"Sure enough, within two months, I became swollen all over and gained a lot of weight. At that time, your father thought I was carrying twins and asked Physician Jiang to take my pulse. However, Physician Jiang was not good at obstetrics and gynecology. He only said that I was eating too much and that I should stop taking supplements, otherwise there would be a great risk during childbirth."

"The Emperor then ordered the Imperial Kitchen to remove all the highly nourishing ingredients. Consort Guo and the imperial physician were terrified and became much more restrained. Mother Consort took the opportunity to reduce his prescription by half. But when I was seven months pregnant with you, I discovered many patterns on my belly, and no amount of fragrant ointment could help."

"After discussing it with Granny Zhang, we realized that this matter might not necessarily be a bad thing, depending on how we use it. Anyway, I can never have another child for the Emperor in this lifetime. So, I used this as an excuse to cause a scene at Yuqing Palace, and as we expected, the Emperor gradually distanced himself from us. Yu'er, only in this way will you be truly safe."

"The previous dynasty has been gone for so long. The ministers and generals of the previous dynasty are either dead or old. I am just a woman. All I can do is protect my son."

At this point, Lu Xiaoyun had completely understood what had happened.

"So, that's why Father and Grandmother were never sure if you knew about your origins?"

Consort Duan looked at Lu Xiaoyun in horror: "You, you mean, your father, the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager, they know about my background?"

She had her doubts, especially in recent years, when the premonition had become extremely strong, but she couldn't verify it with anyone.

Lu Xiaoyun nodded: "Yes, Father and Grandmother already knew your identity."

Consort Duan's face drained of color. She hurriedly stood up and pushed Lu Xiaoyun out, saying, "Yu'er, you must leave quickly. Take someone you trust and go to the Northwest. No, you can't go to the Northwest. The Emperor and Empress Dowager know without a doubt that the Northwest is unsafe. Where can you go? Where can you go so they can't find you?"

"Yu'er, Yu'er..." Consort Duan was terrified, her whole body trembling, and she could barely stand.

"Mother, Mother!" Lu Xiaoyun gripped Consort Duan's shoulders tightly.

Consort Duan was filled with fear. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager knew? How did they find out? When did they find out? Were there already heavy troops outside Prince An's residence? Were they coming to kill Yu'er?

"Yu'er, run! They'll kill you, they'll, they'll kill you..." Consort Duan choked with sobs.

"Mother!" Lu Xiaoyun grabbed Consort Duan's hand tightly, her wrist throbbing with pain as she awoke with a start. "Yu, Yu'er..."

“Mother, Father and Grandmother knew about it eighteen years ago. On my fifth birthday, Father’s secret guards had already found out your identity.”

"Wh-what? Eighteen years ago? They knew so early on, but why, why didn't they kill me?"

Why have they kept them alive all this time? Were they waiting for the right opportunity to kill the mother and son? Now that the Empress Dowager has brought her to Prince An's residence, does that mean the time has come?

Fear spread to every pore of Consort Duan's body.

It doesn't matter how she dies; whether she's torn to pieces or sliced ​​into a thousand pieces, she'll accept it all.

But Yu'er can't be harmed!

"Mother, please calm down!"

Lu Xiaoyun helped Consort Duan sit down and poured her a cup of warm tea, handing it to her.

Consort Duan's trembling hands could not even hold the teacup.

Lu Xiaoyun stared into Consort Duan's eyes and said, word by word, "Mother, the reason why Father and Grandmother didn't kill you and me is because they always thought you didn't know about your origins. So, Mother, you can't let Father and the others know about this."

Consort Duan finally calmed down. Right, a few days after Yu'er's birthday eighteen years ago, she discovered that her personal maid, Zhang Mama, had been switched.

Consort Duan immediately said, "Yu'er, the current Zhang Mama is not the original one."

"What's the meaning?"

"The real Granny Zhang is dead."

Just as she expected, she sent Xi Yi to investigate, but there was still no news. She had no doubt about the capabilities of Zhu Yu's secret guards, so it should be soon.

"Are you saying that the real Zhang Mama has been killed by Father, and the current Zhang Mama is an imposter? A spy planted by Father by your side?"

Consort Duan nodded.

Lu Xiaoyun was shocked. She had only ever seen this kind of plot in novels and on TV before, and she never expected it to actually happen to her.

No wonder Zhu Yu said that day that Zhang Mama wasn't Consort Duan's person. Perhaps he only suspected that Zhang Mama had been bribed by the old emperor, and probably didn't know that Zhang Mama had been replaced.

Otherwise, Zhu Yu would have sent people to investigate her background long ago.

The emperor's purpose was to have Zhang Mama monitor whether Consort Duan knew about her true parentage.

Therefore, the more Consort Duan openly expressed her desire for her son to seize the throne in front of everyone, the less suspicious the old emperor became of them.

Only in this way will Zhu Yu be safer!

She used to not understand why Consort Duan, a high-ranking imperial concubine, always spoke without thinking.

So that's the reason.

The more "foolish" Consort Duan appeared, the more at ease the old emperor would feel.

Why did the Empress Dowager tell her about her mother's background?

"Then, Mother, when did you realize that Zhang Mama wasn't the same person as before?"

Consort Duan choked up and said, "Just a few days after your fifth birthday, on the very day you were switched, your mother noticed something was wrong. A person's face can be faked, their voice can be changed, and even their posture can be altered, but a person's eyes cannot lie."

Oh, so the emperor already knew back then.

"When I discovered that Zhang Mama, who was by my side, had been replaced, I didn't know what had happened. I was terrified, but I didn't dare to show it. I was afraid that my true identity would be discovered, but I also thought it was unlikely. Zhang Mama, the mute slave's nephew, had personally confirmed that he was indeed dead."

"At first, I was worried that your father and the others would find out about my background, but as time went by, they didn't show any unusual behavior. They never shortchanged me what was rightfully mine. Apart from distancing themselves from you, they didn't have any intention of killing you."

“I am a princess of the previous dynasty. The emperor is not a magnanimous person. How could he possibly spare you and me? They probably didn’t know about my background, so I gradually stopped doubting it. My indifference towards you is also due to my involvement.”

“But I think this is good, really, Yu’er. Only in this way can you survive in this palace that eats people without spitting out the bones.”

"Ha, they're really good at disguising themselves; they knew all along."

Lu Xiaoyun pursed her lips. Both sides were pretending; it was just a matter of who had the better acting skills.

"Granny Zhang is probably dead. Apart from Chunfang, who is still in the laundry department, there is no one else of use around Mother Consort."