Gu Lan allowed her to ponder. She had the entire night to wait for her to speak.

She also wanted to know what the true face of Su Zhixue, whom she thought was gentle and kind, really looked like.

And how did the former number one scholar of Dayan, the Third Imperial Brother who was so good to Brother Hang, the Third Prince who willingly faced death to plead for his younger siblings, end his brief life?

After a long while, Su Zhixue opened her eyes and asked, "Does Young Master Gu still remember last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival banquet?"

"Mid-Autumn?"

Gu Lan’s index finger curled at the joint, tapping the tabletop before her. Although she didn’t know why Su Zhixue asked this, she still recalled in her mind.

——Last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival was the first time she met Su Zhixue. The day before was Baoyi’s birthday, but Prince Rui had to rush back to the Southern Border. So Gu Lan teamed up with Baoyi and her siblings, along with Brother Hang and Jiu, to leave the palace and head to the Capital Camp.

Later, during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Emperor Rong Jing left early. Empress Su Zhixue seemed to admire Marquis Gu and Madam Zhou’s deep affection, gifting her a pair of ivory unity knots. She and Rong Heng also inadvertently discovered Su Zhixue’s maid Wenyuan, and the Emperor in the side hall doing this and that.

Wait, unexpectedly discovered...

"Are you referring to the Consort Jia who believed you harmed her child and splashed acid on you?"

At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, a concubine who had miscarried inexplicably vented her anger on the Empress, splashing around a basin of acid, causing a panic.

At the time, Gu Lan was close to Su Zhixue, accidentally twisting her ankle while saving her. It was only when Rong Heng helped restore her joint that she discovered Wenyuan’s affair with Rong Jing. That maid named Wenyuan is now dead, dying after Su Zhixue’s hanging incident.

Su Zhixue placed the Bodhi Buddha Beads on the table, each word she uttered was gentle yet carried a trembling chill:

"Indeed, Young Master, have you ever considered that a mother’s instinct cannot be wrong."

A faint spark ignited the rustling clues in Gu Lan’s heart.

In her mind, she recalled the scene at that moment.

She couldn’t remember the appearance of that concubine anymore, but she always remembered those narrow eyes filled with resentment, and remembered her shouting curses until she was taken away, claiming that Su Zhixue harmed her child.

Su Zhixue’s eyes showed traces of unwillingness and guilt. She uttered a moan from her throat, unabashedly admitting it, like a thunderbolt on a sunny day:

"It was indeed me who harmed her child."

"Why?" Gu Lan asked softly, her eyes deepened, full of puzzlement.

"Because..." Su Zhixue recounted the events of the past, as if reopening the scabbed wounds inch by inch, revealing bleeding flesh, causing heart-wrenching pain.

"Seventeen years ago, Su Wenzhong ignored my private lifelong pledge with Jue, and while Jue was out of the capital on official duty, he betrothed me to the then Crown Prince Rong Jing. And Rong Jing, in order to marry quickly and gain the Su Family’s support, actually consummated the marriage. That lunatic, I wish to eat his flesh, yet also wish to...end my own life."

Her voice trembled as if recalling the events of that day.

The woman’s eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear and anxiety, and her body also shivered.

It was a nightmare.

Gu Lan took a deep breath and continued, "But later you found out you were pregnant, and it was the Third Prince’s child. Since what was done couldn’t be undone, the greatest revenge on a person was to marry Rong Jing with someone else’s child."

Su Zhixue nodded, her eyes showing a faint smile, seemingly recalling the adorable appearance of young Miaoyan, as she continued:

"Yes, my child was innocent...she carried Jue’s blood. With her around, I couldn’t bear to end my life. I want to raise her, watch her grow up healthy and safe, live a happy life, and ensure she doesn’t repeat her mother’s mistakes."

"But, such revenge is not enough!" Su Zhixue’s tone paused, her voice turning icy.

"From that day on, I knew my life would be entangled with Rong Jing’s, leaving no possibility to be with Jue again——why can’t I control my own marriage, why do my feelings, my personal will matter so little in their eyes!? Why must I care about the family’s honor or disgrace!? No one has ever asked my opinion. I’d rather not be this high-born daughter of the Su Family."

Every word was shed like blood from deep pain, pouring out the hatred and despair in her eyes.