Chapter 423 Preparing to Catch Them
The emperor slowly rose, still without replying.
He feared more that the real empress was dead than that the fake empress.
Although he is now beginning to suspect that the empress is an imposter, he hopes that no one will expose the lie.
He would rather stay in this fake dream forever.
"Little Liu, you may leave now. I will send someone to bring Lian'er back to my palace."
Seeing that the emperor did not believe him, Eunuch Liu did not continue speaking, since he could not produce any conclusive evidence at the moment.
It would be good to be able to transfer Lian'er out of that palace.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Little Liu bowed and obediently withdrew.
As he went out, he bumped into Eunuch Zhang again.
Eunuch Zhang's face looked rather grim.
Eunuch Liu quickly stopped him, "Eunuch Zhang, what has happened?"
Zhang Gonggong's face was sullen, and he was at a loss for what to do.
He wanted to report the matter to the emperor, but he was afraid of exposing the real empress.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Eunuch Liu pulled him aside and whispered, "Eunuch Zhang, there's something I need to discuss with you."
Zhang Gonggong snapped out of his daze. "What is it?"
Eunuch Liu whispered in his ear, "I suspect the new Empress is an imposter."
He wasn't initially so convinced that Lady Fan was a fake empress, but the thought of his beloved woman being beaten made him furious.
Eunuch Zhang was startled. "Why would you say that?"
Eunuch Liu told Eunuch Zhang about the fake empress hitting people.
After hearing this, Eunuch Zhang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Little Liu, I have a good idea."
"What's a good idea?" Eunuch Liu asked immediately.
Eunuch Zhang laughed and said, "The truth will out, and the falsehood will become true. We'll find out when we have a chance to try it out."
Eunuch Liu raised an eyebrow and asked, "How does Eunuch Zhang intend to test this?"
After calculating the time, Eunuch Zhang said, "His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday is in a few days. His Majesty will surely hold a grand banquet. Why don't we take this opportunity to give it a try?"
He continued, "A few days ago, I obtained a jade statue at the old house. Legend has it that if you drip blood onto this jade statue, you can determine whether two people are related by blood."
Liu Gonggong suddenly realized, "Zhang Gonggong means blood test for kinship."
Eunuch Zhang nodded.
"At that time, all the ministers and officials will be present. If the blood test goes wrong, the emperor will not be able to keep those three swindlers even if he wants to."
With a smile, Eunuch Liu replied, "Alright, I'll take care of it right away."
As Zhang Gonggong watched Liu Gonggong's figure disappear, the weight lifted from his heart.
The day before Zhou Ruiyuan's birthday, Du Wanchun and Aunt Zhou also heard in Cheng'an County that the Emperor had found the Crown Prince and the Empress.
Aunt Zhou looked surprised and said, "There are actually people in this world who look like me."
Du Wanchun understood the implication in her words and asked, "Mother, were there really people who looked exactly like you in the past?"
Aunt Zhou replied with a smile, "Indeed, there was one. Back then, my parents searched far and wide for a woman who looked like me to protect me. She lived and ate with me and was used as my substitute in the future."
Du Wanchun found this interesting and continued to ask, "And then what happened?"
Aunt Zhou continued, "Later, I couldn't bear it, so I sent her away."
"When I sent her away, I learned that she was an orphan who was almost sold to a brothel by bandits on the road. My parents felt sorry for her and took her in to raise her. Later, they found out that we looked alike, so my parents specially found a nanny to teach her music, chess, calligraphy and painting, so that she would look more and more like me."
"When I sent her away, I gave her a large sum of money, enough for her to live a worry-free life for the rest of her life."
The amount of silver that Aunt Zhou gave to Madam Fan back then was more than an ordinary person could earn in a lifetime.
If she used that money to buy land and two maids, she could be a lady for life without doing any work.
However, not long after leaving the capital, Lady Fan met a scholar from a farming family.
She became greedy and wanted to become the wife of an official, so she spent money to support the scholar. After they got married, they had a son.
However, after failing the imperial examination, the scholar accomplished nothing. Not only that, he also became addicted to drugs and gambled away all the money in Fan's hands.
Left with no other choice, the family returned to their old house to farm.
However, Ms. Fan blamed all of this on Aunt Zhou.
Du Wanchun's eyes darted around, and she smiled, "Mother, do you think this person impersonating you might be her?"
Aunt Zhou paused for a moment, "She has so much silver in her hands, she wouldn't do something that would cost her her head for wealth and status, would she?"
Du Wanchun said slowly, "Mother, it has been more than 20 years since you let her go. If she had encountered a heartless man, she would probably have spent all the money she had long ago."
Aunt Zhou fell silent for a long time before saying, "It's true, really."
At this moment, Nan Fengling came out of the house carrying the child and said, "Mother, sister-in-law, we don't need to rush this matter. Let's just wait and see what happens. Some people in the court want us to live, while others want us to die."
What she said is correct.
Lord Jin has always wanted the Empress and the Crown Prince dead.
Lord Yuan took it upon himself to find several imposters, and Lord Jin believed them to be genuine, preparing to make his move.
Du Wanchun took the child from Nan Fengling, held him in her arms and shook him, then laughed and said, "Then let's wait and watch the show."
Aunt Zhou stood up, patted her clothes, and said, "Then I'll go and buy some meat from Granny Zhuang so we can celebrate Ruiyuan's birthday tomorrow."
Since the Zhou family moved to Cheng'an County, they have kept their chickens and ducks in the backyard of their mansion, but they do not raise pigs, so they have to buy meat from the market on a regular basis.
Du Wanchun got up and escorted Aunt Zhou to the backyard, and began to think about how to celebrate her husband's birthday the next day.
The following day, Zhou Ruiyuan deliberately stayed home.
When Du Wanchun woke up, she found her husband sitting beside her, watching her.
He was wearing a white undergarment, which was half-open, perhaps because he had just woken up, making him look quite alluring.
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