Lu Tianxin smiled at her cousin. She had always known since they were young that a woman like Tang Moyu was bound to meet an extraordinary man, given that she was an exceptional woman in her own right. The only question was, who would that man be?

  Now, her question was finally answered, albeit, it was far from her expectation. She thought that if there's someone who would be able to win the empress's heart, it would be someone like Yun Zhen, considering that they were in the same league when it comes to their achievements.

  "Tianxin." Tang Moyu greeted her as the empress reached them.

  Lu Tianxin gestured towards the empty seat next to her, offering it, to which the empress gratefully accepted.

  "Tired already? You know you can leave now. I don't mind covering for you." She told her cousin.

  "I know you always do, but I think it's improper to leave this early." Tang Moyu replied. She was starting to feel the ache on her feet from standing too long.

  Ah, she was reminded why she hated going to social functions. Not only did she feel overwhelmed by the amount of people surrounding her, suffocating her with all the attention that was on her, but also this kind of event would most likely not allow her to take a longer break from standing and nonsense talks.

  "Ah, I thought it was because you've seen Feng Tianhua and Xing Yiyue together." Lu Tianxin teased the empress, causing the latter to fight the urge to roll her eyes at her remark.

  Nothing good would happen if the three of them were in the same place, but at least with Xing Yiyue being a popular actress these days, most people would fawn over her compared to offering themselves to receive intimidating glares from the empress herself.

  "I'd rather be somewhere else than see them together." Tang Moyu said with all honesty. It wasn't like she was still bitter over the fact that Feng Tianhua betrayed her and that Xing Yiyue was the one responsible for what had happened to her five years ago.

  The first time Tang Moyu met Xing Yiyue, she already knew that this woman was a white lotus. She looked beautiful and harmless, hiding the ugly heart inside of her. She was a woman who liked being the center of attention, a victim who was always waiting to be saved by men who adored her.

  This was why the empress decided to keep her distance from Xing Yiyue since then. Since her engagement to Feng Tianhua was solely for business, she'd chosen to overlook his affairs, which was a huge mistake on her part. Xing Yiyue had this kind of self entitlement, expecting everything she wanted to fall on her l.a.p willingly, but not Tang Moyu.

  How can she not know how ugly a woman's heart could be when despair overwhelmed them? Xing Yiyue must have wanted to become the next Madam Feng so badly and had deemed the empress as an obstacle to her goal.

  "But Feng Tianhua has been looking at you since they arrived." Lu Tianxin pointed out. "Do you think he needs something from you?"

  Tang Moyu shrugged and crossed her legs, while resting her chin on one hand, giving a lazy but aristocratic impression to those who could see her.

  "I don't care what he wants. We have nothing to do with each other anymore."

  Anyway, this social event was proof that he cannot blacklist her easily, given that she was able to restore her reputation through hard work, proving herself with multiple achievements, one after another.

  Unlike Feng Tianhua, who hadn't made any drastic progress for Feng Conglomerate since she left the company. So it was normal for him to feel threatened by her return.

  Didn't he say that he didn't wrong her in this lifetime? Then he better make sure that he won't regret any of it.

  Whatever happened in the past, neither he nor the empress could change any of it. The business circle would easily notice the imbalance between their fame and influence. This also meant that the board of directors of Feng Conglomerate could only blame Feng Tianhua for his poor choices.

  "Xing Yiyue is making her way here." Tang Moyu heard Lu Tianxin whisper next to her. Lifting her eyes in a lazy manner, Tang Moyu saw the white lotus coming their way. What was she up to anyway? She wondered.

  "Sister Moyu, can we talk?" Xing Yiyue chewed her lower lip and clasped her hands together. Her face was one of distraught.

  "I don't think you and I have anything to talk about, Madam Feng." Tang Moyu shut her eyes as she felt exhaustion catching up with her. She couldn't wait to go home and sleep.

  "Don't say that, Sister Moyu. We haven't seen each other in five years." Xing Yiyue had this pitiful look that instantly annoyed Lu Tianxin and Ye Xiaozu. They now understood why the empress was avoiding the couple!

  "Sister Moyu, are you still mad that Tianhua married me instead of you?" Xing Yiyue suddenly sobbed pitifully, much to everyone's shock.

  Even Feng Tianhua was shocked at what his stupid wife was doing. He immediately strode towards Tang Moyu and Xing Yiyue to stop the latter from causing more trouble for him, but he was already too late.

  "I'm so sorry…" Xing Yiyue covered her face with both of her hands. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him. I just couldn't stop myself from loving him."

  Lu Tianxin stood up, her eyes red from anger at Xing Yiyue's shamelessness. Of all places, why did she have to say that here, in a very public banquet?!

  Tang Moyu's eyes narrowed. She held her cousin's wrist, stopping Lu Tianxin from making a scene, adding fuel to the fire. However, this didn't mean she would allow Xing Yiyue to tarnish her name again.

  She slowly stood up from her seat, her height towering both women.

  "There's nothing to apologize for, Madam Feng. In fact I'm the one indebted to you."