In Empress Dowager Wen's palace.

With a series of loud cracking sounds, the ground was a mess. Inside the palace, the maids and nannies knelt on the floor, trembling with fear, none of them daring to utter a word.

He was born with such a proud and arrogant attitude, and now that he has come this far, he finds it hard to swallow the humiliation he had to endure in the main hall because of a little girl.

The reason she dared not take a final gamble was twofold: firstly, the composure and courage that Yi Shangyun had displayed was completely unexpected and too similar to the majestic demeanor of the late King of Dongning, even surpassing it, which truly intimidated her.

More often than not, it was her own guilty conscience that led her to believe that if things were exposed, her son Mei Zhihao and her maternal clan would die along with her.

As the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope." Now, we have no choice but to compromise and wait for the day we can rise again.

After smashing almost everything in the palace that could be smashed, Empress Dowager Wen finally reached out and grabbed nothing, before finally sitting down angrily.

While panting heavily, he said with a ruthless look in his eyes and tone, "You brat, there's plenty of time ahead of you. Don't be too smug!"

At this moment, Mei Zhihao, who had also been silently staying in a corner, saw that she had calmed down a bit, so he stepped forward and scolded, "Why did Mother compromise with that wretched girl just now? What exactly did she say to you? Are we just going to hand over the position that should belong to us?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Wen, who had just calmed down a little, was instantly reignited in her anger. She glared at Mei Zhihao's face and said, "Are you questioning me?"

"Your subject... Your subject dares not!" When Mei Zhihao saw that the gaze directed at him was somewhat strange, he quickly looked away and lowered his voice.

Although Empress Dowager Wen knew that she was his biological mother, the deceased King of Dongning was also his biological father. If he knew that she had personally poisoned his biological father, she didn't know what he would think or do. In this matter, she dared not gamble, nor could she afford to.

The painstaking care she put into her two children throughout her life was something that Ren Meizhihao and Mei Xiyuan could never truly understand.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Wen ultimately kept quiet and did not pursue the matter further.

He then placed a hand on his forehead and said slowly, "Alright, you should go back now. This matter needs further consideration; we can't just let it go like this!"

Upon hearing this, Mei Zhihao dared not say anything more, so he flicked his sleeves and turned away indignantly.

After a while, she came to her senses and saw the group of servants kneeling on the ground, all of them timidly bowing their heads. She sighed heavily and said, "Alright, all of you stop kneeling and get up!"

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty!"

Only then did everyone bow and thank him, stumble to their feet, and begin busily cleaning up the mess.

Just as everything was tidied up, a young palace maid rushed in to report: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, Princess Yongning requests an audience."

Just then, she was holding a cup of hot tea, about to take a sip, when she heard the voice and said angrily, "What is she doing here? Wasn't what happened in the main hall enough? Does she have to come here to interrogate me now? I want to see what that little slut is up to today. Let her in here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the teacup in his hand was slammed heavily onto the table beside him.

Soon, Yi Shangyun burst through the door, approached her, bowed, and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Wen utterly despised her and, without a word of pleasantries, said directly, "Who is your mother? Stop putting on airs in front of me. I would never dare to have a child like you. You and your mother are exactly the same, always saying one thing in front of others and another in private. I won't fall for your act. Tell me, what brings you here to see me again? No need for beating around the bush."

Yi Shangyun, of course, disdained to be polite to such a venomous woman. Seeing that she did not appreciate his politeness, he straightened up and said frankly, "Since the Empress Dowager says so, then things are much simpler. In fact, I came here today just to find out one thing."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt that her current anger was justified, so she looked at her with utter contempt and, while casually sipping her tea, asked, "What is it?"

A major epidemic has struck Longhu City. It is unknown when I will be able to return, or even if I go there, I may never be able to come back.

After much deliberation, Yi Shangyun, having come all this way, felt compelled to clarify some matters. She exhaled a sigh of relief, frowned, and asked, "I just want to know, did you send someone to kill my mother?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Wen immediately stopped what she was doing, but only for a moment before she resumed sipping her tea and uttered two words sparingly: "No!"

From her eyes, Yi Shangyun could tell that Empress Dowager Wen was not lying at this moment.

But if the truth is not as the legend in the Dongning Imperial Palace says, that he was jealous of his mother's favor with the Emperor and her being made Empress, and thus had murderous intentions, then how exactly did his mother die?

After scrutinizing him for a while, Yi Shangyun had already made up his mind, so he advised him, "Since you didn't do it, I will spare your life for now. However, I will never forgive you for poisoning my father."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Wen seemed to finally feel a little guilty again. She looked at him and asked suspiciously, "What do you want to do?"

Yi Shangyun was silent for a while, then said, "I haven't decided yet, but don't worry. I will absolutely not let you and your child die so easily. I want you to live, because living is far more painful than dying."

"You..." Empress Dowager Wen was clearly stunned.

These past few days, Yi Shangyun had been extremely angry: "We were husband and wife, why are you so heartless and impatient to kill Father Emperor? If he were to pass away one day, and you paid more attention to him and disciplined your son more, Dongning Kingdom would eventually belong to you and your son, and no one could take it away from you. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Empress Dowager Wen slowly rose, gave a cold laugh, and said with a hint of self-mockery, "Yes, this Dongning Kingdom originally belonged to my son and me. But why did you come back? Now that you're back, will my Hao'er still have a share of the throne?"

Yi Shangyun looked at her face, puzzled, and asked, "What did you say? Because of me?"

Empress Dowager Wen took a deep breath and recalled, "Do you know what Lord Zhang's last divination was before he died?"

Yi Shangyun was completely unaware of this. Empress Dowager Wen walked up to her step by step: "Lord Zhang's divination said that the next ruler of Dongning Kingdom will be a woman. Therefore, I wanted to eliminate all those who tried to approach and seduce the Emperor. I just didn't expect that person to be you! You are indeed just like your mother, a vile woman. I truly regret not personally sending you both away with your unborn child back then?"

Seeing him staring wide-eyed at her, mouth opening and closing as he hurled insults and humiliations, as if he had gone mad, Yi Shangyun clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and impulsively wanted to kill him with a single sword stroke.

But then a loud "slap" was heard, and a heavy slap was delivered to Empress Dowager Wen's face. She finally managed to hold back her anger.

Empress Dowager Wen had never been slapped before, so she was both in pain and stunned. She stared in disbelief at Yi Shangyun's face, exclaiming in astonishment, "You, you, you, you actually dare..."

Without a second thought, Yi Shangyun interrupted her, cutting off the rest of her words: "I dare! Why wouldn't I dare? The Empress Dowager should remember this slap!"

For a moment, the two stared at each other for a long time, neither of them speaking.

Seemingly no longer wanting to waste any more words, and having already known what she wanted to know, she slowly turned around, intending to leave.

Suddenly, Empress Dowager Wen's voice rang out again from behind: "Do you really have evidence to prove that I poisoned the late Emperor?"

Yi Shangyun stopped and smiled, then said solemnly, "Why doesn't Your Majesty take a gamble yourself and see if I have any evidence? I hope Your Majesty will remain vigilant at all times. If you are not careful, I will reveal the truth to the public. At that time, your family will become the target of the entire nation's condemnation. Your Majesty must be careful!"

Having said that, Yi Shangyun stepped over the threshold without hesitation, and immediately a series of roars came from behind her: "You wretch, you wretch, I curse you, I curse you..."

After leaving Empress Dowager Wen's palace, Yi Shangyun slowed his pace as he pondered, "It seems that Mother was indeed not killed by the Empress Dowager."

Recalling her experiences in Western Qin and the scattered pieces of information she had gathered, she pieced them together and pondered them over and over. The result was a startling realization: "Could it be that my mother really did die saving the young Prince of Qin? If so, everything seems to make sense. The people the Empress Dowager sent to harm my mother encountered others also intent on harming the prince. Before they could act, my mother was killed by the other group while protecting the prince. Could the rumors about the guardians of Western Qin also be true?"

Then she thought again: "So, I am both the princess of Dongning Kingdom and... a descendant of the guardians of Western Qin!"

However, another question arose in her mind: "But isn't it said that the guardians of Western Qin only protect the true emperor of the current dynasty? Then why did my mother die because of His Highness the Prince of Qin? Could it be... that... Emperor Jing of Western Qin is not the true emperor of the current dynasty!"

Yi Shangyun was instantly stunned by her own reasoning!