TGCFNM -Chapter 559 The Selection

Although Xiao Hua’s actions seemed reckless, they effectively suppressed the fire. So, Xiao Yunsheng ordered everyone to speed up and quickly extinguish the flames.

Taking advantage of this moment, Wan Sanjin and the others charged into the house.

Xiao Hua waved at them, signaling them to come inside.

At this time, Chu Ling was examining the gap in the floor, thinking about how to open it.

“Lord Chu!” the Empress Dowager shouted angrily as she strode in. “Don’t force me to kill you!”

The Emperor followed in shortly after. “Minister Chu, have you discovered anything?”

Chu Ling looked at the standoff between the two sides, slowly stood up, and picked up the ancestral tablet from the floor, holding it against her chest so that everyone could see it clearly.

Nangong Jing’s expression changed, and she immediately lowered her gaze.

Chu Ling took a deep breath and looked at the Empress Dowager. “When I was investigating the case of Perfect Yang’s corruption in Luozhou, I accidentally learned that the ancestral tablet in his possession had been seized by Bai Zhuoxing… Bai Zhuoxing, skilled in raising venomous insects and with extraordinary medical abilities, is under your command, Empress Dowager. You don’t deny this, do you?”

The Empress Dowager looked at Chu Ling amusedly and had a chair brought over. “What, Lord Chu still wants to hold a trial before dying?”

“This isn’t a trial. I just feel that the Empress Dowager should give everyone an explanation,” Chu Ling said, watching her and waiting for a response.

The Empress Dowager gracefully sat down, with Nangong Jing guarding by her side.

The Emperor squinted at Nangong Jing, then had a chair brought for himself as well and sat down. “Minister Chu, continue.”

The Empress Dowager casually raised her hand. “You may speak.”

Chu Ling placed the tablet aside. Nangong Jing immediately stepped forward to pick it up, then her expression changed as she looked at the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager waved lightly, paying no mind to it.

Chu Yue, who came in afterward, nearly lost control at seeing Chu Ling unharmed. She surged forward, ready to strike, but Fu Qingyu firmly held her back, forcing her to step back.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Chu Ling continued, “At first, I was puzzled—why would Bai Zhuoxing take someone’s ancestral tablet? But later I understood, because Perfect Yang himself said that this tablet could bless the Yang family’s descendants for generations to come.”

The Emperor frowned. “A single tablet?”

Chu Ling’s gaze briefly fell on the vengeful spirit, then returned to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager smiled knowingly. “It seems you are different from others; you can see more… interesting. Continue.”

“Perfect Yang said that behind the tablet there is a marriage certificate. This certificate is the key,” Chu Ling explained, taking the marriage certificate from her sleeve and showing it to everyone. “This also explains why Bai Zhuoxing wanted to seize the tablet—because the Empress Dowager doesn’t like being coerced. But considering the Yang family’s descendants, you were willing to help them a bit.”

The Empress Dowager nodded. “Correct.”

“In fact, you can tell just from the tablet… ‘Wife Xuanyuan Wan Li’… is this the Empress Dowager’s maiden name?” Chu Ling asked.

The Empress Dowager nodded graciously. “Yes.”

Chu Ling said, “Since the Empress Dowager has acknowledged it, I’ll continue… The matter probably starts from more than fifty years ago.”

“At that time, the Empress Dowager—then Miss Xuanyuan Wan of the Xuanyuan family—was betrothed to Yang Jingyuan. Their wedding was even scheduled for the twentieth day of the fourth month. But due to an unexpected turn of events, Miss Xuanyuan did not marry into the Yang family; instead, she entered the palace.”

The Empress Dowager exhaled lightly and looked at the demon by her side with eyes full of affection, speaking slowly: “Let me tell it… Yang Jingyuan and I were childhood friends. The Xuanyuan and Yang families were old friends as well, so our marriage was arranged from an early age. Once I came of age, we were to discuss the union.”

“At that time, the old emperor was obsessed with alchemy. Encouraged by a certain sorcerer, he even entertained the idea of using the blood of children to concoct elixirs… Lord Yang could not bear it and risked his life to admonish the emperor. But this enraged the emperor. Not only did he throw Lord Yang into the furnace, he exterminated the entire Yang family.”

A chill ran down Chu Ling’s spine. What kind of lunatic is this?

The Empress Dowager glanced at Chu Ling’s expression and showed a hint of relief: “You also think what he did was wrong, right? I did too. That’s why I risked saving Yang Jingyuan—and his younger sister, Yang Qingxue… But my father found out, and he threatened me with Yang Jingyuan’s life, forcing me to enter the palace and become the old emperor’s concubine…”

“I hated it! I resented it so much!”

The Empress Dowager suddenly struck the armrest. “After I entered the emperor’s bedchamber, I wanted to take my own life. I couldn’t bear living. But he came into the palace, came as a guard through connections, and came to my side. He persuaded me to live. He said that one day, we could leave together.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help asking, “He wasn’t able to take you away with him?”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes grew warm, tears streaming down her face: “The old emperor had gone mad. The sorcerer said the purity of the fire was insufficient, so he selected a hundred strong men, bound them, and threw them into the furnace.”

Chu Ling’s hair stood on end. She murmured softly, “Truly insane…”

“When I found him, he was already burned alive… completely burned…” The Empress Dowager’s gaze turned to the stone slabs under the bed, her eyes brimming with hatred.

The emperor interjected, “Since the Empress Dowager entered the palace, she naturally became my father’s woman. Shouldn’t she think of him in everything? Yet the Empress Dowager not only disregarded him but tried to save that man?”

The Empress Dowager snorted lightly: “You really are his son, identical to him. He dabbled in alchemy, you take his medicine—the paths you walk are all defying the natural order, and in the end, the outcome will be the same!”

The emperor slammed the armrest and stood abruptly, eyes blazing: “Empress Dowager!”

“Listen to Lord Chu’s inquiry, Your Majesty,” the Empress Dowager mocked him. “You’ve been muddle-headed all these years. Don’t you want to know the truth? If you don’t, what about your children? Don’t they want to know?”

At some point, Prince Su and Prince Rui had arrived. The two stood together, forming a three-way stalemate with the Empress Dowager and the emperor.

Chu Ling took a deep breath and continued the Empress Dowager’s story: “After Yang Jingyuan died, the Empress Dowager decided to take revenge on the royal family. Her first target was the old emperor.”

The Empress Dowager nodded: “He died suddenly, but I advised him to increase the dosage.”

Chu Ling understood. “Later, during the palace upheaval, the Empress Dowager chose the young emperor, probably because he was easy to control and of suitable age. She supported him all the way and helped him ascend to the throne.”

The emperor shot Chu Ling a displeased glance but ultimately restrained his anger and sat down again.

The Empress Dowager looked at him once, then back at Chu Ling: “You’re right, but there’s one more thing you don’t know. The young emperor back then had great ambition and was ruthless in action. That was precisely why I chose him.”

Chu Ling asked, “So the Empress Dowager was screening the royal bloodlines, selecting those you deemed… not very good?”

The entire hall fell silent. Everyone stared at Chu Ling as if shocked.

The Empress Dowager laughed several times, then looked at Chu Ling with eyes full of admiration.