“Sister, you go ahead. I’ll stay here and watch over her to prevent her from playing any tricks. There are more than just one or two secret passages in Cixi Palace.” Zhaoping clenched her fists, and every word she spoke seemed to have been chewed over a thousand times.

It seems she truly hates the Empress Dowager so much that she doesn't want to give her even the slightest chance of survival!

"Alright, then you stay here and watch over her. Make sure she doesn't die. I still have some questions to ask her," Ji Fengyao said meaningfully before leading Xique and Bailu out.

I heard the door behind me close.

Zhaoping's body trembled involuntarily. She had never been cruel enough to torture anyone in her life, but now, she really wanted to!

The usually delicate girl, step by step, seemed to be treading on her own bumpy path of fate.

The footsteps were light, yet tragic.

Although the Empress Dowager could not control herself, she still retained some rationality. Looking at the girl she had raised, who was usually timid and had no presence, and was even disliked by the servants for being weak, she felt that the girl was somewhat frightening at this moment.

But the Empress Dowager did not believe that Zhaoping, who was like a lump of mud, could be transformed into a different person overnight.

She still held onto a sliver of hope, and while struggling desperately, she reached out to Zhaoping for help: "Zhaoping, save your aunt."

Zhaoping stopped in front of the bed, looking coldly at the Empress Dowager, who was in a terrible state, without saying a word.

The Empress Dowager felt a chill in her heart, but still asked in disbelief, "Zhaoping, what's wrong with you? Aijia is your aunt, your only relative in this world! How did they bewitch you? Are you going to watch your aunt die?"

"Are you my aunt?" Zhaoping's voice, still somewhat childish, was filled with despair and coldness: "Even if you are my aunt, do you consider me family?"

The Empress Dowager paused slightly, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes: "Was it Zheng Mama, Simeng, and Siyi tortured into confessing by those bandits? Don't listen to those dog servants' nonsense. You're the only bloodline left in the Sun family. How could your aunt not love you?"

“Heh…” Zhao Ping laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face. When he looked at the Empress Dowager, it was as if she was looking at a dog, not a person. “I understand. In this palace, power and sex are intertwined. Anyone who can sit in the position of Empress Dowager is not a good person. I have also thought that you do have the intention of using me to deal with the Ninth Prince.”

I even convinced myself to accept your exploitation, because it's an unavoidable fate for every member of the royal family; being in the royal family means having a reason to exist.

But what I didn't expect was that I wasn't royalty at all; I originally had a lowly life, but one that could have been peaceful.

"You...you shouldn't listen to their nonsense..."

"The one who said these words was none other than yourself, Empress Dowager!" Zhaoping roared in grief, "That night you summoned Simeng and Siyi for questioning, and I was right here under the back window, I heard it all clearly! I am just a lowly slave's daughter, just a tool you used to deal with the Ninth Prince. You even used me to grow a disgusting thing inside me, to use my flesh and blood and my life to prolong the life of you, you vicious old woman!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager was utterly desperate. She rolled around on the bed, muttering, "That night you actually hid by the back window, how could that be... You were that bandit! It must have been that bandit!"

Despite all my precautions, I still couldn't prevent that bandit from turning you to their side!