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

Concerning the dignity of the royal family, Commandant Ma returned to the capital overnight with the Jade Guanyin. The Empress Dowager temporarily resided in a meditation room, while Wen Liangyu was imprisoned in the cave where Zhang Qi had secluded himself for cultivation.

To prevent the Empress Dowager from killing Wen Liangyu, Xie Yubai delayed his return to the capital and stayed at Huguo Temple, awaiting the Emperor's decree.

That night, in the seemingly peaceful Huguo Temple, everyone harbored their own thoughts.

Princess Ping Le was sullen and returned to her meditation room without even eating dinner. Liu Ying looked worried and asked Lu Zhiyuan, who was preparing a vegetarian meal in the kitchen, "Will Her Highness do something rash? I noticed that she seems quite close to the Empress Dowager. My grandmother had an affair and even had a child with a monk. Let alone the princess, even I couldn't bear it. It just feels so awkward and strange."

“What’s so strange about that? The Empress Dowager was young once too.” Lu Zhiyuan squatted down to add some firewood to the stove. “If you look at them from a young person’s perspective, you’ll feel sorry for the Empress Dowager, and even more sorry for that Lord Zhang. It’s a classic case of a tragic love story in the deep palace.”

"Deep palace...torture?"

"Hmm!" Lu Zhiyuan brushed the stray hairs from her face, not noticing that the dirt on her hands had gotten onto her face, making her look like a little kitten. Liu Ying, who was chopping vegetables, didn't notice either, and spoke to her with her back turned.

The daughter of an official fell in love at first sight with the top scholar in the imperial examination, but unfortunately, the daughter was destined to become a concubine in the palace. She tried to plead with her father, but was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall. She tried to avoid being selected in the imperial concubine selection by deliberately wearing inconspicuous clothes and applying rough makeup, but she had already been chosen by the palace.

Whether they're from the palace or their own homes, what they need isn't her, but her identity.

She was not the principal wife, and there was no special ceremony when she first entered the palace. However, when Zhang Qi met the emperor, she specially wore a red inner lining, and her body was also covered with a faint scent of peach blossom wine.

Where the Empress Dowager couldn't see, Zhang Qi must have thought that night he was the groom and she was his only bride.

Every meeting in the palace was agonizing. She was a favored concubine, he was a loyal minister. She had eyes for him, yet she was forced to remain by the emperor's side. He had feelings for her, yet dared not even glance at her.

In common society, a widowed woman can remarry in grand style, but she was the emperor's woman. With the emperor dead, she could only remain as a concubine or empress dowager. She didn't want to remain that way; she only wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, even if it meant not being the high and mighty empress dowager. But he was a monk, a monk whom the emperor had decreed could not return to secular life.

If he wanted, they could fake their death, elope, or find a secluded place to start over.

But he refused. He was a fool who only knew loyalty and filial piety; in his heart, those doctrines and rules were more important than anything else. She went mad and did irrational things, trying to force him to change his mind, but he ended it all by going into seclusion and practicing asceticism.

If it weren't for that child, she would have hanged herself long ago. Keeping that child, giving birth to that child, and ensuring that her bloodline with him remained in the world became her sole obsession.

She sent the child to Huguo Temple hoping he could see his son and that his son could grow up by his side. Over the years, she frequently visited the temple to offer incense, but he refused to see her again. Fortunately, the child allowed her to fulfill her longing for reunion in another way.

As the child grew older, the father and son looked more and more alike, and rumors began to circulate in the temple. Fearing that something might happen to him and the child, she devised a foolproof plan: she would tell him about the child's true parentage and have him leave Huguo Temple with the child.

But this seemingly foolproof plan cost him his life, causing him and his child to disappear into the vast sea of ​​people, never to be found again.

"If it weren't for Xiao Liangzi... what would have happened to Zhang Qi and that child if it weren't for Wen Liangyu's letter?"

"No!" Lu Zhiyuan said decisively, "Your Majesty is mistaken. Even without Wen Liangyu, and without that forged letter, Zhang Qi would still have made the same choice. A top scholar, a prime minister, a close advisor to the emperor—how could such a clever person not see through the Empress Dowager's intentions, not guess the relationship between that child and himself? His taking the child as a disciple, his meticulous teaching, and his keeping him away from the capital to devote himself to Buddhism are all paving the way for his future. After all, the emperor cannot tolerate a half-brother. Perhaps it would be acceptable if he were a monk."

"In the end, it was our Xie family that suffered. The old general was hated by the Empress Dowager for so many years for no reason. Even the eldest son, the second son, and the wife were targeted by the Empress Dowager. Fortunately, the Xie family was safe and sound, and the truth came out."

Liu Ying put her hands together and uttered "Amitabha."

Lu Yun entered, rubbing his hands together, and said with a grim expression, "The Empress Dowager is dead!"

Lu Zhiyuan turned around: "What did you say? The Empress Dowager is dead? Who killed her?"

Lu Yun reached out and wiped the dirt off her face, then lowered his head and said, "Suicide, using the hairpin she had worn for many years. The magistrate speculates that the hairpin was a gift from Lord Zhang before his death. The Empress Dowager couldn't bear the truth that Lord Zhang was killed by her, and in order to protect that child, she could only end it in this way."

Lu Zhiyuan shook her head, "Things haven't reached a dead end yet. Given the Empress Dowager's temperament, she would never make such a choice."

Second uncle, it must be second uncle.

If the Empress Dowager returns to the capital, she will inevitably clash with the Emperor. The Emperor is ill, the Crown Prince is young, while the child the Empress Dowager had with Zhang Qi is in his prime. If the Empress Dowager were to take a desperate gamble, the Northern Liang royal family would certainly be thrown into turmoil.

Her second uncle, seemingly innocent and upright, was actually full of schemes. She didn't believe he was unaware of the Empress Dowager's past with Zhang Qi. If he knew the child's whereabouts and used the child as leverage, the Empress Dowager would have no choice but to take that path.

As for the hairpin, it certainly wasn't a gift from Zhang Qi. A man as reasonable and law-abiding as him would never give such an ambiguous item. It's something she's worn for many years, perhaps even before her marriage.

The top scholar paraded through the streets?

That's right, it must be the hairpin she wore when she and Zhang Qi fell in love at first sight on the day the top scholar paraded through the streets.

Sadomasochistic love, truly sadomasochistic love.

She shook her head and continued preparing vegetarian meals. The Empress Dowager was dead, and Wen Liangyu wouldn't live to return to the capital. Such a major matter would be handled by her second uncle; her job was to comfort the princess, care for the sick, and feed herself.

A plate of blanched bok choy, a plate of tofu and eggs, a plate of eggplant with garlic sauce, and a plate of dry-fried green beans. She accidentally burned her hand while taking the food out of the pot, and quickly pinched her ear, jumping up and down. Lu Yun, in a panic, covered her hand, but Xiao Yebai, who had rushed over, pulled her aside.

"Let go of Miss Lu!"

Lu Yun drew his sword and pointed it at Xiao Yebai.

"Who are you?"

Without a second thought, Xiao Yebai moved in front of Lu Zhiyuan, using half of his body to shield her, and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I just burned my hand while serving the dishes." Lu Zhiyuan nudged him from behind. "You and A'luo came at the right time, help serve the dishes. Princess, the people around the princess, you and A'luo, me, Liuying and Lu Yun, four dishes definitely won't be enough. Luckily, I prepared some cold dishes and steamed dishes as well."

Xiao Yebai turned around: "Is he Lu Yun?"

Lu Zhiyuan focused on mixing the vegetables, not even looking up: "My Lu Yun, how about it, isn't he amazing?"

Xiao Yebai pouted, thinking to himself, "He's not as good-looking as me, and he's not as powerful as me either!"