The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

Inside Jingyang Palace, Shen Jingyan leaned against a soft couch, listening to her trusted maid report on the movements of Qingyi Palace.

"Princess, that person has been very quiet these past few days. Apart from His Majesty occasionally going to test his studies, he has mostly stayed at home."

Shen Jingyan fiddled with the crimson gold bracelet on her wrist, a hint of impatience flashing across her beautiful face.

"Staying indoors all the time?" she scoffed. "Pretending to be a gentle, detached person, but you've got quite the schemes."

She recalled the unusual look her father gave her in the Imperial Garden, and felt a lump in her throat.

Why should that maid's child be born?

Before, in the desert, her father only had eyes for her and her brother. This Shen Qingruo was like a shadow, so quiet that people could hardly feel her presence.

How come she came back as a completely different person after spending a year as a hostage in Daliang? Although she still looked timid, her figure and eyes were so beautiful that Shen Jingyan felt increasingly disgusted the more she thought about it.

She sat up abruptly: "To the Jiaofang Palace."

The Jiaofang Palace was warm and fragrant. Wulan Yun was looking at the account books when she saw her daughter rush in. A doting smile appeared on her face.

"Ah Yan, why are you here at this time?"

Shen Jingyan dismissed the palace servants, approached Wulan Yun, and affectionately took her arm, her tone coquettish: "Mother, I'm not happy."

"Oh? Who has upset our Princess Protector of the Nation again?" Ulan Yun put down the account book and patted her hand.

"Who else could it be? It's that girl from Qingyi Palace!" Shen Jingyan pouted. "Mother, don't you think it's awkward for her to stay in the palace?"

Ulan Yun's smile was faint: "After all, she is your father's bloodline..."

"What bloodline?" Shen Jingyan interrupted her, her tone disdainful. "Mother, have you forgotten? Although she is nominally a princess of our Great Desert, everyone knows that she spent a year there marrying the former Liang Emperor, and is now the rightful Qingfei Consort of Great Liang!"

"A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; it's more appropriate to call her a former concubine of the previous dynasty."

"But now that she's back in the palace, still holding the title of princess, and living with an unmarried princess like me, what kind of talk will that make?"

"Those who know say it's because Father Emperor is kind and took her back out of old feelings; those who don't might think our Great Zhou Palace has no rules!"

Wulan Yun frowned. She disliked Yun Wan and her daughter from the start, but as the Empress, she couldn't show that she cared too much.

Now that I hear what my daughter says, I think there's some truth to it. A woman who has been married should not be kept in the deep palace as an unmarried princess.

"Ah Yan, what do you mean?"

"My daughter thinks it's time to make plans for her." A calculating glint flashed in Shen Jingyan's eyes.

"She's not young anymore, and she used to be a concubine. She can't stay in the palace like this indefinitely."

"Why don't we hold a spring banquet and invite eligible young men from noble families in the capital to the palace? Ostensibly, it's for enjoying the spring, but in reality, it's a chance for her to meet potential partners. If there's a suitable one, Father can bestow a marriage upon her and find her a good match. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

She shook Wulan Yun's arm: "In this way, the father-daughter relationship between the Emperor and her will be fulfilled, the rules and regulations of the palace will be maintained, and it will also show that you, Mother, are virtuous and magnanimous and considerate of her."

"Mother, what do you say?"

Looking at her daughter's coquettish expression, Wu Lanyun knew that she was trying to get rid of Shen Qingruo, but what she said made sense and was hard to fault.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally gave in to her daughter's persistent pleading and nodded: "Alright, you're right. It's indeed not appropriate for her to stay in the palace all the time."

"When your mother finds out about this, she will bring it up with your father, and we'll find an opportunity to hold a ceremony."

Shen Jingyan's face immediately lit up with a bright smile, and she threw herself into Wulan Yun's arms: "Mother is the best!"

She nestled in her mother's arms, extremely pleased with herself.

Shen Qingruo, once you're married out of the palace, let's see who can still steal Father Emperor's attention!