Looking at Tang Moyu, Song Huifen couldn't help but think that her son was lucky enough to find a woman who was willing to accept him and his past. If it was another woman, Song Huifen wouldn't be surprised if the said woman ran for her life, abandoning her son and blaming him for her brother's death. Tang Moyu chose not to do any of that.

  "Moyu, thank you for staying with Tianyi. I know it must be hard for you, but thank you for not giving up on him. I know even if my son doesn't say a thing, he's blaming himself for bringing the danger to your doorstep." Song Huifen took one of the empress's hands and smiled at her, surprising the younger woman.

  "Mom, why are you saying this? I'm his wife. Of course, I would try to understand him." Tang Moyu was surprised to hear this from her mother-in-law. "It's not Tianyi's fault. He might have done wrong in the past, but I know he regrets everything now and has been trying to change for the better. How could I blame him for this?"

  The past was something no one would be able to change no matter how much they prayed for it, this, Tang Moyu was aware of, so she didn't dare to put the blame on her husband.

  "Still, allow me to apologize on his behalf, Moyu. Tianyi wasn't the only one who wronged you. In the past, I might have been the one responsible for why you lost everything to Xing Yiyue."

  At those words, Tang Moyu looked at her mother-in-law with confusion. She had never thought that Song Huifen knew Xing Yiyue on a personal level, much more the reason why Xing Yue managed to get between her and Feng Tianhua.

  "Mom, I don't understand…" Tang Moyu was confused. "You know Xing Yiyue? But how?"

  Song Huifen understood that her daughter-in-law couldn't pinpoint how she was related to that white lotus, but that was expected. To be honest, she and Xing Yiyue have nothing to do with each other. She only led the horse to the water and gave Xing Yiyue a chance to meet her ex-husband's bastard son and the rest was history.

  "You might already know about Xing Yiyue's real identity, but have you ever wondered how she managed to seduce Feng Tianhua and how she managed to wrap him around her finger?"

  The empress gauged her mother-in-law's facial expression. Truth be told, she didn't care a bit about Feng Tianhua and Xing Yiyue anymore as she considered them part of her past that didn't deserve to receive her attention.

  "I just thought that she got a better head compared to her predecessors."

  "That she was. You see, Moyu. I've seen Xing Yiyue once even before she became an actress. Despite her innocent facade, her eyes were a giveaway, it was obvious to me that she was an ambitious woman. She also didn't like seeing other women doing better than her or having more things than her."

  "I knew about their little circle and how they work. You should know by now how my ex-husband stole my son's birthright to give to his bastard son, but at a time you were by his side, helping him. It wasn't easy for us to oust Feng Tianhua from his position, unless they deem him unworthy anymore it was almost impossible to shake his standing. We needed to find a way to separate you from him……"

  "So that's when Xing Yiyue came in…" Tang Moyu paid attention to Song Huifen and could sense a hint of shame from her expression.

  "En. I paid someone to introduce her to Feng Tianhua, knowing that he wasn't a loyal fiance to you. I knew where he frequently visited and made sure that their paths would cross. He is the kind of man who could easily be swayed by a woman's tears and given how good Xing Yiyue at gaining sympathy and favor, it was easy for her to latch herself on him without him realizing it."

  Song Huifen had been feeling guilty ever since she found out the truth about her son and the empress. It might have been almost seven years since it happened, but that didn't change the fact that her actions caused Tang Moyu great pain and humiliation because of it.

  "I should have apologized to you a long time ago, Moyu. I know what I did was unforgivable and no matter how much I apologize for it, it wouldn't change the fact that I did what I've done. Even now, you are facing the consequences of Tianyi's actions before. You don't deserve to suffer like this, Moyu. Tianyi and I caused you to shed tears because of our previous actions." She continued.

  Tang Moyu had fallen silent as she pondered the right words to respond to her mother-in-law's confession. She could see that Song Huifen truly regretted what she had done, but she was right, there's nothing that could be done to change the past.

  It's not the first time she had wished that she and Feng Tianyi had met and had children under different circ.u.mstances, a normal one on top of that, but Tang Moyu knew better than to keep a grudge. What was important now was the safety of their family.

  As for Feng Tianhua and Xing Yiyue, she believed that a relationship based on lies won't last and destined to crumble on its own.

  "I can't say that it is fine and I've gotten over it, Mom." Tang Moyu started. "In fact, it was a major turning point in my life. As I've told Tianyi before, I do wish we met under better circ.u.mstances and not like this, where he needed to become a cripple and I had to lose everything. But you know what, Mom? It was also a wake-up call for me. I was able to see how wicked my 'mother' and selfish my family were. I appreciate that you took the courage to come clean with me and if it will make you feel better, know that I forgive you, mom. You are still family."