Song Zan harbored hatred for Emperor Xuande. If it weren't for him, his sister wouldn't have died of a heart attack and hemorrhage. Song Hongshen wouldn't have suffered so much for so many years as a bastard of the Song family.
Although the Song family did not treat him harshly, and Song Zan even treated him better than his own son, in Song Zan's view, Song Hongshen was of noble status, and being called a bastard of the Song family was a great humiliation.
So over the years, Song Zan often felt awkward when facing Emperor Xuande.
Whenever she thought of her sister, she would make a few sarcastic remarks to the emperor.
Even in serious matters, he can compromise for the Song family.
He didn't expect that these things would be exposed and the truth would come out one day.
He had intended to follow his sister's wishes and take the secret to his grave. If the prince hadn't gone too far, he wouldn't have revealed the truth in such a fit of anger.
But since the emperor asked, he didn't want to hide it, and he didn't want to avoid Song Hongshen. He wanted to see how the emperor would defend himself.
Song Zan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "The late queen left the palace because she heard His Majesty talking to the virtuous concubine. At that time, His Majesty said that this child could not be kept."
"The late queen was so shocked and furious that she quietly left the palace and returned to the Song family."
"That night, my concubine had a difficult childbirth, resulting in two deaths. I figured since the late queen wanted to leave, I might as well fake my own death and escape. So, the fire in Fenghe Palace was started by someone I sent, and the one who burned to death inside was my concubine."
Emperor Xuande looked at Song Zan inquiringly, "What a coincidence! When Zi Ning returned home, the Song family's concubine died in childbirth?"
Based on his understanding of Song Zan, the concubine was probably...
Song Zan looked frank, but did not respond to Emperor Xuande's words.
Instead, he continued, "She was still alive when the Fenghe Palace flooded. It was during the seventh day of mourning that Your Majesty performed the ritual for her that she died of hemorrhage after giving birth."
"Your Majesty was in agony during those days, but for her, life was worse than death."
The death of the late queen was largely due to the sadness and despair she felt before giving birth. Song Zan couldn't help but tear up when he mentioned this.
Emperor Xuande was stunned for a long time before saying, "I remember clearly the day the fire broke out in Fenghe Palace. That afternoon, I sent someone to deliver something to Zi Ning and even wrote a letter of apology myself."
"In the evening, the virtuous concubine suddenly came to the imperial study. She was five months pregnant at the time and brought me some snacks. I kept her there to talk for a while."
"The virtuous concubine suddenly mentioned the young son of Prince Su's mansion, and I said that the child could not stay."
"At that time, the virtuous concubine tried to persuade me, saying that after all, he was of royal blood, and that keeping him alive would be a merit. I then said that he was just an evil offspring, so why should I keep him alive?"
Prince Su was also a descendant of the previous emperor. After Emperor Xuande ascended the throne, Prince Su attempted to rally other princes to rebel, but was discovered and killed by Emperor Xuande. It just so happened that during those days, the court officials were arguing endlessly about the treatment of the other members of Prince Su's palace.
Song Zan frowned and couldn't help asking, "What was the reason for the estrangement between the emperor and the empress back then?"
He asked his sister about it that year, but she didn't say anything. It seemed that she didn't want to say it out loud.
Song Hongshen also sat aside and listened quietly, looking at Emperor Xuande with an even more distant gaze than before.
Emperor Xuande sighed and said, "This matter is entirely my fault. You know, she has always had a close relationship with Yongning and Zhou Yangze."
Song Zan was a little surprised. Why was there something about the King of War in this?
The late Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Zhan had known each other since childhood, and their friendship was like that of childhood sweethearts. Later, the late Queen married the current Emperor, who was still a prince, and Prince Zhan had always treated the late Queen with great respect, calling her "Imperial Sister-in-law."
The late queen was virtuous and took good care of her younger brothers and sisters.
But that was all. Song Zan didn't believe there was anything going on between the two of them.
While Song Zan's thoughts were wandering, Emperor Xuande also explained the whole story.
It turned out that during those days, the War King Zhou Yangze returned to the capital to pay homage to the late emperor and the empress dowager.
Zhou Yangze had always respected the emperor's sister-in-law, so he specially asked for permission to go to Fenghe Palace to pay his respects to the late queen.
When Zhou Yangze entered the palace, Emperor Xuande got the news. Someone reported that His Royal Highness Prince Zhan had brought some toys for the children, which he had hidden secretly.
Emperor Xuande was a little annoyed at that time. His son did not need Zhou Yangze to prepare anything.
It was not until Zhou Yangze left the palace that he went to Fenghe Palace to ask what the two had said.
In his words, Emperor Xuande revealed his dissatisfaction with Zhou Yangze.
The late Empress knew Emperor Xuande's concerns and advised him to let them go. Since Zhou Yangze was doing his duty as a prince in his fiefdom, the Emperor should be relieved.
In the eyes of the late Empress, Emperor Xuande was torn between not being able to bring himself to execute him, yet also being bothered by his existence. So she advised him to let Zhou Yangze go, which would also be a way of letting himself go.
The two had been married for life, supporting each other through the most difficult times. The late queen didn't think this was out of line, as she had spoken frankly about more important matters.
But Emperor Xuande was just angry about their meeting, and when he heard what the late queen said, he felt that she was protecting Zhou Yangze.
He asked her where the things Zhou Yangze sent were, and he wanted to see them.
The late queen was confused and said that they were just some local products and there was nothing to see.
Emperor Xuande didn't believe it and felt more and more that the late queen had deliberately concealed the truth.
The two of them started arguing, and Emperor Xuande, in a rage, asked the late empress if she was hiding something shameful. Or was it because the child was Zhou Yangze's that made him so concerned?
In fact, Emperor Xuande regretted saying that. Given Song Zining's personality, if she really had something going on with Zhou Yangze, she would probably throw a divorce document in his face.
Moreover, she was full-term at that time, but Zhou Yangze last returned to Beijing five months ago, and a year before that, so the time didn't match.
The late queen was naturally furious when he said that. She trembled all over and pushed the man out.
After Emperor Xuande returned, he calmed down completely. He even wrote a letter of apology to the late queen, selected a gift in the small storehouse, and ordered someone to deliver it.
He originally wanted to go and comfort her after he finished his work in the evening, but by the time he had time, Fenghe Palace was already engulfed in flames.
After saying this, he sat behind his desk, frowning and thinking hard. He didn't know how it had turned out like this. Didn't Zi Ning see his letter back then?
But this happened more than 20 years ago, and it is extremely difficult to verify it.
For a long time afterwards, the three people in the imperial study remained silent.
It was Song Hongshen who broke the silence in the study. "Your Majesty, why don't you let me investigate this matter? Although it's been a while, as long as you are determined, you can always find some clues."
Emperor Xuande felt a little uncomfortable when he heard him call him "Your Majesty" and then refer to himself as a subject.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "We can investigate these slowly. The most important thing right now is for you to recognize your ancestors and return to your roots."
If others heard this, they would probably kneel down in ecstasy to express their gratitude.
But Song Hongshen remained expressionless and spoke with a tense look.
"Regarding the matter of recognizing one's ancestry and returning to one's roots, I have a few requests."
"If Your Majesty agrees, I will agree to return to my ancestral home. If Your Majesty does not agree, then I will still be a bastard of the Song family."
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