Mrs. Qiao dismissed the servants and pulled Xiao Wu to sit down.
Ji Qingwu sat beside her, her expression calm as she said, "Mother, I know what you're worried about."
Mrs. Qiao's hand gripped the armrest of her chair. She shook her head and said, "Xiao Wu, I'm afraid you're thinking too simply."
"This time, the Empress Dowager means to have you stay in the palace for a long while. She says she'll let you come back after the Emperor's Longevity Festival, but there's no guarantee she won't find some other excuse to keep you from returning home."
How could Ji Qingwu not understand?
'By then,' she thought, 'it won't just be the Empress Dowager who refuses to let me go home.'
Mrs. Qiao had been mentally preparing for this. Since Xiao Wu was now involved with the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager in the palace knew about it, she understood that Xiao Wu would have to enter the palace sooner or later.
But she had always hoped that day would come much later.
