Zhang Wan had no choice but to give the Empress Dowager an acupuncture needle, keeping her alive until her last breath.
"Yi'er, Zhizhi, come here," Zhang Jun instructed.
Zhao Yi walked closer, and Zhao Zhi also hesitated before approaching a little closer.
Zhang Jun held Zhao Yi's hand with his left hand and Zhao Zhi's hand with his right hand, and said slowly, "Actually, you two are siblings."
Zhao Yi and Zhao Zhi were both startled. They glanced at each other and then looked at Zhang Jun.
"That was over ten years ago..."
The truth, which had been buried for more than a decade, was revealed by Zhang Jun.
In 308 AD, the Yun Dynasty, which was geographically close to the Da Xuan Dynasty, launched an internal rebellion.
Emperor Yunling was poisoned to death by his uncle, Yunshu.
After Yun Shu poisoned Yun Ling, he planned to imprison Empress Cui Jiao, but instead poisoned her with a love potion.
Women poisoned by this kind of love potion need to have intercourse with a man every month to slow down the effects of the poison; otherwise, they will die suddenly.
"That day, perhaps it was fate that I was destined to become a member of the Zhao family." As he said this, Zhang Jun glanced at Zhao Zhi.
With the desperate protection of several palace maids, Cui Jiao escaped from the palace and fled to the Dasheng Dynasty along the Grand Canal that runs between the Yun Dynasty and the Dasheng Dynasty.
That day, Zhang Jun was in a bad mood. Emperor Zhao Xuan accompanied her on a boat trip to inspect the Grand Canal.
Zhang Jun was exhausted and went to bed early. Zhao Xuan gazed at the long river of lamplight, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Suddenly, he noticed a person lying on the riverbank and quickly had someone rescue them. It was Cui Jiao, who had escaped from Yunchao with great difficulty.
Cui Jiao lied, claiming that she was being forced into marriage by her family and had accidentally fallen into the water.
Cui Jiao was already stunningly beautiful, and Zhao Xuan fell in love with her at first sight.
He lied that he was a wealthy businessman from the neighborhood and was unmarried. He bought Cui Jiao a courtyard house in the suburbs, and the two pretended to be husband and wife.
"Actually, your mother had already guessed his identity when your father inspected the Grand Canal. In order to save her life, she pretended to know nothing and married your father."
At this point, Zhang Jun sighed deeply, "These are things that your father told me after Cui Jiao was captured by Yun Shu."
Cui Jiao's whereabouts in the Great Xuan Dynasty were still leaked.
Three days after giving birth to Zhao Zhi, Zhao Xuan returned to the palace to handle state affairs. It was during this break that Cui Jiao was captured and taken back by the Yun Dynasty.
Zhang Jun looked at Zhao Zhi and saw that she was in a daze, clearly frightened by these past events.
Zhao Zhi never imagined that the secrets of Yunchao that she learned from the Master—that Cui Jiao, whose husband was poisoned, whose son was missing, and who later committed suicide by swallowing gold because she could not bear the humiliation—was actually her own biological mother.
She turned to look at Zhang Wan, the woman she had called "Mother" for fourteen years, who was now looking at her with a face full of sorrow.
Zhao Zhi couldn't help but burst into tears.
She murmured, "No, this can't be true. My mother was Zhang Wan, the wife of Grand Secretary Zhao Shouzhen. She only had two daughters in her life: my sister Zhao Yun and me..."
Although Zhao Yi did not want to admit his father's romantic escapades, the fact that the words came from his grandmother meant that Zhao Zhi's identity could not be faked.
Judging from the current situation, Zhao Zhi clearly did not believe it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a fruit knife in the fruit plate next to Yang Guifei's couch, and an idea came to him.
He ordered someone to bring a bowl of water, took a drop of his own blood and a drop of Zhao Zhi's blood, and in a short while, the two drops of blood completely mixed together.
Zhao Zhi staggered and took a step back.
Zhao Yi pressed on, "Zhizhi, you've had to attend evening study sessions every night since you were three years old, right?"
Zhao Zhi suddenly looked at him, then at her mother, Zhang Wan. "These things, my mother told you, didn't she?"
Zhao Yi shook his head. "Your teachers were all arranged by the Empress Dowager. I naturally knew that too. At that time, I only thought that the Empress Dowager favored you, and I didn't know there was more to it than met the eye."
"Think about it carefully again. Why does your mother always make you wear a human skin mask when you go out?" Zhang Jun reminded Zhao Zhi.
Zhao Zhi lowered her head in thought. Except for the time she went to Qinglian Temple to pray for blessings, when she was lazy and didn't wear the human skin mask, she always wore a mask whenever she went out.
It turned out that her mother wanted her to hide her identity.
She suddenly remembered that every time she saw Cui Shenghe, he wore a human skin mask, which was probably the reason.
In the span of fourteen years of her life, Zhao Zhi suddenly had two older brothers, one of whom was the former crown prince of the Yun Dynasty and the other was the current emperor of the Da Xuan Dynasty. Zhao Zhi was a little at a loss.
Her gaze swept over Zhao Yi, then looked at Zhang Wan, and finally landed on Empress Dowager Zhang Jun.
"Great-aunt...I..." Zhao Zhi hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
"Silly child, you should change your address. Be good, call her Grandmother." Zhang Jun lovingly stroked Zhao Zhi's head and said with emotion, "This old woman can finally go down to see your father without any worries."
Zhao Zhi cried uncontrollably, "Grandma, you will surely live to be a hundred years old."
Zhang Jun patted Zhao Zhi's hand and said earnestly, "Wan'er is a good mother. After Grandmother passes away, you must take good care of her, understand?"
Zhao Zhi nodded, her voice choked with emotion.
Zhang Jun was a little tired, and Zhao Zhi helped her lie down. Then she said, "Zhizhi, now that you've come of age and your royal status is clear, how about Grandma gives you a name?"
Zhao Zhi nodded repeatedly.
Zhang Jun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Zhu Yan Mao Chunhua, Bian Hui Huai Qingzhen. Our Zhizhi is intelligent, beautiful, and straightforward. How about we name her Zhao Chunhua? Does Zhizhi like it?"
"I like it, Grandma, I like it very much."
"Okay, I'm glad you like it. Yi'er, you must take good care of your little sister..."
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