring, I still expressed my love for your grandfather Mingxin time and time again. Who would have thought that I, a woman, would risk everything, while he, who wasn't afraid of dying on the battlefield, would lie to me and say that he was afraid of dying."

"Fear is human nature, but how could I not know that he was afraid of dying in front of me? He was afraid of dying on the battlefield and leaving me a widow. So you can see that if I hadn't pestered you back then, there wouldn't be your father or you today."

"Grandson knows."

Fu Qingbai carefully helped his grandmother sit down, picked up the teapot on the table, and calmly and elegantly brewed and poured the tea, pushing the teacup to his grandmother's side with his palm.

Grandma Fu's withered hands gripped Fu Qingbai's arm tightly, her eyes full of expectation: "Little Bai, you're all grown up now. Grandma won't take care of you anymore. My only wish is for someone to accompany you for the rest of your life. I don't want anything else. Do you understand?"

"I know."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Fu released her grip, picked up the teacup on the table, brushed aside the floating leaves on the lid, and let the rising steam conceal the sorrow in her eyes: "Don't take your mother's words too seriously. What she can't get over is the hurdle in her heart. Years of resentment have piled up like a mountain, and she can't let it go easily, but this has nothing to do with you."

Taking a sip of tea and setting down her cup, Grandmother Fu said, "The one who tied the knot must untie it; don't take on pressure that isn't yours."

"I know."

"It's good to know." Grandmother Fu smiled. "Go see your mother and spend more time with her when you have time. News came from the border a couple of days ago that Yan Kingdom seems to be restless. You may have to go to the border in a few days, and who knows how long it will be before you return. A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles away. She will worry for every day you are gone."

"Yes." Fu Qingbai bowed.

The jasmine flowers on both sides of the long covered bridge are pure white and their fragrance is delicate and intoxicating.

Holding scissors with gold-threaded handles in one hand, she trimmed the excess branches and leaves, while turning the flowerpot with the other hand, creating a serene and beautiful scene.

Fu Qingbai bowed and said, "Mother."

"You've arrived." Madam Fu put down the scissors in her hand and rubbed her aching wrist. "Have you met your grandmother?"

"I've seen it before."

"Is Princess Miankang beautiful?" Lady Fu took the Buddhist prayer beads handed to her by the maid. The smooth beads slid in her palm as she sat down upright, her whole demeanor quiet and gentle.

Fu Qingbai's tense body stiffened, her hands hanging at her sides curled slightly, and her lips pursed.

Lady Fu spoke slowly and gently: "It seems beautiful. This is the first time I've seen my son speechless in front of me because of a woman."

Fu Qingbai: "Princess, you are of noble birth, I dare not say more."

"Is that so?" Lady Fu slowly turned the emerald green prayer beads in her hand and closed her eyes lightly. "I thought you had fallen in love with her, forgotten the laws of the original kingdom, and wanted nothing more than the beautiful princess and military power."

"My son does like her."

The spinning prayer beads suddenly stopped. Madam Fu's slender white fingers gripped the round jade beads tightly. She slightly raised her eyelids and said, "Fu Qingbai, do you even know your own surname? Do you remember how your grandfather and father died? You love her, but is that worthy of their deaths? What have you been persisting in all these years?"

Every word was precious, yet the tone was gentle. Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, casting a hazy and beautiful glow on Lady Fu, like a compassionate bodhisattva.

“Mother, your son is a human being, not a plant or stone. I cannot control my desires, nor do I wish to.” Fu Qingbai slowly loosened his hands hanging by his sides, his gaze firm. “Your son knows very well what he has wanted all these years, and he has been working towards it. Before reaching the other side of success, your son has never thought of giving up, not even for a moment.”

"How dare you utter such a thing! How could you say it! How have I taught you since childhood to love poison like a demon, capable of dragging someone into an abyss from which they can never rise again?" Lady Fu said. "Beauty is a source of trouble, and internal strife is a source of disaster. Throughout history, no one has escaped utter ruin! And now! You, Fu Qingbai, are going to repeat the same mistakes? Where is your brain? Has war really made you stupid?"

"I remember, but I will never let my affection for the princess ruin my years of planning. Besides, my affection for the princess has nothing to do with her; it is my own choice. If it is as serious as Mother says, then it must be my fault. Mother, scold me if you want, but don't shift the blame onto the princess who knows nothing."

"Willingly? What is your status? What is her status? Your identities destined you to be enemies from birth." Lady Fu smiled gently, but there was no warmth in her smile; the perfectly curved smile was like a beautiful mask. "Would the Emperor allow his daughter to marry you? Even if he did, would the Emperor truly have no reservations about you? If the Yuan Kingdom falls, she—"

"Thank you, Mother, for your wise planning for the Fu family. But you're overthinking it. Princess Miankang doesn't like me. She rejected me once before, and she's come to the manor today for the same reason." Fu Qingbai finally lifted his lowered eyelids and looked seriously at the woman who gave him life and raised him. "Your son is not some beloved treasure."

“What I said today is just empty talk, and it’s normal that Mother doesn’t believe me. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t believe you either.” Fu Qingbai knelt down, his dark eyes calm and unwavering. “So today I’ve come only to tell Mother that I love Princess Miankang. Mother, please don’t do anything to her. If you’re really angry and want to hit or kill her, come at me. Otherwise, I will hate you for the rest of my life.”

--Snapped!

A loud, crisp slap landed heavily on Fu Qingbai's face.

Lady Fu placed one hand on her chest, which was throbbing with anger, while her other hand trembled slightly, her palm turning red. "You unfilial son!"

Fu Qingbai pressed his hands to the ground and lightly kowtowed his forehead to the ground, saying, "Thank you for the reward, Mother."