Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"How about this, I'll make a deal with the Empress Dowager?"

Jiang Mengxuan flicked the candle flame a few times, then turned to look at Yu Ling Shuang and said.

"What deal?"

In front of her other biological daughter, Yu Ling Shuang completely lost the arrogance she had shown towards Jiang Yue Shi, and appeared somewhat cautious.

"I will bring you back to the palace as my foster mother, grant you the treatment of an empress dowager, and let you enjoy endless wealth and honor."

In terms of both status and position, this is far better than the current incongruous situation. So, are you willing to return to the palace with me and let your son serve you?"

Yu Ling Shuang was taken aback upon hearing this, not expecting Jiang Meng Xuan to make such a request.

"Then what are your conditions?"

Although she was tempted, she remained rational and knew that she would have to pay a price eventually.

"It's very simple. Provide me with a list of all the people involved behind the scenes in Blackwater City, and also tell me not to interfere with any of my actions in Blackwater City."

"If I can successfully resolve this crisis in the dynasty, I will bring you back to the palace and give you the treatment you deserve."

"Targeting sects? Heh, you're oversimplifying the martial world." Yu Ling Shuang sneered.

"I can tell you, it's not that simple, and the situation in the North is becoming increasingly unstable because of your new policies."

Otherwise, do you think we, a widow and her orphans, could so quickly persuade the various factions in the north to join the rebellion against you?

Jiang Mengxuan's expression remained cold: "There's no need for Mother Empress to worry about that. I was just afraid they wouldn't make a fuss. Since they have, it's actually easier to deal with them."

Yu Ling Shuang's pupils contracted: "What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Mengxuan: "Speaking of which, I still have to thank the Empress Dowager for secretly plotting for so long and gathering all the forces against me at once."

If it weren't for the rumors circulating in the capital that the Emperor's son-in-law was cannibalistic, dealing with them would have been quite a difficult task for me.

"But what the Empress Dowager did actually greatly helped me to eliminate these people."

"So, you planned this whole thing from the very beginning? Then Shen Lang..."

“Shen Lang is my husband. Without him, there would be no Empress of Great Chu today. Even if he did eat people, I will always stand by his side.”

"You, you actually..."

Yu Ling Shuang was somewhat incredulous. She never expected that everything she had planned for so many years would turn out to be a complete joke in the eyes of her daughter, whom she was meeting for the first time.

"Mother, your cause is lost. From the moment Shen Lang entered Blackwater City, the destruction of the so-called anti-imperialist alliance was only a matter of time."

Let me tell you another bloody reality, Mother: the nine regional military camps in the North have long been under my control. The only thing you can rely on now is the iron cavalry of Northern Yan.

But Northern Yan isn't stupid either. They've probably already sensed the shift in the northern border's power dynamics. How could they possibly risk offending Great Chu by waging a meaningless war with you at this time?

"Impossible! The Great Yan royal family supports Blackwater City!" Yu Ling Shuang shouted in a deep voice. "One hundred thousand Great Yan iron cavalry have already stationed troops in Youzhou. As long as Blackwater City gives the order, they can march south without delay."

"Wake up, Mother." Jiang Mengxuan ruthlessly interrupted Yu Ling Shuang's fantasy. "The only Northern Yan generals capable of commanding 100,000 iron cavalry are Murong Ke and Murong Ba."

If they were to arrive, the troops in the Bingzhou camp would have already been mobilized. Have you heard any news of any movement by the Bingzhou border troops?

Furthermore, if those two were to get involved, do you think I would still be in the mood to waste time here with you?

Yu Ling Shuang looked at Jiang Meng Xuan with disbelief.

This daughter is incredibly intelligent.

Despite having the same face as Jiang Yue, their abilities in handling affairs are completely different.

He had almost no secrets from her.

“Alright, I promise you, I can go back to the palace with you.” Yu Ling Shuang took a deep breath. “But I will enter the palace in the name of your birth mother. You are my flesh and blood, what does the name of your adoptive mother mean?”

Jiang Mengxuan: "Mother, what I want to tell you is that after you disappeared twenty years ago, Father posthumously honored you as Empress Xiande."

If you were to re-enter the palace as your original self, what would the world think of you? Besides, I was adopted by Ji Yuxi when I was young.

"That's right, it's the woman who encouraged you to pursue your true love and led you out of the palace. She's now my nominal mother."

“Ji Yuxi…”

Upon hearing this name, Yu Ling Shuang felt a pang of sadness.

In fact, not long after she entered the palace, she had already resigned herself to her fate and planned to try her best to adapt to palace life.

But who would have thought that Ji Yuxi would approach him under the guise of being his best friend?

After spending some time together, at a private banquet, she, emboldened by alcohol, told Ji Yuxi about her past with Nie Gonghe.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Ji Yuxi kept encouraging herself to pursue true love and not be bound by rules and regulations.

As time went on, Yu Ling Shuang began to believe her lies and spent her days thinking about leaving the palace to escape this "cage".

Finally, she successfully escaped the cage and was able to openly and legitimately rekindle her romance with Nie Gonghe.

However, when she saw Nie Gonghe again, she realized that she could no longer adapt to the impoverished life she used to lead.

More importantly, having seen so much of the world in the palace, I came to know what truly talented people are like.

Compared to them, Nie Gonghe is really nothing.

Actually, back then, Nie Gonghe wasn't married yet. If Yu Ling Shuang had appeared in front of him, they might have been able to rekindle their romance.

However, it is said that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Having seen the world, Yu Ling Shuang immediately realized that Nie Gong He was uneducated and lacked the ability to make a living, and that following him would only lead to hardship.

So she gave up, and then regretted it.

Feeling that she didn't seem to like Nie Gonghe as much as she had thought, she decided to return to the palace to apologize.

Unfortunately, on her way back to the palace, she heard the news of her own "death" and that she had been posthumously honored as Empress Xiande.

Knowing that there was no hope of returning to the palace, Yu Ling Shuang realized that she had fallen into Ji Yu Xi's trap. In addition to regret, her personality became more and more twisted.

To escape the fact that she had been deceived and played, she began to fabricate stories of lovesick men and women, portraying herself as an innocent victim.

She deceived herself, and even more so her own daughter, ruining the lives of two people in the process.

For the past twenty years, she has been training Jiang Yue in martial arts while raising her own daughter like a dog.

It's to make up for the good life they lost due to their past naiveté.

All for the sake of one day returning to the palace and enjoying the glory of being a member of the royal family.

At the same time, we must take revenge on Ji Yuxi!

Ironically, his own daughter can achieve her 20-year-long scheme with just a single word.

That's ridiculous, that's absurd.

"Mother, do you know how I've spent these years?" Jiang Mengxuan looked at Yu Ling Shuang and said, word by word, "Without my birth mother to take care of me, I've been bullied by everyone."

If it weren't for my father's love and care, I wouldn't be alive today. And if you hadn't left the palace back then, how could I have suffered so much?

How could Ji Yuxi's two children have become a force that I still fear to this day? Mother, do you know how foolish your decision back then was?

"me……"

Hearing Jiang Mengxuan's words, Yu Ling Shuang's face flashed with a hint of guilt, and she didn't even dare to look her daughter in the eye.

"So, Mother, are you willing to go back with me? I don't care what you did in the past."

But as long as you don't oppose me from now on, I will give you the status and position you deserve. Do you agree?

Yu Ling Shuang looked up and met Jiang Meng Xuan's calm and clear gaze, then thought about it carefully.

Finally, he nodded slightly.

(Ten chapters completed)