Chapter 58 Recognizing Ancestors and Returning to One's Origin

"Wanning is here. Come quickly so I can see her." Empress Dowager Li's words were weak, but her eyes were bright.

Ye Wanning walked over and stood by the bed without saying a word. She really found it hard to face this woman. Every time she saw her, she was reminded of her mother's dying moments, and her heart felt like it was being choked.

"I know you hate me," Empress Dowager Li said softly, "but some things are not as you think."

"Oh? And what about that?" Ye Wanning sneered. "Didn't you order the killing of your own daughter? Didn't you collude with Duke Li to overthrow the Great Qi?"

Empress Dowager Li's expression changed drastically: "You...you knew all along?"

“If you don’t want anyone to know, then don’t do it in the first place,” Ye Wanning said. “Do you think that killing Duke Li will cover everything up?”

Empress Dowager Li suddenly became agitated, grabbing Ye Wanning's hand: "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me! It was Duke Li, he acted on his own! I just wanted to bring Wanqing back so she could be recognized as part of the family..."

"Recognize your ancestors?" Ye Wanning pulled her hand away. "Use a human life to recognize your ancestors?"

Empress Dowager Li wept, "I had no choice... If the late emperor had known I had an illegitimate daughter, not only would I have died, but the entire Li family would have suffered..."

"So you just stood by and watched as Duke Li killed your mother!" Ye Wanning said angrily.

"I..." Empress Dowager Li couldn't continue speaking. Suddenly, she coughed violently and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

A palace maid beside her handed her a handkerchief, looking at her with a panicked expression: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry."

The blood was black, which indicated poisoning; it couldn't possibly be the blood of someone who was sick.

"When did your illness begin?" Ye Wanning asked.

"It was...it was the day after the Duke died," Empress Dowager Li said, panting. "I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and I was coughing up blood..."

Ye Wanning suddenly remembered that her mother had recorded a poison in a medical book called Seven-Day Soul-Destroying Powder, the symptoms of which were chest pain, coughing up blood, and certain death after seven days—which was exactly the same as Empress Dowager Li's symptoms.

"Who did you see for your illness?" Ye Wanning asked.

"It's...it's Physician Liu from the Imperial Hospital," said Empress Dowager Li.

Ye Wanning immediately understood that Physician Liu was a man of Duke Li. It must have been that Duke Li sent Physician Liu to poison Empress Dowager Li before he died, fearing that she would reveal the secret of her mother hiding the rubbing of the military tally.

"This poison, was it given by Physician Liu?" Ye Wanning said.

Empress Dowager Li looked at her in surprise: "You...how did you know?"

“It was recorded in my mother’s medical book,” Ye Wanning said. “The Seven-Day Soul-Destroying Powder will surely kill you in seven days.”

Empress Dowager Li's face turned deathly pale. She grabbed Ye Wanning's hand, pleading, "Wanning, save me! I know I was wrong, please save me..."

Ye Wanning looked at her, her heart filled with mixed emotions. This woman was one of the murderers who killed her mother, but she was also her mother's biological mother and her maternal grandmother.

“I can save you,” Ye Wanning said, “but you must tell me, what secret does the rubbing of the military tally that your mother hid all those years ago hold?”

Empress Dowager Li hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "That rubbing... can summon the vassal kings of the Western Regions, and can also open the late emperor's treasure trove. When the late emperor pacified the Western Regions, he plundered a large amount of gold and silver treasures, which are hidden in one place. Only a rubbing of the military tally can find it."

Ye Wanning's heart suddenly raced. The late emperor's treasure? No wonder Duke Li and the Tantric sect were vying for the rubbing of the military tally!

Where is the treasure?

"I don't know," Empress Dowager Li said. "I only know that it was probably in Cixi Hall... Wanqing hid the rubbings in Cixi Hall back then."

Ci'an Hall? Ye Wanning was startled. She had grown up in Ci'an Hall since childhood, how could she not know about the treasure?

"The Emperor has arrived—" came the voice of a eunuch announcing from outside.

Ye Wanning and Empress Dowager Li both saw surprise in each other's eyes. The Emperor's arrival at this time clearly indicated that he knew about the rubbings.

The Emperor entered the Cining Palace and, upon seeing Ye Wanning, was taken aback: "Second Miss Ye is here too?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Ye Wanning curtsied.

The Emperor waved his hand, walked to Empress Dowager Li's bedside, and frowned: "How is Mother's illness?"

"I am much better now, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern," Empress Dowager Li said, forcing herself to speak.

The Emperor remained silent, only glancing at the medicine bowl beside him. He picked it up and smelled it: "Who prescribed this medicine?"

"It's...it's Physician Liu." The palace maid trembled.

The Emperor's expression changed: "Summon Imperial Physician Liu to me!"

"Yes!" The eunuch obeyed and left.

The Emperor turned to Ye Wanning and said, "Second Miss Ye, I heard you've been investigating your mother's case recently?"

"Yes," Ye Wanning replied. "Your Majesty, I have found some evidence proving that Mother was murdered by Duke Li and the Mi Sect."

"Oh? What evidence is it?"

Just as Ye Wanning was about to speak, Empress Dowager Li interrupted her: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Empress Dowager Li coughed twice: "Actually... Wanqing is my daughter. Years ago, due to certain reasons, she was sent to the Su family to be raised. Later, she learned of the conspiracy between Duke Li and the Secret Sect, which led to Duke Li silencing her. I've wronged her..."

The Emperor was clearly surprised: "Mother, is this true?"

Empress Dowager Li nodded and took out a jade pendant from under her pillow: "This is Wanqing's keepsake; Your Majesty may take a look."

The Emperor took the jade pendant, examined it carefully, and suddenly sighed, "No wonder I always felt that Miss Ye looked somewhat familiar; it turns out she resembles my mother when she was young."

He turned to Ye Wanning: "Second Miss Ye, since that's the case, you are now my cousin. Let bygones be bygones."

Ye Wanning was taken aback by the Emperor's words and paused for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, Duke Li is colluding with the Secret Sect and plotting a rebellion. We cannot let this go!"

“I know,” the Emperor said. “The Duke of Li is dead, and the Esoteric School has been disbanded. Let’s leave this matter here.”

Ye Wanning looked at the Emperor and suddenly understood. The Emperor was afraid that this matter would escalate and affect the stability of the court, so he wanted to settle things peacefully.

Just then, a eunuch rushed in: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Physician Liu... Physician Liu is dead!"

"What?" the Emperor exclaimed in surprise.

"Physician Liu was found dead in the Imperial Hospital, with a dagger stuck in his chest." The eunuch's words made Ye Wanning's heart skip a beat.

With Physician Liu dead, no one can prove that he was the one who poisoned Empress Dowager Li.

"Someone has killed someone to cover it up." The Emperor realized this, his face darkening. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!"

Ye Wanning knew that it was no use saying anything now. She bid farewell to the Emperor and left the Cining Palace.

After leaving the palace, Ye Wanning went straight to Cixi Hall. She was increasingly convinced that something was hidden inside Cixi Hall.

The old shopkeeper seemed somewhat surprised to see her: "Why is the Second Miss back?"

"Old shopkeeper, I have a question for you," Ye Wanning said. "What is hidden in Ci'an Hall?"