Even though the one they truly loved was the original Lin Feilu, the person in this body now was her, and the person who tangibly felt this love was also herself.
All that she had accomplished so far, she did for her own survival.
Although it was not too far of a stretch to say it was also for their sakes.
Xiao Lan loved her own children so much. If she knew the truth, wouldn't she be upset?
Looking into Xiao Lan's fearful eyes, she pursed her lips and whispered, "Mother Consort, there was something that I did not tell you before."
Xiao Lan trembled, her face paled as she urged her to speak, "What is it?"
Lin Feilu looked at her. "That time at the Linxing Pavilion, I did not lose my footing when I fell into the water — I was pushed in by the Third Princess."
Xiao Lan's eyes widened in shock.
Lin Feilu lowered her eyes and continued, "When she pushed me into the water, everyone just stood beside her and watched. None of them tried to save me. If I hadn't grabbed onto the fallen branches by the lakeshore, I would have lost my life."
Tears streamed down Xiao Lan's face. She wept as she came closer to hug her, trembling as she cried out, "Lu'er…"
Lin Feilu hugged her back with her tiny arms and buried her face in Xiao Lan's embrace, "It was clearly their fault, yet afterwards they wanted me to kowtow and plead for forgiveness. Mother Consort, I don't want to be bullied like this anymore."
Word by word, she said, "I want to protect myself, and I also want to protect you and Brother. I'm all grown-up now, Mother Consort."
Xiao Lan's voice choked as she was sobbing too much to even say anything in response.
Lin Feilu raised her head and wiped Xiao Lan's tears with her soft fingers. She kissed her forehead and said, "Mother Consort, don't cry. From now on, no one will bully us anymore."
That night, the doubts in Xiao Lan's heart had completely dissipated.
What had dissipated along with her doubts was her cowardice, which she once thought was the only way she could keep her family safe from the in-fighting within the harem.
Her own daughter was deliberately schemed against and had almost died to their efforts, yet she was only finding out about it now. She should have understood that life in the harem was never ensured. Had she not been drugged during her pregnancy, she would not have had a premature delivery, causing Lin Zhanyuan to become a fool, and she would not have fallen out of favour.
She had always backed down when others would take advantage of her.
Even now, she was relying on her daughter to protect them. What an unreliable mother she was.
That night, Xiao Lan slept restlessly. However, when she woke up the next day, something in her had changed.
She had already settled into her weak-willed nature over the years, thus she was not eager to chase after prestige. However, she no longer did needlework with Yunyou and Qingyan in the courtyard, instead she took out some dusty books to read.
Lin Feilu was not very sick. When she woke up the next morning, her fever had subsided. Xiao Lan held her in her embrace as she read her books for a while.
However, remaining mindful of the orders they received from their masters yesterday, a handful of imperial physicians readied themselves to revisit Mingyue Palace as soon as they started their shifts.
The four imperial physicians carried their medicine boxes and departed together, smiling and chatting amongst themselves, "My good sirs, you are all working hard. Which palace are you heading to this early in the morning?"
The youngest of them said, "Good morning, my good sirs. This official is going to Mingyue Palace to give the Fifth Princess a follow-up consultation."
Imperial Physician Chen: "…I'm also going to Mingyue Palace."
Imperial Physician Luo: "Me too…"
Imperial Physician Feng: "I, as well…"
The four imperial physicians: "..."
All present were baffled.