Emperor Yong frowned, "It's already this late, Queen, please speak frankly!"
Empress Sun looked at him, paused and said:
"I have no other intentions, I just think that the Queen Mother's rejection of Xiao Jiu'er is very strange."
Emperor Yong sneered, "What's so strange about this? The Queen Mother is clearly confused due to illness. Are you trying to say that the person just now really wasn't Xiao Jiuer? I'm still standing there. Are you trying to say that I, as a father, can't even recognize my own son?"
He would not normally speak to Empress Sun in this tone. At least in front of outsiders, the emperor and the empress could maintain the appearance of mutual respect.
But now that the Empress Dowager was suddenly critically ill, he was truly extremely anxious and no longer bothered to go around in circles with Empress Sun as he had done before.
"I know you've always disliked Xiao Jiu'er, all because I wanted to posthumously confer the title of empress on his mother! I was impulsive back then, but she's gone after all. What can a dead person possibly argue with you about? All these years have passed, why can't you let it go?"
There were some things that Emperor Yong had never wanted to say in his life, but now he really couldn't help but say them:
"Also, my mother has always been in good health, but now she has suddenly fallen ill, and is so seriously ill. If you say this is all fate, I don't believe it! I'm afraid there is someone in this palace who can't tolerate my mother!"
"Your Majesty, are you talking about me?!"
Empress Sun knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You have seen how I have served you all these years. You are making it impossible for me to live like this!"
"You misunderstood. I only said that there are evil people with evil intentions in this palace. I didn't say that this matter has anything to do with you."
Emperor Yong took a deep breath and ordered Eunuch Sun, who dared not even breathe, to help her up.
Eunuch Sun was about to help Empress Sun, but she dodged him.
"If the Emperor truly suspects me, I will immediately hand over the Phoenix Seal and request confinement," Empress Sun said in a deep voice. "You are free to search my Kunning Palace and investigate my servants. Prince Zhan is here, so let him lead the Imperial City Division to search!"
Emperor Yong looked at Empress Sun for a long while, then said to Chen Yubai, who had been silent the whole time:
"Thirteenth brother, from today on, you will be living in the palace. Start your investigation from the Cining Palace. I want to know who has had close contact with our mother. Any abnormality in her daily life over the past few days must be investigated!"
Shen Yubai responded calmly:
"I understand."
His usual calm attitude made Emperor Yong feel much more at ease.
Emperor Yong then said to Eunuch Sun:
"Send the Empress back to Kunning Palace. She will no longer be serving here. Also, pass on my imperial decree. From this moment on, the palaces are closed. No one from each palace is allowed to move around. Have the imperial guards guard the gates of each palace. Anyone who dares to disobey this imperial decree will be killed immediately, regardless of their status!"
Empress Sun sneered in her heart when she heard this.
The emperor said that he did not doubt her, but the imperial decree to close the palace was directed at her.
On the way back to Kunning Palace, she said to Eunuch Sun:
"Eunuch, although you and I are not related, we are of the same family. I have always treated you well in the palace over the years. Now that the Empress Dowager has been in trouble, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are deeply in love and are in a state of turmoil. As the person he trusts most, you must not let him trust someone with ulterior motives at this time."
Eunuch Sun lowered his head and said, "I am a humble servant. I only follow the orders of the emperor. This is my duty."
Empress Sun narrowed her eyes and looked at him for a long moment before she sneered, "Good, very good."
Then, she flicked her sleeves and got off the phoenix chariot.
After entering the bedroom, she asked the other palace servants to leave and only kept her trusted female official Qingluan by her side.
"Qingluan, do you think there is such a thing as soul swapping in this world?" she asked in a low voice.
Qingluan hesitated and said:
"The theory of ghosts, gods, and spirits has always been mysterious and unfathomable. Most of these folk tales are fabricated by bored people to fool or scare ordinary people. But if there really are some extraordinary masters and secret methods, it might not be..."
She paused for a moment, then lowered her head and said:
“It may not be untrue.”
Empress Sun smiled and said, "Yes, this world is full of wonders, and strange powers may not necessarily cause chaos. Qingluan, you have met Miss Jiang Er a few times before. Do you think she is very different from before?"
Qingluan pondered for a while:
"Indeed. She used to be timid and never dared to go against the wishes of the Jiang family elders. She never complained when Jiang Huaizhu, an adopted daughter, stole all her limelight.
But ever since the sensational drowning incident, she seemed like a completely different person. Her behavior didn't resemble that of a lady from aristocratic family at all. She acted recklessly and recklessly, and would talk back to her elders at will. As long as someone dared to bully her, no matter who that person was, she would fight back immediately.
Sometimes when I look at her, it's like looking at a rude man who doesn't know the rules of etiquette."
Empress Sun said with great interest:
"A reckless man who doesn't know etiquette—don't you think that the current Second Miss Jiang is very similar to the former Ninth Prince in terms of temperament? And the current Ninth Prince, who is meticulous and neither humble nor arrogant, is very unlike Chen Tingsi himself?"
Qingluan was stunned. After understanding the deep meaning of Queen Sun's words, she showed a look of astonishment:
"Could it be that what the Queen Mother said before was true—"
She stopped suddenly, not daring to continue.
Empress Sun sat on the embroidered bed with a smug smile on her face:
"The Queen Mother's illness has nothing to do with our Kunning Palace. Even if Prince Zhan turned the harem upside down, he couldn't find anything wrong with me. However, the secret between the Ninth Prince and Miss Jiang is about to be exposed.
When the Emperor finds out that his beloved son is actually a fake with a replaced heart, and that his most trusted Thirteenth Brother has deliberately concealed this for so long, what expression will he have? I really want to see it right now.
…
Marquis Wenning's Mansion.
At night, someone sneaked into the yard where Shen Tingsi lived.
Tangyuan heard some noise in the yard, so she put on her clothes in a daze and went to check. As soon as she reached the door, someone covered her mouth and nose and pressed her acupoints, causing her to fall into coma.
Several men in black quickly walked into Miss Jiang Er's boudoir, released a strange fragrance that could make people unconscious, then pulled the sleeping Shen Tingsi out of the bed, put him into a sack prepared in advance, and climbed over the wall to leave.
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