Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Longevity Palace

Su Qianrou walked up to Qin Yulan, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Ever since the defeat of Prince Min and the Duke of Ming's mansion, Qin Yulan had been living in constant anxiety, worried that things would be exposed. However, Mu Jinchen had not taken any action, which gave her a glimmer of hope.

Su Qianrou's sudden arrival today made her feel uneasy. "I wonder what wind blew today that brought my fifth sister-in-law here."

"I have come today to convey Your Highness's message."

Qin Yulan understood, thinking that she hadn't been able to hide it after all. However, this actually put her at ease, and she asked, "How does the Regent intend to deal with me?"

"We urge the Empress Dowager to request permission to leave the palace and go to Longjue Temple to pray for Yunyue and the Grand Empress Dowager, and never return to the palace in this lifetime."

Qin Yulan was somewhat surprised. She had thought it would be a white silk ribbon or a cup of poison, but unexpectedly, it was to let her leave the palace. "Are you sure you want me to leave the palace?"

"Yes".

"Why".

"For the sake of the royal family's reputation, and also for the sake of the eldest princess."

"Qing'er," Qin Yulan suddenly remembered her daughter, and at the same time, she recalled the past.

Because of family interests, she had to separate from Prince Min and marry the late emperor whom she did not love. Later, she finally became pregnant, but gave birth to a daughter instead of a son, which greatly disappointed her. Therefore, she did not like the eldest princess and had not cared about her at all over the years. In fact, she was indifferent to the eldest princess and never thought about her.

Thinking back now, I can't help but feel a little guilty, so I said, "Qing'er is the late emperor's child."

"If she were not the late emperor's child, but Prince Min's, would you still treat her that way?"

Qin Yulan remained silent.

Thinking of what Granny Qi had said to her that morning, Su Qianrou was furious. "To give birth and not raise a child is to be a mother is unworthy. The Empress Dowager is not worthy of being the mother of the eldest princess."

“I am indeed unworthy, so please tell her to pretend that I am not her mother from now on.”

Su Qianrou was furious and didn't want to talk to her anymore, so she turned around and left.

Qin Yulan called out to her, "Wait a minute."

"Is there anything else, Your Majesty?"

"May I go and guard the imperial tomb?"

Su Qianrou was truly exasperated with her. Even at this point, she was still thinking of having an affair with Prince Min, and in the imperial mausoleum no less. She really didn't know what was going on in her head, so she said irritably, "Does the Empress Dowager think it's possible?"

Qin Yulan knew it was impossible, but what if it was? That's why she asked that question.

Su Qianrou then said, "The Imperial Guards will escort you out of the city early tomorrow morning," and then walked out without looking back.

Unexpectedly, when they came out, they saw the eldest princess standing at the door with red eyes.

"Princess, what are you doing here?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I have come to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

"You heard everything."

"Yes," the eldest princess nodded.

Su Qianrou felt very sorry for him but didn't know how to comfort him, so she asked, "Do you want to go in?"

The eldest princess hesitated.

Su Qianrou encouraged, "Go in, just to give yourself an explanation."

The eldest princess looked at her.

"I'll be waiting for you outside."

The eldest princess then made up her mind and went inside.

Your subject greets Your Majesty, wishing you boundless happiness and peace.

Qin Yulan said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

"Your subject..." the eldest princess seemed about to say something.

"Go back, you don't need to come back again."

The eldest princess looked at her with a complicated expression.

Then, Qin Yulan said, "Tomorrow I will go to Longjue Temple to pray for blessings and will never come back. Just pretend that I am not your mother."

The eldest princess remained silent. She both loved and hated Qin Yulan, so her feelings were very complicated and mixed.

"Let's go," Qin Yulan said without looking at her.

The eldest princess knew she couldn't change the outcome, and besides, this was already the best result. Therefore, she didn't try to stop them or plead with Mu Jinchen. She simply kowtowed deeply and said, "Your subject bids farewell to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty have a peaceful and worry-free life from now on."

Qin Yulan was somewhat moved, but that was all.

Then, the eldest princess stood up, glanced at her, and resolutely walked out.

Qin Yulan's personal maid couldn't help but call out, "Empress Dowager!" because she knew that after this departure, she and her daughter would probably never see each other again. Therefore, she hoped that the Empress Dowager could keep the eldest princess, even if it was just to say a few more words to her.

Qin Yulan said, "Let's pack our things."

The eldest princess was clearly heartbroken, but she stubbornly refused to let her tears fall.

Seeing her like this, Su Qianrou felt heartbroken and went forward to hug her, comforting her, "If you want to cry, then cry. Your aunt is here with you."

The eldest princess could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face, though she didn't cry out loud, she just wept silently.

This made Su Qianrou feel even more sorry for her.

After a while, the eldest princess recovered and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I got my aunt's clothes dirty."

"It's alright, let's go, I'll take you home."

"No need, Aunt, you go ahead and do your work. I can go back by myself."

"I'm going to the Imperial Study, it's on my way."

The eldest princess then stopped saying anything.

Then, the two left Yongshou Palace together.

On the way, the eldest princess hesitated to speak. Seeing her like this, Su Qianrou said, "You have something you want to ask me."

"Ok".

"Ask away."

"Am I... really... Father's... daughter?"

Su Qianrou had expected her to ask about the Empress Dowager and Prince Min, but she was surprised to hear this instead. Without hesitation, she answered, "Yes."

The eldest princess was relieved, and then said shyly, "Could you please tell my uncle for me, my aunt?"

Why say thank you?

“Given what my mother has done, even execution would not be an exaggeration. My uncle only allowed her to go to the temple to pray for blessings, which is already a great act of mercy.”

“You don’t seem surprised by the matter concerning the Empress Dowager and Prince Min.”

The eldest princess lowered her head and replied, "Because I already knew."

Su Qianrou looked at her in disbelief, "When did you find out?"

“Three years ago, I saw my mother sneaking out of Yongshou Palace. I was curious, so I followed her. I never expected to see her with my third uncle…”

It was precisely because she witnessed all of this that she felt both love and hatred for her mother.

Qin Yulan will never know that the eldest princess lived in fear for her for three whole years, and several times she dreamed that the truth would be exposed and she would be executed and die a very tragic death, so much so that she would wake up in fright.

Therefore, when she learned that it was only to send her mother to Longjue Temple to pray for blessings, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally put at ease. At the same time, she was filled with gratitude towards Mu Jinchen.

Su Qianrou dared not imagine how heartbroken her five-year-old self would be to witness such a thing, or how much pressure and pain she must have endured over the years.