coobybook Chapter 212 Can’t Say
Chapter 212 Can’t Say
After listening to this, Jiang Wanyue stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist, her brows still furrowed.
It seems that there was some problem with the emperor. Wang Zhong was the one who had followed the emperor the longest. If anyone knew the emperor's affairs the best, it would be him. But Wang Zhong died.
So, Li Ce suspected that Wang Zhong’s death was an order from the retired emperor?
wrong.
If the emperor wanted Wang Zhong to die, there was no need to wait until now.
If Wang Zhong knew the secret of the retired emperor, he would have no chance to leave the palace and would have been killed when the retired emperor abdicated.
It's been several months.
Moreover, the internal guards have now been taken over by Li Ce, and there are guards patrolling outside the Sanqing Palace at all times. It is unlikely that the emperor would be able to hide it from Li Ce and take action quietly.
If the verdict of the Ministry of Justice officials was correct and Wang Zhong did burn himself to death, then who was it for?
As soon as this thought came to Jiang Wanyue's mind, several names popped up.
But she rejected them all.
Before I could figure out what was going on, the sedan suddenly stopped.
We have arrived at Liangyi Palace.
"Your Majesty, please get out of the sedan chair."
Mi'er and Xing'er came forward and helped her get off the sedan chair.
Jiang Wanyue held the two men's hands and stood still, and suddenly a light flashed in her mind.
She turned her head and looked at Wang Jun.
"Eunuch Wang, you and Wang Zhong are about the same age. When did Wang Zhong start serving the Emperor?"
Wang Jun thought about it carefully and replied.
"Well, as early as when the Emperor Taishang was crowned as a prince and established his own palace, Chief Steward Wang had been in the palace. But at that time, Chief Steward Wang was just a small eunuch, doing odd jobs, not serving the Emperor personally. It should have been thirty years ago that he was valued by the Emperor Taishang and transferred to his side."
Wang Jun knew a lot about Wang Zhong's rise to power. After all, he had ambitions in the past to replace Wang Zhong as the chief eunuch. So, he naturally wanted to know as much as possible about his opponent.
Wang Jun paused and continued.
"Eunuch Wang was praised by the late Queen, and that's why he caught the eye of the Retired Emperor. Your Majesty, don't think that he is not as agile as he used to be. When he was young, Eunuch Wang was an excellent embroidery expert, and everyone in the palace knew about it."
"In addition, he is also very good at chess. The late queen saw him playing chess with the guests and praised him a few words, which gave him the opportunity to see the emperor."
Jiang Wanyue's eyes lit up.
"The late queen? Have you ever seen the late queen?"
The former queen refers to the retired emperor’s wife, Queen Wu.
In fact, according to reason, the title of "late empress" should be used to address Lu Qingshuang. But the emperor abdicated, not died, so it is also acceptable to address Empress Wu.
The main reason is that Lu Qingshuang is dead, and no one will care about this title.
Wang Jun shook his head.
"I used to work in the imperial court, how could I have the honor to meet the late queen?"
After saying that, Wang Jun glanced in the direction of the palace gate and gave a reminder.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late. The Emperor has been waiting for a long time."
Jiang Wanyue then collected her thoughts, said "hmm", and walked into the palace with a few palace maids.
As soon as she walked in, she saw Li Ce pacing back and forth in front of the table.
I don't know how long he walked, but the mat on the floor that was used by foreigners entering the palace had worn out a long mark.
"emperor?"
Jiang Wanyue walked over.
Li Ce heard the voice and looked over.
Seeing her, Li Ce's brows relaxed slightly and he waved at her.
"You're finally here."
Jiang Wanyue walked up to him and held his hand.
"Your Majesty, is there something troubling you? Sit down and take a rest first! Someone, bring me a pot of tea."
She pulled Li Ce to sit down on the bamboo couch, asked Xing'er to bring a jade pillow, helped Li Ce lie down, asked him to close his eyes, then stretched out her index finger and gently pressed his temple.
Li Ce looked much more relaxed.
After the palace servant changed the tea, he waved his hand and asked everyone to leave. Then he told them what had happened before and his own guesses.
Jiang Wanyue listened quietly without saying anything.
She found that what Li Ce was thinking was different from what she thought.
After Li Ce finished speaking, Jiang Wanyue frowned and thought for a long time.
The hall was quiet.
Jiang Wanyue looked at Li Ce's eyes rolling back and forth under his eyelids, sighed softly, and then spoke.
"Your Majesty, do you doubt your own background?"
Li Ce's whole body stiffened.
He opened his eyes quickly, his eyes were bright as if they were burning with fire.
Then he sat up and grabbed Jiang Wanyue's hand.
"You also think it's possible, don't you? Father's attitude towards Empress Wu is so strange that I can basically conclude that Empress Wu's death was caused by father. When father heard that Ling Lan's last name was Wu, his expression changed and he wanted to execute her immediately. If he was just afraid of the power of the Wu family, it doesn't make sense at all. All the members of the Wu family are dead, and there is only a weak woman left. What can she do?"
He spoke very quickly, almost without taking a breath, as he uttered a long string of words.
"And the trust and love that father showed me was really too sudden... I remember that father clearly liked Li Jian when we were young. Even if father felt threatened after we sons grew up and wanted to promote me and suppress Li Jian, he wouldn't be so partial."
The corner of Jiang Wanyue's eyes twitched.
Li Ce said these words very smoothly without thinking. It can be seen that he has thought about it over and over again during the time she came.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed true, so he unconsciously spoke with a bias when he told the story, which made Jiang Wanyue notice it.
I didn't expect that Li Ce has always cared about his background.
His biological mother was originally just a palace maid and died young. When she died, she was given a very low rank. It was only after Li Ce made meritorious services at the border that she was given an additional title.
It seems that when Li Ce was a child, he was ridiculed and bullied by many people because of his biological mother.
Although no one dared to mention these things after he grew up, just because no one mentioned them doesn't mean they didn't happen.
Perhaps, he once resented his biological mother and fantasized that his biological mother was someone else.
Originally, this idea was just a seed buried deep in my heart, which only flashed through my mind occasionally. But today, it suddenly took root and sprouted, and grew instantly.
Jiang Wanyue didn't know how to respond.
She felt that Li Ce was delusional.
If he was really the Queen's legitimate son, it would be impossible that no one in the palace knew about it.
If the retired emperor loved him because he was the legitimate son of the first wife, then how do we explain his experiences in childhood and the cold treatment he received?
Let's not talk about the reason why the emperor killed the Wu family and wiped out the whole family. He didn't even let go of the married Wu daughter! After so many years, he still didn't let go of a little girl like Wu Linglan who was expelled from the family. How could he let go of Empress Wu's child?
But she couldn't say these words.