Xiao Xiao sighed and softly comforted the person lying in bed.
"The Empress Dowager has borne so much. You've been exhausted enough. This matter is over. Don't dwell on it anymore."
Shi Muyuan hugged her head painfully, and tears slowly trickled down her face.
"No, no, no. It's all my fault. Lin'er must be heart - broken. It took her so much effort to choose to trust me, but in the end, I still let her down."
Xiao Xiao looked at her mistress with heartache. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Indeed, what Shi Muyuan said was the truth, and no one could refute it.
Just then, Ze Ze's voice came from outside.
"Concubine Mo has arrived!"
Xiao Xiao was stunned. She almost forgot that the Empress Dowager's little friend was here and might be able to comfort her mistress.
She hurried out. Seeing the approaching person, her face was full of worry.
"Concubine, please go and see my mistress quickly. She seems a bit out of sorts. She's been feeling guilty about Miss Lin'er's matter."
Concubine Mo had guessed this, so she had rushed over in a hurry.
"Don't worry. I've already received the news. Now you take the others out and prepare some appetizing dishes. Remember to prepare the ones the Empress Dowager likes."
"Understood."
After all the palace servants had retreated, Concubine Mo softly walked to the bedside and saw the person curled up in a ball.
She shook her head helplessly. "It's no use keeping yourself locked up like this. What was meant to happen has already happened. Lin'er's matter isn't entirely your fault. As she grows up, she'll surely understand. It's just that for now, she's been blinded by hatred."
"But I ultimately failed to do what I promised. Instead, I let her leave in disappointment. I'm sorry to the spirits of so many people in her family. If I had just let her kill Concubine Rui back then, maybe none of these subsequent things would have happened."
"No, the Empress Dowager did the right thing. If you had let Lin'er kill Concubine Rui back then, she wouldn't have survived in the end. Even though her family suffered so many injustices back then, the people behind Concubine Rui would only have swayed public opinion. By then, Lin'er would have become the target of everyone's criticism."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan didn't feel the slightest bit of comfort. Instead, her heart ached terribly.
Lin'er was such an innocent girl. After going through the most disgusting things in the world, it was already a miracle that she survived. And she, Shi Muyuan, had snuffed out her last glimmer of hope. She felt no different from Concubine Rui.
"I'm just an accomplice of Concubine Rui. I'm also one of the indirect murderers of her relatives."
Shi Muyuan's self - torture pained Concubine Mo deeply. "Is this going to defeat our ruthless Empress Dowager? Have you forgotten what you did in the past? Compared to today's incident, those were completely different. Why are you regretting it now?"
Shi Muyuan pursed her lips. Could she say that she was not the same person as the original host?
Obviously not. If this secret got out, it would deal a heavy blow to the royal family and the Shi family. The common people would think of her as a monster and that she was harming the Great Liang Dynasty.
In the end, she swallowed this secret.
"The past is over. After experiencing life and death, I don't want to hurt anyone now."
"If the Empress Dowager really feels guilty towards that little girl, why not try to make amends? Concubine Rui surely won't let this go easily."
What she said seemed to make sense, and it pulled Shi Muyuan out of her daze.
Yes, she couldn't keep wallowing in grief. Concubine Rui was no good person. She had already used her one - time get - out - of - jail - free card. If she didn't have anything else to protect herself and was found guilty of another major crime, she could be put to death. By then, all old and new scores would be settled.
Slowly, a smile appeared on Shi Muyuan's face.
"Yes, I definitely won't be defeated so easily. As long as I don't give up, Lin'er's matter is definitely not over."
Seeing that she was no longer dejected, Concubine Mo slowly let out a sigh of relief. She casually clapped her hands, and immediately, palace servants filed in from outside.
Xiao Xiao looked at the person on the bed excitedly.
"The Empress Dowager is finally willing to eat. You've been scaring me to death."
Shi Muyuan wasn't completely out of it. Naturally, she knew what Xiao Xiao had said beside her just now.
"What are you worried about? I'm fine, aren't I? It's just a small matter. How could it defeat me? I've been through a lot."
Hearing her say this, Xiao Xiao was almost in tears of joy.
"All the dishes on the table are your favorites, Your Highness. The imperial chef has also designed some new ones. They're waiting for you to taste them."
As soon as she heard there were delicious dishes, Shi Muyuan immediately threw all other thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't let down the food she liked, even if she let others down.
Moreover, with so many delicious dishes, was she still afraid she couldn't achieve other things in the future?
Taking a deep breath, Shi Muyuan wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"If there are delicious dishes, then let's start the meal quickly. I'm hungry anyway."
Just as the atmosphere here had finally eased up, on the other side, Concubine Rui had used her means to keep the two people who had exposed her.
A certain senior eunuch glanced at the people kneeling on the ground and his eyes showed flattery. "Your Highness is really generous. Don't worry. No one knows about these two people. If anyone asks, this humble servant will say that they've been beheaded."
Concubine Rui was examining the armor on her hand and replied nonchalantly.
"This isn't the first time you've done things for me. I've trusted you for so many years. Alright, if there's nothing else, you can retreat first. I still have a lot to do."
Everyone present knew exactly what this "a lot to do" meant.
However, it had nothing to do with them. The eunuch left with a lewd smile on his face, leaving only the people in the bedroom.
The maid and the senior eunuch from the Clan Court originally wanted to run out with him, but as soon as they made a move, they were immediately stopped.
A fierce look flashed in Concubine Rui's eyes. "For so many years, no one has dared to go against me. You two are the first. But I'm quite curious. I had hidden those things so well. How did you find out?"
The senior eunuch protected the maid and knelt firmly in front, not taking a single step back.
"Your Highness let something slip before. I just went to investigate, and unexpectedly, I found something fishy. Thanks to Your Highness's slip - up, this humble servant was able to use one of your get - out - of - jail - free cards today."