The whole family is reborn, and their five-year-old child becomes the darling of the entire capital.

Xiao Yuxi looked at the red string on her wrist with a puzzled expression, then at the old man in front of her, and suddenly felt a little sad.

It felt like the last time I would see him.

"Huiji, take the young benefactor away."

Upon hearing this, the abbot clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect before smiling and extending his hand to the young girl, saying, "Little benefactor, let's go."

Xiao Yuxi held the abbot's hand, turning back every few steps to look at the old man standing under the giant Buddha.

The old man appeared even smaller in comparison to the giant Buddha.

Only after the gate to the secret place closed did Xiao Yuxi raise her head to look at the abbot beside her, "Why does Grandpa know Yuxi?"

The abbot looked at the young girl with loving eyes, "Perhaps she really has seen the young benefactor before."

"Have you seen it before?" Xiao Yuxi tilted her head slightly and nodded. Okay.

Children's questions come and go quickly. "The Buddha statue is so big! This is the first time Xixi has ever seen such a tall Buddha statue. It's as tall as many Xixis."

The abbot was smiling and about to say something when a maidservant from the Empress Dowager's side approached. "Master Huiji, the Empress Dowager requests your presence."

The abbot was slightly taken aback; the Empress Dowager must have found out about his visit to the secret place.

He originally thought the first person he would see would be the Empress, but to his surprise, it was the Empress Dowager, who knew nothing about it, who couldn't contain herself any longer.

"Does the young benefactor still recognize the way she came?" the abbot asked her softly.

When Xiao Yuxi heard the words "Empress Dowager" and the question about the abbot, she nodded repeatedly.

As my second sister instructed, the Empress Dowager is the person of the highest status, and no one can disobey her.

"Xixi knows the way."

"Alright, young benefactor, please take your time."

Xiao Yuxi glanced at the cold-faced maid, and after meeting her icy gaze, she took a step back in fear and hurriedly ran towards the main hall.

Seeing that she was heading in the right direction, the abbot stopped paying attention and followed the maid to meet the Empress Dowager.

Xiao Yuxi had only run a few steps when she saw Yan Shanshan standing by the pond, looking at the koi fish with a bored expression.

Yan Shanshan looked at Xiao Yuxi with some shock, "It's not the Empress Dowager today..."

Yan Shanshan paused, then remembered the Empress's identity.

Her mother was the emperor's aunt, and every month at this time she would bring her to the National Temple to have a small gathering with the Empress Dowager.

The intention was to remind the Empress Dowager to provide more support to her other daughter in the palace.

This morning she overheard her mother and father arguing at home. Her father complained that her older sister had caused him trouble in the palace, and that the emperor had humiliated him in court. He said that her sister had been raised to be useless by her mother, unlike the other children in the Mu family, who were all capable, even the one in the palace was quite favored.

Her mother kept scolding her father, saying that he made her lose face among the ladies of noble families, bringing one concubine after another into the family, making her, a princess, a laughing stock in the whole capital.

She had thought that her mother's quarrel would prevent her from coming to the temple, but to her surprise, she recovered quickly and was dressed up and eager to see the Empress Dowager.

Yan Shanshan didn't want to get involved in the family's mess, so she just waved her hand and said, "Come and see these two fat fish!"

Xiao Yuxi imitated Yan Shanshan's posture, leaning half her body out and resting on the white jade railing, looking down at the koi carp inside.

Yan Shanshan pointed to the two fish around the corner, "Look at those two, the fat ones are so stupid when they fight."

Xiao Yuxi leaned closer to look and, sure enough, saw two fat fish fighting, each slapping the other's tail.

Yan Shanshan looked at the little girl's chubby face, which had grown a bit in the past few days, and curiously poked the flesh on her face.

soft.

She's much cuter than her half-sisters.

Xiao Yuxi is used to being pinched by her family every day, so she doesn't react at all, only feeling slightly itchy.

"Sister Shanshan, it itches," the little girl said softly.

Yan Shanshan's cheeks flushed bright red in an instant.

I slowly moved to her side and quietly grabbed her clothes to prevent her from falling into the pool.

Princess Lanyue, Yan Shanshan's mother, looked at the two little maids in front of her from afar and said to Mu Yunshang beside her, "Look how good Shanshan is to your daughter. Jiaojiao doesn't really have any bad intentions, she's just a bit playful. As the Empress, you should properly manage the harem, instead of letting the Emperor handle everything. How troublesome would that be, don't you think? And your sister, Jiaojiao, that weak woman who can't even lift a finger, how could she hit someone so rudely? This is the harem, and Jiaojiao is, after all, the Emperor's concubine."

Mu Yunshang looked gently at Xiao Yuxi peeking at the koi fish and said with a smile, "Auntie, you're overthinking it. My younger sister was wrong, and I've already disciplined her. This will definitely not happen again. However, as you know, my younger sister has a fiery temper, and sometimes you can't stop her even if you want to."

"And we can't blame her for this. She's killed countless enemies on the battlefield and doesn't think that damaging one or two doors is a big deal. It's just that this time she really frightened Sister Yan, and I apologize on her behalf. The imperial physician examined Sister Yan yesterday and said that she is perfectly fine. Aunt, you don't need to worry."

Princess Lanyue's smiling expression turned cold. She chuckled lightly and said nothing more.

Mu Yunshang's gaze swept quietly over Princess Lanyue's wrinkled face, and she sighed silently in her heart.

Princess Lanyue enjoyed immense glory during the reign of the retired emperor.

She was the only bloodline left by the Empress at the time, and the only legitimate daughter among the many princes and princesses.

Even her title was "Lan Yue," directly incorporating the name of the dynasty. Unexpectedly, the retired emperor was a devoted lover; not long after the empress's passing, he too followed her in death.

Immediately after the late emperor ascended the throne, his mother, who had always been at odds with the empress, issued an edict to bestow her upon a good-for-nothing named Lord Yan, who only had a prestigious family background.

From then on, Princess Lanyue became the talk of the town.

Lord Yan was truly absurd. He would fight with others over a courtesan. The first time Princess Lanyue came to see him in person, he was drunk and attacked her.

Moreover, after that, Lord Yan seemed to realize that no one in the palace cared about her life or death, so he became even more ruthless in humiliating her, bringing one concubine after another into his mansion.

In her past life, she remembered that Lord Yan had even taken a courtesan as his concubine, completely humiliating Princess Lanyue.

Enraged, Consort Yan requested permission to leave the palace and slapped the courtesan three times in the street.

This matter has caused quite a stir.

Mu Yunshang originally wanted to suggest that she get a divorce, but seeing her like this, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

How did such a perfectly good princess end up like this?

She could have easily secured a princess title for her daughter and married her off to a good family. Instead, she went to great lengths to send her to the palace, hoping to elevate her husband's status.