First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

“Ah Xuan, there is a triangular scar on the sole of your left foot. This is from when Fang Shuli took you from me at birth, and I accidentally pricked you.”

As she spoke, she pulled a broken hairpin from her sleeve, with a triangle on the top of it.

When Mu Lingxuan saw the hairpin Fang Shuyan took out, his pupils contracted, and his left foot shifted uncomfortably.

I've known about the scar on his left foot since I was old enough to understand.

He asked Consort Li about it at the time, but she was impatient and only said that he was being naughty and had accidentally done it himself.

He wasn't told exactly how it was done.

Without needing to compare or verify, he was certain that the old hairpin the old woman had taken out matched the scar on the sole of his foot.

Fang Shuyan continued, "Fang Shuli is my elder sister, and I am born to my aunt. My name is Fang Shuyan. You... may have heard of my name. I can also confront Fang Shuli face to face."

"Back then, Fang Shuli couldn't get pregnant, so she secretly consulted a renowned gynecologist. It turned out that Fang Shuli had a miscarriage in her early years and, due to cold uterus, would never be able to conceive again. Fang Shuli then set her sights on me, who looked seven-tenths like her."

Although the concubine's daughter was called a mistress, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were actually inferior to those of the more respectable maids in the mansion. Fang Shuyan's aunt had never been favored by her father, so Fang Shuyan knew from a young age that she could not control her own life.

She never dared to dream of marrying into a wealthy family; she only wanted to find a poor man, marry him, and become his legal wife, and that would be enough for her.

At that time, her father had already found a talented and promising student from a poor family among his students to be her son-in-law, and was just waiting for the results of the imperial examination so that they could propose marriage.

Although that person came from a poor family, he was handsome and of excellent character.

She peeked at him from behind the archway a few times and imprinted his image in her mind, looking forward to marrying him soon and building a home of their own.

However, a month before the imperial examination, she was secretly brought before Fang Shuli by her stepmother. At that time, Fang Shuli looked at her with a cold and sinister gaze. She pinched her arm hard, her anger so intense that she wanted to tear her face apart.

"From today onwards, you will impersonate me and serve me in bed. Once you give birth to the child, I will let you go."

She refused, but Fang Shuli threatened her with her aunt's life.

Heartbroken, she had no choice but to agree, her only thought being to get pregnant as soon as possible, give birth smoothly, and then live the free life she desired.

She was very lucky; she became pregnant after only sleeping with the emperor twice while impersonating Fang Shuli.

Fang Shuli was very angry that day and tortured her like a madwoman, pricking the back of her hands and the soles of her feet with needles.

The stepmother simply said coldly, "Don't kill her. The child in her womb must be delivered safely."

Fang Shuli then restrained herself a bit, but even so, when she was carried out of Fang Shuli's bedroom, she was still covered in blood.

She was then kept in a secluded room while waiting to give birth.

It was a rainy night. She struggled to give birth to her child and, in her dazed state, heard Fang Shuli talking to her stepmother.

"Mother, it really is a boy."

"Yes, you'll have a prince by your side from now on."

“Mother, that slut Fang Shuyan cannot be allowed to live. No word about the child’s matter can be leaked; only the dead can keep quiet.”

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her. And that little bitch Aunt Qiao, I won't keep her around either."

She was furious when she heard Fang Shuli go back on her word.

At that moment, all she wanted was to live and save her mother's life, so with her last breath, she took advantage of a moment when no one was looking and held the child in her arms.

It was at this moment that the snatching occurred, and she accidentally injured the child's left foot.

She struggled desperately, wanting only to live, but ultimately failed.

She was poisoned, and that wasn't all; Fang Shuli ruined her face to vent her anger.

She was, after all, a member of the Fang family, and many people in the capital knew her. She couldn't just die in the palace without anyone knowing why, and be discovered like that.

So her stepmother had her body taken out of the palace and dumped in a mass grave.

She was spared death and was rescued.

Half a month later, after his health improved, he discovered that Consort Li had given birth to a prince, and Emperor Sheng was overjoyed and bestowed many rewards upon her.

Miss Fang, who was engaged to someone else, caught a cold and died. Aunt Qiao, heartbroken by her daughter's death, also passed away a few days later.

Fang Shuyan was heartbroken as she thought about the past: "I was too cowardly and failed to save my aunt's life. I was also too weak and powerless. I felt powerless and insignificant and never thought of seeking revenge against Consort Li. Ah Xuan, it's okay if you don't acknowledge me, but you can't acknowledge a thief as your mother."

Once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back. Fang Shuyan went from feeling uneasy at first to gradually making some demands on Mu Lingxuan.

She was willing to keep this secret for a lifetime if it hadn't been discovered. Now that it's been brought to light, she hopes Mu Lingxuan can distinguish right from wrong.

That way, she wouldn't have let him down, since she gave birth to him.

"No, none of this is true. You're lying to me. I don't believe it, I don't believe it." After calling her "Mother" for nearly twenty years, how could he accept the fact that she wasn't his mother, but his enemy?

Mu Lingxuan shook his head with a grim expression, reacting violently by abandoning Gu Junxi and Fang Shuyan and rushing out.

Fang Shuyan wanted to chase after him worriedly, but Gu Junxi stopped her: "This matter is too sudden, give him some time to process it."

Fang Shuyan didn't insist on going out with them; she nodded.

Gu Junxi said, "You can stay here for now."

Mu Lingxuan ran out of the palace in one breath, only to find that he had nowhere to go when he walked down the street.

When did he become all alone?

Mu Lingxuan sat on the rooftop all night, letting the cold wind blow through him. Only when dawn broke and the palace gates opened did he go to the palace.

Consort Li has been extremely busy these past few days because of the matter of being crowned empress. When Mu Lingxuan came in, the people from the Brocade Embroidery Bureau were taking her measurements.

"Mother," Mu Lingxuan called out.

Consort Li glanced at Mu Lingxuan, but because she wasn't paying attention, she didn't notice anything unusual about him: "Why are you here so early? Don't you have to attend the morning court? You should pay more attention. After I ascend to the position of Empress, it will be your turn next. You need to learn how to share your father's burdens in advance."

All he heard was Consort Li teaching him how to improve himself and how to please Emperor Sheng, but no one cared whether he was alright.

A dark glint flashed in Mu Lingxuan's lowered eyes as he spoke seemingly casually.

“Mother, you are so beautiful, how come none of my aunts look like you? Oh, no, I remember now. I vaguely remember hearing someone say that my fourth aunt looks very much like you, and people often mistake you for her twins.”

Consort Li's eyelids twitched heavily, her brows furrowed, and her good mood vanished instantly.

She waved the palace maid who was taking measurements away and looked at Mu Lingxuan: "Why are you saying all this useless stuff? Who's been gossiping about you? Tell me, and I won't be angry."