After being forced to marry a tyrant: I overturned the original plot

After Qin Xin returned to the palace, Manager Zhang came to see her the next day.

He said that all the books he was asked to look for had been found.

Qin Xin winked at Huan'er, and she immediately sent the rest of the people away. Then she bowed and went out with Huan'er.

"I have checked it out. Hmm, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not lie to me this time. The expenses are indeed... Hmm? The Queen Mother gave Madam Liu so many silks, satins and treasures."

She made a puzzled expression: "This Madam Liu is... the wife of the Duke?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhang immediately waved his hand and shook his head.

As if he wanted to show off in front of Qin Xin, he immediately explained in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, you don't know that the Duke's wife is the Duke's wife, and Madam Liu is the biological mother of the master of Jinyue Palace, that is, the Empress Dowager's sister."

"Ah? Then why call her Madam Liu instead of another surname?"

Pretending to know nothing about Madam Liu, Qin Xin soon received a long explanation from Manager Zhang.

"That's because Madam Liu married a man of lower status. The man she married was just a minor deputy general. Later, for some unknown reason, he went out to suppress bandits and died. The Duke felt sorry for Madam Liu, an orphan and a widow, so he took her back to the Duke's Mansion."

"The Queen Mother felt sorry for her younger sister being a widow at such a young age, so she allowed her to remarry. Madam Liu refused, saying that she wanted to remain faithful to her husband. But in order for the Concubine Shu to gain a foothold, she allowed her to change her surname to Liu, and the Concubine Shu's mother was called 'Madam Liu' from then on."

As Manager Zhang spoke, he shook his head and sighed.

"That Madam Liu and the Empress Dowager are twins. They look very similar and have a very good relationship with you. If it weren't for that misfortune, ah..."

Qin Xin was slightly puzzled.

"Their twins?"

"Oh, yes, twins."

Qin Xin held the book in her hand, and for a moment she was unsure which one was closer to her, the truth or the mystery.

"What else? What I mean is that twins are so rare that they are a bit strange. Do they like the same things?"

Manager Zhang immediately shook his head.

"You asked the right person! I still remember that year, the late emperor held a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner in the palace. Because the queen liked crabapple flowers, the late emperor urged all the crabapple flowers in the garden to bloom at the same time.

Begonias are so beautiful that they were a popular topic at the time. But later on, His Majesty no longer likes flowers, and the Queen Mother no longer often caresses them.”

Begonia flowers!

Qin Xin covered her mouth. Could it be that the one locked in the dark room was the real queen mother?

And the one in Shoukang Palace...

Is this Madam Liu?

Qin Xin almost stopped breathing. She stared at Manager Zhang below and asked as calmly as possible.

"Then, are there many elderly people in Shoukang Palace? From what I see, only Madam Zhao is old, and the rest of the palace servants don't seem to have as much experience and ability as Steward Zhang."

Manager Zhang's mouth almost cracked when he heard this.

"Of course, ever since Madam Liu's accident, the Queen Mother has been depressed for a while. After losing her loved ones one after another, the Queen Mother has been devoted to worshipping Buddha and not caring about worldly affairs... Perhaps she was afraid of being upset by the past, so most of the people who served the Queen Mother died in assassinations, and a small number of them left the palace."

Not one left?

Qin Xin narrowed her eyes, how could it be such a coincidence.

At first she thought that since the empress dowager doted on Liu Yanran so much, maybe she and Gu Fei were actually a substitution of the prince... She was the daughter of the late emperor, and Gu Fei was her sister's child.

But after checking, the age doesn't match.

Later, until she saw the woman in the dark room whose face was completely destroyed but who remained calm and composed...

Now that I think about it, why did that woman’s eyes look familiar?

It was Gu Fei. Gu Fei’s eyes looked like hers.

And her outline is exactly the same as the one in Shoukang Palace.

They are twin sisters, they look alike, so it's not difficult to pretend to be each other.

It's just that she can't figure it out.

No matter which sister becomes the empress dowager, Liu Qing is the emperor's uncle. Why would he take such a risk and change the lives of his two sisters against his conscience?

"I'm new to Chen Country and I'm not familiar with anything here. I didn't expect that Manager Zhang knows so much about the palace. I won't have to worry about finding someone to ask in the future."

Manager Zhang quickly replied flatteringly: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is a blessing for me to be able to share your worries!"

"By the way, Manager Zhang, you have seen the former Empress Dowager. Do you know what her personality was like?"

Qin Xin thought of the woman in the dark room and couldn't help asking.

Manager Zhang scratched his head, seeming a little hesitant.

"This……"

I dare not make any irresponsible comments.

Qin Xin assured, "Today's conversation is only known to you and me, and no one else. I am also curious and want to please her but... I really have no way. I want to know what she liked when she was my age, maybe I can please her."

After hearing her explanation, Manager Zhang finally understood what was going on.

He immediately said——

"The Empress Dowager was once a remarkable woman who could paint, write poetry, offer advice, ride horses, shoot arrows, and play football. She was brave and resourceful, and was gentle and kind to the palace maids... But, after that disaster, she only had Buddhist scriptures in her mind. Why don't you give her some Buddhist scriptures..."

"Okay, I understand. You can go back now."

Wait until the person leaves.

Qin Xin touched his buzzing head.

"Oh my god, that means the one I disliked - Gu Fei's mother is probably the one in the dark room!"

This is a very brain-intensive task, but Qin Xin didn't find Gu Fei who is suitable for doing the task.

Chief Steward Xu said that Gu Fei was in the imperial study, surrounded by several ministers who were discussing important matters such as the flood in the south of the Yangtze River.

Qin Xin asked Huan'er to go to the laundry.

I heard that there are many palace maids here who used to work in the concubines' palace and were later punished to do hard labor.

It was not until the evening that Huan'er came back with a dry mouth.

Without even having time to drink his tea, he told Qin Xin the information.

It is said that a palace maid who used to work in the palace of the late emperor and was later punished by the empress dowager said that she had seen Madam Liu coming out of the late emperor's bedroom... The late emperor then disliked Madam Liu, but did not make it public for the sake of the empress dowager's face.

Then after Madam Liu died, this palace maid was punished to wash clothes.

She also said that it was not worth it for the Queen Mother to be sad for so many years because of an ungrateful man, which chilled the hearts of the palace maids who truly cared about her.

Huan'er also mentioned a place - Wangyue Tower.

It is said that this was an attic nominated by the Queen Mother when she was still the Queen.

The late emperor moved many of his books into the house and also painted many pictures for her.

Qin Xin prepared to go to Wangyue Tower.

only……

This building has been sealed off a long time ago.

Qin Xin felt that no matter where she was, she could not escape the fate of becoming a "female thief".

He took advantage of the guard's shift and entered the Moon-Watching Tower.

As soon as she entered, Qin Xin was choked to tears.

It can be seen that this attic does have a large collection of books, but no one takes care of it. Many books are moldy and the bookshelves are covered with dust.

She waved, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and began to look through the calligraphy and paintings.

Qin Xin saw a painting of a man in a dragon robe, crouching over a desk reviewing memorials...

Signed by Mingyue.

It was a woman's very beautiful and neat handwriting.

Qin Xin flipped through it again.

Finally, I came across the double portrait of the emperor and empress.

The woman in the painting had been slashed with a knife, leaving her face completely missing...

This reminded Qin Xin of the disfigured woman in the dark room.

I flipped through it again and saw a portrait of a single person. The woman in the portrait had a proud face, charming eyebrows and eyes, and looked like——

Liu Yanran.

The only two words "Chengxing" were written on the painting.

Bright moon and clear stars.

It should be the maiden names of the Liu sisters.

Qin Xin looked at the portrait and for some reason it overlapped with another person in her mind. She was immediately startled.

"What is the taste……"

She turned around unknowingly until it was dark. When she was about to turn back, she smelled...

Smell of kerosene.

System: Run! Someone set fire!

Qin Xin: Why didn’t you say so earlier!

The fire suddenly started outside the first floor. Qin Xin raised his hands to cover his face and immediately ran to a higher place.

But when she went up, she found that the door at the top of the attic was locked...

It's still an iron door.

Qin Xin looked back at the spreading fire and her face turned pale.

In the imperial palace, which is a forbidden area, someone actually dared to set fire.

It seems that she found out something she shouldn't have found out and was discovered.

And this iron door is very new. That means someone planned to burn her to death here.

Qin Xin, whose whole body was scorched, kept kicking the door, but the door didn't move. The burning sensation behind her became stronger and stronger, and she choked and tears came out.

——Oh no, she’s dead.