She finished her dessert before leaving Feng Tianyi at the guest house to talk with Li Meili and Gu Yuyao about her birth mother and Zhang Wuying. Li Meili knew her the best. Even at this moment, as she told Li Meili about her not being her mother's child, her best friend had shown that she remained loyal, just as she had stuck with her through thick and thin.

  The smile on Li Meili's face disappeared the moment the empress told them what her sister revealed to her days ago. Gu Yuyao gave Tang Moyu a look of sympathy, understanding how hard it had been for the empress as she strived to gain her parents' affection in futility.

  "The only thing I can say is I'm not surprised, Moyu. But to think that I was right all this time about your horrible mother isn't really the one who gave birth to you…" Li Meili trailed off, her anger apparent in her voice.

  She leaned against one of the pillars of the gazebo, where they could hear the laughter of the twins playing somewhere near them. Gu Yuyao chose to sit and pour herself a drink as she listened intently to Tang Moyu's narration.

  Li Meili witnessed it herself how Zhang Wuying bullied and embarrassed her best friend ever since they were much younger. Her young mind couldn't understand why Tang Moyu rarely wanted to stay at home and would rather stay with her, no matter how loud and annoying she could be.

  It wasn't until she witnessed herself how Moyu was being slapped hard in her face by Zhang Wuying for a slight mistake she made, did Li Meili understand why her friend didn't want to stay home. No one loved the empress. She was only good to be kept to serve a purpose.

  Li Meili knew that something was off with Tang Moyu's mother. She had never seen a woman abusing her child the way Zhang Wuying had treated her daughters. No sane mother would treat their own child horribly, unless the said woman already had loose screws in her head.

  Since then, Li Meili had taken it upon herself to invite Moyu for countless sleepovers with her, convincing her parents to let Tang Moyu stay with her for a few days before the latter had to go home and attend the long list of lessons her mother had arranged for her to attend.

  Gu Yuyao tucked a few stray locks behind her ear before taking a sip from her cup.

  "Her attitude is expected to be honest. She might have felt betrayed by your father even if there wasn't any love between them. With him taking you in after your mother and twin brother's death, I wouldn't be surprised if it drove Zhang Wuying insane." She told Tang Moyu.

  Tang Moyu wrapped her arms around her middle section and looked at the cloudless sky. As summer was approaching, the weather was starting to feel warmer and humid at the same time.

  "I'm not sure, Meili. I have yet to confirm my sister's words, but I don't think she has any motives in lying to me. I'm the only one who can help her right now." She replied.

  The three women agreed that if Tang Moyu needed to know more, she would need to start on finding out who Yan Qiuyu was and what had happened to her and Moyu's brother. There were a lot of missing details in Tang Wanyu's story, and the empress needed more details before she could decide on what she would do with the information.

  However, if there was one thing her older sister was right about, it was that Zhang Wuying wouldn't be able to manipulate or abuse her anymore now that she knew that they weren't related to each other.

  They were busy conversing with each other when suddenly, they heard Little Star's loud wail from the mini farm.

  "Noooooo!!! My baby carrots!!! Waaaahhhh!!! Bad guys! What are you doing here?! You ruined our baby carrots!" Little Stars's loud cry reached their ears, and immediately, the three women ran towards where the sounds were coming from and found the twins being held back by their nannies and Auntie Lu.

  Hunter was growling fiercely at the men, ready to pounce on anyone who would dare to touch the boy standing behind him.

  They were surrounded by men, making Li Meili and Gu Yuyao think that they were part of some kind of mob to create trouble in Tang Moyu's compound.

  A moment later, Feng Tianyi appeared behind the three women, obviously because he heard Little Star's cry earlier.

  "Moyu, what's happening?" He asked.

  He gritted his teeth and regretted why he couldn't stand up and protect his loved ones in his current pitiful state. He gave He Lianchen and Song Fengyan a quick emergency call but he wasn't sure how fast the two would be able to arrive at Peach Blossom Garden to protect the women and the little buns.

  "Who are you and what are you doing here? You have trespassed my property." Tang Moyu ignored Feng Tianyi's words and gestured to Auntie Lu to take her children inside the guest house so they wouldn't witness the commotion or violence that might take place.

  Once her children were out of sight and had safely returned to the guest house where they could be safe, Tang Moyu pulled her long sleeves up to her elbows and tied her long hair in a ponytail.

  "I asked you, who you are and what are you doing here." She narrowed her eyes on the men who ruined her garden.

  A familiar man stepped forward and gave the empress a look from head to toe.

  "Now, now, Sister-in-law. Is this how you should greet me?" Han Shaohui asked.