"Guilty for what?" Yao Ling couldn't help but ask. "Why is grandmother feeling guilty? She's not the one who did this to you!" She didn't really understand what w.a.n.g Luo Hai meant.

w.a.n.g Luo Hai felt that he really needed to explain everything because once the matriarch and he was dead --- the ones who would hold w.a.n.g Fu's power were Yao Ying and Yao Ling so it would be better if they had a precaution beforehand. Knowing about their past wasn't a bad thing because he believed that these two people could be trusted.

They would keep this as a secret. Yes, that was how much he trusted both of them. He knew that Jiu Lan was a great mother and her daughter must have been a good person. He also believed in her eyes when choosing a son-in-law. He knew that the condition back at that time was urgent, however... if Yao Ying wasn't a good person, she wouldn't ask him to marry Yao Ling --- just to ensure the latter's life and safety.

The matriarch and the twin princes' mother were actually real blood sisters --- they vowed to be loyal to each other and help each other when the other person faced any difficulties. Thus, the twin princes' mother --- introduced the matriarch to her world and her backer that would help her fight for the throne after she got married and became the Emperor's woman.

It happened when they were young and the matriarch hadn't gotten married yet at that time --- she was a lovely maiden at her prime. Who knew that the backer would actually fall in love with the matriarch at first sight?

"Then, what did grandaunt do when she knew that?" Yao Ling asked. She more or less knew the characteristic of the n.o.bles. Most of them were very selfish to the core and dared to sacrifice everything to reach their goals --- especially those who wanted to have the greatest power. The royal family could kill each other for the throne and she didn't believe that the sister was an exception.

However, she just hoped that she was wrong this time.

Wnag Luo Hai laughed when he saw Yao Ling's doubtful expression. "You seem to have guessed something..."

Yao Ling merely shrugged her shoulder off --- it was just a gut feeling ah~! She didn't dare to say it out loud. "Not really..." She answered helplessly, not wanting to tell him her real thought even though it was pretty obvious.

w.a.n.g Luo Hai didn't push her because he knew that it was not good for her to comment on the elders' matter --- it would make her seem to be an unfilial youngster. "Just like how you must have been guessing... your grandaunt wanted to solidify the relations.h.i.+p between them and let your grandmother become his main wife. The man wasn't actually that bad, he was young and handsome. Not only that but he also got the power... Many women liked him and wanted to be his women..."

Yao Ling asked him, "But... Grandmother didn't love him, right?"

w.a.n.g Luo Hai nodded his head --- the love between his father and mother was a popular story so he knew that Yao Ling would be able to guess it easily.

"Did grandaunt force her to get married to him despite knowing that grandmother didn't like that man?" Yao Ling asked.

w.a.n.g Luo Hai nodded his head. He explained how their relations.h.i.+p turned for the worst at that time because of this matter. They fought every time the grandaunt was talking about the matter of the wedding or engagement. The man asked the grandaunt to bring the matter up just to see whether the matriarch was willing to get married to him or not...

"Your grandmother found out by accident that the man was quite cruel and petty --- honestly, she was feeling scared of him... However, your grandmother had never told me what kind of nasty thing that she had seen about that man, so I don't really know for sure about it as well," w.a.n.g Luo Hai explained.

"And then?" Yao Ling asked with intense curiosity.

"Your grandmother ran away from home out of fear and anger. At this time, she met your deceased grandfather by coincidence. He was a mere merchant but he was kind and handsome as well. He helped your grandmother several times and it made them become friends. From ordinary friends, they became best friends and in the end, they turned into lovers..." w.a.n.g Luo Hai said with a smile. He always knew that his mother was a romantic and fortunately, she accidentally met the right guy.

"Did grandaunt finally find her?"

w.a.n.g Luo Hai nodded his head. She was angry at the matriarch and didn't hesitate to slap her when she finally found her. However, it wasn't because she was angry that the matriarch had run away from the marriage that she had told her about, instead, it was because of her worry!

The matriarch felt so guilty that she cried and finally, decided to open up to her sister about the reason why she refused the marriage. The feelings between both sisters were real so the sister was quite understanding of the matriarch's situation when she heard everything. The Empress knew that the matriarch wouldn't lie to her about something like that, thus, she trusted her words.

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" The sister looked at the matriarch with blaming eyes.

The matriarch guiltily looked at her sister. "Because... I know that the man is your important backer. I'm afraid that you won't dare to offend him and will let me marry him no matter what..."

Her sister flicked the matriarch's forehead, "I'm not that narrowminded. If you just tell me the truth, I will certainly not let you marry such a crazy man... Haish~! Sometimes, looks can be deceiving ah~! I also want you to be happy."

The matriarch nodded her head in agreement. "And also..."

"What?" The sister raised one of her eyebrows and asked, "Do you still have another thing to tell me?"

"Yes," the matriarch looked at her shyly.

"Then, tell me..." The sister looked at her seriously.

"I... I like someone..." The matriarch admitted while slightly blus.h.i.+ng.

"What?!" The sister asked in surprise. "Tell me everything!" She was afraid that someone would take advantage of her sister.

The matriarch told her everything. Contrary to her expectation, the sister was quite supportive of her, thinking that a wealthy merchant wasn't a bad choice. The sister also had her won calculation --- after all, she was smart, to begin with.

As long as the matriarch stayed loyal to her, no matter what kind of husband that she would have, she would certainly help her and the sister felt that she wouldn't lose out anything by maintaining a good relations.h.i.+p with the matriarch.

The sister checked the man's background and when she found out that he was indeed a good man, she approved the matriarch's decision. Besides, she could see that the man's family had a strong background and the man had the abilities to make himself prosperous...

The sister helped the matriarch deal with everything --- from their parents' blessing to the marriage itself. Everything went smoothly at that time.