Yang Mengchen sighed when he heard this, "No wonder several of your brothers and sisters have been persecuted in succession; it has a lot to do with your mother."

"Ah Jiu..." Long Xuanmo's eyebrows frowned slightly. Although he was not very close to his mother, she was always the mother he respected and loved most.

"Did I say something wrong?" Yang Mengchen asked seriously. "A kind and benevolent heart doesn't matter much in the boudoir, but in the Imperial Palace, where schemes and plots abound, if the Empress could slightly change, she wouldn't be constantly calculated against and harmed.

Moreover, as the saying goes, 'A mother should be strong.' But look at the Eldest Princess and Yingtong; as a mother, the Empress obviously failed in her role."

Long Xuanmo half-closed his eyes, saying nothing for a long time. He knew that Ah Jiu was not wrong.

Deeply understanding that one shouldn't speak ill of their mother, and regardless of anything, the Empress was after all Long Xuanmo's mother. Sensing the timing, Yang Mengchen deftly changed the subject.

"Aside from women who are eager for power, what most ordinary women care about is nothing more than their husbands, children, and family. Sister Lu's husband and son are dead, and she has no relatives left. Think about it, what could a lonely Sister Lu care about most?"

Staring at Yang Mengchen, Long Xuanmo listened attentively, his expressions one of eagerness to learn. He didn't understand women, but he trusted Ah Jiu's judgment.

"Moreover, after the death of her husband and son, it is sensible for her to seek help from the Empress, but why insist on returning to the Empress's side?"

"Sister Lu, being destitute and lonely, must have wanted to return to my mother's side to seek support," Long Xuanmo considered and said.

Yang Mengchen rolled her eyes at Long Xuanmo, "You should know better than I do about the dark and cruel nature of the Imperial Palace. If it weren't for lack of any other option, which decent family's daughter would be willing to go to the palace? Besides, Sister Lu must have been younger than twenty when she returned to the Empress's side, right?

At such a tender age and free to do as she pleased, why would she hurry to that devouring place to be a servant?"

Long Xuanmo opened his mouth, wanting to say something but ultimately remained silent.

The Imperial Palace, on the surface, is resplendent with gold and glitter, but in reality, it is the darkest and most filthy place in the world, a place that kills without blinking an eye, that devours without spitting out bones.

"I don't know about others, but if it were me, I'd ask the Empress for some money, then buy a small courtyard and some land in Jingjiao (the outskirts of the capital), live under the Empress's care—believing no one would dare trouble me—marry a kind-hearted, honest man, bear two or three chubby babies, and live a life a hundred, a thousand times more carefree and fulfilling than being a servant in the palace." Yang Mengchen always longed for a simple and warm life, sadly she never got to live it.

"Ah Jiu!" Long Xuanmo's expression changed drastically as he grasped Yang Mengchen's hands firmly yet gently, so as not to hurt her.

Others might say such things in jest, but Ah Jiu was born into the harmonious and simple Yang family and naturally disliked the superficially glamorous yet insidious noble families, let alone the Royal family.

No, he must always be by Ah Jiu's side. Even in death, he would die behind her, since if not, Ah Jiu would certainly seek others. What would he do then?

With an anxious tone, a tense and pale expression, his body stiff and trembling lightly, Yang Mengchen inexplicably felt her eyes moisten, so she looked away.

"I think Lady Hua makes a good point. Even though Sister Lu is the Empress's Eldest maid, she cannot change her status as a servant. She cares about her attire, looks down on Sister Qi and the others, showing her pride and arrogance. She would never be content with staying at home, much less marry into a farmer's family and become a Scholar's wife;

the Empress, out of kindness, wanted her to stay away from all the conspiracies and intrigues, but she would surely not be grateful, and might even resent the Empress;

after all, following the Empress to the Imperial Palace, not to mention potentially climbing into the Emperor's bed and enjoying riches and honors, just being the Empress's Eldest maid, she should have no problem being matched with a Fifth Rank Imperial Court Official. That way, she would become an Official's wife.

The differences between a Scholar's wife and an Official's wife are as vast as the heavens and the earth;"

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