"Insolence! Stop!"

Just as Zhao Zhong was rolling on the ground, an old and dignified voice rang out.

An elderly woman, dressed entirely in gold and silver and exuding unparalleled elegance, stormed out, supported by a group of maids and eunuchs.

The person who came was none other than Empress Dowager Dong, the birth mother of Liu Hong, the current emperor of the Han Dynasty!

Empress Dowager Dong had a full head of white hair and her face was covered with wrinkles.

She often held high positions, and her eyes exuded authority without anger.

Empress Dowager Dong was from Hejian and was the wife of Liu Chang, the Marquis of Jiedu.

Emperor Huan of Han died without an heir. His empress, Dou Miao, was honored as Empress Dowager. Together with her father, Dou Wu, she established Liu Hong as emperor, who became Emperor Ling of Han.

After Emperor Ling of Han ascended the throne, he posthumously honored his father Liu Chang as Emperor Xiaoren and his mother Dong as Consort Shenyuan.

Later, Lady Dong was honored as Empress Xiaoren, and because she resided in Yongle Palace, she was commonly known as "Empress Dowager Yongle".

After Empress Dowager Dou Miao died, Dong became Empress Dowager. She sold official positions and goods, amassed wealth, and began to interfere in court affairs.

Empress Dowager Dong deserves much credit for the Han Dynasty's corruption and depravity.

As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, you should consider its owner's feelings!

At this moment, Empress Dowager Dong saw that Liu Wei dared to beat someone in her Yongle Palace, and her face was already covered with frost.

"You're causing trouble in my Yongle Palace, do you have a death wish?"

Zhao Zhongru was granted a pardon: "Empress Dowager, I have no grudge against the King of Yunzhong, but he is about to beat me to death!"

"Also, the young prince was knocked to the ground and bled!"

"What?"

Empress Dowager Dong was even more furious.

Liu Xie is now the apple of her eye; if anyone dares to touch a hair on his head, Empress Dowager Dong will definitely kill them on the spot.

The two young eunuchs who were playing with Liu Xie earlier were so terrified because of this.

But now Liu Xie has been thrown to the ground by Liu Wei and is bleeding. This is practically going to kill Empress Dowager Dong.

"You must be Liu Wei, the King of Clouds? What brings you here to me?"

"If anything happens to Xie'er, don't blame me for being heartless!"

Empress Dowager Dong said with a gloomy face.

"Grandmother, it was Father Emperor who sent me to pay my respects to you!"

Faced with Empress Dowager Dong's fury, Liu Wei remained calm, saying, "This is all Zhao Zhong's side of the story. Why not listen to what the person involved has to say?"

"Xie'er, what just happened?" Empress Dowager Dong looked at Liu Xie, who had followed behind, with an uncertain expression.

"Your Majesty, I fell down while playing."

Liu Xie calmly replied, "But my elder brother helped me up when he saw me fall."

“Zhao Daban misunderstood the Emperor and spoke rudely to him, which is why the Emperor took action.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhong immediately cried out, "My little prince, you must tell the truth!"

Empress Dowager Dong looked at Liu Wei, then at Zhao Zhong, and then at Liu Xie.

"My grandmother always taught me to be honest and sincere. I will tell you the truth as it is!"

Liu Xie remained expressionless.

I never expected a ten-year-old child to be so calm and composed.

No wonder that later, when there was turmoil in the palace, Liu Xie and Liu Bian fled the palace and encountered Dong Zhuo's army that was heading to the capital.

Seeing the army at its peak and Dong Zhuo's menacing aura, Liu Bian was too frightened to utter a word.

Liu Xie, however, stood up and loudly questioned Dong Zhuo why he did not dismount and pay homage to the current emperor.

Dong Zhuo was immediately shocked by Liu Xie and also considered deposing Emperor Shao Liu Bian and installing Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu.

Furthermore, Dong Zhuo and Empress Dowager Dong were from Longxi and Hejian, respectively. Apart from sharing the same surname, they had absolutely no connection.

However, Dong Zhuo showed affection for those with the same surname.

Dong Cheng, the nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, was highly valued during Dong Zhuo's reign.

Dong Zhuo deposed the young emperor and installed the Prince of Chenliu, and made Dong Cheng's daughter, Dong Wan, a concubine, thus fulfilling the wish of Empress Dowager Dong, who had been poisoned by Empress He.

Regardless of what Liu Xie's future holds, his eloquent speech has not only pleased Empress Dowager Dong but also earned him new respect from Liu Wei.

"What Xie'er said is indeed true, so let's leave it at that."

"Liu Wei, you went too far! Zhao Zhong is probably crippled by you. You have to give an explanation for this."

Although Empress Dowager Dong believed Liu Xie's words, she couldn't let it go that Liu Wei, who had come to pay his respects, had hit her loyal lackey.

"Grandmother, three months ago in Hetao, I captured two people from the palace. They've confessed! Guess what they said?"

Liu Wei said slowly.

"What did they say?" Empress Dowager Dong asked, her breath catching in her throat.

No wonder the two eunuchs who infiltrated the delegation last time to contact Liu Wei's pawns never returned. Now that it's confirmed they've fallen into Liu Wei's hands, I wonder what Liu Wei found out.

"Grandmother, they said they were sent by someone from the Luoyang Palace!"

Liu Wei remained calm and said, "They also said that I have people around me who are monitoring my every move."

"Grandmother probably doesn't know about this!"

Empress Dowager Dong's expression changed drastically, and she feigned surprise: "I had no idea such a thing existed!"

Liu Wei said with a half-smile, "They confessed who sent them!"

Empress Dowager Dong looked embarrassed and asked nervously, "Who did they all talk about?"

Liu Wei stared into Empress Dowager Dong's eyes. Empress Dowager Dong met Liu Wei's gaze for a while, but finally looked away guiltily.

Liu Wei sneered: "This man is Zhao Zhong!"

Empress Dowager Dong breathed a sigh of relief: "This matter cannot be discussed lightly. Are you sure they are not framing us?"

“Both of them have testimonies, which I have with me. I came here to ask the Empress Dowager for an explanation.”

"Would you like to take a look?"

Empress Dowager Dong waved her hands repeatedly: "How could I possibly question the imperial grandson?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!