Chu Nian said, "Sister is joking. The inner palace has always been closely linked to the court and cannot be separated. How could the court not know that you sent a bunch of handsome young men to the inner palace? I advise you not to do such absurd things in the future."
As she spoke, her voice became stern, and her face darkened.
"Wenwan, see my sister off for me," Chu Nian instructed. "Remember to tell the palace servants to personally escort these young men to the Marquis of Weiwu's residence." She then smiled.
Baili Xi gave a light, cold laugh, stood up, bowed, and then left with a group of handsome young men.
Wen Wan said, quite annoyed, "Your Majesty, what does she mean by this?"
Chu Nian: "What I mean is, if you want a man, there are so many handsome young men out there, don't fixate on her husband."
Wen Wan scoffed and said, "If it weren't for that Marquis Weiwu trying to provoke Your Majesty the Empress Dowager first, how could you have paid any attention to those two dogs... cough, I mean, that Marquis Weiwu isn't even worthy of carrying your shoes." She paused, then said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Marquis Weiwu's wife has become increasingly rude to you these past few times when she came to the palace. Are you really going to keep tolerating this?"
Chu Nian said helplessly, "What can you do even if you can't bear it? Can you beat her?"
A level 12 Xuan Master is worth a thousand troops; it's not something that can be taken down by just a few palace servants. Moreover, Zhang Lie currently holds military power.
Wen Wan also felt a headache coming on, and said with some resentment, "It's all Master's fault for being too biased back then, only sending the eldest young lady to the Xuanmen to become an apprentice. He didn't even think of sending you, Empress Dowager, to the Xuanmen to be seen by those Xuan masters. How could he be so sure that you're not cut out for cultivating Xuan Qi?!"
Chu Nian sighed and said, "Father sent my eldest sister to the Xuanmen because she had the Zhou family behind her, so it was inevitable that she would join the Xuanmen. But we concubine's daughters are disliked by the mistress, and the Zhou family is interfering. Which Xuanmen would accept us? Even if Father sent us there, it would only make the mistress dislike us."
"I see," Wen Wan said with a sudden realization, then added in surprise, "Your Majesty, you've analyzed this matter so logically; it's really... unlike you!"
The original owner was even more foolish than Wen Wan, so it's no wonder she was deceived. The original owner later realized her stupidity, but it was after death, and by then it was too late.
After taking one of the pills that someone brought that night, Chu Nian felt much more comfortable. It seemed that even the original owner's terrible cultivation aptitude had been improved slightly. In addition, she had been strengthening her training during this period and constantly using the spiritual energy she brought with her to nourish this body. This originally weak body finally began to grow stronger.
She can now unleash considerable internal energy, but even this martial art can only withstand Xuan Qi up to level three at most, which is truly insufficient. Only spiritual energy, magic, and mental power can truly contend with Xuan Qi.
This physical body needs to become stronger to fully utilize this power. Besides, this energy doesn't exist in this spacetime; once it's used up, it's gone, which is also a worrying issue.
Therefore, after Chu Nian transmigrated, she spent all her free time studying the Xuan Qi factors in the air, wanting to see if they could be converted into the energy she possessed.
After Baili Xi sent handsome men to the palace, Zhang Lie and Baili Xi frequently visited the palace to meet the Empress Dowager, and many rumors circulated in the palace.
Some say the Empress Dowager is forcing the Marquis of Weiwu to divorce his wife, which is why she comes to the palace to make trouble every day; others say the Marquis of Weiwu is henpecked and often comes to the palace to complain to the Empress Dowager; still others say the young emperor is not actually the son of the late emperor, but the illegitimate son of the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Weiwu...
Chu Nian remained relatively calm while listening to these rumors, but the young emperor couldn't stand it. He was so angry that he would throw down memorials all day long and would often come to Cining Palace to question Chu Nian: Is he really the son of the Marquis of Weiwu?
One day, Chu Nian got so annoyed by his questions that she blurted out, "Yes."
The young emperor was terrified upon hearing this. His face turned pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. He stammered in disbelief, "Mother...Mother, is what you said...is it true?"
Chu Nian resorted to the original owner's tricks again, immediately bursting into tears, sobbing, "It's true, it's all my fault. I gave birth to a prince, which should have been a joyous occasion, but the prince was weak and dying. The late emperor had no choice but to secretly consult with the mighty general. For the sake of the Ziwei Kingdom, the general brought his own grandson to exchange with the prince... Waaah..."
The young emperor was even more dumbfounded, muttering, "Mother means that I am actually... the son of the Earl of Weiwu? And the current son of the Earl of Weiwu is... the one who is..."
Chu Nian: "If you don't believe me, you can send someone to inquire whether Qi'er has been frail and sickly since childhood, and whether she was raised by the General until she was five years old, rarely even seeing her parents?"
The young emperor: "If this is true, I...I...should I..."
Chu Nian: "For the sake of the country, Your Majesty, please pretend you didn't hear what I said today!"
The young emperor asked, "But how am I supposed to face the Marquis of Weiwu's family in the future?"
Chu Nian: "Just stop making a fuss."
The young emperor left dejectedly, and Wen Wan whispered to Chu Nian, "Why did the Empress Dowager fabricate such a story about the emperor's background?"
Chu Nian: "If we don't make it up like this, he'll cause a ruckus!" Wen Wan doesn't understand this guy's fighting prowess!
When the young emperor returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he saw Grand Tutor Jiang Bai waiting for him.
Jiang Bai noticed that he was in a bad mood, so he asked with concern, "Your Majesty, you don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"
The young emperor dismissed the palace servants, closed the palace gates, and recounted the shocking news he had just heard from Chu Nian. Jiang Bai said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is lying to you. How could you believe her?"
Upon hearing this, the young emperor calmed down considerably and asked in surprise, "Why does the Grand Tutor say such a thing?"
Jiang Bai said, "Think about it. If you and Zhang Qi really switched identities, but Zhang Qi later recovered, the late emperor would definitely bring his son back into the palace and make him the crown prince. He would never pass the throne to Your Majesty."
The young emperor said, "The Grand Tutor is right. But if Zhang Qi and I hadn't switched identities, why would Mother say such a thing?"
Jiang Bai pondered for a moment and said, "I suppose this is the Empress Dowager's delaying tactic."
The young emperor asked, "What delaying tactic?"
Jiang Bai smiled meaningfully and said, "Your Majesty, imagine if Zhang Lie knew that Your Majesty was his biological son, and Zhang Qi was not, would he still have any disloyal intentions?"
The young emperor paused for a moment, then nodded as if he understood, and asked in a low voice, "Could it be that the rumors circulating in the palace recently were intentionally spread by the Empress Dowager?"
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