A sense of loneliness grew wildly in Jun Zhe's heart. At this moment, he felt that he was all alone in the vast world. A huge sense of loneliness and panic surrounded him.

Suddenly, a funny and playful face appeared in his mind, and he felt as if he had seen a ray of hope.

Empress!

His phoenix voice!

His eyes immediately brightened, and the sudden feeling of loneliness quickly subsided. His cold gaze swept over the Empress Dowager and looked at Yun Yue, who stood quietly to the side with her hands in her sleeves. He asked, "Empress Dowager, tell me the truth about how you switched the children."

Yun Yue's already clouded gaze swept over the Empress Dowager, and she bowed to Jun Zhe, replying, "This servant obeys! At that time, the Empress Dowager had just been released from the Cold Palace."

"You lowly servant, how dare you!" The Empress Dowager glared at Yunyue and shouted coldly.

Yun Nian's long eyebrows furrowed. "Empress Dowager, my sister and I have served you for a long time, and my sister was almost killed because of you. Don't you feel even a little bit of remorse?"

The Empress Dowager sneered: "You are loyal to me, so I will bestow upon you wealth and honor. This is perfectly fair. Besides, if you are truly loyal, you should be loyal to the emperor. I ordered your sister to die, but she refused. What kind of loyalty is that? She is nothing but a treacherous person who abandons righteousness for personal gain. It is truly laughable that she dares to talk to me about the bond between master and servant!"

Yun Nian couldn't breathe and felt like she was about to suffocate.

Yun Yue stopped Yun Nian, who was about to speak, and shook her head. She bowed respectfully to the Empress Dowager with her hunched back, then stood up and said neither servilely nor arrogantly, "The Empress Dowager said that if the master wants me to die, I will be disloyal if I do not die. You are right. However, I have already died for you once. My current life was given to me by the late Empress. I dare not die until the late Empress gives the order."

"What did you say?" The Empress Dowager flew into a rage, leaping to her feet and pointing a trembling finger at Yun Yue. "You actually betrayed me and sided with her? You vile servant! I was right to kill you that day!"

"I didn't pledge allegiance to anyone back then. It was the late Empress who gave me my life, and I wanted to keep this life to repay her. Everyone in the palace thought I had cursed the late Empress, and even I thought someone wanted to harm the Empress Dowager and framed me to implicate her. Only the late Empress didn't believe it." Yun Yue, who was initially agitated when she saw Yun Nian, had calmed down and slowly recounted her past.

"Hmph! That wretched woman has always been self-important, insisting on having different ideas from others to show how incredibly clever she is. Little does she know that no matter how clever she is, can she be cleverer than His Majesty? If she is too clever and surpasses His Majesty, then she is not clever but stupid. At that time, His Majesty thought that I was framed, so she should have followed His Majesty's wishes. But she insisted on being clever. How ridiculous!" The Empress Dowager harbored a lot of resentment towards the late Empress, and her anger remained unabated even after so many years.

Jun Zhe was initially filled with anger upon hearing her mockery of his birth mother, and he couldn't help but want to slam his fist on the table and stand up. But at this moment, he felt extremely sorry for the Empress Dowager.

If the Empress Dowager had truly defeated the late Empress, why would she still harbor resentment for so many years?

Yun Yue said respectfully, "The late Empress was indeed not as good at adapting to changing circumstances and being as shrewd as the Empress Dowager. However, justice will prevail. In my heart, the late Empress was a truly blessed and wise mistress."