"Yes," the eunuch replied, hurrying out to Zhang Lie. "My lord, you didn't even let us report to the Emperor when you came. But the Emperor is the Son of Heaven. He sensed your presence at the door after you stood there for so long and sent us to summon you in!"

Zhang Lie felt his eyes were blurry and his head was buzzing. He followed the eunuch into the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a daze. Just as he was about to pay his respects, the young emperor came forward and stopped him.

The young emperor pulled him along and led him to a chair where he could sit down. Only then did the young emperor return to his dragon throne.

"May I ask, Marquis Weiwu..." The young emperor seemed to be in a very complicated mood, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Well, how has Madam been lately? Do you and your husband still... still often quarrel?"

Zhang Lie almost burst into tears, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, my wife and I have always been doing very well."

The young emperor said dejectedly, "But I heard that you two are about to get a divorce."

Zhang Lie thought for a moment, then swallowed back the words, "The divorce is fake." He needed to go back and discuss the next steps with Xi'er.

The young emperor continued, "I...I've heard that the Marquis of Weiwu is extremely skilled in military command, and even the servants in his household are all highly skilled. I greatly admire him and wonder if I'll have the opportunity to visit his residence..."

"Oh, okay, okay," Zhang Lie hurriedly replied. "Your Majesty can visit my residence anytime you wish."

The young emperor said happily, "That's excellent. However, I will be visiting the Earl's residence incognito, without letting the palace staff or ministers know. Earl, please don't deny recognizing me!"

Zhang Lie said, "Your Majesty is joking. I am..." He almost said "your father," but quickly changed his words, "I am the minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor by the late emperor. How could I not acknowledge Your Majesty?!"

"That's good, that's good," the young emperor said, his voice trembling slightly, as if he were extremely excited.

After a moment of silence in the hall, the young emperor said with a complicated expression, "Oh, the Grand Tutor sent some fine Longjing tea to the palace last time. Lord, could you take some back with you when you return? I heard the Lady likes this tea." His eyes reddened as he spoke, and he added earnestly, "Lord, even if you and the Lady have disagreements, you must... treat each other well..."

"I understand," Zhang Lie hurriedly replied, his voice choked with emotion.

Chu Nian used her spiritual power to probe the situation in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and was somewhat impressed by the young emperor's amazing acting skills: she hadn't expected that Lou Qianzong's acting skills were already so profound at such a young age, and even she, an award-winning actress, had to admire him to the point of prostration.

For some reason, her heart started to ache again when she thought about it.

At the same time, the young emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation also turned pale.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Zhang Lie asked in surprise when he saw that the man's face had suddenly turned pale.

The young emperor said, "It's nothing, perhaps it's because I haven't been sleeping well these past few days." He just felt a sharp pain in his chest, but it subsided quickly. The imperial physician said he didn't have any heart problems, but he had experienced this pain more than once recently.

Zhang Lie said, "Your Majesty, no matter what happens, you must take good care of your health. Your Majesty, I and Grand Tutor Jiang have been entrusted by the late Emperor, and we will protect Your Majesty's empire even if it means our own destruction. Therefore, Your Majesty must not worry too much in the future."

The young emperor smiled and said, "I am very pleased that you say so, Your Excellency. Don't worry, I just didn't rest well last night. I'll lie down for a while and I'll be fine."

After returning, Zhang Lie immediately recounted his conversation with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to Baili Xi in detail. He then asked with a puzzled look, "Xi'er, I don't see any affection from Baili Nian for the young Emperor. On the contrary, he seems to wish he were dead. But he's very fond of Qi'er..."

Baili Xi recalled: "In the years after the child was born, you were on the front lines, and I was busy cultivating my spiritual energy to recover my body and bones damaged by childbirth. The child was taken care of by his parents until he was five years old, when his parents passed away one after another and I recovered. Only then did he return to my side."

But over the years, that child and I have never been very close. He is only polite to you, but extremely distant. I always thought it was because I didn't take care of him when he was young. Now I wonder, could it be that this child already knew he wasn't our flesh and blood?

Although Zhang Lie felt that the matter was almost certain, he was cautious and said, "We still need to carefully inquire with the elders around our parents about this matter. We can't just jump to conclusions."

Baili Xi nodded in agreement.

The General's Mansion still exists today because of the Marquis of Weiwu. Most of the servants there are still there. Zhang Lie sent someone to summon the steward who had been relied upon by his father, as well as the old woman who had always taken care of his mother, to the Marquis of Weiwu's Mansion to inquire about the details of what happened back then.

Upon further questioning, it was discovered that on the night the child was born, the general had indeed taken the child out once. When he returned with the child, he handed him over to his wife, who then held him until the next day when the current Lady of Weiwu awoke.

Zhang Lie and his wife were unwilling to have raised someone else's son for several years, so they went to find the midwife who delivered the baby back then to ask if the child had a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his back.

The midwife said, "There's no birthmark at all! I only remember that the baby was a little small because he was premature, weighing at most three pounds!"

Baili Xi nearly fainted upon hearing this. Although she had fainted after giving birth, she saw her mother-in-law holding the baby the next day, and the baby weighed at least five pounds, not just three pounds.

She asked in a trembling voice, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Midwife: "Madam, the general was extremely generous at the time. I was very careful when I delivered the baby and I was extra careful with the child. I can't be mistaken."

Baili Xi then asked, "Does the child have any other illnesses?"

Midwife: "Then I have no idea."

Baili Xi pressed further, "You don't know? Didn't you take a closer look at the child's skin to see if there was anything unusual about it? Was it yellowish?"

The midwife recalled, "No, I just felt that the child was a little small..." She didn't finish her sentence, but she actually thought the child was too small, and the crying sounded like a mosquito's buzz, so it was very likely that the child wouldn't survive.

Baili Xi's face paled again, because when she woke up the next day, her mother-in-law said that the baby had a bit of jaundice, so his skin looked more yellow than that of a normal newborn baby.

Therefore, it can be determined that the child delivered by the midwife was definitely not the current Zhang Qi.

The late emperor's son was born at full term and weighed five pounds; however, he had jaundice and was physically weak. The late emperor thought he would not survive, so in order to stabilize the court, he ordered the general to exchange his own grandson for this weak and dying prince.

Unexpectedly, the jaundice faded as the child grew, because the general and his wife took meticulous care of him, and the child did not die, but survived.

But by this time the situation was already decided, and if the child were switched back, it would inevitably cause the court officials and the people to question the imperial authority. Therefore, this was the only option.

When the child turned five, he was sent to live with her.