Lin Wan led Fan Yu, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder on the bluestone path, with starlight shining above their heads.

  "I was really worried for nothing. I thought you were left in the woods, but it turns out that the emperor brought you back...” Lin Yu said she wasn't worried, which was a lie. When they fell into trouble earlier, they had at least made an oral agreement to cooperate with each other. As a result, she, an adult, managed to escape, while Fan Yu, a young child, was left with an uncertain fate. Anyone with even a shred of conscience would feel guilty about this.

  "Wasn't it you who ran away by yourself?" Lin Yan was somewhat angry: "I thought I had lost you! You didn't want to go with me to ask the Mongolian army for help, but instead ran towards Mu Wu Wang's cavalry team! Alas, I was in a precarious situation and still desperately pulled you along. Now that I've lost you, I'm searching everywhere. It's like being played by someone..."

  Fan Yu lowered her head and didn't speak, after a while she giggled.

  Lin Yan rolled her eyes.

  But in her heart, she was shocked and amazed. She heard the eunuch beside the Emperor say that this child was found in a rebel military camp. When Qin Jun went to find Zhao Wang, he brought her back with him.

  Lin Wan believed that Zhao Wang was unlikely to be in the hands of the rebels. In the end, Mu Wu Wang was executed, and the remnants of the rebel army were powerless to avenge their defeat, they would definitely kill Zhao Wang to vent their anger. But Fan Yu was among the rebels, which made it somewhat believable.

  The northwest birch forest mountain fire rushed to the sky, Fan Yu was not rescued by the Mongolians, so she could only be rescued by the rebel army. But this child is also the emperor's bloodline, how can the rebel army let her go? Or did she hide well? What's most puzzling is that she wandered outside for eight years and Emperor Taizong of Tang didn't ask about her, but now suddenly took her back, and repeatedly called her Princess, does he really plan to treat her as his daughter?!

  Lin Wan looked at Fan Yu with a scrutinizing gaze, her mind full of doubts.

  "No matter what, we're both safe now!" Fan Yu said with some embarrassment: "At the time, I was panicked and couldn't see you anywhere, so I ran off. Don't blame me, okay? Alas, I just got lucky, there were good people among the rebels too, they took pity on me and rescued me along the way. In their camp, when we were defeated and everything was in chaos, no one paid attention to me because of my young age. Later, Father's men came over, killed all the traitors, found me and brought me back... That's what happened."

  "Spare me the nonsense!" Lin Wan couldn't help but scold her: "You're just a young girl, yet you're not being honest at all. You went to great lengths to come to the imperial court, you must have had your own purposes. Being chased by the empress into the dense forest was also because you were busy with something outside and unfortunately got caught. And that day's fire was so big, how did you manage to find people from the rebel army to save your life? Hmph, now you're already an imperial princess, it's really impressive, you even fooled the emperor into recognizing you as his daughter. You insist that nothing happened in between, who would believe that?"

  "Hey, Lin Niangniang, let's not mention that day again. We're lucky to be alive, and you're making me scared all over again... Oh no, the weather doesn't look good today. Let's hurry back to sleep, it's going to rain soon!" Fan Yu said, pulling Lin Yuan along as they walked faster and faster, not giving her a chance to speak anymore.

  Lin Yan sighed, it seemed that there was no chance to have a good conversation with Shan Yu. That night when they were talking in the forest, it was originally a good opportunity for a heart-to-heart talk, but at that time, life and death were uncertain, who would have thought of playing tricks on each other? So now, Lin Yan still didn't understand Shan Yu very well.

  Forget it, she didn't bother to keep track of it either. Everyone has their own secrets, especially this enigmatic imperial princess.

  Fan Yu cautiously glanced at Lin Wan's expression, seeing that she didn't seem to be truly angry with her, and let out a sigh of relief. In fact, she didn't dare offend this Lady Lin at all; the Emperor and Empress Dowager had no affection for her, and none of the other masters and mistresses liked her either. The vast imperial palace only had Lady Lin treating her slightly better. Her heart was filled with anxiety, so she begged the Emperor to let her live with Lady Lin.

  As for how she came back, this is something she really didn't dare tell Lin Yu.

  The two returned to the tent, and Da Gong Nu Chun Xue led a group of palace maids out to greet them. When everyone saw that their master was still holding hands with a little girl, they were all shocked, and Chun Tao even dared to ask: "Wow, is this someone's little princess?"

  The matter of Fan Yu returning to the palace was not publicly announced by the Emperor, so most people did not recognize her. As for Chu Tao's words, they were also cleverly said, as there were no strict rules in the imperial court, and it was normal for the daughters of princes and officials to be brought in to play. Among these noblewomen, the status of a junzhu (princess) was the highest, so Chu Tao would not have offended anyone.

  But what he heard was simply heartbreaking to Xian Yu's ears.

  Fan Yu bit her lip and struggled to remain calm. She didn't blame the foolish palace maid, but rather lamented her own unfortunate fate. As the eldest princess, the imperial palace should have been her home, yet now even the lowest servants didn't recognize her. Later on, they would learn that she wasn't favored by the emperor and wouldn't be acknowledged or respected.

  Lin Wan furrowed her brow and glared at Chu Tao: "How rude! This is the Emperor's eldest daughter, Fan Yu Emperor's daughter, who has just been brought back from outside the palace. You should apologize to the princess immediately."

  The maids were shocked and quickly knelt down to pay their respects. Zhan Yu hurriedly waved her hand, saying: "All of you please get up, I just entered the palace and didn't know anyone, how could I blame you? To be honest, it was Lin Niangniang who treated me the best, bringing me back to live together, I'm really grateful to Lin Niangniang..."

  Lin Wan looked at her like this, thinking of the Zhaochun Emperor's daughter and the Changning Emperor's daughter in the capital, who all referred to themselves as "Ben Gong". Shan Yu was the emperor's first child, the eldest princess, and should have been even more noble...

  Never mind, everyone has their own fate. She herself is struggling, how can she care about others?

  "Wow, this is a camel hair blanket!" As soon as Fan Yu entered the inner chamber, she saw the long-haired blanket woven with rattan patterns covering the entire floor of the tent. She was shocked and quickly began to flatter. Now that she had no one else to rely on, she could only try her best to fawn over Lin Yuan.

  "Yes, they are all good things sent by the Mongolian king. The emperor gave me some." Lin Yuen yawned: "Aren't you sleepy? Tonight, you can sleep with me in the same bed."

  The night was cool as water, and both of them were very tired, soon they fell onto the bed together.

  Lin Wan's large bed was made of purple sandalwood with intricate carvings and inlaid ivory, comfortable to sleep on and soothing to the mind. However, Fan Yu couldn't sleep well. For eight years, she had been living in a temple where having enough food to eat was already a blessing, let alone enjoying good days. As a newcomer to the palace, this was her first time experiencing noble treatment, but in her heart, she didn't know what it felt like.

  It's been eight years, and all she has been thinking about is returning to the palace. She is the emperor's daughter, and she doesn't want to spend her life miserably in a place like the Great Awakening Temple, only to be tortured to death. But what's the point of returning to the palace? Her father, the emperor, didn't even give her a welcoming ceremony, didn't say more than three words to her, didn't look at her for more than two seconds... and let Yao Fusheng and others arrange her living quarters as they pleased. If nothing unexpected happens, a child who has lost her mother will inevitably fall into the hands of the empress, and it's clear that her father doesn't care about her at all.

  For this day of returning to the palace, she had risked her life. She asked Master Hui Ci of the Da Jue Temple to bring her to Bei Sai, and when they came, not only did she have a dagger hidden in her sleeve, but also snake venom. On the night Mu Wu Wang arrived at Bei Sai, she secretly snuck out without telling Hui Ci - this alone was enough for the people of Ming Jue Temple to break her legs.

  She wanted to find Mu Wu Wang, but unfortunately she not only didn't find him, but was also recognized by the imperial concubine Qi. She was stuffed into a sack and thrown into the forest in the northwest, thinking that she would surely die. But heaven pitied her, Lin Yuan actually fell into misfortune with her, and later they even encountered the Mongolian army.

  At that time, if she chose to follow Lin Yu, she would have been able to survive. But what about after surviving? She would definitely be sent back to Master Hui Ci's side, and then beaten to death before being sent back to the Great Enlightenment Temple. Continuing her previous life was worse than dying.

  Perhaps she was too young, so she had some wild ideas and gambled again. She took advantage of her childish innocence to pretend to be pitiful and was rescued by an armored soldier, after which she stayed in the barracks of King Mu of Zhou.

  She didn't think too much. She never thought about whether Mu Wu Wang would win or lose, nor did she think about whether she would be executed by the rebels. But heaven has been helping her all along, and Mu Wu Wang really lost. The Qin army of Father Emperor also chased after them. When Mu Wu Wang was surrounded by the Qin army, she rushed into the chaotic army and stabbed the poisonous dagger into Mu Wu Wang's chest.

  She was very clear why she was not accepted by her biological father - because of Mu Wu Wang. If she didn't do something, she would never be able to return to the palace in her lifetime and would have to atone for her poor mother's sin all her life.

  She finally achieved her goal, and did so with ease. At the time, King Mu of Zhou was already being pressed by the great generals of Qin to the four sides, and when she burst in, this ambitious and noble man had no guard against her at all.

  Of course, without her, Mu Wu Wang would have been shot dead by the Qin army. All she had to do was let Father Emperor see her determination.

  The fan jade brought back by the Qin army was directly sent into Tuoba Hong's golden tent. Tuoba Hong understood what this child was playing with, he hated Gan Shi, but not to the extent of hating his own daughter. He smiled and said: "Okay, no matter what, it was you who killed the bandit."

  As she thought of these things, she unconsciously grabbed Lin Yuan's arm beside her. Now when she opened her eyes, it was the gloomy face of the queen and the disdainful looks of the people in the palace, and when she closed her eyes, it was Mu Wu Wang with a bloody face. The man grasped her hand tightly before he died and said "Why don't you forgive me", this sentence was like a curse that lingered in her heart, making it hard for her to fall asleep.

  "Hmph, are you worthy of forgiveness?!" The eight-year-old girl muttered, her face full of hatred.

  Leaning on the killing and risking her life to return to the palace, she was still so adrift. She slowly shed tears, why was it so hard...