After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

"Consort Jin, do you have anything else to say?"

"I have nothing to say!" Consort Jin sneered. "It was my stupidity that I fell into someone else's trap!"

"You've fallen into someone else's trap?" The Emperor was so angry he almost laughed. "Tell me, who is this 'someone else' you're talking about? Is it your niece Fang Zhi, the Empress, or Ping Le? I know what you're thinking! I ask you, was Fang Zhi's entry into the palace arranged by the Empress? Was the Empress instigating Ye Bai's maid to set fire to the palace by threatening her with Ye Bai's life? Punishing the palace maid without asking why, and placing Yuan'er in this Ronghua Palace—every single one of these things, every single one of them, was arranged by the Empress?"

Consort Jin smiled with her eyes closed and did not speak.

The Emperor pointed a finger at her, scrutinizing her for a long time before turning his back: "I am not a fool, and a fool would not be able to sit on this throne. Do you think I do not know that you are the illegitimate daughter of the Fang family, and that you entered the palace under the identity of the legitimate daughter? I did not expose you not because I am stupid, nor to give the Fang family any face, but because I felt sorry for you."

Consort Jin looked up at the Emperor without moving: "Does Your Majesty feel sorry for me?"

"Do you still remember the day you entered the palace? Among all the beauties, you were the only one wearing faded old clothes. Everyone else was trying to attract my attention, but you kept your head down, wanting to disappear from my sight. As a ruler, I select beauties every three years and have seen all kinds of beauties, but you are the only one who makes me feel both curious and fresh."

"Your Majesty remembers me?" Consort Jin laughed, her eyes full of mockery. "Because I am insecure, because I am out of place with those noble ladies? Your Majesty is mistaken. I am not a concubine's daughter, but a legitimate daughter. Although the Fang family is a distinguished family, they are just like ordinary families, favoring sons over daughters. When my elder sister was born, she was disliked by my grandmother. When I was born, my grandmother did not even look at me and had me taken to the countryside. Does Your Majesty know what I was called before? Zhaodi, meaning to bring a younger brother."

Consort Jin laughed until tears streamed down her face: "My elder sister is the eldest daughter of the Fang family. Even if she wasn't favored, she grew up like any other young lady from a noble family. My younger sister was born at the same time as my brother and was just as favored. Because I wasn't included in the family genealogy, she became the second young lady of the Fang family. I grew up in the countryside without parents to raise me, without a wet nurse to pamper me, and without a tutor to teach me to read and write. If my elder sister and younger sister hadn't refused to enter the palace, they wouldn't have thought of bringing me back."

Consort Jin looked at her hands: "I have tried my best to learn needlework, etiquette, and the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. But how can one year compare to ten years for others? In the end, I have become a laughing stock."

The legitimate daughter became the illegitimate daughter, the elder sister became the younger sister; no wonder Consort Jin harbored so much resentment.

The Emperor sighed: "I'm not making fun of you. I just feel that you need my protection more."

"Your Majesty!" Consort Jin stood up unsteadily, "Why would Your Majesty deceive me, lie to me, or offer me protection when I am an unfavored and abandoned concubine? What protection has Your Majesty given me?"

"Consort Jin really doesn't understand His Majesty's good intentions." The Empress said, "When you first entered the palace, you had the weakest background and no support. If His Majesty had favored you, it would have undoubtedly put you in danger. Think about it carefully. Although His Majesty did not favor you, he placed you in the most beautiful Jinxiu Palace. Even the then-palace mistress of Jinxiu Palace, Consort Ru, was a kind person. Have you ever suffered the slightest grievance in the palace?"

"Your status as a concubine's daughter, your temper, and your unruly attitude in the palace have caused the Empress Dowager and me quite a headache. His Majesty has tried to temper your temperament, but you remain unchanged, and even resent His Majesty because of it. Do you know that the Emperor's lack of favor towards you is not because he doesn't care about you, but because the Empress Dowager does not want you to bear children for the royal family? Do you know that your health is not good and you cannot often take contraceptive medicine?"

"For my own good, you married my daughter to a rude general? For my own good, you sent my son to Southern Chu as a hostage?" Consort Jin laughed, her eyes filled with resentment. "No wonder you became Empress. You and His Majesty are truly a match made in heaven."

"Consort Jin, you have truly betrayed my good intentions." The Emperor trembled with anger. "You would rather believe those rumors than believe my heart that cares for you. Jia Rou is also my daughter. How could I casually choose an unsuitable or unsatisfactory consort for her?"

“A widower who has lost three wives, would Your Majesty be willing to marry Ping Le to him? In the end, isn’t it all for the military power he holds? In Your Majesty’s eyes, my Jia Rou is nothing but a pawn.”

“If it is a marriage arranged by my father, I am willing!” Princess Ping Le stepped forward: “As a princess, having enjoyed the riches and honors of a princess, I should also bear the responsibilities of a princess and make sacrifices for the country and the people of Bei Liang. Not to mention marrying a general, even if I were to marry a commoner, I would be willing.”

"My Princess Ping Le is the most understanding of me." The Emperor looked at Princess Ping Le with great satisfaction: "Consort Jin only knows how to complain about me, but has she had anyone investigate what really happened to the General's three wives? I have! He didn't join the army voluntarily; he was kidnapped on his wedding night. He was gone for three years without a word. When he returned home, his family thought he was dead, and his wife had remarried and had a child. He knew he had wronged his wife and didn't pursue the matter, but instead gave her a belated gift as her brother. His first wife did die in childbirth, but not because of him."

"His second wife was indeed captured, and he went to rescue her even though he knew it was a trap. It was his wife who didn't want to implicate him and his brothers, so she committed suicide in front of him. She was an extremely courageous woman, but unfortunately, she was not meant to be with him. By the way, they were not married yet, only betrothed."

"The third wife was a spy from the enemy country, and she deserved to die. His relationship with Jiarou wasn't what the outside world said; it was Jiarou who looked down on him and didn't want to live a good life with him." The Emperor was exasperated: "The border is bitterly cold, and he was afraid Jiarou wouldn't be able to stay, so he kept her in the capital. Knowing she looked down on her mother, he arranged for the two of them to live in separate courtyards. He gave ninety percent of his salary to Jiarou, leaving only ten percent for his mother, while he ate and lived with the soldiers at the border. Even so, he still tried his best to send things to Jiarou. Jiarou's fox fur coat was hunted by him in the snow."

"What about our son? Sending him to Southern Chu as a hostage would be for my own good?"

"That was what he should do as a prince, and at that time, he was the most suitable age." The Emperor's eyes darkened. "The imperial family has few heirs, and even fewer of the right age. The older ones cannot be used as hostages, and the younger ones cannot be used as hostages either. There are only two people of similar age: Cheng'er and Rui'er. Cheng'er is ill and cannot endure long journeys. Rui'er is lame, which would damage the image of the imperial family. Besides him, who else can I choose?"

Consort Jin lay paralyzed on the ground, remaining silent.

She had resented and hated the emperor for over a decade, but now she was being told that she was favored by the emperor. How could she accept or believe this?