After Jiang Si left the Yining Marquis’s mansion, the Old Madam of Yining Marquis summoned the Old Marquis of Yining.
“Si’er now knows about her maternal grandmother’s situation,” she said.
The Old Marquis of Yining was taken aback and replied with displeasure, “Wasn’t it agreed that this matter wouldn’t be mentioned to anyone? Akhe has been gone for so many years. Why did you tell Si’er about this?”
Their daughter had passed away shortly after birth, and he had truly regarded Akhe as his daughter. The Jiang siblings held a place in his heart as his own flesh and blood grandchildren.
In the Old Marquis’s view, the Old Madam revealing this secret was simply stirring up trouble unnecessarily.
The Old Madam sighed, “Si’er is different from Zhan’er and the others. She’s going to be the Crown Princess. Knowing certain things will at least allow her to be prepared, rather than being kept in the dark and potentially falling victim to those with ulterior motives.”
The real reason she couldn’t keep it secret any longer was her granddaughter’s startling speculation about the Empress Dowager.
If the Empress Dowager had entered the palace with a grand conspiracy from the very beginning, it would be terrifying. She couldn’t prioritize her secrets over the welfare of the Great Zhou dynasty.
She might be a woman, an old lady nearing the end of her life, but she was still a citizen of Great Zhou.
The Old Marquis still couldn’t quite understand, “At the time, only we knew about this matter, and at most a few close servants. Those servants are all gone now. What are you worrying about needlessly?”
“There are no secrets that can be kept forever. Given Si’er’s current position, she should know too much and be troubled than to know nothing at all. Old man, are you so displeased because you’re worried Si’er might become distant from us in the future?”
“Who’s worried? Si’er isn’t that kind of person,” the Old Marquis muttered sheepishly.
The Old Madam smiled, “That’s exactly it. Stop frowning now. You’ll always be Si’er’s grandfather.”
The Old Marquis looked a bit embarrassed and grumbled, “I told you I wasn’t worried about that!”
Jiang Si hurried back to Prince Yan’s mansion and sent someone to call Yu Jin from the front courtyard.
With Yu Jin’s change in status, the mansion’s officials had many matters to discuss, often gathering in the study for meetings.
“Your Highness, the Crown Princess requests your presence,” the young servant Yuanbao called out at the door, regardless of the heated discussion inside.
Interrupting the Crown Prince’s meeting was insignificant compared to delaying the Crown Princess’s request – that would be courting death.
These valuable experiences might be worth some silver in the future, he thought.
Yu Jin strode out of the study with long steps, leaving the others to look towards the old Chief Steward.
The old Chief Steward rubbed his nose and said helplessly, “Continue.”
Why were they looking at him? If looking at him was useful, he’d stare at himself in the mirror every day.
At times like these, the old Chief Steward couldn’t help but question life: How did such a prince become the Crown Prince?
Yu Jin quickly returned to Yuhe Palace, sat down next to Jiang Si, and took a few sips of tea. Rubbing the corner of his eye, he said, “I was just about to doze off listening to them. What a relief. Did you learn anything at the Yining Marquis’s mansion?”
“I found out quite a bit. The most important thing is that Grandmother told me my real maternal grandmother was a Wumiao person…”
After Jiang Si finished explaining, Yu Jin sighed, “So you and Holy Maiden Asang are cousins. No wonder you look so similar.”
Jiang Si was still puzzled, “Even though Asang’s mother and mine were twin sisters, it’s still strange that we look so much alike.”
She had never heard of twin sisters’ daughters looking identical.
Yu Jin thought for a moment and said, “I suspect it has to do with your special bloodline.”
“You mean—”
“Asang was the Wumiao Holy Maiden, but she never fully mastered the art of controlling insects before her death. You’re the one who mastered this extraordinary skill. I’m thinking, perhaps you are the true chosen Holy Maiden, and Asang, having a diluted Holy Maiden bloodline, resembles you so closely due to some mysterious reason. This might be heaven’s test for the Wumiao tribe, resulting in the birth of two girls who look identical and share a blood connection…”
Jiang Si listened quietly to Yu Jin’s analysis and said softly, “The Grand Elder had similar doubts.”
If she was the true Holy Maiden and Asang wasn’t, then in her previous life, who had taken whose identity? It was all so confusing…
“As for the Empress Dowager, if the Old Madam of Yining’s intuition is correct, she might have been replaced before entering the palace, most likely by a Wumiao person! Asi, you must know something about the Wumiao’s extraordinary disguise techniques. Do you think this is possible?”
Jiang Si nodded, “If two people were already similar in age, face shape, and figure, the Wumiao’s disguise techniques could certainly create a perfect impersonation.”
Yu Jin rubbed his teacup, his expression grave, “Asi, have you considered that your real maternal grandmother might have been the one who implemented this plan of substitution?”
Jiang Si’s eyelids trembled, and she was momentarily speechless.
Yu Jin held Jiang Si’s hand and analyzed, “The Old Madam of Yining, the foreign woman, and the Empress Dowager – these three had a brief intersection during that period. After that, the Empress Dowager entered the palace, and the Old Madam of Yining felt as if her close friend had become a different person. So what role did the foreign woman play in all this? If you were that foreign woman, Asi, what would have been your purpose in appearing at the Yining Marquis’s mansion?”
After a long while, Jiang Si finally said, “If I were a Wumiao woman carrying out a substitution plan and approached Grandmother, I could have observed the future Crown Princess’s behavior and mannerisms through Grandmother. This would allow the person replacing the Empress Dowager to do so flawlessly, becoming the Crown Princess of Great Zhou, and eventually the Empress and Empress Dowager—”
As she spoke, a great terror spread in Jiang Si’s heart.
The Empress Dowager had entered the palace decades ago. If the Wumiao had been plotting since then, it was terrifying beyond measure.
Jiang Si gripped Yu Jin’s hand tightly, “Ajin, what do you think the Wumiao are really after? Surely they can’t be planning to overthrow the vast empire of Great Zhou.”
“If that were the case, the Empress Dowager would be targeting Father Emperor, not Fuqing.”
“Ajin, don’t forget, besides Fuqing, the Empress Dowager also moved against the deposed Crown Prince.”
Yu Jin shook his head, “The idea of the Wumiao overthrowing the Great Zhou empire still doesn’t make sense. Although the Wumiao have some mysterious abilities, their numbers are few. They struggle to govern the dozen or so tribes in the Southern Frontier. What benefit would they gain from overthrowing Great Zhou? An individual might act without considering personal gain, but when it comes to an entire tribe, their actions are inevitably driven by self-interest. Their goal might still be related to the Holy Maiden, considering that the Wumiao’s crisis in recent years has stemmed from the absence of a Holy Maiden.”
Jiang Si nodded in agreement, frowning as she said, “We can set aside speculating about the Wumiao’s intentions for now. The urgent matter at hand is to expose the Empress Dowager’s true identity and prevent her from causing further trouble.”
The Empress Dowager had indirectly caused the death of the deposed Crown Prince and had made several attempts on Princess Fuqing’s life. Now that Ajin had become the Crown Prince, with the ominous “Heavenly Dog Swallowing the Sun” prediction looming, it was clear that she and Yu Jin would be the Empress Dowager’s next targets.
Neither waiting passively nor merely reacting to each move was what she wanted. She aimed to take the initiative and eliminate this great threat.
“But what about evidence?” Yu Jin sighed, “The idea that the Empress Dowager was replaced is entirely our speculation based on the Old Madam of Yining’s intuition. More importantly, if the Empress Dowager was replaced before entering the palace, then to Father Emperor and everyone else who has interacted with her, she has always been the same person, never changing.”