Wanjin Lady

"The late emperor had two sons, one enfeoffed as the Prince of Rui and the other as the Prince of Fu. Back then, the late emperor delayed appointing a crown prince, and the court was filled with bloodshed. Naturally, many families, to preserve their wealth and status, resorted to playing both sides. The old Duke was no exception."

"The daughter of the old Duke married Prince Rui and became his consort, now known as Queen Wei. The young master was placed with Prince Fu. Logically, this is the safest solution."

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. This is an eternal truth.

However, in the struggle for imperial power, perhaps... betting on both sides will not lead to a good result.

Either we prosper together, or we suffer together.

Obviously, Mrs. Yao thought so too.

"Later, during the Kyoto Incident, the Empress persuaded the Duke to join Prince Rui. However, Your Majesty did not fully trust the Duke. However, the Duke commanded a large number of troops in the capital at the time, and Your Majesty had no choice but to use him."

"On the day of the palace coup, His Majesty ordered the Duke to secretly lead his troops to open the palace gates. Perhaps to demonstrate his loyalty, the Duke not only opened the palace gates but also cornered Prince Fu's troops."

"Before your Majesty's reinforcements arrived, the Duke slaughtered people within the city walls and even single-handedly chased Prince Fu out of Kyoto."

Madam Yao sighed heavily, "Since then, the Duke has disappeared from the world and has never been seen again."

"The people who were sent to look for him came back and said they only found the Duke's arm on the road."

"After Your Majesty ascended the throne, rumors began to spread that the Duke was loyal to Prince Fu and that he pretended to hunt Prince Fu down on the day of the coup, but in fact, he fled overseas with Prince Fu and the Princess."

Wen Wan frowned, "But if the Duke was loyal to Prince Fu, why would he lead troops to kill the enemy?"

"It's said that the Duke is in Cao's camp, but his heart is with Han. Although he has surrendered to Your Majesty, he has always been loyal to Prince Fu. Prince Fu commanded an army of 10,000, but was defeated by the Duke in half a day. He pretended to flee, and after the Duke reported his triumphant return, he lured Your Majesty into the palace and killed him."

Wen Wan's breathing stagnated, as if she had witnessed the bloody incident of the palace coup from just a few words from Old Lady Yao.

"Rumors circulated throughout the court that Wei Zheng was the descendant of a criminal and should be punished. However, at the time, Wei Zheng was the only child left in the Wei family, and the Duke's life or death was uncertain. Your Majesty was afraid of discouraging the meritorious officials, so it was naturally unwise to rashly punish the Wei family."

Wen Wan suddenly felt a pain in her heart as if being pricked by a needle. She originally thought that she had a miserable life in her previous life, but she never thought that the domineering CEO Wei Zheng was the real beautiful, strong and miserable one.

Wen Wan's voice trembled slightly. "Is the Marquis the only one left in the Wei family?"

"On the night of the Kyoto Incident, tens of thousands of soldiers stormed the capital, killing and wounding over half of the civilian population. Not to mention the Wei family, who were caught in the center of the storm."

"I don't know what group of people broke into the Duke of Wei's mansion, burning, killing, and looting. Jin Yu's sister died at the hands of the bandits, and the Duke's wife took him into hiding in a secret room."

"The palace coup lasted for half a month, and almost everyone in the Duke's Mansion was killed. The Duke's wife and Jin Yu hid in a secret room and dared not come out."

"When they found the mother and son... only Jinyu was still alive." Old Madam Yao blushed and her voice choked with sobs, "The Duke's wife's thighs and arms were full of holes and insects, and she died next to Jinyu.

"She was starved to death."

Wen Wan was confused.

"They were in the secret room, having run out of food and water. The Duke's wife cut off her own flesh and blood to feed him."

"That year, Jinyu was only five years old."

"Later, he was brought into the palace and raised by the Empress, along with the princesses and princes."

This sounds like a huge honor!

But are princes and princesses easy to get along with?

Duke Wei's life and death are uncertain, and he is also suspected of being a "treasonous official". Perhaps Queen Wei will also have a hard time in the harem.

Everything Wei Zheng has depends on Empress Wei. It seems that... Wei Zheng, at such a young age, will have to learn to read people's expressions and moods.

He was also walking on thin ice in the palace.

Fifteen years have passed since Wei Zheng was five years old. If His Majesty had not been suspicious, he would have issued an edict to let Wei Zheng inherit the title of Duke, instead of Wei Zheng still bearing the title of "Marquis" until now.

In the Great Chen Dynasty, as long as there were no major faults, the title should be hereditary.

Your Majesty has not explicitly allowed him to inherit, and the meaning is self-evident.

"Hey! Look at you—" Old Madam Yao looked at her with a smile, "Why are you crying when I tell you the story of your senior brother?"

what?
Wen Wan subconsciously raised her hand, only to find that she had been in tears without knowing when.

She suddenly remembered that when Wei Zheng was in the Wen family, he didn't like meat.

Mother Chen liked to cook lavish meals, but Wei Zheng always preferred light vegetarian dishes. He would only reluctantly eat a few bites if she gave him some meat.

Is it because he watched his mother cut off her skin and flesh for him to eat?

A five-year-old child was locked in a dark and gloomy secret room. Outside, rebels were slaughtering the city, and inside, there was a shortage of water and food.

A full fifteen days!
Wen Wan's heart was beating like thunder. She wiped away her tears with a smile and said, "If I had known that my senior brother had such an experience, I should have been nicer to him."

Old Madam Yao naturally assumed that the "before" referred to the time when Wen Wan helped Wei Zheng investigate the case.

"Although I shouldn't say these words, I sincerely treat you as my daughter." Madam Yao looked around before whispering, "You and Jinyu can just get along normally. If you need anything, try to have the servants handle it, and try not to let anyone catch you in any pretense. He's over twenty now, and Your Majesty is interested in finding a marriage for him. At this critical juncture, Your Majesty will not allow anyone to plot marriage against Jinyu."

Wen Wan's heart was pounding!

Thinking back to how he had lied to Wei Zheng and tricked him into becoming the son-in-law of the Wen family, if Queen Wei knew about this, she would be truly furious.

Old Madam Yao rarely talked about what happened within the palace walls. "Two years ago, at the banquet at the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery's mansion, the daughter of the Deputy Privy Councilor deliberately chose a time when Jin Yu was alone and fell into the water. She was certain that Jin Yu would be a hero and save her, haha..."

Madam Yao sneered, naturally disdaining such pretentious behavior. "Jin Yu grew up in the inner court of the palace, and has seen countless tricks of the women in the back court. That young lady struggled in the water for a long time, but she didn't wait for Jin Yu to rescue her—"

Old Madam Yao smiled, this time it was a mischievous smile.

"It was summer. Jin Yu quietly caught a snake and threw it into the water. The young lady was so frightened that her face turned pale. She jumped out of the water on the spot! She learned to swim in no time!"

Before Wen Wan's lips could even smile, Old Madam Yao said calmly, "Somehow, the Empress found out about this. Half a month later, the young lady... drowned in her own yard."

Wenwan's pupils shrank slightly!

The summer heat was scorching, and the wind blowing through the car curtains was also hot, but at this moment Wenwan felt a chill on her back!
All the sympathy, regret, heartache, self-blame I felt for the figurine, and even the urge to give him a loving hug, all disappeared in an instant!

Old Madam Yao cured her love-brain relapse with just one sentence!
He is truly a miraculous doctor!
Why are you feeling sorry for yourself? Feel sorry for yourself! Feel sorry for your two kids and your limping dad! And Mom Chen who works so hard at the stove!
The domineering boss is indeed beautiful, strong and tragic, but... it is not her turn as a cleaning girl to feel sorry for him!
I don't feel sad at all.

As for what her stepmother said to her later, she didn't hear a word.

My mind is full of beautiful, strong and tragic domineering bosses and cruel and ruthless domineering mothers.

In the future, the boss’s mother will at least give you a bank card worth tens of millions to get you to leave her.

Here… the domineering mom will just twist your head off! (End of Chapter)