"Tong, you have disappointed me greatly," Yinzhen said sadly. "Xu'er may have harbored ill will towards the Tong family, but the Nian family has already paid the price. You shouldn't have done this. I once said that I would seek justice for you, so why are you still holding onto this grudge?"
Upon hearing this, Nan Yi's lips curled into a cold smile. "You are truly upholding justice for me, not saying that the other party deserved it."
Yinzhen's face darkened, partly from anger at being exposed by Tong Shi. Even though everyone in the world knew, he had indeed had his own selfish motives. "You don't believe me."
Nan Yi tilted her head, a mocking expression on her face, and said with a double meaning, "She believes it, but I don't."
Tong Yilan must have believed him in the past. After all, the man in front of her was her everything, her everything, and all her joys and sorrows revolved around him.
Yinzhen flicked his sleeve and said, "Of course Xu'er believes me." Lady Nian never questioned his words, unlike Lady Tong, who was born rebellious.
Seeing that the Fourth Master didn't understand, Nan Yi smiled faintly and then explained, "No, I'm not talking about her, I'm referring to Tong Yilan, the real Tong Yilan."
For some reason, she suddenly felt an urge to pour out her heart. Her soul had been trapped in this shell for so long, and she knew that she would soon disappear. In this time and space, no one would know that she had ever been there. She had left nothing behind; all that remained was Tong Yilan.
Those who know her will only remember Tong Yilan.
Since she'd already come all this way, she should leave something behind to prove she'd been there, even if it was a somewhat childish and ridiculous act.
Nan Yi looked at Yinzhen as if he were a stranger, and gave a bleak smile, "Didn't you ever have any doubts that summer of the forty-second year?"
"Suspicion about what?" Yinzhen asked with a puzzled expression, a sense of unease rising in his mind, and his heart clenching.
Was she not the real Tong Yilan? The relief and utter grief on Tong's face made Yinzhen feel apprehensive. His intuition told him that what she was about to say was not what he wanted to hear.
He didn't want to hear it. Who the real Tong Yilan was didn't matter; what mattered was the Tong Yilan in front of him.
Yinzhen's lips parted slightly, and he softly called out, "Yi'er~"
"My name is Nan Yi, Tong Nan Yi. I am not her, I never have been her," Nan Yi said with a faint smile, as if she were talking about someone else.
"Such a gentle and delicate woman, intelligent and kind-hearted, never vying for anything, yet she is gone. Not long after moving into the villa, she died in sorrow..."
"Shut up, shut up!" Even if Yinzhen had suspected it, he didn't want to admit it. He didn't know why he didn't want to admit it, but a nameless panic in his heart made him feel helpless.
No, he is the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the master of the world. Panic is nonexistent.
“I’ve said it before, I am Nan Yi.” Nan Yi’s gaze was open and honest, and Yinzhen knew she wasn’t lying. Her clear and straightforward gaze made him feel quite embarrassed.
"Ms. Tong, I am not here to listen to your nonsense. If you do not wish to speak, I will not force you..."
"Are you scared? Don't worry, I'm not a ghost."
"I told you to shut up."
"No," Nan Yi stood up from the ground, limped to Yinzhen's side, and reached out to grab his sleeve. Yinzhen instinctively shook her off, and then froze.
Nan lost his footing and fell to the ground with a thud. Before he could get up, he thought to himself, "He said he wasn't afraid, what a cowardly man."
Having decided to make things clear, she wouldn't allow herself or Fourth Master to back down.
The woman vanished without a trace, like the wind passing by. No, she needs to give an explanation for this.
"Actually, you've had your suspicions, haven't you? After all, we're so different. She's from a noble family, while I'm just an ordinary girl who was living a carefree life. I never imagined that I would end up here inexplicably. I'm so wronged. A perfectly good young woman, I've become someone's concubine for no reason. Oh, you're probably going to say, 'You're a prince of the Qing Dynasty.' Bullshit! Who wants to marry a prince? Even if you gave me an empress, I might not marry her."
Having harbored resentment for decades, Nan Yi decided to finally vent it.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen's eyes darkened. She didn't even care about being the Empress; did she want to ascend to heaven?
"Tong, you are insolent and arrogant. Believe me or not, I will take your head."
Since she was going to die anyway, Nan Yi completely let loose. She raised her chin and said casually, "Take it off. These years as a concubine have been shameful enough. Not only is it embarrassing, but if my senior brother knew how miserable I am, he would laugh himself to death."
Yinzhen was furious; his fingers were trembling. He pursed his lips, raised a finger, pointed it directly at Nan Yi, and angrily rebuked, "Tong Shi, are you blaming me for wronging you?"
Nan Yi raised his chin and said, "That's right, you've been wronged a lot. Why was Tong Yilan betrothed to you? It's like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung."
"Smack."
A loud slap landed hard on Nan Yi's face.
Instead of getting angry, Nan Yi laughed, snorted coldly, and said with a mocking smile, "You know, besides putting me in solitary confinement, the deepest memory you left me with is probably slapping me. Of course, my mouth is indeed hateful. You are an incomparably noble prince, and now you are the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, possessing the wealth of the four seas. Only I, in my vulgar ignorance, would dare to offend you."
Yinzhen was furious. He wanted to strangle the arrogant woman in front of him. But when his gaze fell on the bright red finger marks on her face, he forced himself to suppress his rising anger. In his anger, he even forgot to investigate the matter of the real and fake Tong Yilan.
At this moment, all he remembered was that Tong Shi never wanted to marry him, and that she regretted arranging the marriage for him.
The mighty Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was described as such a filthy thing in her mouth. How dare Tong Shi not dare?
His feelings for her and his years of protecting her had become a huge joke.
Where did she place him?
He suddenly remembered that for Xiao Xi, Lady Tong had broken into the Imperial Study; for her ninth brother, she had stormed into the heavily guarded Imperial Clan Court; for them, she had thrown tantrums, knelt down and begged, and even vomited blood and fainted.
In her heart, he was far less important than them; no, he held absolutely no place in her heart.
This realization nearly suffocated him.
How could Yinzhen allow his feelings to be trampled on, and neither could Lady Tong.
He was frighteningly calm, and his expression was even colder. So he said indifferently, "Since you don't know what's good for you, I don't want to presume to be sentimental. I suppose you don't even care about the position of a concubine. My harem doesn't keep heartless people. So, you can go and stay in the Cold Palace."
Nan Yi, indulging in her sharp tongue, never intended to escape unscathed. She had originally planned to leave a legacy for the Tong family, but with Xiao Xi's death and Yin Tang's departure, she came to terms with reality.
"Your Majesty's grace is too much for me to thank you for. I still need to pack my things," Nan Yi said.
Yinzhen left in a rage, and Lanzhi, Lanye, and the others rushed in after hearing Eunuch Su deliver the imperial decree outside.
The two maids stood on either side of Nan Yi. Lan Zhi spoke impatiently, "Your Majesty, what happened? Why did the Emperor banish you to the Cold Palace? You have angered the Emperor again. What should we do? Your health is weak. The Cold Palace is no place for you."
“Yes, Eunuch Shun and Sister Yiren are not here either. Right now, there is no one to plead for Your Majesty. Your Majesty, why can’t you be more lenient?” Lan Ye was also worried and seemed at a loss.
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