At this point, a cold glint suddenly flashed in He Wenqing's eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well. Shen Mingzhuang was startled and opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words of comfort, but he didn't know where to begin.

Decades have passed since then. Now, when people talk about it, they just listen to it as a story. But how can outsiders know what the person involved felt at the time, or what kind of pain they suffered?

Shen Mingzhuang took a deep breath, rested his chin on his hands, and listened quietly to He Wenqing speak.

"I was frantic at the time. He was perfectly healthy, and there had been no news of him being sick in the past five years. How could he suddenly be gone?" He Wenqing's hands, which looked like withered bamboo, clenched involuntarily, as if he was trying his best to endure something.

"After going through countless difficulties, I finally found out that Zhen'er died in the Empress's palace. It was said that her death was extremely gruesome; her body was dismembered and fed to the dogs. I didn't believe it at the time. Didn't the Emperor love her so much? Why would he let her end up like that?"

Shen Mingzhuang suddenly felt that this explanation was somewhat familiar. She couldn't help but think back carefully. Her pupils shrank slightly. Not long after she woke up, Jiang Wang seemed to have mentioned this matter when he explained the news from five years ago to her, about the cause of his mother's death.

He didn't go into that much detail, only saying that his mother died at the hands of the Empress Dowager, her body mutilated beyond recognition. Therefore, he hated the Empress Dowager the most, and now that she was in such a wretched state, he was still not satisfied.

At the time, she didn't know how to comfort Jiang Wang. She just felt that too many things in this world are unpredictable. Although she knew that Yin Rong was ruthless, she did not expect that Yin Rong was so ruthless when she was young. How twisted must her heart be to dismember a person to death?

Thinking about all this, Shen Mingzhuang felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed that letting Yin Rong be paralyzed in bed was really too merciful.

Such a person should be thrown into the wild and left to fend for themselves, with no one else allowed to care for her!

"That old hag Yin Rong, she got off too well!"

"You..." He Wenqing was puzzled when she heard this and realized there seemed to be some hidden story. Since she was the emperor's concubine, she should have had a good relationship with the former empress and the current empress dowager. Why would she hate the empress dowager so much?

"Do you know which child Qiao Zhen'er has, and what their name is?"

He Wenqing didn't expect her to ask this. The child was of the Jiang family bloodline, and he had never cared about him at all. The Jiang family had caused Qiao Zhen'er to end up like this, so why would he care about what a royal child's name was or what his birth order was?

"If I'm not mistaken, the current emperor is Qiao Zhen'er's child."

He Wenqing froze, his lips trembling, unable to believe it: "What did you say?"

He wondered if he had misheard. Qiao Zhen'er's fate was terrible, yet her son became emperor? Had Yin Rong gone mad?

“That’s right, His Majesty should be the child born to Qiao Zhen’er. His Majesty has suffered a lot over the years. He personally witnessed Consort Qiao being tortured to death by Yin Rong. Even after many years, His Majesty still often grieves over this. Perhaps Grandpa He Wen doesn’t know that he is different from other members of the royal family.”

Seeing the shock on He Wenqing's face, Shen Mingzhuang felt a glimmer of hope and decided to tell He Wenqing everything Jiang Wang had done.

"Over the years, His Majesty has worked diligently to govern the country, abolishing the harem, which has brought peace and prosperity to the land, allowing the people to live and work in peace. However, they do not know that within the capital, His Majesty's hair has turned white, and he has devoted himself to the cause of the people. Yet, the two powerful families of the Duke of Yin and the Duke of Song are still eyeing him covetously. If His Majesty dies this time, it will only serve the purposes of these wolves and tigers. Grandfather He Wen, the current emperor is also Qiao Zhen'er's child. The Yin and Song families are accomplices in the death of Qiao Zhen'er. Can you really bear to see him being bullied by these two families again?"

Every time He Wenqing heard Qiao Zhen'er's name, his heart trembled a little more. He originally thought she was someone who had nothing to do with him, but he never expected that she would be Qiao Zhen'er's son.

If he really is Qiao Zhen'er's son, can he really sit idly by? He remained unmarried for Qiao Zhen'er's sake, yet Qiao Zhen'er's child still met a tragic end. Can he really live with himself?

Thinking about all this, He Wenqing felt very heavy-hearted.

But this young lady was quite capable. He was worried that these were just excuses she used to trick him into helping her save the man, so he didn't dare to agree immediately. "No matter who he is, I will see him for myself before I reply to you. If you are lying to me, even if he is Qiao Zhen'er's child, I will absolutely not pay any attention to him."

Although he didn't agree immediately, his attitude was completely different from his previous outright rejection. Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhuang was overjoyed and readily agreed, "Grandpa He Wen, you'll know once you come to the capital with me."

Benyue Lingfeng and his group had arrived a while ago. They saw Shen Mingzhuang talking to He Wenqing, so they didn't come over. Instead, they set up a protective net around the Empress and protected her quietly.

After reaching an agreement with He Wenqing, Shen Mingzhuang had people tidy up the place. After a whole night of turmoil, she was finally out of danger and exhausted. She was about to collapse if she didn't rest. "Rest here tonight. Leave two people to keep watch. Everyone eat something and take a nap. We'll head back to the capital early tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing that they could return to the capital, Shen Mingzhuang heard a collective sigh of relief from all around him.

It's clear that everyone is eager to return to Beijing, or rather, eager to leave this deep forest of Qingmao Mountain. But thinking about it, after what happened tonight, who would want to stay here? The wolves in the mountains have all become cunning.

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