Yun Yue watched as Yun Nian's expression shifted, sometimes gritting her teeth, sometimes waking up as if from a dream, sometimes filled with grief and indignation, and sometimes suddenly realizing something. It was clear that she was struggling with her inner turmoil and sadness. Yun Yue opened her mouth, then quietly closed it again.
After a long while, when tears streamed down Yun Nian's face, Yun Yue wiped away her own tears and sighed, "It seems you've figured things out, little sister. You've suffered so much these past years, all alone in the palace. It's my fault for not being able to come and see you. I owe you so much."
Yun Nian looked at Yun Yue and saw that she had aged terribly. Time had left many marks on her. She and her sister were originally only three years apart, but now they looked at least ten years apart, which showed that she had not had a good life in recent years.
Yun Nian put herself in the Empress Dowager's shoes and was instantly filled with anger. She couldn't help but glare at the Empress Dowager and asked with tears in her eyes, "Empress Dowager, my sister and I have served you with great care and loyalty all these years. We have always put you first and never disobeyed you. Today, I dare to ask you one question: Why did you harm my sister back then? And why did you keep me in the dark for so many years?"
The Empress Dowager ignored Yun Nian, her cold, piercing gaze fixed on Yun Yue. If looks could kill, Yun Yue would have been executed by a thousand cuts long ago. Her gaze lingered between Yun Nian and Yun Yue, her heart filled with extreme rage: No wonder Jun Zhe was so fearless; he had found someone from the past!
She closed her eyes, not answering Yun Nian's question. To her, Yun Nian's words were insignificant; the words of a servant, the joys and sorrows of a servant, were not the most important thing at this moment.
She looked at the emperor and said, "What is Your Majesty playing at? You just randomly picked someone to impersonate my old friend. Most of my old friends are already in the ground. If Your Majesty wants to harm me, you should find some other pretext. I will say it again: Your Majesty, you may kill me or torture me as you please. If Your Majesty is not afraid of being remembered in history for the crime of killing one's mother, then go ahead and kill me!"
Although Jun Zhe had anticipated that the Empress Dowager would be difficult to deal with, he never expected that she would remain so calm and stubbornly persist despite the overwhelming evidence.
At this moment, Emperor Junzhe was not worried at all that the Empress Dowager would not admit it. On the contrary, he greatly admired the Empress Dowager's stubbornness in never admitting defeat until the very last moment. As the emperor, he would definitely encounter many difficulties and obstacles in the future, and the Empress Dowager had taught him many things.
He stood up, clapped his hands, and an extremely old woman was brought in.
The Empress Dowager looked at the old woman with extreme anxiety. She didn't recognize who the old woman was, but she knew that the old woman must be related to this matter. His Majesty had really put a lot of effort into this matter and had gathered a lot of evidence.
She swayed precariously, but still straightened her back and adopted a defiant posture, afraid that if she relaxed, she would never be able to stand up again.
The old woman glanced nervously at the Empress Dowager, then at the Emperor, and trembled as she prepared to kneel down.
Jun Zhe spoke, his voice light and clear, yet penetrating to the heart. "No need to kneel anymore. Tell me what happened in the palace on the tenth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of Yongzheng."
October 10, the twelfth year of Yongzheng?
The Empress Dowager's heart skipped a beat. That was the day she gave birth to the banished son, and that day was also the day the late Empress gave birth.
The old woman wiped the sweat from her brow and hurriedly said, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty. On the tenth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of Yongzheng, this servant was delivering the baby for the Empress Dowager, oh, who was then the Consort Shu!"
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