The queen is crazy and spoiled, and the tyrant bows to her

"I still remember the most memorable time. It snowed heavily and quickly during the New Year's Eve..."

"The heavy snow blocked the road, so I stayed at Nangong Mansion for a few more days."

At this point, Nangong Lie's voice suddenly became ethereal, as if he was lost in some distant memory. "At that time, the plum blossoms in the backyard of the Nangong Mansion were in full bloom, and the eldest lady was standing under the corridor in the courtyard admiring the plum blossoms. She was wearing an elegant light-colored dress and a snow-white fox fur coat..."

"Dignified and noble, stunningly beautiful, untainted by the slightest dust... One can tell at first glance that she is a gentle, virtuous, and stunningly beautiful woman."

"It is said that she has countless admirers in the capital. Even before she reached the age of marriage, matchmakers had already knocked on the door of the Nangong Mansion."

Hearing this, Jiang Wantang and Xie Zhiyan couldn't help but frown.

The image of Empress Dowager Wende in the boudoir described by Nangong Lie was that of a lady carefully cultivated by a prominent family, which was completely different from her later appearance after entering the palace.

In the eyes of the world at that time, Empress Dowager Wende was an evil concubine with means and scheming who brought disaster to the country.

Including what Jiang Wantang later learned from Eunuch Lin and Concubine Yu, she was never a gentle and dignified person.

In particular, Concubine Yu said that Empress Dowager Wende liked brightly colored dresses, especially red. Although she had a cold temperament, she lived a flamboyant and passionate life.

The two were just thinking about it when they heard Nangong Lie say, "It's a pity that the eldest lady's biological mother died early due to complications during childbirth, leaving behind only this daughter. As soon as the mistress died, the head of the family welcomed his concubine who was kept outside into the Nangong Mansion..."

"I heard that the concubine was already pregnant when she entered the house. A few months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who later became the head of the Nangong family, Nangong Lin."

"That concubine was originally the legitimate daughter of a wealthy family in the capital. After she gave birth to a baby boy, she was immediately promoted to the principal wife."

"But these are all old stories. Apart from the people of our tribe, few outsiders know about them."

"Later, when Nangong Lin took control of the family, these rumors...naturally, no one dared to mention them anymore."

Nangong Lin, the head of the Nangong family and Nangong Liuli's father.

But it turned out that he was born to a concubine. If Empress Dowager Wende's biological mother had not died early, he would have been raised as a bastard in secret.

Such things are not uncommon among the noble families in Beijing.

Marrying a wife is a family marriage. Which man doesn't have many wives, concubines and mistresses? The conflicts in the various harems and courtyards are endless.

It seems that Empress Dowager Wende's life in the boudoir must not be easy.

At this time, Nangong Lie suddenly stopped talking.

The charcoal fire danced in his deep eyes, casting a dim light and shadow.

Jiang Wantang came back to her senses, looked at him and said, "Go on."

"But then..." Nangong Lie narrowed his eyes slightly, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes, and his voice became a little colder, "The eldest lady seems to have become a different person since entering the palace."

"Even when he was in great favor, he never promoted the Nangong family in the slightest. Instead, he whispered in His Majesty's ear."

"She once publicly advised His Majesty: The Nangong family is a powerful family with deep roots, and there are too many children from various clans in the court. It's time to give those from humbler families some opportunities."

"Because of her words, the top three candidates in the imperial examination that year were all highly valued by His Majesty after entering the court, including your 'father', Jiang Zhixu, the third place winner."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wantang's pupils constricted and trembled slightly, but her expression was not noticeable.

Nangong Lie didn't notice and continued to speak to himself: "After that, the Nangong family also began to be suppressed by the court, both openly and covertly. Even our branch was greatly affected and gradually began to decline..."

"I thought she really wanted to promote those poor families, until I saw you..." At this point, Nangong Lie paused, looking at Jiang Wantang with a bit more coldness in his eyes, and said sarcastically: "Oh, what do you mean by promoting the children of poor families?"

"Now it seems that she and your father have been having an affair for a long time!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Jiang Wantang and Xie Zhiyan both frowned.

Obviously, Nangong Lie had already preconceived the idea that she was the child born from the affair between Empress Dowager Wende and Jiang Zhixu...

But Jiang Wantang felt that this was not simple, at least not as Nangong Lie said.

Based on what she knew, it was very likely that Empress Dowager Wende would kill her own relatives for the sake of justice, but the possibility that she had any romantic relationship with Jiang Zhixu was extremely small.

A woman as intelligent, open-minded, calm and rational as Empress Dowager Wende would never appear to be someone who indulges in love.

What’s more, that person was Jiang Zhixu.

Although Jiang Wantang didn't know what kind of person Jiang Zhixu was back then, he knew that he was not a good person since he could remember.

He is greedy, selfish, cold-hearted, and hypocritical...

In short, there was not a single positive memory of him in Jiang Wantang's memory.

Only a superficial and foolish woman like Qin would treat such a man as a treasure, compromise with him, and try to please him with all her heart.

Therefore, Jiang Wantang refused to believe that she was the child of Empress Dowager Wende and Jiang Zhixu.

If her mother was really Empress Dowager Wende, then who was her father?

There was a depressing silence in the torture chamber.

Nangong Lie looked at the solemn expressions of Jiang Wantang and Xie Zhiyan, sneered, and continued, "Later, His Majesty passed away, and the eldest daughter supported the young emperor to ascend the throne. At a young age, she sat on the position of empress dowager. The suppression of the Nangong family became more and more obvious, and the head of the family's health deteriorated..."

"Later, the eldest daughter passed away, and Nangong Lin succeeded her as the head of the family and took control of the family power. The first thing he did was to remove her from the clan."

"All traces of her in the Nangong family have been destroyed, including her biological mother."

"Because of this matter, Nangong Lin even went to the Qinan ancestral home and issued an order to all Nangong family branches, telling them that no one was allowed to mention the eldest lady again. Anyone who violated the order would be expelled from the Nangong clan."

"At first, I thought the new head of the family had long disliked the eldest daughter. It wasn't until I overheard Nangong Lin's private conversation during a visit to the capital that I learned that it was His Majesty's will to expel the eldest daughter and destroy all traces of her existence."

"The one she single-handedly helped to ascend the throne... His Majesty."

After saying this, the smile on Nangong Lie's lips became more and more obvious, and his cloudy eyes were full of mockery: "It's really a waste that the eldest lady has spent so much effort to help him ascend the throne. In order to help him sit on the throne, she didn't hesitate to suppress her own mother's family and other clans again and again."

"As expected, if a child is not your own, you will never be able to tame him."

"Not only did he fail to tame the animal, he also turned out to be a beast with no regard for human ethics!"

"If Nangong Lin hadn't discovered before his death that the young prince was still alive and very likely the eldest lady's bloodline, who would have guessed that His Majesty would actually covet his adoptive mother?"

"You say, this world...isn't it interesting?"