Mian Tang’s previously straight posture slowly eased back against the chair upon hearing these words. The reason was simple: guilt.

“In league with… what bandits?” she stammered.

Mo Ru continued to answer truthfully: “Someone saw these four in Yangshan before. It seems they were responsible for the tribute robbery case that Your Highness handled years ago… And during the Eastern Province rebellion, people saw them… They were all ringleaders stirring up trouble!”

Mian Tang sniffled, muttering softly, “Weren’t the Yangshan members all pardoned when they surrendered… Besides, even if they were involved in the Eastern Province rebellion, it was due to famine. Haven’t they become law-abiding citizens now? They’ve been working diligently at the escort agency and are about to marry and have children. Why… why dig up old grudges?”

Cui Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. “By your logic, once someone marries and has children, all past crimes should be forgiven? Then murder, robbery, and rebellion… would have no consequences!”

Liu Mian Tang was once again rendered speechless… Indeed, she had also considered her dark past erased after marriage and childbearing… Thinking about it now made her feel incredibly guilty.

“Your Highness, they’re not bad people. Can’t you show mercy outside the law, for my sake…”

“How can I show favoritism in the face of the law?”

Mian Tang fell silent, cradling her belly as she stood up to leave.

Cui Xingzhou frowned and asked, “Where are you going?”

Liu Mian Tang replied without turning back, “Back to the manor!”

It seemed the identities of the four brothers had been exposed. The old Yangshan accounts were minor issues, but the Eastern Province affair was deadly serious. Once convicted, execution and family extermination were inevitable.

Mian Tang knew they would never betray her, even unto death, but she couldn’t bear to watch them suffer torture or be killed. Loyalty and righteousness were virtues she had personally instilled in them. If they hadn’t mistakenly believed her dead, they wouldn’t have joined the Eastern Province rebellion to avenge her.

Now that they were in trouble, how could she be so heartless as to enjoy her peaceful life while abandoning them?

Mian Tang knew that if she revealed her identity and sincerely apologized to Cui Xingzhou, there was a 30% chance he might forgive her and pardon the four brothers.

However, given Cui Xingzhou’s pettiness, there was a 60% chance he’d be furious, execute the four brothers to prevent scandal, and then detain her until after she gave birth to settle accounts.

Therefore, revealing her identity might cost her freedom and force her to watch helplessly as the four brothers were executed.

After weighing her options, Mian Tang decided she couldn’t risk their lives.

Since she couldn’t provide a convincing reason for Cui Xingzhou to release them, she decided not to waste time here and return to the manor to devise another plan. The prisoners would have to be transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Justice for trial, which might present an opportunity…

Mian Tang’s thoughts had already boldly leaped to another possibility, causing her to walk with hurried steps.

She didn’t look back, so she didn’t notice that Cui Xingzhou’s hands were shaking with anger. However, his voice betrayed nothing as he asked deeply, “After not seeing me for so long, don’t you have anything else to say?”

Mian Tang, holding her belly and lifting her skirts, was already nearly out of the courtyard. Without turning back, she called out, “No matter how busy Your Highness is, please remember to eat and dress properly. Take good care of yourself!”

Before her words had faded, she had already disappeared.

Mo Ru was used to the Princess’s hasty comings and goings. She had always been an efficient person, and since she had come to plead for her escort agency workers and saw no hope, it was normal for her to leave quickly. After all, the Prince was still working at the office and had no time for long chats.

But the Prince had just been about to eat, barely touching his chopsticks. Seeing the Princess leave, Mo Ru stood attentively by the Prince’s side and said eagerly, “Your Highness, please eat while it’s hot. The Princess specifically reminded you to take care of your health!”

Before he could finish speaking, Cui Xingzhou suddenly kicked the table, sending dishes and food flying. He then coldly ordered Mo Ru, “Get out!”

Mo Ru was so frightened he didn’t dare make a sound, quickly lowering his head and scurrying away.

How could Cui Xingzhou eat now? His anger had filled him to the brim!

He had originally wanted to give her another chance to confess voluntarily. But even after their conversation had reached this point, she could still calmly keep her secret.

Liu Mian Tang, you’ve outdone yourself!

Meanwhile, Mian Tang was unaware that her clean and swift departure had nearly infuriated the mighty Prince of Huaiyang to death.

On her way back, Mian Tang’s mind raced through countless thoughts. Rescuing prisoners seemed too reckless and unreliable. Her only option was to seek another special pardon.

Mian Tang briefly considered Liu Yu. As Emperor, pardoning a few insignificant prisoners should be a simple matter for him.

But she couldn’t ask Liu Yu herself. Doing so would be a great insult to her husband’s face.

As an alternative, Mian Tang decided to approach Empress Shi.

Having made this decision, Mian Tang didn’t want to delay and ordered a message to be sent to the palace. However, before the message could be delivered, news came that Empress Shi’s water had broken and she was about to give birth to a prince.

The message couldn’t be delivered at all.

Mian Tang collapsed onto her bed, feeling that pregnancy had further depleted her already insufficient mental resources.

Could it be that fate was deliberately making things difficult for the four brothers? Or was it that only by personally pleading with Liu Yu could she save their lives?

Just as she was at her wit’s end, Cui Xingzhou finally returned to the manor.

However, the Prince’s face was ashen, clearly indicating his extreme displeasure.

After he entered the inner courtyard, before Mian Tang could even stand up, he slammed the message she had prepared for the palace onto the table.

“You’ve never been fond of going to the palace voluntarily. Why are you suddenly sending messages?”

Mian Tang calmly replied, “The Empress has given birth before and is now pregnant again. Naturally, I want to inquire about Her Majesty’s health and perhaps discuss some childbirth experiences.”

Cui Xingzhou wondered how he had never noticed before that this woman could lie without blinking, speaking so openly and confidently. He laughed bitterly in his extreme anger: “Since when did you become such close friends with the Empress? How come I didn’t know about this?”

Mian Tang stood up to pour herself some water, took a sip, and asked Cui Xingzhou frankly, “If one wants to ask a favor of the Empress, of course, one must be closer to her. Your Highness seems upset. Do you want to argue with me?”

Cui Xingzhou, clenching his fists, asked her, “We’ve known each other for so long. Have I ever taken out my anger on you or lashed out at you unreasonably?”

Mian Tang thought for a moment. Back when they were in North Street, he had inexplicably lost his temper once. But later she realized it was because she had spoken ill of the Prince of Huaiyang, unknowingly insulting him to his face. No wonder Master Cui had been angry.

After that, even when he was frustrated with official matters, he would at most become less talkative, never acting like the drunken men on North Street who would beat and curse their wives in fits of anger.

Mian Tang had been so preoccupied with finding a way to help the four brothers that she only now noticed something was off about Cui Xingzhou’s mood.

Since he wasn’t lashing out irrationally, it meant he was angry specifically at her.

Mian Tang looked up at Cui Xingzhou and finally saw the chilling coldness in his eyes.

She pursed her lips and silently watched him.

Cui Xingzhou, exasperated by this tight-lipped iron pot, had transcended to a state of calm fury. He asked steadily, “My dear, I’ll give you one last chance. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

Liu Mian Tang probed cautiously, “Did those four confess to you?”

Cui Xingzhou simply stopped speaking. He gripped the armrests of his chair, his gaze deep and his thin lips pressed into a tight line. He was still as handsome as ever, but his entire being seemed carved from millennia-old ice, emanating a murderous aura.

Mian Tang took a deep breath, realizing that no secret could be kept forever. Since it would eventually come out, it was better to face it sooner rather than later. She decided to speak plainly: “Did they tell you that I… am Lu Wen from Yangshan?”

Cui Xingzhou didn’t seem shocked. He remained motionless, his handsome eyes fixed intently on Liu Mian Tang, but those eyes were roiling with molten lava.

However, after Mian Tang uttered those words, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her. She had long felt guilty about concealing the truth from Cui Xingzhou, but now that she had told him everything, whatever happened next was out of her hands!

Cui Xingzhou stared at Liu Mian Tang for a long while before finally speaking: “You lied to me about losing your memory?”

Mian Tang answered honestly: “I truly couldn’t remember anything about Yangshan. If I hadn’t encountered those four brothers during the troubles in Zhen Prefecture, I wouldn’t have known about that part of my past… At the time, I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it…”

Seeing Cui Xingzhou as silent and gloomy as a stone statue, she knew he was deeply troubled by her dark past.

How could she not understand? After all, whenever Cui Xingzhou had previously recalled his struggles with Lu Wen, he would grind his teeth in hatred, as if he wanted to tear his opponent apart and eat them with sauce.

It was only after Liu Yu ascended the throne that the situation improved somewhat.

But that was because he believed Liu Yu was Lu Wen. Now that he suddenly discovered that he had been played by his mortal enemy and even married her, how could a man as proud as the Prince of Huaiyang bear it?

Although she had countless times imagined how they would handle the situation if the truth came out, now that it had happened, Mian Tang didn’t want to cry and beg for Cui Xingzhou’s forgiveness.

She had been deceived before and knew how unpleasant it felt, so she didn’t want to use her tears to ask him to tolerate an intolerable past.

After some thought, she went to the inner room and pulled out a divorce agreement she had written long ago from a stack of account books.

“I deceived you, and that was wrong. I was just greedy for the time we spent together, so I kept putting off telling you. Although I couldn’t remember, I heard from others how much you hated Lu Wen… We’ve shared feelings, and as you said before, though there was deception, the emotions were real. Let’s part ways amicably… Does this agreement look satisfactory? If anything needs to be added, we can discuss it. If you feel it’s not enough to vent your anger, you can even divorce me.”

Cui Xingzhou stared at the paper before him as if it were some monstrous thing. The veins on his clenched fists bulged prominently, but his voice remained calm as he said, “The great Chief Lu is indeed farsighted, to have prepared even this in advance!”

Liu Mian Tang turned her head away, not wanting her tears to fall.

How could she express that when she wrote this, she had hoped she would never have to use it in her lifetime?