With a soft clink, the fan in Wu Yiqi's hand fell onto the table.

Fuling finished speaking, hurriedly bowed, and left, leaving the two of them staring at each other in stunned silence.

Wu Yiqi: “... You two really know each other?”

Qiu Che didn’t know how to explain, so she simply picked up her tea cup and mumbled evasively.

She couldn’t exactly say that, based on this lifetime's trajectory, Li Qingwu shouldn’t know her at this point, right?

Having the personal maid come to her in front of everyone just to say those words, even though others couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, would still make Qiu Che the target of gossip.

What did Li Qingwu mean by that?

Wu Yiqi looked like he wanted to say something but was interrupted when his gaze caught two figures skulking toward them from the door.

He nudged Qiu Che: "Hey, isn’t that your biased father and that idiot brother of yours? Did they get invitations too?"

He paused, then noticed the simple clothes on Qiu Chudong, resembling a servant’s outfit. He froze for a moment.

Qiu Che casually glanced at them and raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

Wu Yiqi saw her expression and tentatively asked, “You didn’t know they were coming?”

Qiu Che didn’t speak but took a sip of her tea. Her expression spoke volumes.

Wu Yiqi clicked his tongue in realization and adopted an expression of understanding.

When the two of them finally spotted Qiu Che and approached, they saw Wu Yiqi sitting beside her, and they almost froze in fear.

Qiu Chudong didn’t dare look up, afraid of being noticed, so she followed behind her son.

Qiu Zhe stiffly walked through the hall under everyone’s gaze. Just as he was about to sit next to Qiu Che, Wu Yiqi suddenly raised his hand, “Wait a minute, Brother—You’re Qiu Che’s brother, right?”

Qiu Zhe froze in place.

Ever since he learned that this person was the eldest grandson of the prime minister’s family, and since he had never spoken to such important figures before, coupled with the impure intentions for today’s visit to the palace, he stumbled over his words, “Ah? Wu... Wu Gongzi... What a coincidence.”

“No coincidence. You’re sitting in my father’s spot,” Wu Yiqi said flippantly. “Do you want to take my father’s place?”

Qiu Zhe jumped up as if burned: “I wouldn’t dare! I didn’t know this was Prime Minister Wu’s seat, my apologies, my apologies…”

He then unintentionally shot an angry, reproachful glance at Qiu Che, hoping she would step in and help him.

But Qiu Che remained unmoved, sitting like a rock, as if she hadn’t seen his expression at all.

Wu Yiqi said, “It’s not your fault. I see there’s really no room around here. How about this? You can stand. When His Majesty arrives, I’ll ask for extra chairs.”

Even though he said that, Qiu Chudong knew they couldn’t draw attention here; otherwise, their plans would be ruined.

It was clear they wouldn’t be able to sit down.

“But—”

But isn’t Qiu Che sitting?

Qiu Chudong lowered his head and tugged on Qiu Zhe’s sleeve, signaling him to swallow his words.

The two of them smiled awkwardly, cursing under their breath, and meekly retreated to the position reserved for maids and servants.

Qiu Che: “Your father is here too?”

Wasn’t it said that Prime Minister Wu, the prime minister’s only son, had been traveling for years, and no one had seen him in a long time?

Wu Yiqi smugly replied, “I lied to them. My father’s been traveling for years, I haven’t seen him much myself. How could he suddenly come back? That seat was empty from the start. But I don’t like the way they look, so I’ll help you teach them a lesson... What’s with your expression? Do you think I’m meddling?”

Qiu Che shook her head, her politeness rare, “Thank you.”

Wu Yiqi showed off a little tiger tooth, excitedly asking, “So, do you think I’m your friend now?”

Qiu Che glanced at him, “What do you think?”

Wu Yiqi: “…”

What does what do you think mean! Can you at least make your words clear?

He scratched his head, about to ask again, when the eunuch’s voice suddenly rang out, “The Empress, the Consort Xian, and Princess Pingyi have arrived!”

“The Crown Prince has arrived! The Third Prince has arrived!”

“His Majesty has arrived—”

Instantly, everyone in the hall knelt down in unison, chanting, “Long live His Majesty! Long live the Empress!”

The bright yellow robe swept across Qiu Che’s peripheral vision.

When the footsteps stopped, the voice from the top spoke slowly, “All the ministers, please rise.”

Qiu Che stood with the others, sitting back down. As she raised her head, she caught the emperor’s gaze, which lingered for just a moment before shifting elsewhere, resting on the empty seats. He furrowed his brow, “Why hasn’t Mother arrived yet... and what about Prime Minister Wu?”

“The old minister is late,” said a voice. As the words ended, Wu Rusheng entered the hall with a smile, cupping his hands, “Your Majesty, forgive me—this old man is getting weaker with age.”

Li Shi, the emperor, relaxed his furrowed brows: “No worries. Prime Minister Wu, please, take your seat.”

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Wu Rusheng, stroking his beard in a relaxed manner, walked over to Wu Yiqi’s side and casually glanced at Qiu Che.

Wu Yiqi, seemingly unaware, raised an eyebrow, calling out, “Grandfather, this is the Qiu Scholar I told you about, the one younger than me.”

Wu Rusheng laughed, “Is that so? Truly a young man, one shouldn’t judge by appearances.”

Qiu Che bowed slightly, “Qiu Che, greetings to Prime MinisterWu.”

Wu Rusheng waved his hand dismissively with a smile, signaling for her not to stand on ceremony, before sitting down and chatting with the emperor.

The emperor and his ministers exchanged low voices, while the Empress and Consort Xian were also talking nearby.

The Crown Prince and Third Prince were casually drinking.

Princess Pingyi, Li Qingshu, entered and immediately ran to Li Qingwu, throwing herself into her arms, grinning, revealing a few uneven baby teeth: “Sister! I haven’t seen you in so long!”

Li Qingwu laughed, catching her, and quickly made a gesture for quiet.

Princess Pingyi slapped her hand over her mouth.

At less than ten years old, Princess Pingyi had been dressed up by her mother in extravagant clothes, looking like a porcelain doll, with even her blinking seeming adorable.

She whispered, “I know, I know, we’re going to play that ‘only the two of us know’ game again, right?”

Li Qingwu smiled softly, “You’re so clever.”

“Sister, Mother said I’m going to have a brother-in-law soon, right?” Princess Pingyi asked curiously, “What does he look like? Is he handsome?”

Li Qingwu paused, then smiled lightly, thinking for a moment, “Hmm... he’s very handsome.”

“Wow!” Princess Pingyi’s eyes lit up, “I love handsome people! Can I meet him?”

As if afraid Li Qingwu would refuse, she made a small “just a little” gesture with her hands, whispering, “I’ll just look at him, secretly!”

Qiu Che was observing the emperor talking to Prime Minister Wu when she suddenly felt two pairs of eyes on her.

She sharply turned her head, only to find two little heads sneaking peeks at her.

Caught in the act, one little head quickly buried itself in Li Qingwu’s embrace, excitedly waving its hand and saying something.

Li Qingwu smiled and nodded.

Qiu Che: “?”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were talking about something related to her.

She absentmindedly recalled the past life, remembering that on the night of their marriage, Li Qingwu had once told her that she first noticed Qiu Che on the day she was named a top scholar and paraded through the streets on horseback.

What she had intended to say was that marrying Qiu Che had been her own choice and she didn’t blame Qiu Che.

But Qiu Che had only understood the surface meaning.

That was why, in this life, when they paraded through the streets on horseback, she had the sudden impulse to look up and see where Li Qingwu was standing and what kind of gaze she had for her.

And thus, by a twist of fate, it led to that fleeting glance at Linglong Pavilion.

But if what Li Qingwu said was true, that they only met once before the marriage... Was it really necessary for her to go to such lengths for the later Qiu Che?

Even if it was love at first sight, it shouldn’t have been this intense.

Besides, the later Li Qingwu had clearly known that she was a woman, and her trip to Jiangnan was a choice she had tacitly approved.

Logically, knowing she was a woman, Li Qingwu shouldn’t have continued to like her.

But if they were to be called friends, their bond didn’t seem that deep.

Qiu Che thought, over the ten years, she really didn’t know much about Li Qingwu from their few fleeting encounters.

A moment later, the emperor’s expression darkened slightly as the empress finally arrived late.

She was coughing with every step, supported by the great palace maid, Yi Ning, as she made her weak entrance.

When she stood up to greet the emperor, Qiu Che subtly showed a look of surprise and confusion, just the right amount of expression.

As expected, the empress, among the crowd, found her location immediately and gave her a look filled with curiosity.

She seemed quite satisfied with Qiu Che’s reaction.

Wu Yiqi, always observant, sat next to Qiu Che and immediately caught the look, saying with a knowing tone: “You’re not going to tell me... you know the empress too?”

Qiu Che returned her gaze: “You guess.”

Wu Yiqi: “...”

As expected, the person approaching was none other than the woman who often chatted with Qiu Che at the Ganyu Temple—the Empress Dowager Fu Yijun.

Qiu Che appeared shocked, but in her heart, she thought, As expected.

Actually, when she first met this Lady Jun outside the city, she had suspected her identity.

After connecting the various dots, the only matching identity was the Empress Dowager Fu Yijun, who had seemingly disappeared three years ago.

In her past life, Qiu Che had never visited the Ganyu Temple, so she hadn’t met this empress.

She had entered the court too late, and after three years, only then had the emperor begun to trust her.

By that time, the empress had already disappeared.

When Qiu Che became the new chancellor, she had only seen the Empress Dowager once, during this banquet.

Qiu Che wasn’t sure if her memory was mistaken, but she decided to take a chance.

She intentionally revealed why she hadn’t been on duty in front of Lady Jun, acting as if she had no choice but to obey Qiu Chudong’s orders, almost as if she couldn’t resist.

Of course, Qiu Che wasn’t powerless against Qiu Chudong, but she had willingly gone to the Ganyu Temple.

Still, Qiu Che knew that if luck was not on her side and the emperor grew angry one day, simply claiming that she had been punished by her father to visit Ganyu Temple wouldn’t hold up—he wouldn’t believe it.

The only person who could step in and vouch for her was someone with a similar status, someone who could prevent the emperor from taking out his anger on her.

Fortunately, she had bet right.

When the Empress Dowager arrived, the emperor’s expression softened a little. He stood up to greet her: “Mother, is your cough acting up again?”

“It’s an old ailment,” Fu Yijun smiled, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. It’s nothing.”

The two exchanged a few words before the emperor helped her to the seat of honor.

Seeing them interact so lovingly and harmoniously in front of their ministers, one might think the emperor had never conspired with outsiders to overthrow the throne.

The Empress Dowager was good at enduring.

The emperor was good at pretending.

Qiu Che nodded inwardly.

Now that everyone had arrived, the banquet officially began. Emperor Li Shi sat at the head table, smiling: “Everyone, there’s no need to be so formal. Since this is a banquet for my mother’s birthday, it’s like a family gathering. Let’s all relax.”

As the dancers and singers took turns performing, the mood lifted. After a few rounds of wine, the tense atmosphere began to dissipate.

Seeing the young ladies and gentlemen starting to fidget, eager to get up and walk around, Li Shi gave the empress a knowing glance.

The empress understood and gracefully stood, giving a dignified nod: “Everyone.”

The slightly noisy banquet fell silent.

“I see that everyone is tired of drinking. By coincidence, my daughter is quite skilled at the guqin. How about we have her perform for everyone?” she suggested.

Someone hesitated: “Which daughter are you referring to, Your Majesty?”

The emperor only had two daughters, but only the one officially recorded under the empress's name, Li Qingwu, could be referred to as “my daughter.”

Yet, no one dared to believe it at first.

The empress smiled, as if she had been waiting for this question: “Of course, it’s my daughter—Lehe.”

The room went silent before an uproar spread.

To have the eldest princess perform a piece, like a top-tier courtesan? Had the empress gone mad, or had they all heard wrong?

Amid the chaos, Li Qingwu lowered her gaze quietly. Behind her, Fu Ling was trembling with anger but had no words to say.

Princess Pingyi, still confused, touched Li Qingwu’s hand and said: “Sister, your hand is so cold.”

Li Qingwu forced a smile, about to speak, when someone else beat her to it.

Qiu Che stood up, neither humble nor overbearing, bowing her hands in respect: “Your Majesty.”

The empress turned to glance at her.

“I think… this is inappropriate.”