The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

Yun Jin's fingers paused, and she sat up abruptly, her face full of disbelief: "No? Why? Did I not act convincingly?"

Even after all this, you still don't believe me? Kneeling on your knees like that must have hurt, okay? All that acting for nothing?

Seeing her pained expression, Xiao Jingyan couldn't help but smile and explained:

"Before seeing you, my suspicious imperial uncle will definitely have someone inquire about you. Even if he doesn't know everything, he can get a general idea of ​​what you did and experienced in the capital."

Yun Jin's shoulders slumped immediately: "Then...doesn't that mean he knows I'm pretending to be stupid?"

Ancient emperors—no, not just emperors, even this young Prince Yu before us—had so many thoughts and intentions.

Indeed, none of the ancient royals were simple.

She frowned, about to speak, when Xiao Jingyan added, "However, your performance today will actually make it easier to dispel his wariness."

He'll think you're just a woman with some cleverness. Your cleverness won't give me much help, and you're not a threat to him.

Yun Jin breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I was just afraid of ruining your plans."

Seeing her relieved expression, Xiao Jingyan couldn't help but reach out to ruffle her hair, saying indulgently, "What are you afraid of? Do whatever you want, I'll take care of everything. Even if the sky falls, I'll be the first to hold it up."

Yun Jin tilted her head to avoid his outstretched hand, and said reproachfully, "Stop rubbing it. How will you face your father and mother if your hair is messy?"

Even as she said that, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile. She looked up at him and suddenly asked, "What kind of person is your father?"

Xiao Jingyan withdrew his hand, leaned against the carriage wall for a moment, and raised an eyebrow with a smile: "My father only did two things in his life. First, he listened to my mother. Second, he cleaned up the messes my mother made."

Yun Jin couldn't help but say enviously, "Your mother is so lucky to have married a man who truly loves and cherishes her."

Looking at her envious and longing expression, Xiao Jingyan chuckled softly, "No need to be envious. You will be very happy in the future."

Yun Jin's face immediately turned red. She glared at him, picked up her teacup, and took small sips of tea to hide her unease.

Xiao Jingyan leaned against the car wall, tilting his head to look at her, a smile playing on his lips.

After a long while, Yun Jin coughed lightly, looked up at him, and asked, "Why have I never heard you mention the Empress Dowager? I've been in the capital for several months, and I've never heard anyone mention her. Why is that?"

Xiao Jingyan remained silent for a long while before sighing and saying:

"My grandmother... actually supported my father to take that position back then."

During the reign of the late emperor, my grandmother favored my father the most. She always felt that my uncle was too scheming and too violent, and not a suitable choice for a benevolent ruler.

But my father had no interest in this, or perhaps he valued brotherhood more, so he refused the throne.

For this reason, her uncle had a lot of opinions about her, and they even had a falling out at one point.

Later, after my uncle ascended the throne, my grandmother still refused to give up. She even told my father, "If your father had listened to me back then, you would be sitting on this throne now."

These words naturally reached the ears of my royal uncle, leaving my father caught in the middle, in a dilemma.

He didn't want to hurt his aunt's feelings, nor could he let his uncle think he had designs on her.

In the end, they had no choice but to leave the capital with my mother. At that time, because of me, they originally planned to stay in the capital and not leave.

But because of her words, I had no choice but to make this decision.

After my father passed away, my grandmother began to shut herself away from visitors, spending her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers, and even waiving the greetings from the concubines in the palace.

Over the years, she has never taken the initiative to meet anyone, and no one dares to mention my father in front of her.

Her uncle would visit her every few days to pay his respects, and she would always say a few words through the curtain before dismissing him.

Yun Jin remained silent for a long while before asking softly, "Then does she... have a lot of complaints about your mother?"

"It's more than just a big disagreement," Xiao Jingyan said with a wry smile. "At first, she was firmly against it. My mother came from a martial arts background and was considered a wild girl who didn't know any manners by my grandmother. She felt that my father was ruining his future by marrying such a princess."

When my father first brought my mother to meet her, she not only gave her a cold shoulder, but even said that my mother wasn't even worthy of the rank of a concubine.

Yun Jin asked curiously, "What did your mother say back then?"

Xiao Jingyan couldn't help but laugh: "My mother said back then that if you agree, it's like having another filial daughter-in-law. If you don't agree, then I'll kidnap him and make him my live-in son-in-law."

Yun Jin was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing: "Your mother is quite a bold woman."

Xiao Jingyan nodded: "That's right. But she's also a magnanimous woman, never petty."

Later, during an autumn hunt, the Empress Dowager's carriage somehow spooked the horse, which charged wildly. My mother rushed forward, grabbed the reins with her bare hands, and forced the carriage to stop.

The Empress Dowager stepped out of the carriage and saw that she was covered in blood and still clinging tightly to the reins. She remained silent for a long time.

After that, her attitude towards my mother changed somewhat, but she told my mother that she agreed to my father marrying her, but only if he married a noblewoman as a concubine.

"Did your mother agree?" Yun Jin asked curiously.

"My mother agreed," Xiao Jingyan nodded and smiled. "So, my grandmother began to select concubines for my father, each of whom came from an outstanding family."

My father didn't refuse, but he was dissatisfied with all of them.

Later, he told his grandmother that he would wait until his mother was pregnant before taking a concubine.

But when my mother became pregnant, my father took a sterilization drug himself.

Yun Jin couldn't help but exclaim, "Your father actually went to such lengths for your mother; it's truly remarkable!"

Xiao Jingyan also sighed: "Yes."

He paused for a moment before speaking again, "After my grandmother learned of this, she summoned my father to the palace and asked him, 'Are you really that unwilling to listen to me?'"

Yun Jin asked softly, "What did your father answer?"

Xiao Jingyan paused for a moment before saying, "My father knelt down and said, Mother, your son will listen to you in everything he does in this life, except for two things."

First, her son didn't want to be emperor; second, he would never betray her.

The Empress Dowager was so angry that she threw him out. From that day forward, she never mentioned taking a concubine again.

As they were talking, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

Jin Hu's voice came from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, Princess, we've arrived."