A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

"Your Majesty, does the Imperial Concubine's mask also bear the mark of a long-tasseled spear?"

"That's strange. The Imperial Concubine likes tending to flowers and plants, but she doesn't practice martial arts."

"Isn't there a mistake? This was supposed to be a unique mask, how could it belong to two people?"

Aunt Ling's voice continued.

It was shrouded in a hazy mist, reaching Emperor Yuan's ears. He couldn't hear it clearly, yet it was incredibly real, pulling him back to his past memories.

In the picture, a young woman is nestled in his arms.

He was fiddling with the rabbit mask in his hand.

"This rabbit mask is cute and adorable, just like you, but the long spear carved inside doesn't resemble you at all."

"Your Majesty, when I bought the mask, I only thought the rabbit was cute and adorable, and I didn't notice what was engraved inside. As for this spear, perhaps the shopkeeper just carved it randomly, which is not surprising."

The scene changes.

Another woman, wielding a long spear, was sweating profusely on the training ground, displaying a heroic and spirited demeanor. Her every move was clean and efficient, and she wielded the long spear better than any man.

The scene then changes.

He returned to the Qin King's mansion with a long-tasseled spear in his hand.

The young woman asked him, "Your Highness, would you like to practice your marksmanship?"

He did want to practice his spear skills, but at that moment, he looked at her and said, "If you were to wield a spear, you would look quite impressive."

As he spoke, the image of Meng Fu holding a long spear flashed through his mind, and he did not notice the fleeting wariness and sadness in the woman's eyes.

The young woman frowned and uttered a single "also" as if in doubt.

Memories swirled in my mind.

They all feature that rabbit mask.

When did that rabbit mask stop appearing?

It seems to have been after he married a woman from the Meng family.

He had asked repeatedly, "Where did the rabbit mask go?"

The young woman said that the rabbit mask was their token of love and the beginning of their bond. She was afraid of damaging it, so she had it put away.

She said she would cherish it.

"Your Majesty, may I have another look at the mask? After all, it was made by Young Master Huaizhou himself, and Miss cherishes it greatly. If..."

Aunt Ling wanted to confirm once again whether it was indeed Empress Meng's mask.

Before she could finish speaking, Emperor Yuan suddenly walked towards Empress Meng.

Almost instinctively, Aunt Ling stood in front of Empress Meng.

Fortunately, Emperor Yuan stopped just a step away from Empress Meng.

"Meng..." Emperor Yuan stared at Empress Meng, opened his mouth, and uttered a single word with great difficulty.

He struggled to suppress the surging emotions within him, his gaze intense, as if he needed to muster all his courage to continue asking, "Meng, Meng Fu, when did you go to Tiger Crouching Mountain?"

Empress Meng was puzzled as to why he would ask such a question.

But he didn't hesitate to answer him, "The twentieth year of the Tianqi reign."

The twentieth year of the Tianqi reign was the year he suppressed bandits.

"Which month?" Emperor Yuan's brows furrowed with urgency.

"It should be March."

March……

Emperor Yuan swayed slightly and took a step back.

After a long pause, Emperor Yuan spoke again, his hand clutching the rabbit mask trembling slightly, "Did you... save anyone?"

"Yes, they saved someone."

Empress Meng spoke calmly.

"Back then, when I saw my brother off from the capital to take up his post, on our way back to the capital, we passed through Tiger Crouching Mountain and learned that a group of bandits were burning, killing, and looting, committing all sorts of evil deeds. They stole people's money, kidnapped their wives and daughters, and ate the flesh and blood of children. Our Great Jing territory should not have such malignant tumors."

"I infiltrated the mountain stronghold to rescue people, and killed someone along the way."

She had seen women abused by bandits, and she had also seen bandits eat children's flesh and blood.

Those bandits deserve to die.

After Empress Meng finished speaking, she glanced at Emperor Yuan and saw a hint of excitement in his eyes.

A mixture of excitement and bewilderment lingered, and finally, as if anticipating something, she cautiously asked, "Do you remember who you saved?"

Empress Meng frowned, as if recalling something.

Emperor Yuan looked at Empress Meng and felt inexplicably nervous.

He waited anxiously for Empress Meng's reply.

It was only a short while, but it felt like he had been waiting for an eternity.

Finally, Empress Meng's voice was heard:

"I've saved many people, and I've killed many people. How could I possibly remember who I saved?"

With just one sentence, he completely shattered his expectations.

Can't remember?

No, she didn't even notice!

She saves people, and that's all she does.

Without expecting anything in return, they wouldn't remember who saved them.

Emperor Yuan couldn't describe the feeling in his heart at that moment; it was as if a piece of him was missing, and he was unwilling to accept it.

He was once the King of Qin, and a prince.

He still remembers the shock the Consort was when she learned that the person she had saved was the King of Qin, and he also remembers her gratitude when he promised her that he would love and cherish her for the rest of his life to repay her for saving his life.

But in Meng Fu's eyes, it was nothing.

"Aunt Ling, let's go. The incense smell in this hall is too strong. It gives me a headache if I smell it for too long. I don't like it."

Empress Meng couldn't understand the meaning behind Emperor Yuan's self-deprecating and resentful expression.

She didn't want to understand either.

Aunt Ling was still troubled by the rabbit mask. "Your Majesty, that mask..."

Emperor Yuan's hand, clutching the mask, trembled slightly as he reached out to Empress Meng, as if he wanted to give her the mask.

But Empress Meng had already turned around.

"His Majesty said it belongs to the Imperial Concubine, so it must belong to the Imperial Concubine," Empress Meng's voice came as she arrived at the door.

Aunt Ling caught up with her, "But that's Young Master Huaizhou..."

"What he cares about is not the mask, but the fact that his sister cherishes what he makes. Back then, he was young and only knew how to use objects to swear this bond. Now he understands that the bond between us siblings is unaffected even without tokens."

The master and servant walked further and further away.

The sound gradually faded until it was inaudible.

Her words echoed in Song Qingning's mind, and Song Qingning thought of Minister Meng.

The reason why Vice Minister Meng promoted her and valued her was because she resembled Empress Meng in her youth.

In Vice Minister Meng's eyes, his sister was his idol from his youth.

Now, that buried faith seems to have regained its former glory.

After Empress Meng left, an eerie silence fell over the main hall.

The Taoist priest performing the ritual seemed to remember Empress Meng's instructions before she left: to perform more rituals so that the spirit of the Imperial Concubine could rest in peace in heaven.

It's unclear who started it, but the ritual continued.

But as soon as there was any movement, Emperor Yuan roared, "Stop!"

The Taoist priest stopped immediately, trembling with fear, and the ladies on both sides of the hall also held their breath.

Eunuch Gao cautiously probed, "Your Majesty, the Empress said that seeing blood on the anniversary of the death is unlucky and might disturb the spirit of the Imperial Concubine in heaven. This ritual..."

"The ritual is no longer necessary," Emperor Yuan said coldly.

He then ordered, "That's it for today. Leave, all of you!"

The emperor was seething with anger, and his fierce aura made people tremble.

The ladies-in-waiting dared not linger, and soon everyone had left the main hall.

Song Qingning deliberately walked very slowly; she was waiting for Consort Hui.

Just now, Consort Hui pleaded for Xie Yuzhen and saved her, which puzzled her.

Consort Hui said she wanted Xie Yuzhen dead.

But she pleaded for her life and asked for help.

This is very unusual.

Song Qingning left the main hall, with only Consort Hui behind her.

Just then, Emperor Yuan's voice was heard coming from inside the hall:

"Consort Hui, stay here. I have something to ask you."