Sueño de Jiangshan

Capítulo 87

"When I first came to serve the Empress three years ago, I noticed that Your Highness always had no appetite and ate very little. I also noticed that Your Highness was too thin. So I always tried to make some snacks for Your Highness. To my surprise, Your Highness liked them as soon as you ate them. At first, I was very happy because I saw that Your Highness's complexion was gradually becoming rosy."

But after eating like this for half a year, I saw that Her Highness was getting fatter and fatter, and her appetite was getting bigger and bigger. At that time, I wanted to reduce Her Highness's food intake, but Her Highness would cry if she didn't have anything to eat! And she would cry so sadly. I really couldn't bear to see Her Highness suffer like this. So I gave Her Highness food again." The palace maid replied tremblingly.

117 identities revealed

Can six years really completely change a person? The answer is yes.

The facts were undeniable, leaving Leng Xiang no choice but to believe them. Just as they were speaking, the "Empress" began to complain of hunger again. And when she wasn't given any quickly enough, she burst into tears. Only when the pastries were stuffed into her mouth did she finally eat with satisfaction. The way she ate so eagerly made it seem as if she hadn't eaten for days. Leng Xiang's heart ached at the sight. He couldn't help but reach out and pat the "Empress's" shoulder, his eyes brimming with tears. He sighed softly, "Poor child! Come home with your father! Your mother will cook delicious food for you every day."

The "Empress" simply ate her food with satisfaction, completely ignoring the presence of the Cold Prime Minister and Eunuch Fu. After finishing a large plate, she yawned, slowly raised her hands, and stretched, striking a lazy pose as if she were about to fall asleep.

Seeing this, Leng Xiang's doubts were completely dispelled. How could someone who never worries, spending all their time eating and sleeping, not gain weight?

When the Empress's phoenix carriage arrived at the Prime Minister's residence, Madam Leng and her husband Leng Yangtian were already anxiously waiting at the door.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

The moment the eunuch's announcement rang out, Madam Leng had already rushed towards the imperial carriage like a gust of wind.

"lady……"

The Prime Minister had intended to give Madam Leng some time to prepare her, lest she suffer the same shock he had experienced. However, before he could even utter a word, Madam Leng had already eagerly lifted the curtain of the phoenix carriage. Immediately afterward, he heard her ask in a cold voice:

"Who are you? Why are you sitting in my daughter's car?"

The palace maids, who were of the same age as the emperor, had already guessed from the cold prime minister's expression in the palace that they would face the same problem upon returning to the Leng residence. Therefore, they were somewhat prepared. Seeing Madam Leng's question, knowing that the foolish lady couldn't answer, they immediately provided the answer:

"This servant Chunlian greets Madam Leng! This must be your daughter, Her Majesty the Empress!"

Unlike the Prime Minister, Madam Leng was not of one mind with her daughter. She recognized at a glance that the person in the carriage was not her beloved Rui'er. Therefore, after hearing the maid's words, without hesitation, she swiftly grabbed the maid by the neck and demanded sharply:

"Tell me what you did to my Rui'er?"

"Madam!" The palace maid Chunlian was so shocked that her face turned deathly pale, and her eyes widened in terror. She desperately tried to pull away from Madam Leng's hand that was gripping her neck, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pry it off even slightly.

The palace attendants who had followed the Empress out of the palace, along with the bewildered Leng Yangtian and his wife, were also stunned by Madam Leng's actions. Only Prime Minister Leng hurriedly stepped forward and gently placed his hand on Madam Leng's outstretched arm, whispering:

"Madam, please don't get agitated."

Madam Leng obediently released her grip, then turned her sharp gaze to Prime Minister Leng. She asked anxiously:

"What exactly happened? Weren't you going to pick up Rui'er? Where is she?"

Leng Xiang pointed at the "fat empress" who was eating in the sedan chair, looking completely dazed, and said:

"Madam, this is our Rui'er! Rui'er has been away from us for six years, so she must have grown up by now."

Madam Leng immediately widened her eyes and shook her head in disbelief, saying, "Husband, how can you do this? Don't you even recognize your own daughter? How could this woman be our Rui'er? Look at her cloudy eyes; they're clearly the result of being tainted by the world. Our Rui'er has always been like a baby; how could she possibly have such eyes?"

As Lady Leng spoke, she became increasingly agitated. Suddenly, she pulled the "Empress," who was eating, out of the phoenix carriage. Pointing at the "Empress," she said:

"Judging from her appearance, she must be at least twenty-five years old. Our Rui'er is only nineteen."

As she spoke, she turned her sorrowful gaze back to Leng Xiang's face, causing him to involuntarily tremble. He had his doubts too! But how could he possibly tell a woman's age? She was clearly over forty, yet she looked like she was only in her twenties.

“This person is definitely not my younger sister.” Leng Yangtian concluded after scrutinizing the “Empress” from head to toe several times.

"As Mother said, although my little sister is mentally challenged, that's precisely why her eyes are always clear and bright. We should now find out where the real little sister is."

The Empress was switched? Who would be so audacious? Without a doubt, the prime suspect is the Emperor, who has always disliked the Empress. Therefore, after Yang Tian's suggestion, Madam Leng's first thought was to ask the Emperor for her daughter back. She urgently said to Yang Tian:

"Tian'er, hurry and get the horse from your mother. I'm going to chase after the emperor right now and ask him where he hid my Rui'er!"

At this point, the palace servants who had been guarding the Empress could no longer bear to listen. They were joking; the Empress had been switched at birth. And they, the servants who cared for the Empress, were naturally the first to suffer. They all trembled and knelt, begging for mercy. Only Chunlian, the Empress's personal maid, loudly defended herself:

"Impossible! We have been following Your Highness closely for three years. We know every little mark on Your Highness's body clearly. Therefore, we can guarantee that there has been no replacement."

Upon hearing the mention of markings, the three members of the Leng family immediately brightened up. After exchanging glances, Madam Leng asked:

"Oh! Then tell me, what marks does the Empress have on her body?"

“Her Majesty the Empress has a red birthmark below her right shoulder and three scars on her back,” Chun Lian replied fluently.

A cold smile involuntarily crept onto Madam Leng's lips as she asked in a chilling voice, "Is that all?"

Upon hearing this, Chun Lian trembled all over! She involuntarily took a few steps back, until she stopped and nodded while leaning against the phoenix carriage.

The marks on this "Empress" described by the palace maid clearly indicated that she couldn't possibly be his Rui'er. Therefore, the most shocked and furious was undoubtedly the Prime Minister, who had mistaken his daughter for his own. Now, without Madam Leng needing to lash out, the Prime Minister had already roared at the steward of the Prime Minister's residence:

"The steward arranged for the Empress and her entourage to stay in the west courtyard."

He then said to the palace servants who were still kneeling on the ground, "You all go inside the mansion and we'll talk about it then."

The palace servants who were kneeling on the ground immediately stood up.

Although Madam Leng was extremely reluctant to let this fake daughter into the house, since the head of the household had spoken, she naturally wouldn't openly contradict him. However, she wouldn't treat her like the Empress, but instead stood aside angrily without saying a word.

Upon seeing this, the two palace maids took the "Empress's" arm and led the way into the Prime Minister's residence with the steward. The palace servants behind them also took the Empress's and their own luggage from the phoenix carriage and lined up to follow the "Empress" as they approached the gate of the Leng residence.

After everyone had gone inside, Leng Xiangcai said to his family members beside him:

"Please calm down, this matter is of great importance. From what I learned in the palace today, these servants are not lying. They have been ordered to take care of this 'Empress' for three years. This means that our Rui'er may have been switched three years ago, or even earlier. Yet no one in the palace noticed. This is too strange."

I suspect that neither the Emperor nor Eunuch Fu knew about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me to bring Rui'er back. And when Eunuch Fu and I first met this "Empress" at the East Palace today, he was equally surprised. This is enough to prove that Eunuch Fu hasn't been to the East Palace in a long time either. Think about it, who else but the Emperor could have replaced the Empress so secretly in this palace?

"You mean the concubines in the harem? Not long ago, there was only the one surnamed Shui," Madam Leng immediately replied.

Leng Xiang nodded and said:

"This is just speculation. Let's keep this 'Empress' and all the palace servants who know the situation here. Before we figure things out, none of them can be released from the Leng residence. I'm going to the palace now to find Eunuch Fu to find out what happened three years ago."

"I'll go with you!" Madam Leng said, leaving no room for refusal, and headed towards the palace ahead of Prime Minister Leng.

"Let's go too!" Yang Tian and Xing Yue followed together.

Leng Xiangjian realized he couldn't stop them now, so he followed them.

While handling palace affairs in the Imperial Household Department, Eunuch Fu heard a palace servant report that Prime Minister Leng was looking for him. He thought, "How could that be? Prime Minister Leng just picked up his daughter and went home. He must be enjoying a family reunion with his children right now!"

But before he could finish his thought, Prime Minister Leng appeared before him with several men, their faces expressionless. Before Eunuch Fu could even ask what was going on, Madam Leng had already questioned him rudely:

"You must be the Grand Eunuch Fu, right? Where have you taken my daughter? If you don't hand her over today, I'll tear down your palace!"

Completely bewildered by the woman's immediate and harsh rebuke, Eunuch Fu's gaze naturally fell upon the woman who dared to speak so recklessly about dismantling the palace. He immediately stared in disbelief and blurted out:

"Who are you?"

“This is my wife,” Leng Lian hurriedly introduced, then pointed to Yang Tian and Xing Yue beside him and said, “This is my son and wife. Because the matter is of great importance, I had to come to Eunuch Fu in person to find out what happened three years ago.”

"Junior greets Eunuch Fu!" Yang Tian and Xing Yue bowed and greeted Eunuch Fu.

Eunuch Fu seemed not to have heard Prime Minister Leng's introduction at all. Therefore, he ignored Yang Tian and Xing Yue's greetings. His eyes remained fixed on Madam Leng, and he murmured softly:

"It's so similar! It's really so similar!"

Madam Leng was already anxious about her daughter's disappearance. Now, being stared at so intently by an old eunuch, she couldn't help but glare at Eunuch Fu with her sharp eyes.

Leng Xiang naturally noticed the stunned expression on Fu Gonggong's face as he stared at his wife. Just as he was about to speak up to stop him, Fu Gonggong exclaimed in surprise.

"My God, even their eyes are cut from the same mold!"

"Is Eunuch Fu saying that my wife resembles someone you know?" the Prime Minister asked in a cold voice.

Upon hearing the change in Prime Minister Leng's voice, Eunuch Fu snapped out of his daze and realized his rudeness. He said, slightly embarrassed:

"Yes! Your wife and Miss Leng look like sisters when they walk together!"

"Miss Leng?" Yang Tian immediately asked, "Which Miss Leng are you referring to, sir?"

"Hey! This must be Young Master Leng! Like father, like son, he's so handsome and dashing!"

Grandpa Fu belatedly looked at Leng Yangtian and praised him, once again unintentionally overlooking Yangtian's question.

Duanmu Xingyue, however, recognized the "Miss Leng" that Eunuch Fu was referring to. She completely understood Eunuch Fu's surprise, because she had felt the same shock when she first met Madam Leng. She had exclaimed then, "Madam looks so much like Sister Leng!"

At the time, the Leng family of three didn't pay much attention, assuming Xingyue was referring to their similar temperament and figure. They knew Xiaojie and Madam Leng were alike in many ways, even their personalities. However, Xiaojie's appearance was rather ordinary, something their family never discussed. Therefore, they simply laughed it off. Xingyue naturally assumed they already knew, especially since Sister Leng had already recognized them as her godparents.

But Xingyue found it very strange to hear her husband ask Eunuch Fu this question. Seeing that Eunuch Fu didn't answer, she spoke up to answer for her husband:

"Grandpa Fu is saying that Mother and Third Sister Xiaojie look alike, right?"

Grandpa Fu only just caught up and replied:

"That's right! It's Qingfeng Gongzi's junior sister, Miss Leng Jie. If she didn't use disguise, she would look exactly like Madam Leng."

Xiao Jie in disguise? How could they never have imagined that Xiao Jie could disguise herself? The three members of the Leng family immediately exchanged bewildered glances. Then they looked at Xingyue simultaneously, asking with their eyes whether it was true or not. They quickly received an affirmative answer from Xingyue. A strange light flashed in Leng Xiang's eyes.

"Oh, right! What did Prime Minister Leng want to confirm with this old servant? Alas, I'm getting old, and my memory is failing me!" Eunuch Fu steered the conversation back to the main topic.

Madam Leng was about to speak again when Prime Minister Leng stopped her with a look. Then he asked:

"Oh! It's just about my third daughter, Xiaojie. As you know, we've been really worried about her since we haven't heard from her for so long. Especially my wife, now that she's seen her eldest daughter, she's naturally putting all her worries on her youngest."

Leng Xiang's words left the other three members of the Leng family completely bewildered. They had come specifically to discuss Rui'er's matter, so why was he suddenly bringing up Xiao Jie? However, because Leng Xiang kept giving them meaningful glances, signaling them to remain silent and follow his instructions, they cooperated and refrained from asking any questions.

"So that's how it is! This old servant was also very worried about Miss Leng's safety. Prime Minister Leng, please ask whatever you need to know! This old servant will answer to the best of my knowledge." Eunuch Fu didn't suspect anything; these weren't the only people worried about Miss Leng. The Emperor and that Prince Ying were even more concerned. Therefore, he wasn't surprised. He then added politely:

"Please sit down, have a cup of tea, and let's chat."

"No need to be so polite, let's just chat here." The cold minister had regained his amiable tone. He asked, seemingly casually:

"Does Grandpa Fu remember when he first met Xiaojie?"

After thinking for a moment, Eunuch Fu replied with a smile, "Prime Minister Leng's question has truly stumped this old servant."

"What do you mean by that?" Leng Xiang pressed.

"Because Miss Leng is too good at changing her appearance! I've seen her in several different forms just in this palace. To be honest, I've known Miss Leng for three years, but I only saw her true face a month ago on the Mid-Autumn Festival. When she suddenly appeared in the Imperial Garden that day, I almost fainted when I heard the Emperor call her name."

Thinking back to the first time I saw her three years ago, she was dressed as a eunuch. At that time, she and Young Master Qingfeng rescued the blood-covered emperor from outside the palace. She then introduced herself as the Nameless Young Master.

"Nameless? You don't mean that guy who was only the king of the opposite sex for a day, do you? You're saying he's my Xiaojie?" Yang Tian asked incredulously.

Grandpa Fu smiled and nodded, saying:

"That's right! Only a few people close to the Emperor know about this. But since you are Miss's family, this old servant dares to tell you the truth."

The Leng couple and Xingyue were equally stunned. It seemed they knew far too little about Xiaojie.

"Does Eunuch Fu remember when those palace servants from the Eastern Palace were sent there? Judging from their behavior today, they all seem very loyal to their master! No one else has entered the Eastern Palace in the past three years, has anyone else?" Prime Minister Leng suddenly asked again.

"Oh! Those palace maids in the Eastern Palace were personally selected by Young Master Qingfeng after Young Master Wuming arrived," Eunuch Fu replied simply. He was afraid that if he said too much, he might inadvertently reveal the grievances the Empress had suffered three years ago.

"Are you sure all those palace servants went to the East Palace after the nameless young master arrived?" Prime Minister Leng asked to confirm. "What about the people who were in the East Palace before? Can we find them?"