Madam Yang's persuasion only slightly moved the Empress Dowager.
Unlike her adopted grandnephew, she wasn't so naive.
The Empress Dowager deeply understood that Xie Yuan was not someone to be trifled with.
Leaving aside Xie Yuan's great achievements in recent years, just considering the turmoil three years ago, if she hadn't stopped in time, she might have become the second Empress Dowager Ashina.
That's terrifying.
There is an extraordinary level of trust between this couple.
Having lived in the harem for almost her entire life, the Empress Dowager's husband, son, and grandson were all emperors.
Therefore, she was very knowledgeable about emperors.
There are feelings involved, but not many!
At least compared to rights, they value the latter more.
Leaving aside others, let's just talk about her own son, the late Emperor Helian Gui.
His relationship with Yongchang and her siblings was so deep.
Apart from the Empress Dowager, only Yongchang dared to act so arrogantly in front of the late emperor.
The late emperor always seemed helpless, as if he was "afraid of his tigress sister."
The late emperor not only indulged and respected his sister, but he also extended his affection to her family and relatives.
The daughter of a princess in Nanling was granted the title of county princess, which made her even more noble than a proper imperial princess.
But is that really the case?
When Jia Yi, that scoundrel, found out, he became arrogant.
Having gained some favor from the late emperor, he truly considered himself someone important.
He sought out Yongchang, one of the most powerful and influential people in the capital.
Then, using the pretext of her fiancé's early death, she nearly drove Princess Nanling to her death.
Yongchang ran to the late emperor and cried and made a scene, but the late emperor only comforted him verbally and continued to tell Yongchang and Nanling to "be patient a little longer".
...Jia Yi was just a minor character; killing him was merely a matter of a word from the late emperor.
Even such a simple sentence was something the late emperor was unwilling to utter.
He didn't even think about immediately avenging his beloved niece!
The reason was simple: Jia Yi was still useful back then!
The late emperor still needed Jia Yi, this mad dog, to continue tearing apart the aristocratic families.
Yongchang probably started to hate the late emperor around that time.
Then came the Tangquan Palace Coup!
Alas, so in this secluded palace, where can one find any emotion?
Even siblings who grew up together, who depended on each other and supported one another, can turn against each other and become enemies.
If blood relatives are treated this way, what about husband and wife?
Three years ago, news came that Helian Jue was seriously ill and in a coma.
Xie Yuan lost his composure and hurriedly went to Zhongzhou.
Various factions in the capital have all learned the truth and believe that the "opportunity" has arrived.
The rumors circulating about the emperor being critically ill and the empress committing suicide for love are not true rumors.
Empress Xie was indeed prepared to live and die with Helian Jue.
"Tsk tsk, she carries a dagger coated with deadly poison, just waiting for Helian Jue to die so she can commit suicide for him!"
"It's truly unbelievable that our Empress, who commands the court with such ease, is so deeply affectionate!"
Even more fortunately, Helian Jue actually woke up.
While the couple were happy, they didn't forget to swindle the other person back.
The Empress Dowager had already made a move, and the matriarch of the Yang family was right; the Empress Dowager was indeed somewhat unwilling.
She was once the most honored woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
However, with the passing of the late emperor, she could only stay in her palace to "live out her remaining years in peace."
She didn't want this to happen!
Even if she can't appear in court like Xie Yuan, she should still be more esteemed than Empress Xiao.
As a result, even Empress Dowager Xiao received a "reward" for raising the little princess.
No longer a nobody in the palace.
Nowadays, the only person truly forgotten is the Empress Dowager.
"Alas, it's definitely different when a grandson becomes emperor compared to when a son becomes emperor!"
"I never imagined that one day I would have to live at the mercy of the Xiao family!"
Tragically, the Empress Dowager couldn't even get a glimpse of her granddaughter-in-law's mood!
Because Xie Yuan simply treated her as an insignificant old waste!
"I thought I could manage, but only when I was actually in the situation did I realize how difficult life is when you lose power and honor."
"Helian Jue is not close to me, so let's just replace him with an emperor who is closer to me."
"Huang Jiao, you are indeed a useful knife!"
In fact, the Empress Dowager's plans should have started even earlier.
She even took advantage of the marriage of the Princess of Nanling.
"As expected, there is no kinship in the imperial family!"
This was the only granddaughter born to her by her most beloved daughter, but when it came time to use her, the Empress Dowager didn't hesitate at all.
All she could do was give Nanling an extra dowry in order to ease her conscience.
It was precisely because of this "grandparent-grandchild relationship" with Nanling that, at a crucial moment, a careless remark from Nanling awakened the Empress Dowager.
At that time, Xie Yuan had already gone to Zhongzhou, and rumors were spreading throughout the capital.
It seemed as if the Emperor and Empress were truly about to depart, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was about to face a situation of being leaderless.
The Empress Dowager secretly made her move; the fact that the Marquis of Anle was able to invite so many powerful and influential people was actually due to her instigation.
However, just before the truth was revealed, Nanling went to the palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager as usual.
While the grandfather and grandson were chatting, Nanling said, "Actually, this isn't the first time Her Majesty the Empress has risked her life for the Emperor!"
“I heard from Ayan that when they were still in Yuezhou, the Emperor was poisoned by miasma and was on the verge of death, but the imperial physicians were helpless.”
"The Empress was already pregnant, but she disregarded her own health and the health of her unborn child and personally went to the military camp to take care of the Emperor."
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