Seemingly sensing Shen Yunxi's shock, the Empress Dowager smiled slightly, her brows furrowed with reminiscence.

"In fact, Consort Yun is a very gentle person. If she had been willing to abort the child to detoxify at that time, things wouldn't have turned out this way later. However, she is also very stubborn. She felt that the child had been in her womb for so long and she couldn't bear to part with it. After all, she was due to give birth in three months, and she greeted the child every day, looking forward to its arrival. Perhaps it was because she had such deep feelings for the child that she wouldn't allow the child to be harmed and was determined to ensure the child's safe delivery."

"Later, the child was born healthy, but the poison in her body was already very deep. Even though the imperial physicians tried everything, they could only prolong her life a little, but they couldn't cure it at all. The late emperor even searched for many folk antidotes to detoxify her, but the effect was still minimal. When the child was five years old, she couldn't hold on any longer. She begged me not to tell the child the truth, not to let the child know that it was because of his existence that her poison had penetrated to the bone marrow. Being able to stay with the child for five years was a blessing from heaven, and she was very content. In the end, Consort Yun died from the poison. Her death was not dignified, but painful, and she suffered a lot of torment. My heart aches."

"The late Emperor was devastated. Consort Yun's death took everything from him. He was in unbearable pain and aged ten years. Before she died, Consort Yun told him that she had never loved him, not even after they had a child. Actually, I think Consort Yun was moved by the late Emperor, but she knew she was dying, so she lied. It was a white lie, in hopes that the late Emperor would cheer up. Unfortunately, the late Emperor was greatly shocked and fell ill, and his health deteriorated significantly."

Hearing these words, Shen Yunxi was deeply shocked. She really didn't expect that the truth of the matter was like this.

At this moment, Shen Yunxi had no doubt about the truthfulness of the Empress Dowager's words. After all, the Empress Dowager had no reason to lie, and her expression spoke volumes.

"Your Majesty, why is it that no one has spread these things yet?" Shen Yunxi asked again.

Not only are there doubts now, but there are also things from her past life that are puzzling. She doesn't understand why this matter wasn't spread and Junxuan didn't know about it.

Given Junxuan's status and position, there's no reason why he couldn't even find out this little bit.

The only possibility is that he was misled and didn't investigate further, or that he witnessed something that made him ignore it.

If he was misled, then that person must be someone he trusts very much. Gaining Junxuan's trust is not easy; emperors have always been suspicious, so he shouldn't be so easily deceived.

What if I witnessed Consort Yun's death? Perhaps there was some misunderstanding in between?

Shen Yunxi was completely baffled. The only way to find out was to ask Junxuan, but Junxuan would never tell her. In her past life, she had inadvertently mentioned Consort Yun, which enraged Junxuan. The name Consort Yun could never be mentioned in front of Junxuan.

Otherwise, before even getting the final result, he might have been strangled to death by Junxuan, who doesn't exactly have a good temper.

The Empress Dowager was unaware of Shen Yunxi's thoughts, and simply assumed that she was merely curious about the cause of Consort Yun's death.

"It's very simple. Mentioning Consort Yun makes the Emperor feel sad. He witnessed his mother die in front of him, and he was devastated. He was only five years old at the time, and the tragic scene of Consort Yun's death left a huge impact on him, making it difficult for him to accept. For the next few months, he locked himself up, and it was only with great difficulty that the late Emperor persuaded him to come out." The Empress Dowager sighed.

In the end, this child is truly pitiful. Watching his mother die in front of him, one can only imagine the immense blow he suffered.

Moreover, Consort Yun died of poisoning, so she must have suffered greatly before her death and her appearance was definitely not good. It was probably because she saw that appearance that Junxuan was left with a shadow in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yunxi completely understood that there must be a misunderstanding between the Empress Dowager and Jun Xuan.

The Empress Dowager was unaware of this misunderstanding and thought that Junxuan had no problem with her, so she did not treat him with any caution and simply regarded him as a junior.

"Does Your Highness know who poisoned her? Since the late Emperor favored Consort Yun so much back then, Consort Yun's poisoning must have been a serious matter in the palace. Shouldn't it have been thoroughly investigated? Since there's no word of this in the palace, can we still find those imperial physicians from before?" Shen Yunxi asked again.

I never expected that she would be here speculating about the past. It's not easy to get to the bottom of everything. There are too many things involved. Just considering Junxuan's stubborn and awkward personality, it's not easy for him to talk things out.

Hearing Shen Yunxi ask these questions, the Empress Dowager was somewhat puzzled, seemingly not understanding why she would care about these old matters, since those matters had no impact on the present.

"Yunxi, what's wrong with you today? Why did you suddenly ask about the cause of Consort Yun's death and why are you so concerned about whether it can be verified?" the Empress Dowager asked.

Of course, Shen Yunxi couldn't tell the truth. The Empress Dowager was in good health, and if she knew that Junxuan might harbor resentment towards her and therefore dislike her, she would be very upset.

Regardless of the circumstances, they had known each other for so many years, and the Empress Dowager still regarded Junxuan as a junior; otherwise, she wouldn't have cared for him so often.

However, the Empress Dowager's concern might not be a good thing for Junxuan. He might even think that the Empress Dowager has something to hide, which is quite possible, since she does know Junxuan to some extent.

"Your Majesty need not worry. I simply overheard someone mention Consort Yun earlier, which piqued my curiosity. Considering that Consort Yun is a gentle and quiet woman, I couldn't help but ask. If Consort Yun were still alive, she would be the Empress Dowager now, and perhaps she and Your Majesty could still drink tea and listen to music together in the past." Shen Yunxi chuckled.

When the Empress Dowager heard Shen Yunxi say this, she didn't think much of it. Unexpectedly, she thought of Consort Yun and immediately nodded and sighed softly.

"Yes, if she were still alive, she would surely be happy to see such an outstanding emperor. However, as for who poisoned her, it was actually due to the infighting in the harem. It seems that a newly entered beauty saw that Consort Yun was deeply favored by the late emperor, and thus could not control her jealousy, so she secretly plotted against Consort Yun. At that time, it even reached my ears, and in the end, I ordered that beauty to be executed. She didn't cause any other trouble in the harem," the Empress Dowager replied.

The events of more than a decade ago have passed, and the Empress Dowager doesn't remember them very clearly. However, she did have an impression of the beauty who was personally appointed by her.