Seeing this, Ming Lingyi pulled her inside and couldn’t help but pat her on the shoulder.

It was obviously too late to deny that she was Ming Lingyi. Yu Yi would never believe her.

Besides, she had never intended to hide her identity from everyone.

Except for Li Yun.

"What are you crying for?" Ming Lingyi offered Yu Yi a handkerchief. "Shouldn’t you be happy that we’ve seen each other again?"

Although this had all happened so suddenly, Ming Lingyi quickly composed herself.

From the moment she returned, she had already imagined what it would be like to meet people she once knew. She just never expected it to happen so soon, or that the first person she would see would be Yu Yi.

After waking up in Ming Yao’s body, Ming Lingyi hadn’t dared to think too much about the fate of those who had served her in Kunning Palace.

If Chen Fei had gained power and she herself was dead, then even if the staff of Kunning Palace weren’t exiled to guard the imperial tombs, they certainly wouldn’t have had an easy life in the palace.

But now, seeing Yu Yi, Ming Lingyi felt a great sense of relief.

At least from the looks of her, Yu Yi didn’t seem to have suffered any hardships.

’That’s enough.’

Yu Yi nodded. She agreed with her mistress’s words, but her tears kept streaming down her face as if they had a will of their own.

She reached out and gripped Ming Lingyi’s hand tightly, as if to assure herself that the person before her wasn’t a phantom who might suddenly vanish.

"Your Majesty..." Yu Yi sobbed. "How... how are you here? Yesterday, when I saw the plum blossom cakes the Crown Prince brought back, I recognized your handiwork..." Bit by bit, Yu Yi explained how she and Yanxia had grown suspicious, and how she had followed the Crown Prince out of the palace today to find her way to Huaidei Fang.

"...The moment I saw you from a distance, Your Majesty, I knew it was you!" Yu Yi said. "Some people might look alike, but it’s incredibly difficult to imitate someone’s bearing, their tone of voice, and their mannerisms."

She had been observing in secret, so there was no way the other person was putting on a performance for her.

So, in that instant, Yu Yi was certain that the woman in the cyan jacket and skirt—who for some reason looked several years younger than the late Empress—was her mistress.

Ming Lingyi was moved as she listened, not expecting Yu Yi to have been so certain of her identity.

Ming Lingyi briefly recounted how she had woken up in Ming Yao’s body, sent the second branch of the Ming Family to prison, bought a house in the West Market with Xiao Chun, and started selling pastries outside the Imperial College. She personally felt that her life had been quite eventful and fulfilling recently, but she hadn’t expected her audience, Yu Yi, to start crying again.

"You’re a grown woman now, why are you still such a crybaby?" Ming Lingyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Yu Yi’s nose was still stuffy, and her voice was thick with emotion. "You’ve suffered far too much."

’When has my mistress ever endured such hardship? How could she have run into a scoundrel like Ming Fanjiang?’

"It wasn’t so bad."

But after her sobs subsided, Yu Yi’s senses returned, and her eyes flashed with anger. "This Ming Xianggui family—Your Majesty, you can’t just let them off the hook!"

Anyone who bullied her mistress was an enemy of Yu Yi.

Yu Yi clenched her fists, her heart filled with both fury and regret. ’If only I had found Her Majesty sooner, none of this would have happened!’

’I’ll make that Ming Xianggui family pay!’

Ming Lingyi said, "They’re already in prison. What more is there for you to do?" After a moment’s thought, she added, "And don’t call me ’Your Majesty’ anymore. I’m not even used to hearing it myself..."

’I’m not one of Li Yun’s consorts anymore,’ she thought. ’I am Ming Lingyi, and only Ming Lingyi. I belong to myself, and have nothing to do with any man.’

Yu Yi understood at once and changed her address. "Miss."

Ming Lingyi didn’t press the issue. She figured Yu Yi would refuse to call her by her given name anyway.

"Miss, now that you’ve met the Crown Prince, when do you plan to reveal yourself to him?" After a pause, Yu Yi added, "Even though the Crown Prince doesn’t recognize you, I can tell that His Highness has always missed you very much."

The Little Prince never showed his yearning for the late Empress in front of them, but it’s always difficult for a child to hide his true feelings and thoughts.

Ming Lingyi hadn’t really decided. "It’s too complicated to explain, and besides..." She bit her lip. She actually quite liked interacting with Li Yan this way. If she told him the truth, however, she didn’t know if he would resent her. And if he did, she wasn’t prepared to face that. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I owe him too much..." Not being by Li Yan’s side for the past five years was her greatest failing.

She didn’t know how she could ever make it up to him.

Ming Lingyi wanted to say that they should just leave things as they were for now. Letting nature take its course might be for the best.

’I’m not ready yet.’

After all, she had only been with her Little Bun for two or three days.

Yu Yi opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t know how to convince her otherwise.

But she felt that the Crown Prince would desperately want to know that his mother was still alive.

Just as Yu Yi and Ming Lingyi were speaking, the front door was suddenly thrust open with a BANG.

Ming Lingyi whipped her head around in surprise and shot up from her seat.

"Young Master..."

She stared at Li Yan, who had reappeared at the shop’s entrance, a rare flash of panic on her face.

She didn’t know if Li Yan had overheard her conversation with Yu Yi, or how much he had heard.

Li Yan was holding a "luck cluster," a type of ornamental dough that was fashionable in Shangjing City to display on tables for New Year’s Eve.

It symbolized a smooth and prosperous new year, brimming with good fortune.

Peddlers sold them from carrying poles in every street and alley.

Such things were rarely seen in the palace. After leaving earlier, Li Yan had happened upon a peddler, stopped to ask about the luck cluster’s meaning, and bought one. He had turned back, wanting to give it to Ming Lingyi.

He had even ditched Jianzhen and Xiao Chun, running ahead by himself, eager to present his newfound gift.

But...

Li Yan’s gaze swept across the room. He couldn’t understand why the Lady-in-charge from his palace looked so familiar with Miss Ming, or why she seemed to have been crying when she saw her.

And Li Yan had heard their conversation.

The wind and snow howled outside, but in that moment, all he could hear was the conversation between the two women in the room.

His emotions were a complicated tangle, yet he felt as if he were being enveloped by a tremendous, wonderful surprise.

The words he had overheard were like a giant net, wrapping around him so tightly he couldn’t struggle free.