Inside the study, the two sat facing each other in silence.
Ling Xiao was relaxed and at ease, occasionally picking up a piece of pastry and eating it. She smacked her lips, saying it tasted really good. Her gums had been bleeding from eating dry biscuits for the past two days.
In contrast, Prefect Zhao felt extremely uneasy and finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you truly the daughter of Empress Zhangde? What proof do you have?"
He didn't realize that he had subconsciously used an honorific title. In fact, he already had the answer in his heart, but the truth was too unbelievable.
When Empress Zhangde died, His Majesty was furious. Most of the concubines in the harem were executed, and the remaining survivors were half driven mad.
The Imperial Noble Consort, who had enjoyed the Emperor's favor for many years, was strangled to death. Consort De and Consort Li were given poisoned wine. Consort Xu was executed by slow slicing for speaking disrespectfully to the Empress before her death.
The capital was engulfed in bloodshed and panic, and countless families were implicated.
More than a decade has passed, but the name Empress Zhangde remains a taboo in the imperial court.
After so many years of peace, the sudden appearance of Empress Zhangde's daughter is about to change the situation again.
Governor Zhao couldn't help but shudder.
"No proof is needed, my face is proof enough!"
Ling Xiao spoke slowly, her fingertips tracing across her flawless face.
"Well... people can look alike, and words alone are not enough. Besides, I've never heard of the late Empress having a daughter."
Governor Zhao was still making excuses, not wanting to get involved in this trouble.
"Oh"
The woman before him, with her undisguised sarcasm and mockery, saw Governor Zhao's face turn a deep shade of purple before she continued:
"In the fourth year of the Wude era, my mother was pregnant. The emperor directly issued an edict that if she gave birth to a son, she would be made the crown prince, and if she gave birth to a daughter, she would be made the Princess of Luoyang, with a fief of ten thousand households. Although no one was ever present to witness this, Governor Zhao was the one who witnessed it."
This event was mentioned in the original storyline. One day, Princess Jingning discovered this long-forgotten imperial edict and felt a pang of sadness.
He felt that Zhao Ruyan was too lucky; her father had never loved any of his children so much.
So he was sullen, but Yan Xun took pity on him and tricked him into revealing that the affectionate prince had requested the emperor to bestow the title of Princess Jingning upon her after he had made a meritorious contribution and received a reward.
He said he would make up for everything his wife had never received.
Then came another round of sweet, affectionate banter.
Pah, you scumbag.
"How...how did you know?" After saying that, Governor Zhao realized that if she was the fetus, she would naturally know about this.
He recalled that at that time, he could still call his cousin "the emperor" with great joy. He summoned the imperial scribe and, with Governor Zhao as witness, wrote this imperial edict.
However, after Empress Zhangde was framed and sent back to her maternal home to reflect on her mistakes, a series of events followed, including the loss of her child. This imperial edict never saw the light of day again.
Ling Xiao said calmly, "How I survived is not important, what is important is..." She suddenly smiled and said, word by word:
"If Father Emperor finds out of my existence in the future, but discovers that Governor Zhao knew about it but failed to report it, what do you think will happen to you?"
The governor of Zhao was filled with bitterness at the thought of his fate. He was involved with the daughter of Empress Zhangde, and it was lucky that he would die without a complete corpse. The Zhao family might even be doomed.
Who can blame them? The current emperor has already gone mad!
"You haven't returned for sixteen years. Was it Empress Zhangde's order that you didn't want to enter the imperial family again..."
Governor Zhao suddenly said something with a complicated expression, leaving Ling Xiao completely bewildered, not understanding what he was imagining.
If she weren't certain that the original owner hadn't gone to acknowledge her father as a princess, it would be because she simply didn't know, otherwise, well...
"Since you've decided to live in anonymity, why get involved in this mess in the first place?"
Ling Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and a script instantly formed in her mind. She lowered her eyes, a half-smile playing on her lips as she looked at Governor Zhao:
"With the Empress Dowager gone, Consort Yan is riding high, with one son becoming the Crown Prince and one daughter a favored princess. She probably doesn't remember her good sister anymore. I must go and remind her."
Oh no! Governor Zhao wished he could beat himself to death for his rudeness just a second ago.
Consort Yan and Empress Zhangde did indeed have a connection, which helped them escape the massacre during His Majesty's reign. Now, their positions are secure, and they are the mother of the Crown Prince.
However, with so much pretense and hypocrisy in the palace, who knows what's real and what's fake?
Now that Empress Zhangde's daughter is openly stating that she wants to cause trouble for Consort Yan, there must be some hidden story behind what happened in the past.
But he didn't want to know these palace secrets!
She also did not want to get involved in the feud between Consort Yan's faction and the daughter of Empress Zhangde.
"Can't a person even choose to be a salted fish?" Governor Zhao thought, tears welling up in his eyes.
Ling Xiao looked amusedly at the middle-aged man in front of her, who seemed about to die at any moment, and casually tossed out a remark:
"The heir of the Duke of Yan's mansion has already seen my face. I heard that Consort Yan, out of consideration for her mother's family having no one left, has placed her portrait in the Yan family ancestral hall. Do you think the heir of Yan recognized me?"
Good heavens, things are getting more and more complicated. If Yan Xun thinks about his princess status and poisons him or hires a hitman, what good will come of it for me?
Governor Zhao felt a chill run down his spine, and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
After seeing Ling Xiao off, he didn't waste a second and rushed to his desk to write, "Your Majesty, please read... Your humble servant Zhao Rui..."
After sealing the letter, he summoned his trusted aide and said, "Deliver this letter to His Majesty as soon as possible."
As the emperor's cousin and childhood friend, Governor Zhao still had some minor privileges. For example, he could submit memorials directly to the emperor without having to go through layers of intermediaries.
After seeing off his trusted confidant, Governor Zhao sighed, "I hope everything goes smoothly and that the Crown Prince of Yan hasn't noticed anything amiss."
Did Yan Xun notice? Not at first. When Ling Xiao first appeared after washing her face, he just thought she looked familiar.
But once back in the carriage, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. That face seemed familiar; he was certain he had seen it before, and more than once!
It wasn't until they disembarked from the carriage that the coachman casually remarked, "The young master is too kind-hearted; he kindly escorted someone home, and the governor didn't even say thank you."
A flash of lightning, and Yan Xun's eyes widened. Something was wrong with the governor; he was clearly surprised and afraid. Why would a governor be afraid of his own daughter?
It's possible that she's not his daughter, but he has to accept her as his daughter.
Who is this woman? Even a governor born into a powerful clan has to reluctantly become her adopted father.
Only the Emperor's presence would make Governor Zhao so wary.
Empress Zhangde! After connecting the dots, Yan Xun finally remembered whose face it was.
The so-called wicked woman who brought ruin to the country, the portrait of a woman with a different surname that hangs shamefully in the ancestral hall.
"Miss Zhao" looks exactly like Empress Zhangde. It would be impossible for Governor Zhao to present her to His Majesty.
Yan Xun still remembered that an official once tried to guess the emperor's intentions and cleverly gathered women who looked seven or eight parts like Empress Zhangde to present to him.
Finally, the enraged emperor stripped him of his official position and banished his family from the imperial examinations for eternity.
"Insulting the Empress" was a crime set by the Emperor.
"Then...she must be the daughter of Empress Zhangde!" No matter how unbelievable it seemed, after ruling out all possibilities, Yan Xun still came to this conclusion.
It was extremely urgent. Governor Zhao's letter had just set off. Yan Xun was delayed for a while, sending people to spy on the governor's residence while urgently sending a message to the capital.
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