"How did you know all this?" Leng Yue couldn't understand how it was possible.
Firstly, ten years ago, Zhan Wudi was probably just an unknown guard. These were royal secrets, and he wasn't qualified to know them back then. Secondly, even if Zhan Wudi knew some of them, how could he be so clear about them? Such things are completely unbelievable unless one has personally experienced and witnessed them.
"I was saved by the General in my early years, and I also secretly protected the General's wife after she entered the palace, but... I still failed to protect the General's family." Zhan Wudi said, his face full of shame. "Later, after making many inquiries, I learned that the baby girl born to the General's wife was taken away by Empress Dowager Feng. That baby girl is Your Majesty."
"Then do you think the late emperor knew about this?" Leng Yue was not agitated, but calmly pointed out the problem.
Zhan Wudi shook his head, "This humble subject believes that the late emperor was unaware of this. If the late emperor had known, how could he have allowed Empress Dowager Feng to do such a thing?"
Leng Yue disagreed. "In this palace, who has more power than the late emperor? I don't believe he didn't know. Unless... unless..."
"What agreement did they reach?" Zhan Wudi continued, his eyes widening involuntarily.
Leng Yue nodded. "When the interests between people are great enough, nothing is impossible."
"But what kind of exchange of benefits could there have been between the late emperor and the empress dowager?" Zhan Wudi couldn't understand.
"It might not be an exchange, perhaps it's a conspiracy." Leng Yue pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked Zhan Wudi, "Did the late emperor have many children? Why haven't I seen a single one?"
In Zhao Dai's memory, besides Qingluan, there was only Zhan Wudi. Most of the time, Zhao Dai didn't even leave his palace, let alone know any other princes or princesses. From childhood to adulthood, Zhao Dai had never seen any other brothers or sisters.
When Zhan Wudi heard Leng Yue's question, he looked at her in surprise, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the late Emperor only had one son, you?"
"Didn't any of the other concubines bear the late emperor a son or daughter?" Leng Yue frowned. Chan Ruoxue could give birth, and Empress Dowager Feng could give birth, which meant the late emperor was not incapable of having children. If the late emperor was perfectly healthy, then why didn't the other concubines conceive? It didn't make sense, it just didn't make sense!
"This humble subject isn't entirely sure about that either, but I seem to recall hearing some of it from the older folks in the palace." Zhan Wudi scratched his head, still feeling a bit uneasy discussing the late emperor. But considering it was the emperor asking, he figured it wasn't a big deal. "The late emperor's concubines, whenever they became pregnant, either died or went insane. Even those who were lucky enough to give birth mostly had stillbirths. And even if they weren't stillborn, they would eventually die young. So, the late emperor never had any children."
"So, someone is targeting the royal offspring?" Leng Yue stroked her chin, her mind racing. "Because someone is targeting the royal offspring, shouldn't the late emperor have paid extra attention to me after learning of my existence? But why did the late emperor and Empress Dowager Feng both choose to ignore my existence?"
"Zhao Dai, Zhao Dai, it's not a good name. Who is he replacing? Is he making me replace the real prince?" With this series of questions, Leng Yue's mind became clearer and clearer.
"Your Majesty, you mean, you are..." Zhan Wudi had never thought of this before, and now that Leng Yue had said it, he had no idea how to react.
"Shh," Leng Yue gestured to Zhan Wudi not to reveal it, "This matter is between heaven and earth, between you and me, it is fine as long as we know it, but we must not spread it around."
Zhan Wudi nodded. How could he dare to say it? Besides bringing death upon himself, there would probably be no other benefit in saying such a thing.
"You mentioned Yang Jianye's only son, Yang Jin. Where did he go?" Leng Yue thought of the man in black who had sneaked into the palace at night. Perhaps the man in black wasn't lying.
“Young Master… he actually… actually came here…” Zhan Wudi suddenly became hesitant, as if he didn’t really want to say it.
"I know, it's the man in black from before, isn't it? Actually, you knew he was coming all along, didn't you?" Leng Yue understood perfectly well now. When Yang Jin entered before, Zhan Wudi seemed to be searching him each time, but now she realized it was just a warning. At the time, Leng Yue wondered why Zhan Wudi hadn't found Yang Jin even after blocking the palace the second time. So, Zhan Wudi was deliberately letting him pass?
"You two are really good at this charade. I almost thought Yang Jin knew some kind of sorcery!" Leng Yue looked at Zhan Wudi. The two of them really worked together perfectly, just like magicians performing magic tricks, completely fooling Leng Yue, who was the audience.
"Your Majesty... I have offended you before, please forgive me." Zhan Wudi, a burly man, acted coyly, which made Leng Yue feel a chill.
"It's alright, it's alright, we weren't familiar with each other back then... By the way, didn't you want to kill me before? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Leng Yue waved her hand dismissively. Everyone has their own degrees of closeness and distance. However, Zhan Wudi's change of heart was still a bit too quick.
"Actually, there is something else, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not?" Zhan Wudi looked troubled, as if he was very conflicted.
Leng Yue nodded. "Go ahead and speak."
"Last time, the young master said that you... might be his younger sister, but I'm not entirely sure. When your wife gave birth to you, she was two months premature. They say that seven months is enough for a baby to survive, but eight months is not, so I..." Zhan Wudi was talking about childbirth all day, and he was blushing with embarrassment. It was truly shameful for a grown man like him to be discussing common folk beliefs about childbirth with the Emperor.
"No wonder, no wonder everyone wanted to spoil Zhao Dai, so this is where she is?" Leng Yue sighed. Zhao Dai really was a pitiful child. She probably never imagined that the maternal love she had been searching for was nothing more than recognizing a thief as her mother, and that she would never receive the maternal love she wanted!
"That's enough for today. Next, we'll closely monitor Empress Dowager Feng's movements." Leng Yue heard that He'er had knocked on the door several times already. She knew she couldn't delay any longer, so she hurriedly assigned tasks and sent Zhan Wudi out.
Zhan Wudi said nothing more and got up to leave.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Li has come to see us several times." He'er closed the door and quickly informed Leng Yue.
Leng Yue was surprised that He'er would tell her this, and hesitated for a moment. She didn't know what He'er's purpose was in helping her cover for her.
"He'er just can't stand her father-in-law." Compared to Xiao Li, He'er still favors Leng Yue in her heart.
Leng Yue nodded. "Regarding Qingluan's matter, I ordered Guard Zhan to investigate personally. Because it concerns Qingluan, I couldn't help myself... Alas!"
Leng Yue spoke in a mix of truth and fiction, revealing a little of the truth.
He'er nodded, "This servant knows that you and Miss Qingluan are closer, so this is inevitable. Don't worry, I've already dealt with Eunuch Li."
Leng Yue looked at He'er with satisfaction, "He'er, you're becoming more and more kind to me now, I... don't know how to reward you..."
“Your Majesty…” He’er’s heart suddenly softened.
Looking at He'er, who radiated maternal warmth, Leng Yue resolved to find He'er a good family to marry into. Otherwise, such a wonderful girl would be wasted!
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