Phoenix Reigns Over The Nine Heavens - Chapter 41

Si Cang followed suit and put down his chopsticks. His low voice was calm and steady. “Back then, when the princes were fighting for the throne, the Feng family was the current emperor’s most powerful backer. However, the reason why the late emperor chose the current emperor was not only because he had the support of the Empress Dowager and the Feng family, but also because the Ji family had donated five million taels of silver to replenish the national treasury.”

Yun Zishu remained silent. She knew nothing about the things that her father had done to fight for the throne, and no one would dare to mention those secrets now.

“At that time, the national treasury was empty, and with foreign enemies invading, food and military supplies were urgently needed. The emperor followed the empress dowager’s intention to marry Miss Ji. In order to demonstrate their loyalty during the crisis, the Ji family used five million taels of silver to resolve the Great Yong’s urgent needs.” Si Cang said concisely, stating the origin of the matter, “The late emperor established the current emperor as the crown prince and decreed that Lady Ji would be the crown princess. She could never be divorced in her life, and after his ascension, she could not be deposed as empress. As long as the emperor is in power for one day, he must ensure that Lady Ji remains the queen.”

Yun Zishu was silent for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully, “So that’s how it was.”

With the late emperor’s will in place, as long as her father was on the throne, her mother had to be the empress. Therefore, the emperor had no grounds to depose her and establish another.

If he wanted someone else to occupy the Empress’s position, then her mother had to die.

Si Cang was silent for a moment and then dropped a bombshell. “After the Emperor ascended the throne, he accidentally learned that he was not the Empress Dowager’s biological son.”

What?

Yun Zishu stared at Si Cang in astonishment. “Father is not the biological son of the Empress Dowager?”

Si Cang nodded slowly.

Yun Zishu was stunned. “How is that possible?”

“Every word this humble subordinate says is true.”

Yun Zishu didn’t know what to say. She fell silent for a while, but the shock in her eyes was hard to hide.

After a long time, her heart gradually calmed down and turned into a sudden realization.

No wonder.

No wonder the Emperor had become hostile to the Feng family. Apart from being wary of the Feng family’s military power, it turned out that the Feng family was not his maternal uncle at all?

This secret was really beyond her expectations. In her previous life, she had died without knowing that her father was not the biological son of the Empress Dowager. If the secret Si Cang held was this, then her father indeed wouldn’t dare to kill him, for no one knew what backup plans Si Cang had in place.

If he really died an unnatural death, would someone reveal the emperor’s background?

“The story is long, but it can be summed up in four words: a mother’s status depends on her son.” Si Cang’s voice was calm throughout. “Back then, the Empress Dowager urgently needed a son to consolidate her position, but she gave birth to a daughter. The Feng family’s influence was immense at that time, almost omnipotent. Additionally, the Empress Dowager bribed the midwives outside the palace and the palace matrons inside and staged a drama of ‘a civet cat for a prince,’ swapping the princess she gave birth to out of the palace and bringing back a son.”

Yun Zishu’s expression changed slightly.

In the harem, concubines vied for the emperor’s favor. A son could elevate a mother’s status, and a child’s status was dependent on the mother’s rank. This was a common saying. Concubines with low status could be promoted by bearing a prince, and the princes and princesses would be distinguished by their mother’s rank.

In the harem, for the sake of interests, all kinds of means to win favor were endless. There were only things one couldn’t imagine, nothing they couldn’t do.

Even the revered son of heaven, the emperor, couldn’t know everything his consorts did.

There are many examples of people being kept in the dark.

But it was not until she heard it with her own ears that Yun Zishu understood how sinister and ruthless the harem was. Even one’s own flesh and blood could be ignored, and the child could be switched at will. She even bribed the midwives, matrons, and all those outside the palace who needed to participate in the “child-swapping plan.”

Saying they held enough power to cover up the sky with one hand wasn’t an exaggeration.

It can be seen from this that the Feng family’s power has indeed grown to a point where people have to be afraid.

Yun Zishu was silent for a moment, then picked up her chopsticks again, eating while digesting the shocking secret that Si Cang had just revealed.

For anyone, hearing that the current emperor has no royal blood but is just a fake emperor whose identity has been mixed up, would be heart-pounding and shocking. Especially when this person is her own biological father.

It would be impossible to say that Yun Zishu was not shocked.

But her shock only lasted for a short time. After she quietly finished lunch with Si Cang, she dismissed the attendants, keeping only Si Cang in the hall to talk.

“So Father knows he isn’t the Empress Dowager’s biological son?” Yun Zishu asked, sitting by the window with a teacup in her hand.

Si Cang nodded, “Yes.”

“The old Duke Feng was formerly my father’s uncle. Even though he was wary of the Feng family, he still had some scruples. Now that he’s sure he has no blood relation with the Feng family, he naturally wants to get rid of the Feng family without any scruples.” Yun Zishu let out a soft sigh. “When the Empress Dowager did this back then, I wonder if she ever anticipated the situation we have today.”

Si Cang remained silent.

He didn’t know what the Empress Dowager had been thinking back then, nor was he interested in knowing, but now that the situation was already like this, it was meaningless to think about anything more.

Yun Zishu said, “After the princess was swapped out back then, did the Empress Dowager never think of finding her and bringing her back?”

After all, she was her own biological daughter, born a golden branch and jade leaf, entitled to enjoy wealth and honor. It was a pity it was destroyed in the hands of her own mother.

“The whereabouts of that princess have always been under the control of the Empress Dowager.” Si Cang pursed his lips slightly, his eyes fell on the window, and he hesitated for a while. “Does Your Highness not want to know the true identity of the Emperor?”

Yun Zishu looked up, seeing the rare hesitation on his face. A faint, incredible thought popped up in her head: “He…”

“He is a son of the Ji family.”

Yun Zishu was stunned. Only now did the full truth become clear to her.

The emperor was a son of the Ji family, so obviously he could not marry a daughter of the Ji family. Therefore, the Empress Ji, who married the crown prince, was not a true daughter of the Ji family.

He married Miss Ji according to the Empress Dowager’s wishes… This marriage was decided by the Empress Dowager. Does this prove that the Empress Dowager knew that Lady Ji was not the Ji family’s biological daughter?

Finally, understanding dawned on Yun Zishu. “So my mother was the one with the royal bloodline and the Empress Dowager’s biological daughter?”

Si Cang nodded.

Yun Zishu fell silent, a layer of cold detachment veiling her features.

No wonder my father insisted on her death.

Because her existence constantly reminded him that he wasn’t of true royal blood. As long as she was around, her father would remember that her mother was the true royal descendant.

He was worried that his background would be exposed. Therefore, the Feng family had to perish, and she, his daughter, also had to die. Only by dying in the Xiao family would absolve him of the need to kill his own daughter himself, and he could also have a handle on the Xiao family in his hand.

As expected… the heart of an emperor is as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

A wave of weariness suddenly washed over Yun Zishu. Many doubts had found a logical explanation at the moment, yet she suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.