Before Zhou Shihui returned to the Zhou family, she was brought back to Qingming Academy.

  President Xie of Qingming Academy said in a cold voice, “Zhou Shihui, if you dare to claim to be a student of Qingming Academy again, Qingming Academy will never let you off. Come, post a bulletin that Zhou Shihui has been expelled from our school.”


  Since Qingming Academy was founded, no student had been expelled from the school.

  Zhou Shihui had always been proud of being a student of Qingming Academy, but now she had become a joke.

  After returning to the Zhou family, Zhou Shihui threw herself into Zhou Qinghe’s arms. “Mother, how could they bully me like that? You’ve gotta help me!”


  “I’ve become a joke in the academy… boohoo.”


  Zhou Qinghe looked at her daughter, who had been separated from her for a long time, in distress. She felt very guilty towards her. She didn’t take care of her when she was a child and let her be displaced for so many years.

  Zhou Sihui was sold into a juggling troupe when she was a child and suffered a lot. Later, she was sold into a brothel and almost became an underage prostitute.

  The brothel taught her to read and write, intending to give her to some rich or powerful man in Chang’an as a gift when she grew up.

  After finding her daughter back, Zhou Qinghe had decided to try her best to make up for her.

  “Hui’er, I’ll avenge you.” Zhou Qinghe narrowed her eyes. “You can rest assured. Don’t cry.”


  “I’m going into the imperial palace now, asking His Majesty to make Princess Fulu apologize to you on her knees!”


  Zhou Shihui smiled through tears. “Really?”


  Zhou Qinghe nodded and said, “Sure.”
……

  In Hanliang Palace.

  Lu Chen was discussing the matter of Prince Wu with Emperor Huilin.

  Emperor Huilin said to Lu Chen, “The Duke Anyuan Mansion must not unite with Prince Wu through marriages. You can dote on your wife, but there should be a limit. Don’t surrender the country of our Lu family to the Qiao family!”


  Lu Chen said, “No one says Prince Wu is going to marry Qiao Ruoyun. What are you worried about, Father?”


  “You should know the Qian family is not a normal noble family.”


  “But isn’t the current Prince Wu very loyal to you, Father?” Lu Chen asked.

  Emperor Huilin pondered and said, “He has kept a low profile for so many years, and he has not married yet although he is already over 30 years old. But now he suddenly fell in love with Qiao Ruoyun at first sight. Isn’t this suspicious?

  “The Qiao family is too powerful. Aren’t you afraid that they may rebel against you in the future? You can give the Qiao family honor, but you can’t give all the military power to them!”


  Lu Chen frowned and said, “Father, how many martyrs of the Qiao family died on the battlefield for our Lu family? If they know that you suspect them so much, how disappointed they will be!”


  Emperor Huilin said angrily, “I have never suspected the Qiao family, and I know they are loyal to me, but that doesn’t mean we can let them have all the military power. Do you understand?”


  Lu Chen said, “Father, I’m not Grandfather. I won’t allow a woman to mess with state affairs.”


  Emperor Huilin sighed. “Chen’er, what matters for an emperor is to maintain balance.

  “Now you can guarantee the loyalty of Duke Anyuan and Qiao Lu, but what about in the future? What about Qiao Lu’s children?

  “Do you want to leave the hidden dangers to Xi’er?”


  Lu Chen said, “Father, do you think Xi’er is such a pushover that can be easily manipulated as a puppet? Have some faith in him.”


  Emperor Huilin didn’t want to dwell on this topic anymore. Lu Chen always had a lot of fallacies. “By the way, you and Qiao Jinniang have been married for a few months. You should think about taking concubines.”


  Lu Chen frowned. “Father, didn’t you agree to me not taking any concubines?”


  “No, I didn’t.” Emperor Huilin snorted. “That’s what you agreed with Qiao Jinniang, but I have never promised you this. Giving as much offspring as possible for the royal family is your duty.”


  “Your Majesty, the eldest miss of the Zhou family, Zhou Qinghe, wants to see you.” Eunuch Quan came over and reported.

  Emperor Huilin frowned and said, “Let her in.”


  After Zhou Qinghe entered, she saluted Emperor Huilin respectfully.

  “Your Majesty, I haven’t seen you for a long time. It’s been twenty years in the blink of an eye, but you’re still so wise and majestic.”


  Emperor Huilin smiled and said, “Get up. Although I didn’t understand why you left Chang’an in spite of your family’s dissuasion back then, it’s good that you are back now.”


  Zhou Qinghe glanced at Lu Chen, who was beside her, and said, “In the blink of an eye, Chen’er has become a grown-up. Your Majesty, have you seen my daughter?”


  “Yes, she looks very like the Empress.” Emperor Huilin said, “Your daughter is very smart. You must have educated her well so that she could be admitted to Qingming Academy as a girl.”


  Zhou Qinghe just said, “She is a poor kid. When she was three years old, she was separated from me because of the flood. She has suffered from all kinds of hardships, and was abused in a juggling troupe when she was a child. When I found her, she was in a brothel in Yangzhou…


  “Alas, I had been living a luxurious life when I was a child, but who would have known that my daughter had such a hard life?”


  Emperor Huilin said, “Since you’ve already found her back, there will be good days for you in the future.”


  Zhou Qinghe said helplessly, “Good days? The Duke Wu Mansion is in decline. My brother is deprived of his nobility title. My sister-in-law is exiled to the frontier, and Siming has been decadent all day long.

  “My sister-in-law can at least stay alive, but my poor niece…


  “I never expected that when I finally went back home, my family had broken up. And my poor mother is dying.”


  Lu Chen moved slightly. “What’s wrong with my grandmother?”


  “Alas, it’s all my fault.” Zhou Qinghe sighed. “If I hadn’t left Chang’an and stayed by my mother’s side, I wouldn’t have caused my daughter to suffer and watched my niece die.

  “My poor daughter, everyone bullies her and even her fiance was stolen from her!

  “Today, Shou’an’s daughter whipped her in public and made her covered in blood!

  “I am really sad for my daughter. If people know that she has been in a juggling troupe before, I can’t imagine how cruel those noble girls will laugh at her!”


  Emperor Huilin said, “Fulu is spoiled indeed. As her uncle, I apologize in her place.

  “As for Shihui, you don’t have to worry about others looking down on her. I will issue an imperial decree to confer her with the title of county mistress, which is what she deserves.”


  Zhou Qinghe hurriedly knelt on the ground and thanked him. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”


  “I haven’t seen you for a long time. Stay and have a few drinks with me today.”


  “Okay.” Zhou Qinghe responded.

  Lu Chen had thought that his father would call his mother over to drink and chat together as well, but he didn’t.

  He couldn’t help but be a little curious. How was his father, who had never been close to another woman, so close to his aunt?

  Besides, why did he give Zhou Shihui the title of county mistress?

  In the previous dynasties, an emperor had once conferred his illegitimate daughter who grew up outside the imperial palace to be a county mistress…


  Lin Mo followed Lu Chen out of the Hanliang Palace and suddenly asked Lu Chen, “Is Zhou Shihui your sister, Your Royal Highness?”


  Lu Chen glared at Lin Mo. This shouldn’t be the case.

  If she was, why didn’t his father make her a county mistress until Zhou Qinghe came back?