Nanny: "Madam, what are you talking about? If you wish to see her, no matter how busy the Empress Dowager is, she can make time for you."

Her smile deepened.

"The Empress Dowager is advanced in age but often looks forward to the young ones visiting her and chatting with her."

"She has been asking about you all this while, truly concerned in her heart."

Yu Tingwan felt both flattered and surprised.

Then she prepared to leave.

The nanny, however, did not seem inclined to give her the food box.

She even avoided letting the atmosphere become awkward, clearly able to chat endlessly here.

Yu Tingwan: ...

She said helplessly, "I will certainly go to express my gratitude next time I enter the palace."

The nanny was indeed waiting for this statement.

This little ancestor!

"Eh!"

She handed over the food box and helped Yu Tingwan onto the carriage.

"The Empress Dowager will surely be delighted to hear this."

After sending her away, the nanny returned to Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager was taking a nap. Hearing her enter, she summoned the nanny to her side.

"How did it go?"

"The girl said she would come to the palace to see you when she has time."

The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and sat up slightly straighter.

"That girl is quick to shy away. Did you push her into it?"

The nanny stepped forward, massaging her shoulders as she spoke the words the Empress Dowager liked to hear: "Look how you’re saying it, I merely gave her a bit of guidance."

The Empress Dowager let out a hum of laughter, not blaming her for making decisions on her own.

She lowered her gaze to the incense burner that had burned out.

Her eyes dulled.

"In those years, the He Family sheltered me, and I resided in Qingyuan Marquis Mansion. I watched Jiasan grow up."

"After the He family’s sister-in-law fell ill and passed away, both she and Xuran lost their mother. I felt deeply sorry for them, saying it’s no exaggeration to treat them as my own children."

Mentioning ’my own children,’ the nanny’s expression dimmed.

The Empress Dowager had no children in her entire life.

When the late Emperor was alive, the mistress was still an Imperial Concubine and was pregnant once.

Others only knew the Empress Dowager miscarried and damaged her body, rendering her unable to conceive again.

No one knew that the fetus was harmed by the late Emperor through the Empress’s hand, only to warn the Empress, who grew increasingly arrogant after birthing the Crown Prince, and her maternal family.

The late Emperor was adept at scheming. In his heart, what did the Empress Dowager represent?

Just a child.

Merely a descendant of dragons, does it matter who gives birth to it?

They were all just tools.

However, he did not expect the Empress Dowager’s body to be so unsatisfactory, resulting in her inability to conceive again, which was indeed a loss.

After the Empress Dowager’s miscarriage, the late Emperor played out a show of deep affection, meting out ’clear rewards and punishments,’ not just punishing the Empress but also granting the Empress Dowager a favor.

Didn’t the Empress know what the late Emperor did?

Did the Empress Dowager not hate him at that time?

They all understood in their hearts.

The late Emperor had no intention of hiding it.

He boldly set her up and framed the Empress, only to warn the Empress to recognize the sovereign is sovereign, and the minister is a minister.

But in the deep palace, who can hate an Emperor?

The Empress Dowager weighed her options, cried no tears, did not throw tantrums, just asked for the exception of ennobling Jiasan as a princess, saying this child was raised by her, and could be considered half a daughter. In the future, Jiasan could enter and leave the palace at will to keep her company.

See, how understanding the Empress Dowager is.

Even if it broke the rules, she was just a princess, not a prince, without any threat. In the late Emperor’s eyes, she was insignificant.

So he allowed it.

Just because the Empress Dowager knew the right time to yield, when the late Emperor selected Emperor Ying as the next Holy Emperor, he was recorded under her name.

Never mind the current Holy Emperor frequently visits to see the Empress Dowager, displaying a filial heart.

Appearing to regard the Empress Dowager as his own mother.

Yet, who does not know how to act?

The Empress Dowager and he have acted out this mother-child bond for over thirty years.

Empress Dowager: "I know, that Yaoyao child has endured too much hardship."

"Jiasan is distressed for her daughter, and I am also distressed. Despite being in Shangjing, look, we dare not meet, and sending snacks feels like being a thief. She was raised by me, and I only feel more pained for her. Always have to give her a little push from behind."

The Empress Dowager sighed: "I don’t know if that child will blame me for interfering when she finds out later."

————

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Shen Zhiyi and Yu Tingwan parted ways.

One returned to Duke Shun Mansion, the other to the Ministry of the Imperial Household.

Burdened with matters on her mind, Shen Zhiyi hurriedly entered the mansion after dismounting the carriage, her expression not looking good.

She walked in large strides.

"Sister."

The concubine-born daughter harbored resentment over her ruined marriage, and upon seeing her, could almost grind her teeth into powder, yet still struck a pitiful pose, coquettishly and pretentiously coming to pay respect.

Without sparing her a glance, she slapped her hand aside.

"Don’t disgrace yourself."

"I have no time to bother with you right now."

Concubine-born daughter: ???

With a brooding expression, Shen Zhiyi headed straight for her mother’s courtyard.

Mrs. Shen was leafing through account books and, upon seeing her enter, initially wore a smile but then noticed her unusual expression.

"What’s the matter? Didn’t you go to see your aunt?"

Shen Zhiyi dismissed the attendants in the room, directing a piercing gaze at Mrs. Shen.

"Before my aunt was married, what exactly happened back then?"

"Does my aunt have someone in her heart?"

Shen Zhiyi put forth her speculations: "Is it... General Jing Yuan?"

Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why Yu Tingwan would enter the palace.

Who else in Duke Shun Mansion could be entangled with her aunt?

Mrs. Shen’s expression shifted slightly.

"What is there to inquire about?"

They are all old stories from years ago, no need to bring them up again.

"It’s one thing to mention it to me, but don’t bring it up in front of your father. Otherwise, you’ll get punished again."

"Mother!"

Shen Zhiyi: "All these years, it’s been my aunt protecting me!"

"When I was seven years old, I was punished by my father. Mother couldn’t protect me. My elder sister wanted to protect me but ended up getting physically punished. It was because I knew there was an aunt in the palace that I sought refuge."

"Initially, my aunt wasn’t fond of me, but for some reason, I just wanted to be close to her, to the extent that she protected me for many years."

"Since then, whenever I got into trouble, my aunt sorted it out. Father is merely a fourth-rank official, hardly worth mentioning among the high-ranking officials and nobles in Shangjing. But I could strut outside because it wasn’t the Shen family giving me confidence."

"You should have told me!"

When she left the courtyard again, her face was visibly gloomy.

Shen Zhiyi’s heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.

All she felt was cold.

She took a deep breath, her thoughts clearer than ever, turning around to calmly instruct the maid beside her: "Go invite Heir Xiao over."

Then, she took broad strides to an area.

"Yi!"

She ignored Mrs. Shen’s calls from behind.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother, and Mrs. Shen seemed to guess what she wanted to do, but after a few steps, she stopped abruptly.

Men are unreliable; indeed, these years, she couldn’t protect her daughter, and it was truly her sister-in-law who protected her.

Just as Yi said, those who are genuinely good to her are scarcely numbered.

Shen Zhiyi bypassed the long corridor, passed by the pond.

The surrounding scenes retreated as she moved.

But after all, she was a lady of noble birth, with decorum and grace. The buyao in her hair merely swayed gently.

"Miss."

One of Mr. Shen’s trusted aides waited outside and frowned upon seeing her but still greeted her with a smile.

"Why have you come? Master is busy at the moment... perhaps"

Shen Zhiyi: "You wretched servant! Get lost!"

She kicked open Mr. Shen’s study.

With a bang.

Mr. Shen was dealing with correspondence and was deeply startled. Upon seeing her, his expression turned displeased.

"You have no manners, compared to your concubine-born sister you’re vastly inferior."

Shen Zhiyi: "Too bad she was born of a concubine. She’ll be trampled underfoot by me her whole life!"