Когда мы вернёмся

Глава 135

Qingyun was taken aback, pursed her lips, and understood the meaning behind her words.

"You found out?"

Shuangdie was taken aback, disbelief in her eyes. "You found out too?"

Both of them were startled at the same time, and then spoke at the same time, "You..."

Just then, a panicked voice came from outside: "The Empress Dowager is critically ill. Please summon the Imperial Concubine immediately."

Qingyun and Shuangdie in the Jade Pavilion were startled again, then looked at each other and hurriedly left the Jade Pavilion, heading towards the Empress Dowager.

Qingyun's forehead was slightly sweaty, she was extremely anxious, and her expression was somewhat pained.

Shuangdie was also extremely anxious, and her expression was quite complicated.

But at this moment, they were thinking the same thing—Mother, you must not be hurt.

Chengen Palace.

An elderly woman lay on the bed, barely breathing. Her chest heaved, as if she were having difficulty breathing. Her face was pale, and large beads of sweat clung to her wrinkles.

Situ Xingyun rushed to the Empress Dowager's side as soon as court was over, and now he was holding her hand. The Empress Dowager was panting, her eyes fixed on the door, as if she was waiting for someone.

A group of imperial physicians knelt on the ground, each looking helpless and at a loss.

Situ Xingyun frowned, waved his sleeve, and roared, "How could I have such quack doctors? You can't even cure my illness!"

The leading imperial physician replied tremblingly, "Your Majesty, please spare us! It's not that we are incompetent in medicine, but the Empress Dowager has reached the end of her life!"

"Insolence! He can't even treat medicine and he's making excuses! Guards, drag him out and execute him!"

"...Your Majesty..." the Empress Dowager's weak voice rang out, "Don't blame the imperial physicians, I'm truly getting old. I just saw the late Emperor...cough cough..."

Situ Xingyun quickly patted the Empress Dowager gently. The guards beside her also withdrew in time.

Just then, an announcement came from outside the door—"The Imperial Concubine has arrived—Princess Xiangxue has arrived—"

The Empress Dowager's eyes snapped open, as if she had seen a glimmer of light in endless darkness. Situ Xingyun was overjoyed and quickly helped the Empress Dowager up.

Shuangdie and Qingyun rushed to the Empress Dowager's side at the same time.

Shuangdie's silver eyes reddened slightly, and her voice trembled, "Mother..."

The Empress Dowager immediately pulled away from Situ Xingyun's hand and instead grasped Shuangdie's hand, "Cough cough... Butterfly... Butterfly..."

Qingyun opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The words "Empress Dowager" were swallowed back down. Seeing the Empress Dowager looking at Shuangdie with loving eyes, a sour feeling welled up in her heart.

At this moment, the weakened Empress Dowager noticed Qingyun.

She stared blankly at Qingyun, speechless for a moment. After a long while, she coughed twice, tears welling in her eyes, and called out, "Xue'er..."

When Qingyun saw that the Empress Dowager recognized her, her face lit up with joy. However, remembering her illness, she felt as if ice water had been poured into her heart. Trembling, she grasped the Empress Dowager's other hand and said, "Mother...Mother..."

The Empress Dowager glanced at Shuangdie and then at Qingyun. She breathed a sigh of relief, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face for the first time in many years. She said, "Now, I can die in peace."

She paused, then looked at Situ Xingyun. "Your Majesty, I have a request. I want all the people of Fengxi to know that Die'er is the only princess of Fengxi!"

Everyone present was stunned, staring in disbelief at Shuangdie, whose face was streaked with tears.

Shuangdie trembled slightly, then feigned shock and exclaimed, "Mother!"

The Empress Dowager patted her hand and said softly, "Die'er, you have suffered these past ten years. Fortunately, you have finally returned to my side."

The Empress Dowager sighed, then suddenly called out, "Eunuch Lan, tell the Emperor what you did back then, and tell Xue'er!"

With a guilty look on his face, Eunuch Lan stepped forward and nodded.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Situ Xingyun was also quite interested. He investigated for a long time and only found out that Shuangdie was the real princess, while Xue'er was the fake princess. But he couldn't find the reason.

Qingyun blinked, wiped away her tears, and listened intently. She knew she wasn't the real princess; Shuangdie was. But she didn't know how they had switched places back then.

Volume 3: Truth and Falsehood, Palace Turmoil, Empress Dowager's Serious Illness

Eunuch Lan sighed and began to recount events from over twenty years ago—"When the Empress Dowager gave birth to the princess, the princess was already very weak, as if she might leave this world at any moment. After giving birth, the Empress Dowager, exhausted from the ordeal, didn't even have time to look at the princess before collapsing. At the time of the princess's birth, only the midwife, myself, and a few palace maids saw her. When they saw that the princess's eyes were silver, they were all startled. But this wasn't surprising; a silver-eyed emperor had once appeared in Fengxi, so it wasn't unusual for the princess to have silver eyes. Moreover, the silver of the Fengxi royal family is different from the silver of the Yinmeng Sha tribe; the princess's silver eyes had a slight hint of inky black, a unique characteristic of the Fengxi royal family. It was for this reason that the Empress Dowager was able to recognize the Imperial Concubine as the princess."

After a pause, Eunuch Lan glanced at Qingyun and continued, "Later, the midwife told me with a terrified look that the little princess had died. I took the baby and checked her breath; she was indeed lifeless. The Fengxi royal family has always been small, and I was afraid that Her Majesty the Empress would be too heartbroken if she knew, so I decided to find a newborn baby. At that time, Empress Wenshu was lying under a tree. It was snowing heavily, and no one knew there was a baby under the tree. At that time, a stone tablet was circulating among the people, and I immediately remembered the inscription on it: 'Obtaining glass brings blessings to the world.' Empress Wenshu happened to have a string of glass beads in her hand, and I thought it was a sign from heaven, a blessing bestowed upon our Fengxi. So I immediately summoned Empress Wenshu and the Imperial Concubine. Afterward, the palace maids and midwives who knew the truth were all killed by me. As for the Imperial Concubine, I entrusted her to the Yinmengshan tribe, whom I knew outside, and asked her to be properly buried. Unexpectedly, the Imperial Concubine was revived."

Eunuch Lan sobbed softly, his guilt evident in his eyes.

"Later, I encountered the Imperial Concubine at the Prince of Pingyan's residence. I immediately learned that the true princess was not dead. The Imperial Concubine then learned of her own origins. After the Imperial Concubine entered the palace, while the Empress Dowager was still grieving the death of Empress Wenshu, I told her about this. The Empress Dowager was overjoyed and, after confirming the Imperial Concubine's identity, immediately recognized her in private. When the Empress Dowager wanted to announce it to the world, the Imperial Concubine stopped her, citing the Emperor's busy schedule with state affairs."

At this point, Eunuch Lan paused, his gaze sweeping lightly over the imperial physician kneeling on the ground.

The imperial physicians immediately understood and exclaimed, "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine is kind and benevolent; Fengxi is truly blessed!"

Immediately afterward, the palace maids and guards present followed suit, shouting, "The Imperial Concubine is kind-hearted; Fengxi is truly blessed!"

Shuangdie smiled, pursing her lips.

"Your Majesty, the country is now at peace. I also hope that before I die, the whole world will know that Die'er is the real princess. Cough... cough cough..." The Empress Dowager suddenly coughed urgently.

"Mother..." Shuangdie and Qingyun called out at the same time.

The Empress Dowager smiled weakly, patted Qingyun's hand, and said, "Xue'er, although you are not my daughter, for the past ten years or so, I... cough cough... have always treated you as my real daughter. Xue'er, you must help Die'er well... cough cough..."