In Taiping Garden, when the Princess received the news of the great victory in the northwest, she almost instantly sprung up from her bed, her back drenched with sweat, and stars seemed to flicker before her eyes.

"Pingyuan, Pingyuan!"

Puyang Yi hadn’t heard her mother call her so urgently in a long time.

She ran over as fast as she could, taking three steps at a time.

"Mother, would you like something to eat?"

The Princess’s hair was disheveled, her eyes deeply sunken, yet they were exceptionally bright and dark.

"Quick, help me get up and dress."

Puyang Yi felt relieved and hurriedly called for the maids, also personally stepping forward to support the Princess’s arm.

"Take it slow, Mother, you’ve been bedridden these days, your body is weak..."

"It’s nothing, I’m fine," the Princess firmly grasped Puyang Yi’s hand, almost shedding tears.

"Pingyuan, fortunately I have you, I was so lucky to have you this time."

If it weren’t for this daughter interfering, persuading her earnestly, and shamelessly cozying up to Feng Yun in Huaxi Village, then given her nature, in order to avenge her son, she would have definitely completely fallen out with Feng Yun, become antagonistic, and nurtured a deep-seated hatred...

Then soon, the line of the Princess, would have most likely been cleansed in blood by Pei Jue...

Her own death would not matter.

But what of the children and grandchildren...

The two sons hadn’t achieved much, if they ended up in Pei Jue’s hands, dying a thousand, ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough to quench his resentment...

The Princess shivered at the thought, bathing and changing under Puyang Yi’s care, and after having some porridge and soup, her breath finally steadied.

"With Pei Jue’s great victory spreading, Ruan Pu must be uncomfortable in Xijing..."

As if struck by a thought, she looked at Puyang Yi and said, "Go tell your second sister-in-law that, starting from today, she should no longer communicate with her family of origin. If I find out, I’ll break her legs."

"Mother..." Puyang Yi slightly squinted her eyes and shook her head, "If one day, Mother falls into hardship and the husband’s family forbids the daughter from seeing Mother, what would Mother think?"

The Princess’s eyes turned red.

"If it is to protect my son, I am willing to do so."

Puyang Yi’s eyes also reddened.

Oh, her mother.

She, a member of the imperial family, had been stronger than anyone, always fighting to win in everything...

But Puyang Yi understood her and found it hard to blame her...

With so many in the Princess’s residence depending on her, how could she not scheme or plan to hold on to her piece of the world?

"Mother." Puyang Yi knelt down, leaning on the Princess’s knee, "Let’s not meddle in the affairs of the second sister-in-law. Although Uncle Ruan doesn’t agree with the Emperor leaving the Central Capital, he hasn’t committed any serious misdeeds, at most he is simply not on good terms with the new faction. With the return of the Prince of Yonghuai to reform the government, he’s likely to seek to win people over, not necessarily settle accounts with Uncle Ruan..."

After a pause, she continued, "And to take a step back, even if there were to be a reckoning, since the second sister-in-law is married into our Puyang Family, she’s no longer with her family of origin. Any wrongdoing wouldn’t fall upon her head."

The Princess shook her head, "You don’t understand, you don’t understand the bloodshed of power politics. In the eyes of others, Ruan Pu is part of my faction..."

Puyang Yi said, "But we also have Ayun, who saw how much effort Mother put into the matter of the Emperor leaving the Central Capital, he won’t pursue things to the bitter end..."

The Princess looked at her daughter’s naive expression.

After a long while, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I hope so."

-

Since getting the news in the morning, Feng Yun just sat in the study by the southern window, staring at the newly bloomed flowers in the courtyard. She skipped lunch, sitting silently, not speaking, nor moving. No one knew what was on her mind.

Usually, without news from Pei Jue, she was calm and at ease. Now that the Great General might as well have come back from the dead, her face showed no sign of happiness.

When Xiaoman brought in tea and melon seeds, she even saw a mistiness in Feng Yun’s eyes, as if she had cried.

"My lady..."

"Leave me."

Feng Yun sent everyone away.

She sat alone, cracking melon seeds all afternoon until her mouth was blistered, only to step outside as the sun started to set.

"Grandma, what’s for dinner tonight?"

Seeing her like this, Grandma Han cried tears of joy.

"Whatever the lady wants to eat, I’ll arrange it right away."

Feng Yun pondered for a moment and said seriously, "I want pot-roasted duck, chicken breast with bamboo shoots, and also Grandma’s pickled radishes."

Grandma Han was startled for a moment, exchanged glances with the other maids, and then burst out laughing.

Seeing her commanding demeanor, they thought she would want some rare delicacies to celebrate, yet she just wanted pickled radishes?

"Alright, alright, it will be ready soon."

Feng Yun watched everyone’s delighted faces, stood for a moment and then instructed Xiaoman to call Alou over.

"Arrange it, slaughter a pig, tonight the entire village will have extra meat with their meal, and steam more meat buns to be sent to each household in the village."

Alou cheerfully complied.

"You got it."

There were more and more people staying at Feng Yun’s residence. Besides her own kitchen, there was another large kitchen that prepared meals for everyone in the estate every day, which was no small expense.

Starting from last year, Alou had begun raising piglets in Yupu, keeping some as breeding stock, but the pigsty was built beside the tool workshop. Later, more residences and warehouses were expanded to accommodate living quarters and storage.

The stalls at Changmen were spreading ever further.

The population was also increasing...

If one were to eat their fill, a single pig would not suffice.

The news of the Prince of Yonghuai’s great victory had long since spread throughout the village, and it seemed as if the dark clouds overhead had been parted in an instant.

The villagers all came to offer their congratulations.

Having had a flowing banquet last time and now stuffed buns, the villagers felt embarrassed to eat without contributing something, so they each brought something from home...

With all the bustling and coming and going, the whole village was enveloped in a warm and bustling atmosphere.

At this moment, Yuan Shangyi was stepping up the stairs, hiding behind the flower wall, watching the liveliness outside, his two black eyes staring, full of longing.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

The eunuch Dong Bai, supporting the ladder, had both hands shaking as he kept looking back and calling out to him in a suppressed voice.

"Come down quickly, don’t let anyone see you. Your health still hasn’t fully recovered, you shouldn’t catch a cold..."

Yuan Shangyi turned his eyes, clear and bright, to look at Dong Bai, then looked towards the twilight in the sky.

"Why can’t I go out to play?"

He gazed enviously at the smiles on the faces of the people outside and listened to their laughter, so full of joy that his eyes held a bewildered anticipation.

"I don’t want to be Emperor anymore."

Dong Bai was so frightened his hair stood on end.

"Your Majesty, you must never say such things again... or I... will lose my head."

Yuan Shangyi’s eyes drooped.

Despite his status as Emperor, he was still a six-year-old child with a natural curiosity about the outside world. Yet he had always been frail, and the Empress Dowager, fearful of Li Sangruo, avoided and hid from him whenever possible.

The sight Yuan Shangyi was most familiar with was the tall walls of the palace and the ridges of its roofs...

Dong Bai sighed and helped him down from the ladder.

"Your Majesty must recuperate well. When you grow up, everything will be better..."

Yuan Shangyi pursed his lips, on the verge of tears, but not crying.

His mother had also said that everything would be fine when he grew up.

But when would he grow up?

When he did, could he be as happy as those people outside?

Suddenly, Yuan Shangyi looked up at Dong Bai.

"Why do the people here seem so happy?"

"This..."

Dong Bai was just a teenager, castrated and brought into the palace at a young age. From Central Capital to Xijing, what he knew best was the ways of the palace, and he did not understand many things.

He said, "When Doctor Yao comes later, Your Majesty can ask him, or ask the Medical Officer Puyang. They surely know."

Yuan Shangyi nodded.

Dong Bai took the Young Emperor back to the room.

A female historian rushed out from the palace, sweating from her brow, relieved to see the Emperor safe and sound, she uttered an "Oh" of relief and turned to scold Dong Bai sharply.

"I only asked you to watch over His Majesty for a moment, how did it turn into wandering about? How many times have I said, this is not the palace, we don’t have the Imperial Guards for protection here, what if something happens to His Majesty, do you want to keep your head?"

Dong Bai opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

In the end, he lowered his head, "Historian Lin, I won’t dare to do it again next time."

Yuan Shangyi suddenly got angry, "It’s not his fault, I wanted to look. There are so many people outside, they are not protected by the Imperial Guards, why aren’t they afraid of danger, but I am?"

This Young Emperor had not been raised as a crown prince since childhood; it had only been two or three months since he began to be taught the way of the Emperor and did not understand those principles.

Fortunately, he didn’t talk much, mostly kept to himself, silent, and didn’t show much temper, making it easy for the servants in the palace to manage him.

But today, out of character, he became willful.

The female historian could not argue with him, so she could only coax him with a smile.

"How can Your Majesty compare with them? Your Majesty is the Emperor, the most noble person under the heavens. They are just lowly commoners, naturally they don’t need anyone’s protection... "

"Is that so?"

Yuan Shangyi pondered and nodded thoughtfully.

"If only I could become a commoner."

The female historian was at a loss for words.

She turned to glare at Dong Bai, and then took the Young Emperor by the hand, leading him back into the room.

Yuan Shangyi suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up to ask:

"Historian Lin, when will the Princess of Yonghuai come to see me again?"

The female historian furrowed her brows, "Why does Your Majesty ask about the Princess?"

Yuan Shangyi thought for a moment, "Nothing."

Only then did the female historian crack a smile, "Your Majesty, please recuperate obediently, and once you are better, let the servants take you to ride the big horse in the courtyard."

Once better, he would still be confined to the courtyard.

Yuan Shangyi had never seen prisoners, having only heard about them from the Grand Tutor and his mother; he felt that being Emperor was much like being a prisoner.