"You are still trying to make excuses even now." Concubine Yun said, "I have no grudges against anyone else. Who would want to exchange my child for mine?" The Empress Dowager sneered: "Which woman in the harem doesn't regard each other as mortal enemies, and has no grudges or hatred?" Long Yi said to Concubine Yun in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, mother." I think the whole story is right in front of me. Concubine Yun nodded, and Long Yi ordered Pang Gaozhuo to take action. Pang Gaozhuo raised his hand and directed his four men to carry Gu Zhong and the imperial physician to the bench. "It's unfair, this old minister is innocent!" the old doctor struggled and shouted. Gu Zhong lay there calmly. Seeing this, Fu Ciyi moved his fingers slightly. Pang Gaozhuo understood.

Fu Beimo also noticed his brother's gesture, and immediately hurried over. Together with Pang Gaozhuo, they removed the jaws of Gu Zhong and the old doctor. "This can prevent them from accidentally biting off their tongues due to the pain when being beaten." Fu Ciyi said lightly. The meaning is clear, I'm just afraid they will bite their tongues and commit suicide. Fu Beimo also said: "It can also prevent you from hearing the screams like ghosts and wolves howling. After all, the Empress Dowager's Palace is always quiet." He has always been quiet, so this remark is full of irony. It means that the Empress Dowager often invited opera troupes into the palace, causing a lot of noise. The two brothers sang the same tune, which made the Empress Dowager angry. Soon, sticks as thick as arms hit Gu Zhong and the imperial physician's buttocks one after another. Because their lower jaws were removed, everyone could only hear the whimpering and low growls coming from the bottom of their throats. The Empress Dowager looked at them, her heart was in a state of panic, and she turned aside and said, "Emperor, Empress Dowager." She decided to give it another try: "I am indeed a victim. Just imagine, I am a woman who has just given birth and I am at my weakest. How could I want to exchange babies?" The Queen Mother smiled and said, "You don't have to do a lot of things yourself." Qiao Wanyou continued, "What the Queen Mother said is very true. For example, when the Queen Mother poisoned me, it was someone else who did it. How could the Queen Mother do it herself?" The Empress Dowager choked upon hearing this and quickly called out, "Emperor, think about it. Have I ever treated you unfairly in the past forty years? I have always treated you as my own son and wanted to give you the best." "No, you were the one who swapped the two princes, so you know best that the one you raised is not your own son. When he was still in the Jin Palace, you wanted the palace's property to be inherited by the legitimate son, so you let your niece from your mother's side enter the Jin Palace, and tried every means to replace me with Ling." Qiao Wanyou said bluntly, "Now, during this period of time after the New Year, you have tried to win over court officials and persuade them to suggest to the emperor that Long Lihui be made the crown prince. Just because Long Lihui is Ling's son and your nephew, you think that the Ling family has a share in Dajing's territory. Empress Dowager, am I right?" "Qiao, you are slandering me!" The Empress Dowager was so angry that she was shaking all over. Long Yi said calmly: "If you really want to do good for me, you should know that the woman in my heart is only Wanyou." "You want to talk about the poisoning and the fire?" The Empress Dowager said quickly, "These have nothing to do with me!" Long Yi sneered and shook his head: "Putting aside these things, you have been disgusted with Wanyou since she became my princess. I clearly told you not to bully her, but you agreed happily on the surface, but you still did the same thing behind the scenes. I didn't know it before, but now I know it. Do you think this is what your biological mother wants to see? Do you want to see your son and daughter-in-law live in chaos?"

The Empress Dowager raised her voice and said, "Nonsense! There are so many people in the world who have bad relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. According to what the Emperor said, are they not all mother and son? I don't like Qiao because I'm afraid that she will seduce you and make you lose your fighting spirit." Long Yi didn't want to respond, he just watched quietly as sticks were raised and fell one after another in the yard. Concubine Yun gently squeezed Qiao Wanyou's hand: "I'm sorry for your hardship, child." The word "child" made Qiao Wanyou burst into tears: "Mom." Since she left the capital and her parents, she was fortunate to meet the Fu family and they adopted her... Both her parents and adoptive parents called her child. But now, many years have passed, and no one calls her child anymore. Concubine Yun gently wiped her tears: "You taught Wen Yu very well, and the wife you married for Wen Yu is also very good. The young couple often come to the cold palace to see me." "It's their duty to be filial to you." Qiao Wanyou sniffed. Just then, she raised her eyes and saw a familiar figure appear at the gate of the courtyard. Qiao Wanyou slowly stood up and looked at the person in disbelief: "Achen?" Qiao Chen hurriedly walked and saluted: "Your Highness greets the Queen Mother and the Emperor and Empress!" Then he looked at Qiao Wanyou and called out happily, "Sister." "Why did you return to Beijing?" Long Yi frowned. The Empress Dowager burst into laughter: "No man from the Qiao family may return to the capital without an imperial decree. It is a capital crime for Master Qiao to return from this trip!" What if she encountered a difficult problem? The Qiao family has a lot of problems. Qiao Chen is now the only male in the Qiao family. If he dies, the Qiao family will be extinct. Thinking of this, her smile deepened. Long Yi frowned. What the Empress Dowager said was what the Emperor's brother ordered at that time. As the new emperor, he cannot depose him at will. At this critical juncture, the interrogation is ongoing. When the truth comes out, he will naturally give an explanation to the Qiao family. But Qiao Chen secretly returned to Beijing, and he had a capital crime on his hands, so he couldn't escape it no matter what. Just as the Empress Dowager was thinking about how to use Qiao Chen's life to save her, Fu Ciyi stepped out and bowed: "Your Majesty, it was I who summoned my uncle back to the capital with the imperial edict." Qiao Chen cupped his hands and said, "Indeed, the imperial edict was issued by the late emperor." "How is it possible?" The Empress Dowager shouted, "How is it possible?" Qiao Chen took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his arms and handed it to Long Yi with both hands. Long Yi quickly glanced at it and found that it was indeed the imperial edict issued by his brother before his death. He nodded immediately: "Yes, good." Qiao Chen then said, "I would like to ask the emperor to make the decision. My Qiao family was framed by the Empress Dowager. My father and I were both demoted. The person behind the scenes was the Empress Dowager. Now I think that the Empress Dowager's secret was known by my sister, so she framed us maliciously and wanted to destroy my Qiao family."

Long Yi's face darkened. He raised his hand and asked the two people on the bench, "Do you want to recruit?" The executioner then stopped. Gu Zhong said nothing in response to the emperor's question. The old doctor raised his hand. Upon seeing this, Pang Gaozhuo immediately reset the imperial physician's jaw. "Your Majesty, I am guilty!" The old doctor burst into tears. "More than forty years ago, the Empress Dowager ordered me to tamper with the blood test. More than ten years ago, when all the poisons in Ling Taipin's bedroom were sent to the Imperial Hospital, it was the Empress Dowager who took a fancy to them and ordered me to secretly steal them and give them to her." "What benefit did she give you that you are willing to help her?" asked the Queen Mother. "Forty years ago, she gave the guilty minister ten thousand taels of silver." "How much did she give you for stealing the poison?" the Queen Mother asked again. "Never." "No?" The Queen Mother laughed, "Why are you helping her again? Did she threaten you?" The old doctor said, "I helped her by testing her blood. Since then, the Empress Dowager has often ordered me to serve her." (End of this chapter)