The Secret of the Signet Ring

Are she and Evan Xiao really doomed to never be together?

Is she really destined to enter the palace?

No!

She refused to accept this fate!

Grace slowly lifted her head and suddenly flashed Gavin Gao a faint smile, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency!"

Then, with a calm expression, she reached out and took the imperial edict.

Gavin Gao nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "That's more like it! With Your Ladyship's talent, who else in this world could possibly be worthy of you besides His Majesty?"

Grace smiled, "Eunuch Gao, you flatter me!"

"Then, I'll take my leave. I still have to deliver the imperial decree to the General's Mansion!"

"Eunuch Gao, who did His Majesty choose for the General?" Grace asked.

"His Majesty chose the three winners for him," Gavin Gao replied. "Sun Xiangjun will be the General's wife, while Lady Yuan and Lady Shen will be his concubines."

Grace nodded, "Understood! You may go now, Eunuch Gao!"

Even if he went, there wouldn’t be anyone there to receive the decree.

......

After Gavin Gao left, Minister Zhuo grabbed Grace and headed straight for the Starview Pavilion.

Then he dismissed all the servants and said to Grace, "Tonight, you must leave! Get out of here!"

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Leave?"

"I'll help you fake your death. Then, I'll send you somewhere safe, where you can—"

"Wait a minute!" Grace interrupted him. "Dad, I know you have the means to send me away. But why should I leave? Both your daughters are now Queens of the East and West Palace—this is the greatest honor for the Zhuo family!"

Minister Zhuo was silent for a moment and said, "You must not enter the palace again."

"Why? Please give me a reason."

Minister Zhuo took a deep breath, as if steeling himself. "Haven't you always wanted to know the truth about your grandfather's thumb ring? I'll tell you now."

Grace nodded.

"Back then, when I left Dawnville, do you know what I went to do?" Minister Zhuo asked.

"Didn't you go to assassinate the Windspire Crown Prince?"

"No! I went to see your grandfather."

Minister Zhuo’s words left Grace stunned for a long moment.

Wasn’t her grandfather supposed to have died years ago?

Where did he see her grandfather?

"Your grandfather isn't dead," Minister Zhuo continued.

"Grandfather isn't dead?" Grace asked in disbelief.

"It was Evan Xiao who saved him," Minister Zhuo said. "So, he truly is our family's great benefactor. That so-called scheme from Windspire Kingdom was actually our own plan—a trap we set in front of Colin Gu."

Grace was stunned. "So where is Grandfather now?"

"You'll find out when you get there," Minister Zhuo replied. "I'm sending you to your grandfather."

Grace said nothing.

"When I met your grandfather, he told me..." Minister Zhuo's eyes grew cold. "It was Colin Gu who colluded with Windspire Kingdom and killed the former Crown Prince (Colin Gu's elder brother, Ray Gu), and nearly killed your grandfather. To cover up the truth, he even set fire to one hundred thousand soldiers, burning them all alive!"

As Grace listened, a chill crept through her heart, and her understanding of Colin Gu reached a whole new level.

How blind had she been in her previous life, to devote herself to an enemy who not only betrayed his own family but also killed her grandfather?

"Only your grandmother and I know about this," Minister Zhuo said. "If it weren't for these sudden events, I would never have told you. Because... if news that your grandfather is still alive reaches Colin Gu, it would mean the end of the Zhuo family!"

Grace's brows twitched, and suddenly, all the mysteries in her heart became clear.