Following the Empress's gaze, Luo Zhiheng saw a dark palace gate ahead, its color different from all other palace gates, giving it an air of solemnity and rigor. Luo Zhiheng immediately thought of her imperial grandfather. Looking at the steam rising from the repaired road, lined with tall sycamore trees, the road stretched long and winding, while the palace gate remained tightly closed, showing no signs of human presence yet exceptionally clean.
The Empress choked back tears as she said, "I did have my doubts back then, but because she was my own child, I held back my doubts and refused to believe it. When Heng'er was born, everyone said that she looked a lot like me and that she would definitely look like me when she grew up. But when Heng'er was three or four years old that year, after that rumor, I looked at Heng'er carefully again, and this child... I have to admit that she really doesn't resemble me at all!"
"How could this be?!" Luo Zhiheng exclaimed in shock, then, realizing a possibility, she cried out, "Could it be that someone switched the baby with the real thing?"
Who would dare to be so audacious?!
"I considered this possibility back then, so I asked the Empress, 'Is this child mine?' I will never forget the Empress's expression at that time, that shock, bewilderment, irony, and coldness, but not a trace of heartache. How could I have forgotten that this man, who was always physically weak, actually had a very strong and hard heart? At that moment, I knew that I had completely broken his heart, a heart that no amount of wealth or sweet words could ever win back."
"But at that time, I was very stubborn and unwilling to admit my mistakes or admit defeat. The Empress coldly told me, 'Your own child, the one you carried for ten months and gave birth to, don't you know? Why ask me? You should be the one with the most say, shouldn't you?' I said I only asked if this child was our child. But the Empress's final silence and the coldness in her eyes completely enraged me. I hit her like a madwoman, which frightened Heng'er into crying. The Empress was stubborn and refused to admit defeat, so I naturally couldn't stay there any longer. I left, and from then on, the Empress fell out of favor."
Luo Zhiheng felt damp drops of water falling on the back of her hand. Looking up, she was horrified to see tears streaming down the Empress's face. Unbeknownst to her, the Empress had been weeping uncontrollably. Luo Zhiheng couldn't quite describe her feelings; she only felt that the Empress was so pitiful, yet also... so hateful!
"You asked the father of your own daughter, which is truly baffling," Luo Zhiheng said shrewdly, but her voice had turned cold.
She couldn't remain calm in the face of the Empress anymore. She would never believe that this tragedy wasn't entirely the Empress's doing. But the Empress's most outrageous act was asking the Empress about the child. Who has more authority to speak about a child than the mother herself? Instead of asking herself, she asked the father, who couldn't have children—wasn't that ridiculous?
"You also find it utterly perplexing? Ha, I was truly blinded by jealousy and those rumors back then, losing all reason. A child who was born looking very much like me gradually grew up and no longer resembled me at all. And where there's smoke, there's fire. I even had people investigate those rumors about the Empress, and I ended up taking the investigation results to the Empress's palace." The Empress smiled eerily, but it was more like a grimace.
Luo Zhiheng's spirits lifted, and she asked, "What have you found out?"
"Evidence of the Empress's secret rendezvous!" the Empress said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
Luo Zhiheng's expression changed drastically!
The Empress released Luo Zhiheng's hand, walked to a nearby sycamore tree, plucked a leaf, and released it with a flick of her wrist. Her tone was sharp: "My secret guards would not make a mistake, much less deceive me. The time and place in the evidence match perfectly and are beyond question. I asked the Empress if these were true, and she did not deny it but readily admitted it. I was furious at the time and wanted to kill the Empress."
“But even if you’re not calm, you can’t be so impulsive, can you? Even if the Empress admits it, it’s possible that she just needs someone’s help, not necessarily that she did something wrong,” Luo Zhiheng couldn’t help but say.
The Empress said angrily, "Yes, that's true. But there was another piece of information that came out during the investigation: the Empress and that female guard met frequently, and that female guard even spent a long time alone with the Empress in a secret courtyard in the inner palace. You expect me to remain so calm? Nobody knows what they did in that room! What's most hateful is that that woman was the Empress's childhood sweetheart!"
Luo Zhiheng was so stunned by the unfolding events that she almost choked. She frowned in deep thought, then suddenly said, "That's not right. Why are there so many coincidences? Grandmother said Grandfather was a very meticulous person, but to meet with a guard so openly, right there in the palace—doesn't the Emperor find that hard to believe? If Grandfather were truly meticulous, he would never do such a thing, lest he give others cause for criticism. Besides, it was in the palace, and all the concubines there were Grandfather's enemies. How could he allow them to seize upon something that could kill him?"
"It's too much of a coincidence, but I was out of my mind at the time. I pointed my sword at Heng'er and said, 'This child isn't my Heng'er. Is my Heng'er already dead? Is this child born to the Empress and his childhood sweetheart?' Then I brought him in and swapped him with my Heng'er to confuse the Huang family's bloodline!" The Empress roared with a very crazy and wounded expression, as if that scene from years ago was being replayed, as if the Empress was right in front of her.
Luo Zhiheng's eyes showed a look of shock.
So that's the key! Just how powerful were those rumors back then? Look at the results, look at the present, and you'll know.
"Heng'er, do you know how the Silver Moon Kingdom spread rumors about your grandfather and mother? They said your mother was long dead, and that Heng'er was born to the Empress and that palace maid. The reason the Empress treated this child as her own was because he was her bloodline! They deceived me into bringing him in. That's why Qin Yinheng resembled me when he was just born, but after a few years, he didn't resemble me at all. This rumor was so real, and the subsequent coincidences were so coherent, it was practically flawless. I was in so much pain back then, Heng'er, my most beloved child, is he really dead? Is he really gone?" The Empress held her head, breathing rapidly as she roared.
Luo Zhiheng was speechless. This was a conspiracy, a massive conspiracy encompassing many things, meticulously and perfectly designed, so that once someone fell into it, they couldn't easily escape. Even someone like the Empress couldn't escape being deceived. This showed just how terrifying and insidious the mastermind behind this conspiracy was.
“But that’s the palace! Even if my grandfather really wanted to bring a child in, it would be impossible. Besides, what did that female guard say? And how could there be rumors that the mother is dead? How could a dead child not show any signs? Also, how can you tell who a child looks like right after birth? How could the wet nurse make such a conclusion based on that…” Luo Zhiheng became angrier and angrier, until she was too angry to continue.
"Yes, we can't conclude anything from this. That time, the Empress finally broke her silence and indifference, and had a very heated argument with me. She was angry and heartbroken. She said she had never done anything to wrong me, that she wasn't afraid of my investigation, and that she was even willing to let me go find that guard. At that time, I still had a sliver of hope, so I went to find that guard."
"But your grandfather had already discovered this was a conspiracy at this time. He calculated that the final result might be that this person was betraying him, and then his fate would be very terrible. He was not a coward, but he could not let Heng'er be killed by the person behind the scenes, so he made a decisive decision to send Heng'er away. Your grandfather was a truly ruthless person. If he did not trust anyone, he would not give that person any chance or room for maneuver."
"He chose your wet nurse's family to protect Heng'er as he leaves, and he is going to leave with them too. But he can't stay in Silver Moon Kingdom, much less go home. He has calculated very clearly that if he doesn't go home, I can't do anything to his family, because they are a powerful family that has produced a God of War and has connections with the Divination Palace. Although it is ancient, I still won't easily touch them. So he decided to leave Silver Moon Kingdom."
"And he was fortunate to have left early. Just as he had expected, the guard confessed that Heng'er was her and the Empress's daughter. She said that my daughter and the Empress's daughter had died, and she had listened to the Empress's pleas and secretly sent their daughter in. The two children happened to be the same age, so she thought she could impersonate her. I was furious at the time, but I also suddenly calmed down. Because there was a sentence in the investigation that said this guard had been on the battlefield a few years ago and was seriously wounded, which made it difficult for him to conceive. This was also the reason why the Empress's family did not marry the Empress to this guard, even though this young guard's family was a prominent family."
"I was quickly jolted awake by this and realized something was amiss. I summoned the imperial physician to examine her, and he confirmed that she had indeed never given birth. At this point, I was finally certain that she was lying when she said she gave birth to this child! However, the investigation revealed that this guard had indeed been pregnant and given birth several years ago. After further investigation, I discovered that this was a meticulously planned conspiracy, meticulously orchestrated since the time I became pregnant with the Empress's child," the Empress said ruthlessly.
Luo Zhiheng couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine at the meticulousness and thoroughness of the person behind the scenes. Such a scheme must have been planned from the very beginning, otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to orchestrate this seemingly hopeless situation so precisely. With a single move, they routed the Empress and her allies, leaving them utterly powerless to retaliate; even the Empress herself fell victim to their trap.
Luo Zhiheng then asked curiously, "But I still don't understand. When Mother was young, she must have had many people taking care of her, right? It doesn't make sense to say that Mother died and was switched at birth. Mother is perfectly fine with Grandfather. This lie might not be able to work, right?"
The Empress's face flushed red, and she closed her eyes tightly, saying, "It's my fault! It was during the year and a half I neglected your grandfather, when I first began to doubt him. Those dogs and slaves embezzled so much of his clothing, food, and other necessities for all four seasons. The father and daughter were never well-fed or clothed, and had to spend the winters in a freezing room. Heng'er was so young then and couldn't bear it, so she was often sick. That's why this rumor spread, giving them this opportunity to attack Heng'er."
Luo Zhiheng's heart clenched in shock. How vicious! They actually schemed to this extent!
"Then who exactly is behind this?" Luo Zhiheng's voice was already filled with murderous intent.
The Empress suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze icy cold: "I've been investigating all these years. Back then, I didn't order anyone to hunt down the father and daughter. When I realized something was wrong, I started investigating the conspiracy, wanting to give them justice. But by the time I finally found a clue, several days had passed. When I came to my senses and rushed to the Empress's palace, I found it empty."
The Empress smiled bitterly at Luo Zhiheng and said, "Can you imagine the shock and heart-wrenching feeling? In that instant, I felt abandoned. Abandoned by the man I love most, and the child I love most. But, I was the one who hurt them so badly before, so they don't want me anymore, I can't blame them."
"And then, someone returned with the Empress's body. At that moment, I thought this joke was not funny at all. If he wants to leave, let him leave. I will definitely find them again, no, I will bring them back! My Empress and Princess should return in glory and dignity, not like the Empress, carried back covered in blood and wounds! Those beautiful eyes will never open again to look at me, they will never smile gently at me again, they will never roar angrily at me again, they will never be able to do anything again..." The Empress was already sobbing uncontrollably. The pain of such deep regret is something that those who have not experienced it can never understand.
Coincidentally, Luo Zhiheng had experienced all of these things, so she understood. That's why her eyes also welled up with tears.
Chapter 561: Cult of the Same Root! Clues to the God of War's Bloodline! (Bonus chapter for 44,000 comments)
Updated: 2014-01-16 21:13:00 Word Count: 3346
"I really hate it. I never gave any orders to kill them or arrest them, never!! But the Empress must have hated me before she left, she must have resented me! And our Heng'er, I have lost her forever too." The Empress's anger and despair made her feel as if she were being tormented by both ice and fire. Her roar was filled with a deep, heart-wrenching pain.
This was perhaps the heaviest and most unforgivable pain and mistake of Her Majesty's life. Yet, such a tragedy, because of its devastation, is all the more poignant and heart-wrenching!
The Empress staggered to the black palace gate, her fingers lingering on it with an air of longing. She croaked, "Heng'er, your mother is my daughter. Even though she doesn't resemble me at all, she is still my daughter. She is the only child of me and your grandfather. This is your grandfather's residence, but for so many years I haven't had the courage to come here, to take a single step inside. I have no face to see your grandfather."
Luo Zhiheng held the Empress's hand and said, "The past is the past. Proving Mother's identity is more important than anything else. But who exactly is behind it all?"
The Empress said bitterly, "We are all born of the same root, why are you so eager to harm each other!"
Luo Zhiheng had already had her own thoughts and guesses, but upon hearing these two sentences, she still felt a tremor in her heart. She thought of all the grudges and entanglements between herself and Luo Ningshuang. Weren't they also born of the same root? Why were they so eager to harm each other?
Is it Qin Yinxian?
The Queen closed her eyes wearily: "It's her!"
To brutally murder a sister who has no ability to protect herself, just to eliminate any potential threat, and to be so heartless as to even scheme against her stepmother, disregarding everything to eradicate dissidents—such a person truly deserves to die!
"What happened back then dealt me a very heavy blow, to the point that I was depressed and despondent for several years. During those years, Qin Yinxian was the most noble princess. The Consort was equivalent to the Empress Dowager, which was half an Empress. Qin Yinxian always acted as the Crown Princess. Although she never said it herself, she did and said things in accordance with the Crown Princess."
“I had my suspicions, but her explanation was simple: she was just chasing down an assassin and never expected that someone would accidentally kill the Empress. It was just an accident; her people didn’t know about it, and who would have thought the Empress would leave the palace? There was no news of the Empress leaving the palace at all.”
"This is a deadlock. Qin Yinxian is clearly the most suspicious, but that's precisely why she might be innocent. For so many years afterward, I was so focused on finding Heng'er that I neglected many political affairs. The ministers were already quite dissatisfied, but I continued to do as I pleased, searching for the truth of what happened back then while also looking for Heng'er, but I still couldn't find any clues. The conspiracy from back then was also completely wiped out, and I have no way to investigate it."
"In the years that followed, my health deteriorated, and the appointment of the Crown Princess became inevitable. There were quite a few supporters of Qin Yinxian, and Qin Yinxian was, after all, my child. At that time, I tried to believe her, because without concrete evidence, I could only choose to believe Qin Yinxian."
"She ascended to the throne of the Crown Princess, and Shi'er was also successfully enfeoffed as a prince. The other children were also enfeoffed as princes one after another. As Qin Yinxian's influence grew, time passed and time went by. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye before I finally found you. It's just a pity that your mother and I were ultimately not meant to be. I feel ashamed of your mother."
In Luo Zhiheng's eyes, the Empress's words of repentance were indeed too late, but fortunately, the Empress dared to take responsibility for her actions. It was truly unexpected that the Silver Moon Kingdom, which appeared to outsiders like a paradise, harbored so many dirty conspiracies, far from its idyllic appearance, and was even terrifying.
Luo Zhiheng said, "I'm just curious, how was Qin Yinxian able to be so perceptive in targeting my grandfather back then? My mother wasn't even born yet. If it really was Qin Yinxian, then that person's scheming is far too deep."
The Empress sighed, "Qin Yinxian was already quite grown up then, and she had her own ambitions and ideas. When she saw me entrust the country to the Empress, she began to be wary. She knew very well how important the eldest daughter was to me, and how much I loved and adored Heng'er. So she regarded them, father and daughter, as thorns in her side. She lacked the magnanimity that an emperor should have, but she certainly possessed the ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness that an emperor should have. Isn't this also the tragedy of me as her mother?"
"Grandmother, where is she now?" Luo Zhiheng thought she asked calmly, but her voice was cold, and her teeth were grinding.
The Empress looked at Luo Zhiheng with a profound expression for a while, and said, "Before you leave, I will let you see her. I told you all this today to make things clear. I think you must have many doubts in your heart. Some things cannot be hidden forever, and some truths cannot be buried forever if they are not spoken. Now that I have said it, it feels like a big burden has been lifted from my heart, and I feel much lighter."
"Grandmother, please rest assured. If Mother and Grandfather are watching from heaven, they will not resent you. They will understand you and be considerate of you. After all, you were also a victim back then, and you were manipulated by someone's schemes." Luo Zhiheng held the Empress's arm with concern, saying with both heartache and comfort.
But the Empress's arm suddenly stiffened, and Luo Zhiheng, with keen peripheral vision, caught a fleeting glimpse of murderous intent and anger on the Empress's face. A barely perceptible smile curled at the corner of Luo Zhiheng's lips. Hmph, want Qin Yinxian to live? Impossible! Not even her grandfather and mother, let alone herself, would allow it!
She said it on purpose, inadvertently touching the Empress's sore spot. No emperor wants to be the one being manipulated, even if the one manipulating them is their own child! And a common flaw of emperors is their suspicion and vindictiveness! With these two traits, Qin Yinxian has no reason to have a good life!
If she didn't try to sow discord between Qin Yinxian and make the Empress make things difficult for Qin Yinxian and resent her, how could Luo Zhiheng feel at ease?
"Good child, your grandmother wants your mother to return to Silvermoon Kingdom for burial. After all, one should return to one's roots; this is her home, and she should enjoy her dignity and everything she deserves. I think she also wants to return. What do you think?" The Empress concealed the murderous intent in her eyes and spoke gently to Luo Zhiheng.
Luo Zhiheng was stunned, overwhelmed by the shock and intense emotions, and momentarily speechless. She hesitated, then said, "This isn't right. After all, Mother grew up in the Mu Dynasty. She probably already considers herself a member of the Mu Dynasty. Moreover, she and Father were deeply in love. Once she married Father, she became a member of the Luo family. It's only natural that she be buried in the Luo family's ancestral tomb after her death. If it's dug up, it's not only disrespectful to Mother but also a contempt for my Luo family. My father and mother had a deep and loving relationship. How could you expect my father to accept this?"
The Empress frowned and said, “This is not disrespect, but your mother was the most noble woman in my Silver Moon Kingdom. She should be the Crown Princess, the future monarch of Silver Moon Kingdom! Although she is dead, her remains have been brought back to be buried in the imperial mausoleum of Silver Moon Kingdom, and I will posthumously confer upon her the title of Crown Princess. Isn’t that good? Moreover, since your mother was a citizen of Silver Moon Kingdom, it is because your father married her that your father should also come to Silver Moon Kingdom.”
Luo Zhiheng disliked this arrangement and the Empress's self-righteous pronouncements. Her tone became more serious and solemn: "My father has worried himself sick over me, and I will not agree to something that would cause him such distress. Although I promised him I would compromise for my sake, that would ultimately be betraying and hurting him, and I will not do that. Also, Grandmother, please don't always use the customs of Silver Moon Kingdom to demand that people from other countries follow your customs in their lives and actions. This is inherently unfair. You should also respect the customs of other nations. In a country where men are in charge, my mother became a member of the Luo family after marrying into it, and that is beyond question!"
Luo Zhiheng's words left the Empress speechless. Seeing her granddaughter's seriousness and earnestness, the Empress sighed. She couldn't push her too hard, so she said, "Alright, let's not talk about this for now. Let's go inside and take a look. This is where your grandfather and mother used to live. Everything inside is as it was, except for one thing: the betrothal gifts your grandfather prepared for your mother are gone. I think those things are with you now."
Luo Zhiheng thought of the gold dowry and laughed, "It's with me. I don't know how my grandfather was so resourceful back then, to be able to predict so accurately and transport so many things out of Silver Moon Kingdom."
The Empress smiled wryly and said, "I'm afraid he started making moves a few days ago, sending those things out through the secret passage I told him to, and hiding them well. Those things are too conspicuous, so he must have placed them in some safe place and transported them out in batches over many years. Your grandfather had many loyal secret guards."
Luo Zhiheng nodded and forcefully pushed open the black palace door. The Empress's voice rang out with the creaking of the door: "Later, I will arrange for you to meet your maternal great-grandfather, who is your mother's great-grandfather and the God of War of our Silver Moon Kingdom!"
Luo Zhiheng's hand trembled, and her heart skipped a beat. Was it her mother's maternal family, her grandfather's maternal grandfather? How old must he be? The God of War? Or perhaps this God of War was related to the God of War of the Southern Dynasty?
Suddenly, Luo Zhiheng looked at the Empress with a horrified expression, unable to utter a single word. She suddenly remembered that the God of War bloodline within her was actually inherited from her maternal grandparents! She had always thought that only her father's side had the God of War bloodline; was that not the case? Or did both families have Gods of War?
562 Revenge and Debt Collection!
Updated: 2014-01-17 22:23:55 Word Count: 3502
The Empress's maternal relatives entered the palace directly. At that time, Luo Zhiheng was sitting opposite Her Majesty the Empress in the Empress's palace. She looked at the Empress's expression of nostalgia for everything there, and felt even more anxious that once feelings were missed, they could never be regained. That mixed feeling made her miss Mu Yunhe even more.
"Your Majesty, the old general, the God of War, has arrived," a palace servant announced from outside.
The Empress's fingers, which were resting on the armrest, froze for a moment. She then stood up and walked out, saying to Luo Zhiheng, "Come with me to greet your great-grandfather."
This legendary figure from the Silver Moon Kingdom was personally received by the Empress and could easily enter and leave the palace, demonstrating his noble status.
Luo Zhiheng was somewhat excited. When she saw the elderly woman with white hair but a very energetic spirit, the old woman also spotted her at a glance. Luo Zhiheng heard the old woman let out a surprised and hurried gasp in her aged voice. The old woman looked at Luo Zhiheng with a slightly dazed expression and smiled, "This must be my great-granddaughter, right? I can't be wrong. When I saw you, I thought I saw my great-great-grandmother."
Luo Zhiheng and the Empress were both taken aback. The maternal great-grandfather was Luo Zhiheng's great-grandmother. Could it be that Luo Zhiheng and her great-grandmother looked very alike?
The Empress said, "Heng'er looks very much like her mother. However, her mother does not resemble me or the Empress at all."
The old man chuckled and said, "I was in seclusion at the time, so I naturally didn't know what Heng'er looked like. I didn't see her when I came out either. But according to what you said, Heng'er should also resemble someone from our Yang family. This girl looks exactly like my youngest daughter when she was young."
Luo Zhiheng immediately thought of the war god statue she had seen in the Southern Dynasty and exclaimed, "Did Great-Grandmother visit the secular world more than a hundred years ago?"
The old man said, "Yes, back then, the common people were suffering. Your great-grandmother happened to be traveling when she saw what was happening and took action. However, she returned after resolving those matters. Our Yang family is a renowned military family. I am a war god in the Silver Moon Kingdom. Although I am a man, my mistress does not look down on me because I joined the army. Our family has a history of hundreds of years, but the common people probably don't know about it, right? How did you find out?"
Luo Zhiheng finally understood the whole story.
The war god of the Southern Dynasty and all the people was actually her great-grandmother! The portrait looked so much like her, and the woman in the portrait was her great-grandmother when she was young. With the power of the Silver Moon Kingdom and the fact that women in the Silver Moon Kingdom held power, everything her great-grandmother did in the secular world was understandable.
After going around in circles, it turns out that the truth is indeed like this!
The Empress never expected things to turn out this way. She had always wondered why her child didn't resemble her and the Empress's, but instead looked like her mother-in-law! The Empress had never considered this possibility before. Her mother-in-law was no ordinary person; she had hardly spent any time at home before the age of sixty, and when she returned, she was already middle-aged. Who could associate the appearance of a small child with her? The Empress was on the verge of tears. If only she had paid more attention to other people's appearances, perhaps that tragedy wouldn't have happened.