Xiankun Palace.
The Empress Dowager has already gone to sleep.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, very urgently.
The palace maid guarding the gate asked, "Who is it?"
"His Majesty has urgent business to attend to with the Empress Dowager."
The palace maid guarding the gate clearly recognized Zhou Anyuan's voice. She hurriedly opened the gate, and someone immediately went to inform the Empress Dowager.
The door opened.
Two teams of guards rushed in, immediately subdued the palace maids, and herded them into the adjacent palace.
The leader shouted, "Everyone, go into your own rooms. Anyone who goes out without permission will be killed without mercy."
The remaining guards rushed into the inner hall and surrounded the group.
Zhou Anyuan shouted, "His Majesty has arrived!"
Outside the door, Jun Zhe, with a solemn expression, strode in and quickly entered the inner hall. The closer he got to the Empress Dowager's bedroom, the slower his pace became.
Finally, they arrived at the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Jun Zhe stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on the door, but he hesitated to push it open and go in.
The head of the guards stood guard outside the door, not daring to utter a word. A sorrowful atmosphere filled the air. He dared not urge the emperor to be exiled; this matter required His Majesty's own decision.
The palace was deathly quiet, as if the Empress Dowager had no idea that the palace had been surrounded. But that was impossible. She had heard the commotion clearly. Yun Nian had even come out to check, but was forced to retreat.
The Empress Dowager remained calm and composed; this was also a kind of contest, a gamble that the Emperor still held onto old feelings.
Time passed little by little.
Jun Zhe sighed silently, waved his hand, and the head guard pushed open the door to the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Jun Zhe stepped inside.
The Empress Dowager's voice was cold and stern: "You've finally arrived!"
That sound was tinged with weariness, the weariness of finally shedding so many years of secrets.
Jun Zhe's eyes welled up with tears. "Empress Dowager...do you know why I have come?"
"I would like to know, but I really can't find any other reason for Your Majesty to make such a fuss."
The Empress Dowager fiddled with the candlelight, the flickering flame adding a touch of gentleness to her face. It made Junzhe feel as if he had been transported back to his childhood, to a time when the Empress Dowager held him under such a red candle, waiting for his father to come.
Yun Nian stood to the side, her face full of doubt. She really didn't understand what the mother and son were up to, but her intuition told her that the Empress Dowager was in danger, the Emperor was furious, and the mother and son had already turned against each other.
"Empress Dowager, did you ever imagine this day would come?" Jun Zhe's voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing the quiet air.
For a moment, the Empress Dowager seemed dazed. She stared blankly at the red candle, as if she saw her child who had died before he could grow up. Her voice was filled with reminiscence.
“I have thought about it, I have thought about my banished son wearing the dragon robe, sitting on the dragon throne, with the ministers kneeling and shouting ‘Long live the Emperor’ below. I have dreamed of this scene countless times! It’s just a pity that all my hard work in this life has been for someone else’s benefit. Now that I think about it, I am really pitiful and lamentable.”
Jun Zhe felt only coldness. The banished son the Empress Dowager spoke of was not him; he was merely a substitute. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow in his heart.
"Who am I? Who is my mother?"
The Empress Dowager smiled faintly, her weathered face making her appear as a kind and sorrowful mother. She sighed softly and poured a glass of water, placing it on the table.
"Sit down. You've come today simply to ask about the cause and effect of this matter. It's a long story. Why don't you sit down and tell me about your mother, who is even more pitiful than I am?"
Jun Zhe sat down and reached for his water glass.
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