Consort Wu's expression changed drastically. Lowering her voice, she barked harshly.
"Do you know what you have done?"
"You... you muddleheaded fool!"
She pointed at her daughter with a trembling finger, her eyes reddening before tears actually began to fall.
"I so regret not teaching you properly back then!"
"I regret even more indulging your wishes and not assigning you someone to marry off sooner."
"A daughter's temperament has always followed her mother's!" Xinping lifted her chin, forcing herself to meet Consort Wu's gaze.
To become the foremost consort beneath the Empress and effectively control the harem for so many years, Consort Wu was naturally not someone to be underestimated. Nor was she merely some little woman in the Emperor's eyes.
Mother and daughter stared at each other for a moment. Flames seemed to spurt from Consort Wu's eyes, and in the height of her fury, she laughed instead.
"Fine. So you take after me!"
"You learned my temper, so why didn't you learn any of my abilities?" Consort Wu rose and paced several circles before asking decisively.
"Tell me, how many people know about this?"
"Only... only Mother, you, and... him." Meeting her gaze, Xinping suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine as she answered.
This expression on her mother's face was one she had never seen before. It was utterly unfamiliar.
"At least you're not stupid beyond saving!" Consort Wu breathed a sigh of relief, the cold gleam in her eyes receding, though her teeth still itched with fury.
"That Imperial Grandson—I had thought he was a good man. He didn't cast aside his wife from humble beginnings, and I even praised him as a man devoted to love."
"Who would have thought he would silently steal my princess... You're still his aunt!"
"What a fine trick!