Chapter 7
Chapter 7
By the time I left the Empress Dowager’s palace, my inner robes were soaked with cold sweat.
The Emperor was indeed not Xunyang’s biological brother.
Xunyang’s elder brother had died in the same year she did. That year, a plague had ravaged the capital, claiming the lives of many children. Ultimately, neither of the Empress Dowager’s children survived.
The Late Emperor and the Empress Dowager were devastated, but the empire could not be left without an heir.
Thus, the current Emperor had been adopted from the imperial clan-Princess Xunyang had never met him during her lifetime.
With this, I had finally passed all the tests the Empress Dowager had set for me.
But this was destined to be only the beginning. Between Liu Ningshen and me, only one of us could be the reincarnation of Princess Xunyang.
Liu Ningshen was currently in Zhu Province, praying for rain for the commoners. Ever since she executed the demoness and managed the floods, her prestige among the people had reached great heights. The prayer altar in the capital had even been built for her by the people’s own initiative.
Before Liu Ningshen returned to the capital, the Empress Dowager had me stay temporarily in a detached villa.
I wept, “Your daughter wishes to live in Zhaohua Palace.”
That was Princess Xunyang’s former residence, currently occupied by Liu Ningshen.
“She is a cuckoo in the nest!” I said aggrievedly. “She has stolen your daughter’s identity and even lives in the palace Mother once bestowed upon me…”
The Empress Dowager took my hand and coughed softly. “Stay in the villa for now. Once the truth is revealed, Mother will naturally compensate you properly.”
She believed me, yet she did not.
This mother, who had lost her children over a decade ago, found it difficult to decide when faced with two people who both claimed to be the reincarnation of Princess Xunyang.
Everything would have to wait until Liu Ningshen returned for further investigation.
It would take half a month to return from Zhu Province. During those fifteen days, I remained by the Empress Dowager’s side to fulfill my filial duties.
Ever since the consecutive deaths of her children, the Empress Dowager had been deeply affected. She had been bedridden for over a decade, her health severely depleted.
I tested her medicines for her, personally tasting hundreds of medicinal ingredients. Upon seeing an ancient recipe stating that human blood could be used in medicine, I immediately cut my own wrist.
Even the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau was moved. “If she weren’t her biological daughter, how could she sacrifice so much?”
The Empress Dowager’s gaze toward me grew increasingly soft. Many times, she would gently pull me by the shoulder, stroking my hair with a look of pure affection on her face.
It was as if we truly were a mother and daughter reunited after many years apart.
However, everything fell apart on the day Liu Ningshen appeared.