I was slightly startled, as the current emperor after all usurped the throne and seized power, although the world is prosperous and flourishing, he has always been tight-lipped about the old affairs of the previous dynasty.

  Nan Xiangyaos past with the princess of the previous dynasty was something I had never heard of, yet my mother brought it up at this moment, certainly not without reason.

  I vaguely understood what my mother meant, so I hid my surprise and listened calmly.

  But Mother seemed to be completely unaware of my thoughts, lost in some distant memory, her voice still softly coming.

  It is said that this princess was born with a crescent-shaped birthmark, and the emperor of the previous dynasty abandoned the traditional title of "De" for generations of princesses and specially gave her the name "Yuè Gōu Princess". With infinite grace and favor, she was originally looked down upon as a son-in-law under the three halls, even if he was a talented young man from a military family. But they were so good...

  Outside the window, the wind blew by, and the branches and leaves of the trees rustled softly. Mother paused slightly, composed herself, and began again, returning to her original calm demeanor.

  Later, the emperor of the previous dynasty truly loved this princess and finally agreed to marry her to the third prince. After the princess married down, according to the rules, all members of the Southern family had to return to the capital to thank them for their kindness. They took advantage of this opportunity to secretly mobilize troops, deceive heaven and cross the sea, and rushed into the Imperial Palace on the day of the grand wedding...

  "Does Your Highness know about it?" I quietly opened my mouth, interrupting Mothers words.

  "When the army was raised, the current emperor had worried that the third prince would prioritize personal interests over public duties and ruin everything, so he issued a death order to keep it from him."

  I nodded slightly, but I was very clear in my heart that although there were strict orders, many people knew about it. As for whether the three princes knew about it beforehand or not, except for themselves, no one else knew.

  The empress smiled faintly: "But the fact proved that it was just the emperors overthinking. That night, the former emperor and more than a dozen princes and princesses were killed without exception. The only one who escaped from the Ziying Palace was Ning Yuqing, who was protected by the former emperor at the cost of his life. However, the last bloodline of the former dynasty also failed to escape the disaster, but lived for three more days. In the end, she died in the same way, falling off a cliff. And the one who led the troops to destroy the remnants and forced the princess of the former dynasty to jump off the deep cliff was none other than the third prince."

  I remained silent for a long time, and there wasnt even the slightest stir in my heart. After all, from now on, this person mentioned by Mother would be with me for the rest of my life.

  My mother looked at me deeply, then spoke again, despite her strong self-control, her tone was also tinged with a few hints of pity and guilt: "Perhaps thats why the Third Prince changed his temperament, indulging in music, wine, and beauty every day."

  I smiled faintly and didnt say a word, just thinking that maybe it was because of this reason that my sister made the move to run away from her wedding.

  After scolding, she forced a smile and changed the subject: "Of course, although the third prince is somewhat reckless in his actions, he is by no means a talentless person. If not for this, your father and I would not have agreed to this marriage even if we had to die."

  I smiled and still didnt speak up, while Mother saw me being silent, paused for a moment, and suddenly asked: "Qinger, what do you think of Huaners appearance?"

  I smiled faintly: "Sister, your beauty is natural and renowned throughout the world."

  "Thats because people dont know about Ning Yuqing." Mother shook her head and sighed lightly: "Ning Yuqing was a princess of the previous dynasty, ordinary people naturally couldnt catch a glimpse of her heavenly appearance. After our dynasty was established, we avoided mentioning all sorts of things from the previous dynasty, so its not surprising that people dont know about her now."

  I was taken aback for a moment, and then I heard Mothers voice continuing:

  "But I once had the chance to see her. It was during the Empress Dowagers birthday celebration in the previous dynasty, when I accompanied your father to a banquet at the palace. The princess performed the Surprise Goose song and the Shadow Dance, which truly was unparalleled in the world. People at the time composed poems saying The Surprise Gooses one melody is absolute, the Shadow Dance moves heaven and earth, with wide sleeves lightly swaying, leaving only a clear shadow among men. You can imagine how beautiful she was. Not to belittle myself, your sister, in front of her, is merely of average appearance. And as for those trivial talents that people praise about Rouer, compared to her, they are even more not worth mentioning."

  "My mother wanted to tell me that the truth is hard to understand, just like the sea and water. So I would understand and not hope for his love." After a long time, I heard my own voice rise up, calm and slightly smiling.

  Her mothers eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and fondness, her voice soft as she spoke: "You may be able to see through things, but what I want to tell you is that although the Third Prince has never lacked delicate beauties by his side, he wont love any one of them. If he could watch the woman he loved with all his heart jump off a cliff and die, how could he possibly give half a true feeling to those women fluttering around him now? Perhaps you wont be an exception either, but at least, you are his formally wedded princess, the treasured daughter of my Mu Rong family. Apart from the Third Prince himself, you dont need to worry about anyone else, nor can anyone give you any suffering."

  "Mother looked at me, with the unique calmness and pride of the Murong family, in a tone that left no room for doubt, she said word by word: Qinger, remember, no matter when, no matter what you want to do, the Murong Chancellors Mansion will always be your greatest shelter."