Chapter 196
People can't be brought back to life, so for whom did he fight so fiercely?
The Empress Dowager naturally saw Jiang Xianyi's reaction and said, "I heard that when he was in Anyang, he was also entangled with a woman and even had two minds. On one hand, he accepted my imperial decree to marry him, and on the other hand, he was involved with other women. It is clear that he did not recognize the imperial decree to marry him from the beginning."
Jiang Xianyi wept bitterly. When she asked her maternal grandmother to grant them their marriage, it was only wishful thinking on her part.
"I heard later that woman died? Is that true or false?"
Although the Empress Dowager was weak, her voice still retained its usual majesty.
Jiang Xianyi shrank back like a quail and had no choice but to tell the truth, "It was my granddaughter who killed the person... If Grandmother wants to punish me, then just continue to confine me to my quarters."
The Empress Dowager sneered. Ever since Pei Lingjun brought Jiang Xianyi back to Jijing, she had sensed something was wrong. Fortunately, Xianyi insisted that she knew nothing about it, which saved Pei Lingjun from finding a handle against her. Otherwise, she would have been severely implicated.
"I've watched you grow up, don't I know your temperament?" The Empress Dowager waved her hand lazily, and the old nanny beside her immediately brought a painting to Jiang Xianyi.
"Take a look and see if you recognize this person?"
Jiang Xianyi unfolded the scroll with a belly full of questions, and when the person in the painting came into view, she was so frightened that her legs went numb and she was dumbfounded.
"Grandmother... what's wrong...?"
"Don't rush." The Empress Dowager waved her hand again, and everyone in the hall, except for the old nanny holding the portrait, silently withdrew from the hall. Only then did the Empress Dowager say, "Speak."
Jiang Xianyi kowtowed, her face deathly pale. "This person... is Wen Shu, the fourth young lady born out of wedlock to the Prefect of Anyang! I've seen her portrait; wasn't she already—"
"Already dead?" The Empress Dowager leaned back on the soft pillow, one hand pressing her temple. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but lift her eyelids and glance down before replying.
"You're a useless wretch; you can't even kill someone cleanly," the Empress Dowager said mercilessly. "You thought she was dead, but she wasn't. She escaped the Wen family through your hands, so when the entire Wen family was convicted, she was already a 'dead person'!"
Jiang Xianyi collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, shaking her head repeatedly. "How could this be? How could this be? The old woman said she personally forced the poison down her throat and watched as she was thrown into the river—"
As she spoke, she began to scream.
The Empress Dowager sighed softly, "You are still too young to understand everything. I heard that before the Wen family was convicted, a concubine and a young master died in succession, and even a young lady disappeared without a clear explanation."
"I am curious, but I am even more curious about how that boy surnamed Pei could have fallen in love with someone else so quickly?" The Empress Dowager said with her eyes closed, her voice unhurried. "After I sent someone to inquire, I found that there was indeed something fishy going on."
"That woman isn't dead, so doesn't that mean Brother Jun already knows it was me?"
“Even if she dies, Pei Lingjun will still suspect you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have disregarded the royal family’s reputation and brought you back from Anyang. He’s had suspicions for a long time, but he just didn’t have any evidence.”
Jiang Xianyi's hands trembled as she unfolded the woman's portrait again. The person in the portrait had no expression, but whenever Jiang Xianyi thought about how she had taken her life, looking at the woman's portrait made her feel utterly horrified.
"So, Brother Jun's delayed return to Jijing was because he was with this woman..."
Knowing that she was unwilling, the Empress Dowager reminded her, "I only asked you to confirm her identity. It is clear that this woman is quite bold, daring to deceive the emperor."
"Why doesn't Grandmother report this to His Majesty? The Wen family are criminals and should be punished!" Jiang Xianyi seemed to have already foreseen that once the matter reached His Majesty, the Wen family would be tried as criminals, and the charge of deceiving the emperor would be enough to send them to their deaths...
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