She looked at her mother in disbelief and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why did you do this, Mother?"

The princess naturally knew what she meant and said softly, "For our future, yours and mine."

She had never hidden anything from this daughter of hers.

Having done such a thing this time, the princess was also prepared for Xingyue to come and confront her.

She just didn't expect her to come so quickly.

"But trading your reputation for future wealth and glory is too high a price to pay," Xingyue still couldn't accept this. She held the princess's hand and said with a choked voice, "Also, you had a relationship with Uncle. What about Father?"

When Ye Lu Qi was mentioned, the princess showed a very cold attitude.

"He has lost his memory. No matter what I do, he won't care."

"The doctor said there's a possibility that Father will recover. Why didn't you wait?" A tear rolled down Xingyue's eyes, a tear of disappointment and despair.

Seeing this, the princess reached out to wipe away her tears. "Silly girl, why are you crying? Since Mother has taken this step, I naturally expected the consequences."

"But Xingyue, you must understand that if Mother didn't do this, someone else would surely take the lead. Then, if Ye Lu An really stabilizes his position in Country Z, what hope would there be for our future as mother and daughter?"

"Mother is getting old and it doesn't matter to me. But you're still young. You're the only princess of the Ye Lu royal family and you should enjoy the best treatment of the royal family. Mother can't just watch you being pushed around and living an unhappy life in the future."

Xingyue listened quietly and then suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly. "I'm already unhappy. My life is completely ruined."

"No. Once Mother becomes the queen of Country Z, I'll ask Ye Lu An to order you to divorce Ye Lu Mingshuo, and then you can start over."

Agreeing to let Xingyue marry Ye Lu Mingshuo in the first place was a last resort.

After all, she had no status in the royal palace, and Ye Lu Mingshuo had the possibility of becoming the king of Country Z. Xingyue would then be a noble queen. But who would have thought that such a thing would happen to Ye Lu Mingshuo.

Now that it had been revealed that Ye Lu Mingshuo was the queen's illegitimate son outside the palace, Ye Lu Mingshuo had been stripped of his heir status. Coupled with his current mess and ugly appearance, how could the princess not consider her daughter's future?

"After getting a divorce, who would still want me? I'm now infamous, and my body is so dirty that even jumping into the Yellow River couldn't wash away the stain. There's no way out for me in this life."

As Xingyue said this, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

She ended up in this situation all because of Freya.

Rather than getting a divorce from Ye Lu Mingshuo and becoming a divorced woman, it would be better to find an opportunity to take revenge on Freya. Then, even if her life ended at this moment, she would have no regrets.

The princess naturally saw the hatred in her eyes. She held her hand and patted it. "It's right to hate. If you really hate, endure the humiliation and wait for the right opportunity to fight back."

"But Xingyue, all of this can only be achieved after Mother sits on the queen's throne. So in the future, you must help Mother achieve our goal."

In the past, she had been bullied by the queen, and her body had become so weak that it was difficult to recover. She had no choice but to live in seclusion in her room and rarely go out.

Others thought she was frail and didn't fight for anything, but they didn't know that over the years, she had actually been planning her revenge.

Now that the queen was disgraced and had fled the palace, and Ye Lu Mingshuo, the illegitimate son, had been disfigured and was half-disabled, there was no one in the entire royal palace to stand in their way. She had to quickly gather all the forces and establish a firm foothold in the royal palace.

"What do you want me to do, Mother?" They said that mothers and daughters shared a special bond. Looking into the princess's eyes, Xingyue naturally knew that she had a task for her.

The princess picked up the glass of red wine on the table and drank it all in one gulp. Then she said coldly, "You know how to use online public opinion, right? I need you to use this network of connections to spread the news about me and Ye Lu An."

Upon hearing this, Xingyue's face turned even uglier.

She looked at the princess in confusion. "But if we do this, Mother, you'll also become notorious."

The princess waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. I'm already old, and my reputation doesn't matter to me anymore. But it's crucial for Ye Lu An. After all, he's now the king of Country Z, and his foundation isn't very stable yet. If some indecent news about him spreads at this time, it will surely make him desperate."

"Then, to quell the public opinion, he will definitely give me an explanation and ask me to step in to help solve the problem. After all, I'm the victim in this whole thing. Only when I come forward to clarify the situation can the public opinion die down."

"And this will be the best time for me to negotiate terms with Ye Lu An."

Xingyue listened quietly, and at the same time, her eyes were fixed on her mother. It was as if, at that moment, the person in front of her was a stranger.

She really couldn't accept that her mother had become like this. After all, the impression her mother had given her in the past was so wonderful that she had always thought that her mother was the kindest and most gentle woman in the world.

However, the truth proved that all of this was an illusion.

Her mother's past gentleness and generosity had all been feigned, and the mother in front of her at this moment was her true self.

"Ye Lu Qi is my father, and I can't just watch my father get hurt."

Facing the princess's request, Xingyue didn't agree.

She even lost control of her emotions and left her seat and rushed out of the room.

"Xingyue..."

The princess called out urgently, but Xingyue had already run far away.

The princess threw the wine glass in her hand onto the ground in frustration. With a "clang," the glass shattered and the pieces flew everywhere.

A cold glint flickered in her eyes, and a malicious smile played on her charming red lips.

"Xingyue, you'll soon understand Mother's good intentions and stand on the same side as Mother."

She had done all this not only for her own future but also for Xingyue's. Now that the deed was done, she had no way back.

...

At this moment, Freya stood on the balcony, looking at the sky that was once again shrouded in darkness. For some reason, she felt a heavy heart.

Bradley came in with a plate of fruits and saw Freya lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

He put the fruits aside and hugged her from behind.

Freya turned around and hugged him back. "Because of my matters, you put aside all your work and stayed here. Do you resent me?"

Upon hearing this, Bradley gently flicked her forehead and said affectionately, "Silly girl, who said I put aside all my work? I just finished it when you weren't aware. Besides, you're my wife. No matter where you go, I'll always be with you and protect you. This is a husband's responsibility."

Freya looked up at him. She was only as tall as his chest, and he could easily protect her in his arms with a single embrace.

She enjoyed this feeling of snuggling up to him. She played with the buttons of his shirt and said, "But I miss home."