The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The Queen shook her head and said, "That's not the case. Minister Yi actually wanted to exchange his concubine's daughter for the princess's biological daughter to avenge her. But the concubine is also a mother. No matter how good the princess's mansion is, how could she be willing to let her biological daughter go to someone else alone?"

"Besides, the woman had no choice but to become their mistress."

Hearing this, Xie Wei's heart really started beating faster and faster, and a vague thought was about to surface: "They?!"

"The late emperor and Minister Yi often had feasts together..." The queen took a deep breath, a rare look of disgust showing on her face.

"The woman couldn't tell which one her daughter belonged to."

Xie Yuzhen thought that what he had seen was dark enough, but he never expected that the higher he went, the more horrifying things he would see.

"The woman knew that Minister Yi was going to replace the girl. She resisted in every way, but could not stop him. So Minister Yi ordered the people in the outer house to watch over her. He pretended to be happy about the birth of his daughter and repaired his relationship with the eldest princess. He also secretly took the little princess's clothes and other belongings from the princess's mansion to the outer house and asked someone to make a copy of it. He gave the other girl the clothes, and then secretly took the originals back. He waited until the right time to have the two girls dress the same."

"Later, the woman in the outer house knew she was powerless to stop it, so she pretended to be obedient and was released by Minister Yi. But as soon as she came out, she found out that her daughter had been taken to the princess's mansion to be exchanged for the young princess."

The Queen paused for a moment before continuing, "She didn't see the child being brought back, so she impulsively wanted to go to the Princess's residence to petition. Because she didn't act carefully, Minister Yi noticed something and the two of them had an argument. It was the first time the woman had encountered such a thing, and she was already very emotional. After a few shoves, she actually smashed Minister Yi to death with an inkstone."

Fortunately, because the woman wanted to show her obedience to Minister Yi, the two of them were alone in a room, and their argument was not seen by outsiders.

She quickly changed her clothes, walked out of the house, and told the person guarding the gate outside that it was Minister Yi who asked her to get him some wine to cheer him up, and then she escaped from the outer house.

After coming out, the woman went straight to the princess's residence to ask to see Princess Rong Huan. It happened that the princess had just finished her confinement and was going to burn incense and fulfill her vow. After listening to the woman's explanation of Minister Yi's plan, Princess Rong Huan didn't quite believe it, but for the sake of her daughter's safety, she decided to take the woman back to the residence to check it out.

The people that Minister Yi had placed in the princess's mansion were waiting to see the eldest princess go out before taking action. The eldest princess suddenly turned back and just happened to block the man in the little princess's yard. She had just put her concubine's child on the little princess's bed when she heard the princess return. She was in a hurry to escape and had no time to take the little princess with her. She hurriedly tried to climb out of the window at the back of the house.

However, her hands and feet slipped while climbing the window, and she fell headfirst to the ground. She was an elderly lady who was bribed by Minister Yi because she loved drinking and gambling. Her head fell hard to the ground and she died instantly.

So the eldest princess returned to her daughter's room and saw two identical babies lying on the bed. The window behind them was wide open and a human leg was hanging from it.

Fortunately, the princess didn’t faint from fright.

Although Princess Rong Huan had a slightly aggressive temper, she had been pampered since childhood and had never encountered such a thrilling thing. Moreover, the person in danger was the child she had been looking forward to for a long time.

She hurried over to check on the child, and was relieved when she found that the child had not been taken away yet. But then, the princess encountered another problem.

Although she loved her daughter, the way she raised her daughter was the most common way used by noble ladies in those days - she did not breastfeed the child herself, but left everything to wet nurses and maids. When she missed the child, she would hold her in her arms and kiss her, and other troublesome tasks such as feeding, bathing, and coaxing the child to sleep were all done by her servants.

therefore.

Faced with two babies who were dressed exactly the same, looked exactly the same, and had no distinguishing marks on their bodies, even the eldest princess couldn't tell which one was real and which one was fake.

The same goes for the mistress, who spends more time smiling at the man than with her daughter.

Perhaps the maids who took care of the little princess could tell the difference, but... the two children were too young and looked too similar, so they did not dare to testify rashly. And because of the spy, the maid who stole the children, they were even more afraid to stand up and could only remain silent to protect themselves.

"......Although there were reasons for the incident, the woman did kill a court official and was beheaded shortly after the incident. As for the two children..." The queen coughed lightly, and Xie Yuzhen quickly handed over a cup of warm water.

The two children were left in the princess's mansion.

After Princess Rong Huan learned that her husband had died, she did not vent her anger on the woman. Although she did not try to rescue her, she still raised the two children together. In the princess's mansion, the two girls were fed, clothed and provided with the same expenses, except for the title of princess.

The Ning Fei and her sister have always had a good relationship, and both want the title to fall on the other. In this situation where nothing can be said, only the ownership of the position of princess can determine who of them is the legitimate princess of the royal family, the "only daughter" of Princess Rong Huan.

Later, Concubine Ning got this status by drawing lots, but even though her sisters' official identities could only be the daughters of the eldest princess's concubines who were kindly taken in, the relationship between the three of them did not change at all.

However, outsiders did not know about this case and thought that the eldest princess had only Concubine Ning as her biological daughter.

"It's really strange. Although Concubine Ning and her sister were born from different mothers, they look like twins. The older they get, the harder it is to tell their identities apart."

Xie Yuzhen shuddered: "Do they all look like Her Royal Highness the Princess?"

The Queen stared at her for a moment and nodded.

"......What did the late emperor do?" Xie Yuzhen asked hurriedly.

The queen sighed and recalled the bloody afternoon many years ago.

"In his later years, the late emperor was confused and dissolute, indulging in wine and women."

Especially the famous wine "Zihong Huaying" is his favorite.

As a monarch, the emperor naturally needed the company of fine wine and beautiful women, but he was old after all, and although he had fine wine and beautiful women, he was no longer able to do so.

The Taoist priest he trusted gave him an idea.

Just add aphrodisiacs to the wine and you can regain your virility.

Alcohol can cause confusion, and drugs... can be aphrodisiacs.

At the extravagant palace banquet, the late emperor lost the battle for the throne with Empress Dowager Hu. Power was gradually taken over by the then crown prince, now the emperor. He became increasingly resentful and relieved his resentment by drinking and sex.

He was drunk and left the palace maids to wander around the palace. Taking advantage of the dark sky under the setting sun, he found a side hall specially used for the ladies to rest, where he heard the sounds of women laughing, and staggered in.

At that time, Concubine Ning and her sisters were already married, and Concubine Ning was pregnant.

She went into the inner room to change her stained clothes, leaving her sister alone outside. Before she had finished changing her clothes, she heard the women outside screaming and exclaiming.

She hurriedly put on her clothes and went out, but she saw the drunken emperor holding a long sword in his hand. The maid who served them was lying dead on the ground, and the emperor was pressing on them and tearing their clothes.

Without thinking, Concubine Ning picked up a vase in the corner and smashed it on the back of the late emperor's head.

However, she was too weak to knock the late emperor down. Instead, he discovered that there was another person in the room. He kicked Concubine Ning and was about to continue to abuse her when Concubine Ning struggled to get up from the ground despite the severe pain, put the belt of her clothes around the late emperor's neck, and pulled him to sit on a chair beside her. Using the backrest of the chair, she used her weight to tie the sturdy belt from behind.

Although the late emperor was drunk, he still had some strength left. He was about to overturn the chair while struggling. Seeing this, Concubine Ning's sisters did not care about being scared and rushed over to hold down his legs.

then.

I don’t know how much time had passed.

The queen, who came to rest because she was also a little drunk, saw this scene.

Looking at the two sisters who were in disarray and at a loss, and the emperor whose eyes were bulging and whose breath was stuck.

Her first reaction was not to scream and look for help, but to subconsciously close the door of the side hall.