"Even now, you're still trying to make excuses," Concubine Yun said. "I have no grudges against anyone. Who would want to exchange my child for mine?"
The Empress Dowager sneered: "Which woman in the harem doesn't regard each other as mortal enemies and have no grudges or hatred?"
Long Yi said to Concubine Yun in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, mother."
I think the whole story is right in front of me.
Concubine Yun nodded, and Long Yi ordered Pang Gaozhuo to take action.
Pang Gaozhuo raised his hand and directed his four men to carry Gu Zhong and the imperial physician to the bench.
"It's unfair, this old minister is innocent!" the old doctor struggled and shouted.
Gu Zhong lay there calmly.
Seeing this, Fu Ciyi moved his fingers slightly.
Pang Gaozhuo understood.
Fu Beimo also saw his brother's gesture, and immediately walked over quickly. Together with Pang Gaozhuo, they removed the jaws of Gu Zhong and the old doctor.
"This will prevent them from accidentally biting off their tongues due to the pain when being beaten." Fu Ciyi said lightly.
The meaning is clear, I'm just afraid that they will bite their tongues to commit suicide.
Fu Beimo also spoke up: "It can also prevent you from hearing the screams like ghosts and wolves howling. After all, the Empress Dowager's Palace is always quiet."
He has always been quiet, so this statement is full of irony.
It means that the Empress Dowager often invited opera troupes into the palace, causing a lot of noise.
The two brothers sang in unison, which made the Empress Dowager angry.
Soon, sticks as thick as arms hit Gu Zhong and the imperial physician's buttocks one after another.
Because their lower jaws were removed, everyone could only hear the whimpering and low growling coming from the bottom of their throats.
The Empress Dowager glanced at them, her heart aching, and she turned sideways and said, "Emperor, Empress Dowager."
She decided to give it another try: "I am indeed a victim. Just imagine, I am a woman who just gave birth and I am at my weakest. How could I possibly switch babies?"
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "There are many things you don't have to do yourself."
Qiao Wanyou continued, "What the Queen Mother said is absolutely true. For example, when the Empress Dowager poisoned me, it was someone else who did it. How could the Empress Dowager do it herself?"
The Empress Dowager choked upon hearing this and quickly called out, "Emperor, think about it. Have I ever treated you unfairly in the past forty years? I have always treated you as my own son and wanted to give you the best."
"No, it was you who switched the two princes back then, so you know best that the one you're raising isn't your own. When he was still in the Jin Palace, you wanted the estate to go to the legitimate son, so you sent your niece from your mother's side to marry into the Jin Palace, and you did everything you could to replace me with the Ling family." Qiao Wanyou said bluntly, "And now, during this period after the New Year, you've been trying to win over court officials, persuading them to suggest to the Emperor that Long Lihui be made the crown prince. Just because Long Lihui is the Ling family's son, your great-nephew, you think the Ling family has a share in the Dajing Kingdom. Empress Dowager, am I right?"
"Qiao, you are slandering me!" The Empress Dowager was so angry that she was shaking all over.
Long Yi said calmly: "If you really want to do good for me, you should know that the woman in my heart is only Wanyou."
"You want to talk about the poisoning and the fire?" The Empress Dowager said quickly, "These have nothing to do with me!"
Long Yi sneered and shook his head. "Putting all that aside, you've disliked Wanyou ever since she became my princess consort. I clearly told you not to bully her, but you agreed readily on the surface, yet you still do the same old things behind the scenes. I didn't know before, but now I know. Do you think this is what a biological mother would want to see? Would she want to see her son and daughter-in-law live in chaos?"
The Empress Dowager raised her voice, "Nonsense! There are countless cases of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law having bad relationships in this world. According to what the Emperor said, aren't they all real mother and son? I don't like Qiao because I'm afraid she'll seduce you and make you lose your fighting spirit."
Long Yi didn't want to respond, but just watched quietly as sticks were raised and fell one after another in the yard.
Concubine Yun gently squeezed Qiao Wanyou's hand: "I'm sorry for your hardship, child."
The word "child" made Qiao Wanyou burst into tears: "Mom."
Since she left the capital and her parents, she was fortunate to meet the Fu family and they adopted her...
Both her parents and adoptive parents called her child.
But now many years have passed, and no one calls her child anymore.
Concubine Yun gently wiped her tears: "You taught Wen Yu very well, and the wife you married for Wen Yu is also very good. This young couple often comes to the cold palace to see me."
"It's their duty to be filial to you." Qiao Wanyou sniffed.
Just then, she raised her eyes and saw a familiar figure appear at the gate of the courtyard.
Qiao Wanyou slowly stood up and looked at the newcomer in disbelief: "Achen?"
Qiao Chen hurried over and saluted: "Your Highness greets the Queen Mother and the Emperor and Empress!" Then he looked at Qiao Wanyou and called out happily, "Sister."
"Why did you return to Beijing?" Long Yi frowned.
The Empress Dowager burst into laughter: "No man from the Qiao family may return to the capital without an imperial decree. Returning from this trip, Master Qiao, is a capital offense!"
What if she encountered a difficult problem?
The Qiao family has a lot of problems.
Qiao Chen is now the only male in the Qiao family. If he dies, the Qiao family will be extinct.
Thinking of this, her smile deepened.
Long Yi frowned.
What the Empress Dowager said was issued by the Emperor's brother at that time.
As the new emperor, he cannot depose him at will.
At this critical juncture, the interrogation is in progress. When the truth comes out, he will naturally give an explanation to the Qiao family.
But Qiao Chen secretly returned to Beijing, and he had a capital crime on his hands, so he couldn't escape it no matter what.
Just as the Empress Dowager was thinking about how to use Qiao Chen's life to save her, Fu Ciyi stepped out and bowed: "Your Majesty, it was I who summoned my uncle back to the capital with the imperial edict."
Qiao Chen cupped his hands and said, "Indeed, the imperial edict was issued by the late emperor."
"How is it possible?" the Empress Dowager shouted, "How is it possible?"
Qiao Chen took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his arms and handed it to Long Yi with both hands.
Long Yi took a quick look and saw that it was indeed the imperial edict issued by his brother before his death. He nodded immediately, "Yes, good."
Qiao Chen then reported, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask for your opinion. My Qiao family was framed by the Empress Dowager. My father and I were both demoted, and the Empress Dowager was the one behind this. Now I think my sister learned of the Empress Dowager's secret, and she maliciously framed us and wanted to destroy our Qiao family."
Long Yi's face darkened. He raised his hand and asked the two people on the bench, "Do you want to recruit?"
The executioner then stopped.
Gu Zhong said nothing in response to the emperor's question.
The old doctor raised his hand.
Upon seeing this, Pang Gaozhuo immediately reset the imperial physician's jaw.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" The old doctor burst into tears. "Over forty years ago, during the blood test, it was the Empress Dowager who ordered me to tamper with the data. More than ten years ago, when all the poisons from Concubine Ling's bedroom were received by the Imperial Hospital, it was the Empress Dowager who took a fancy to them and ordered me to secretly steal them and give them to her."
"What benefit did she give you that you are willing to help her?" asked the Queen Mother.
"Over forty years ago, she gave the guilty minister ten thousand taels of silver."
"How much did she give you for stealing the poison?" the Queen Mother asked again.
“I never gave it to you.”
"No?" The Queen Mother laughed. "Why are you helping her again? Did she threaten you?"
The old doctor said, "I helped her by doing the blood test myself. Since then, the Empress Dowager has often ordered me to serve her."
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