Jiang Bai also lowered his voice and said, "That's not necessarily true. I suspect that the rumor that His Majesty is an illegitimate child was spread by the Empress Dowager."
The young emperor asked, "Why does the Grand Tutor have this suspicion?"
Jiang Bai: "The Earl of Weiwu and his wife have been going to the palace so frequently these days, probably to create the illusion that they are being forced to divorce by the Empress Dowager. If my guess is correct, if there were no rumors of an illegitimate child, they would probably announce to the public soon that they are really divorcing."
The young emperor: "Why?"
Jiang Bai: "Only in this way can the Empress Dowager agree to help Marquis Weiwu seize the throne. However, even if they announce a divorce to the outside world, it will definitely be a fake divorce."
The young emperor snorted, "My mother is truly foolish. No matter how bad I am, I am still the child she raised. If she really agrees to join forces with Marquis Weiwu to force me to hand over the throne to him..."
Jiang Bai interrupted him, saying, "Given His Majesty's past attitude towards the Empress Dowager, it's understandable that she would make this choice."
The young emperor was speechless.
Jiang Bai advised, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is still the Empress Dowager. Even if she has done something wrong, she is the one who raised you and helped you ascend the throne. I hope you will treat her well in the future."
The young emperor said, "I understand. I will get along well with Mother Empress from now on."
Jiang Bai said, "Since the Empress Dowager has already given a 'definite answer': His Majesty is the son of the Marquis of Weiwu, why don't I add fuel to the fire..."
The young emperor's eyes immediately lit up with excitement as he asked, "What does the Grand Tutor intend to do?"
After that, the young emperor suddenly became close to the Earl of Weiwu, which made the Earl of Weiwu feel flattered and at the same time puzzled.
Soon after, the Earl of Weiwu received a shocking message from his spies in the palace: the young emperor was actually the Earl of Weiwu's son, and their current son, Zhang Qi, was the true son of the late emperor, but he was too weak and was about to die at birth, so he was replaced by the late emperor and the grandson of General Weiwu.
Zhang Lie and Baili Xi were both extremely shocked when they heard this. The informant also said that the late emperor's son seemed to have a butterfly-shaped birthmark on the back of his heart. Upon hearing this, the couple immediately thought of the birthmark on Zhang Qi's back.
Zhang Lie was at the border when the child was born. Baili Xi, due to premature birth and complications, fainted immediately after the baby's birth and didn't even have a chance to see her child. She didn't wake up until the next day, when the baby was being held by her mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law said she was weak from a difficult childbirth and needed to rest for a few days before she could take care of the baby, so the baby would temporarily stay in their room. Baili Xi thought her mother-in-law was very considerate, but she didn't expect that her father-in-law had actually switched the baby.
The news didn't spread within the palace. Since it was intelligence secretly delivered by an informant, it naturally had some credibility. However, Zhang Lie and Baili Xi still decided to investigate carefully in secret, hoping to find an opportunity to get some information out of Empress Dowager Baili Nian.
.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Marquis of Weiwu requests an audience!"
That afternoon, Chu Nian was taking a nap in a side hall of Cining Palace when a eunuch came to report to her.
Chu Nian said lazily, "What is Marquis Weiwu doing here at this time? Doesn't he know that I take a nap at this time every day? Let him wait outside for now, and I will summon him after I have finished washing up."
"Yes." The eunuch acknowledged the order and withdrew to relay the message.
Zhang Lie was filled with hatred, but in order to find out the truth about his biological son, he could only obediently wait.
He waited until sunset before a eunuch came to deliver an imperial decree ordering him to enter.
After he bowed and took his seat, before he could even speak, Chu Nian spoke first, complaining, "These days you and your wife have been coming to my place far too often."
Zhang Lie gritted his teeth in anger: If you hadn't forced us to divorce, why would we have had to put on this act for so long?
But he knew this was not the time to get angry, so he quickly stood up and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty is right. My wife and I have been too much of a bother to Your Majesty lately. Please forgive us."
Chu Nian gestured for him to sit down and asked, "What brings you here to see me this time?"
Zhang Lie composed himself and, following his earlier agreement with Baili Xi, began, "Your Majesty, I have come clean with Baili Xi. I have always loved Your Majesty, and my only recourse against her is guilt. She has agreed to a divorce, but on the condition that I give her several of my fine estates. There is one more thing..."
Seeing that he hesitated and didn't speak, Chu Nian asked, "What's the other matter?"
Zhang Lie: "It is my son Zhang Qi, whom Baili Xi is unwilling to take away. Moreover, he is, after all, my son, and I would like to keep him by my side and raise him myself."
Chu Nian sighed, "Alas, Qi'er is her own child, yet she refuses to take him with her after the divorce? Fine, if she really doesn't want to raise Qi'er, then Lord, you should keep Qi'er by your side. As long as she's willing to divorce and leave, that's fine. Qi'er is, after all, Lord's flesh and blood. Even if I elope with Lord after this is done, I will definitely treat him as my own son."
Zhang Lie paused for a moment, then said, "In that case, thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."
Chu Nian hummed in agreement, then asked, "Does Your Excellency have anything else to say?"
Zhang Lie then asked, "There's one more thing: after everything is done, what about the current young emperor..."
Chu Nian paused for a moment before saying, "He... after all, I raised him. I can't bear to see him die a violent death. Why not castrate him and let him stay by my side to serve me? It would be his way of repaying my kindness in raising him for more than ten years!"
"Go away... your power?" Zhang Lie clenched his fists involuntarily upon hearing this, but quickly regained his composure: Just as Xi'er had said, this woman spoke the gentlest words, yet did the most ruthless things! This was more than just ruthless; it was downright vicious!
Chu Nian asked him, "What, does Your Excellency think this is wrong? Do you think I shouldn't have kept him by my side? If you insist on killing him..."
Zhang Lie hurriedly replied, "No, no, as for the young emperor, it is naturally up to the Empress Dowager to decide how to handle him. I will obey the Empress Dowager's wishes."
Chu Nian smiled and said, "Since you have made your decision, Lord, then go back and quickly divorce your elder sister. After she leaves, I will follow your plans and help you seize the throne."
"Your Majesty, I will return now." After saying this, Zhang Lie stood up, bowed, and hurriedly left Cining Palace.
But after he left, he inexplicably went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Because the young emperor disliked him, he hadn't come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation on his own initiative for some time.
It is said that ever since the day the young emperor heard the Empress Dowager recount his origins in the Cining Palace, he was quite shocked. After that, the child's attitude towards him, the Marquis of Weiwu, changed.
Zhang Lie couldn't help but feel emotional upon thinking about this.
"Who's outside?" the young emperor asked from inside the palace.
The eunuch replied, "Your Majesty, it is the Marquis of Weiwu."
The young emperor said, "Oh? So it's the Marquis of Weiwu. Quickly, summon him into the palace."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
