The Forbidden Revenge
Chapter 12: I Suspect Them Conspiracy

Lu Yuan used the Prime Minister's family token to pass the bodyguard examination. Looking at the token, albeit with a hint of astonishment, the palace gatekeepers finally let him in without any further questions.

Lu Yuan calmly walked the familiar palace path in his brain.

“Nona, we never get into the palace. Why is Miss so calm without fear of wrong path?”

Xiao Tao was astonished because Third Miss seemed to be no stranger to the palace. He could even know the small streets that made them escape the watchful eyes of the guards and the servants. It was as if every corner of this palace had been clearly memorized and embedded in his memory.

Lu Yuan chose not to answer and continued to continue on. Eventually they arrived at Cinning Palace, where the Empress Dowager lived.

The servants did not recognize him, but after showing the token, they gave way. Even a waiter deliberately ran first to report.

Empress Dowager Shu was the biological mother of Lu Yuan, the Empress consort of her father. She was about fifty years old, three years older than Shu Yi’an, Zhao Yue's birth mother. The fate of the two is much different. Empress Dowager Shu lived long, while birth mother Zhao Yue died young.

Currently, Empress Dowager Shu was half lying on her bed. Ever since the Tianji Palace fire and Emperor Yangle was declared dead, he had fallen ill and had yet to recover.

The Empress Dowager is a loving, loving, and understanding mother. Ever since his father raised Lu Yuan as a man, his mother had always been there for him.

Even after becoming Emperor Yangle, the Empress Dowager refused to become Empress Dowager and let Lu Yuan rule alone.

He spent the rest of his life in the Cinning Palace peacefully while looking forward to the day when Lu Yuan could live freely with his identity.

Who would have thought, the incident happened just like that and in an instant, she lost her only daughter. He was sick because he was too sad.

Luckily his condition has improved lately. It was just that the Empress Dowager was not willing to speak using her voice.

Seeing his biological mother lying sick and unwilling to speak, Lu Yuan's heart was like being torn apart. It was so bad he threw himself into his arms, complaining about everything that happened to him.

She really wanted to feel Empress Dowager Shu's soft caress in her hair, patting her on the shoulder while saying ‘it's okay, don't cry, things will improve’.

Lu Yuan really wanted to hear his mother's voice saying ‘mother is always here’. But, it was impossible to say it when Lu Yuan himself was caught up in the past hatred that bound him. It was impossible for him to say that he was Lu Yuan in the form of Zhao Yue.

“Zhao Yue saluted the Empress Dowager,” Lu Yuan bowed her body. The Empress Dowager looked at him, diving into the depths of her eyes. But, not a word was heard.

“Your Majesty, this is the Third Miss of the Prime Minister's residence. Third Miss is the daughter of Mrs Shu Yi’an. Does Your Majesty still remember it?” the waiter by his side tried to remind.

Instantly the Empress Dowager's eyes sparkled and she smiled. He moved his hand and told Lu Yuan to come closer. Lu Yuan according, then sat on the edge of the bed.

The Empress Dowager took her hand and held it. There were tears in the corner of her eyes.

“Yue’er, you're already big.”

The voice of the Empress Dowager was so soft and slow. The servant's eyes – Xiao Lv sparkled and his face turned happy. After a month or so, was the Empress Dowager finally willing to speak again?

She recalled the last time she heard his voice was when the Empress Dowager ordered the closing of the Wende Hall the day after Emperor Yangle's death.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty can finally speak again, I am very happy,” Xiao Lv expressed his gratitude with a berkowtow.

“I'm not mute.”

Xiao Lv looked down noticing his carelessness. Lu Yuan smiled slightly, his eyes looking at the Empress Dowager quietly.

“I'm grateful Your Majesty has spoken again. I heard, Your Majesty fell ill after the Emperor died,” Lu Yuan said. He held back his voice and emotions.

“My son died just like that,” The Empress Dowager sighed for a moment. “There's no way I wasn't hit.”

The Empress Dowager was obviously very sad. How could his son just die?

Before the incident, he heard the maid gossip that something big was going to happen in the palace. The Empress Dowager did not expect that the big event was the death of her son.

“Yue’er, is your life good? Did he treat you well? I heard a lot of rumors that you were persecuted and suffered alone.”

“Yes. Your Majesty need not worry. They won't be able to make me choose death over life.”

“Zhao Yun is a good Prime Minister but he is a bad father. If my son knew the truth, would he still believe it? Yue’er, those scratch marks on your face, were they the ones who did it?”

Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head. It is not good to expose the ugliness of the Prime Minister's residence at this time of the Empress Dowager's condition.

After all, his scar had already been treated with the ointment from Gong Zichen. It will heal and will not leave marks.

“It's okay. The scar will be gone in a few days. Your Majesty, I heard Your Majesty closed the Wende Hall after Emperor Yangle died. Is that true?”

Unsuspecting, the Empress Dowager nodded.

“Why?”

“Because I think of my son.”

Lu Yuan was ready to listen. This time, his goal of entering the palace was to search for information. The Empress Dowager never acted without thinking about the consequences.

He usually shunned worldly affairs and shunned discord. Suddenly, he ordered to use his authority to close the Wende Hall.

“You know, although usually I don't care about court matters, it doesn't mean my eyes are blind. I'm not stupid. Where could it happen that simple.”

The Empress Dowager was initially also deeply shocked and devastated. But the day after Lu Yuan's death, he returned to thinking clearly and discovered an oddity. A month ago was the height of winter.

Even fire and charcoal are difficult to ignite without a lighter. The heavily guarded Tianlong Palace suddenly caught fire, didn't it make no sense?

Where did the fire that burned and destroyed the hall come from? What is even more strange is, why did the fire kill only half of the known honest ministers and kill his son and eunuch, while the other half of the ministers survived? Can fire choose who wants to burn and become a victim?

One of the most astonishing things was, why was Lu Zheng who had not received permission to enter the court instead in the hall and came out from there injured?

The Empress Dowager thought about it again for a whole day and found a suspicion.

The gossip of the servants, the fire and death of the son and half-minister, led him to draw one conclusion: it was a deliberate disaster. Then he recalled the strange behavior of the servants and ministers a few days earlier.

There was a slanted news that reached his ears out of nowhere: that the identity of Emperor Yangle as a woman was revealed and the ministers were forcing him to abdicate.

The Empress Dowager was not convinced because all this time, her son had always hidden his identity very well. It can't be revealed that easily.

The strange thing made him alert. Therefore, the Empress Dowager ordered the closure of the Wende Hall and without special permission, no one was allowed to enter.

The goal was to protect the residence and all the important things that were there, as well as find out what Lu Zheng was really planning.

If his son died, then Lu Zheng would automatically become the new Emperor. In that case, he was the one who benefited the most.

“What does His Majesty suspect Emperor Yangle's death is murder?”

“Yue’er, we have not met for many years. You live in misery in the Prime Minister's residence. You know best that the human heart is the hardest to guess. I suspect they conspire.”

Yes, the human heart is the most difficult to guess. Lu Yuan in the past was the one who believed in Lu Zheng the most, he was very confident that his younger brother was a good person and a future Emperor candidate. He trained her and trained her.

The reason why he had not allowed Lu Zheng to join the court was because his age was too young and his grumpy temperament was incompatible. Lu Yuan planned to wait a few more years, but his good brother was very impatient.

What would happen if the Empress Dowager knew Lu Zheng had killed Lu Yuan and was conspiring with corrupt ministers? Suddenly Lu Yuan found it hard to imagine.

“Your Majesty, conspiracy or not, isn't there always someone who will know the truth? Sooner or later, it's going to happen. If the late Emperor Yangle's elder brother died unjustly, someone would point the way.”

The corner of the Empress Dowager's lips curved into a smile. He patted Lu Yuan's hands and head gently.

“Princess of Yi’an does not disappoint. What if you stay here and keep me company longer?”