The daughter of a noble family is reborn, and she is doted on by her godmother.

In the twelfth year of the hegemony, that is, eleven years later, a major event occurred.

Yun Qingjin, no, logically speaking, this should be something that Xie Mingjin back then would never forget.

At that time, she had already married into the general's family, and her husband, Gu Tinghui, had long since left the capital to go on a military campaign.

Just as she had finished serving Gu Tinghui's grandmother and gained a little prestige in the mansion, and was feeling quite pleased with herself, a strange thing happened in the court.

First, overnight, a “Decree of Self-Reproach by the Empress Dowager” was posted in all the important locations throughout the city. The content was roughly that the Empress Dowager of Chu recounted the things she had done in her life.

From framing other concubines in palace intrigues when she was young, to making various arrangements to help the current emperor ascend the throne.

He deliberately induced allergies in the concubines, intentionally used special incense, plotted to harm the concubines' sons, bewitched the late emperor, and arranged for witchcraft to frame them—the list of these acts is endless…

He colluded with relatives of the emperor outside the palace to frame various officials in the court, from county magistrates to high-ranking regional officials; the number of officials he framed was countless...

This imperial edict seemed to have been posted by an unknown person. The style of the announcement was very different from the usual announcements in the capital. In fact, the announcements at the four city gates were made from a single, huge piece of yellow cloth.

The same applies to other places; instead of using ordinary paper for announcements, they are written on special cloth.

Although most of the events had little to do with ordinary people in the capital, gossip was an eternal topic in the city, and you could hear people talking about it wherever you went during those days.

At that time, the talk of the town was basically about the Empress Dowager's edict, and storytellers in various restaurants used it as a basis to create a large number of stories.

Strangely, the royal family did not stop this situation. Instead, after a few days, they issued an edict of self-reproach from the emperor himself, and at the same time, news spread that the empress dowager had committed suicide to atone for her sins.

The emperor himself drafted a document, denouncing his mother's shameless behavior, apologizing to his mother, and issuing an edict of self-reproach. Because he was to blame for his mother's transgressions, he reduced the royal family's food, clothing, and daily necessities in every way, and the emperor himself was required to observe a year of vegetarianism to commemorate her passing.

Furthermore, it was stated above that since the royal family itself was acting improperly, it would accept all criticism and ridicule from the court and be subject to the supervision of the Grand Preceptor.

Meanwhile, since the Empress Dowager was dead, although it was impossible to punish her, the Emperor made the decision, and relevant members of the royal family discussed and finally decided that the Empress Dowager would not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, the burial standard would be reduced to the minimum, the memorial tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple would be removed, and no sacrifices would be held, etc.

As for the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Chu family, they were once a notorious maternal relatives who committed many evils. However, in recent years, the Chu family has declined and has long since distanced itself from officialdom and politics. If one were to investigate those who were guilty in the past, they would be nowhere to be found.

Because the Empress Dowager's edict listed almost all the victims in detail, the Emperor's edict also specifically mentioned appeasement for the victims' families. The gist of it was that if the victims' families could provide relevant proof, they could receive corresponding compensation in the capital.

The name "Tong Yuxing" appears on the list of victims.

It was a coincidence that Yun Qingjin heard this name from a storyteller in a restaurant on her way back to the General's Mansion from her parents' home.

Of course, in a story involving royal secrets, a small business is nothing more than a sacrifice that can be discarded at any time.

"Speaking of Empress Dowager Chu, although she ascended to the pinnacle of power, she could not dispel the helplessness and loneliness in her heart. Our high and mighty Empress Dowager once deeply loved the Duke Wu Jing, who had made great contributions in battle. Unexpectedly, due to a twist of fate, her friend took her place..."

"The Duke of Wujing and his wife lived a happy and fulfilling life away from court affairs. How could the Empress Dowager possibly allow this? So, a small merchant, Tong Yuxing, who once supplied fur products to the royal family, became a weapon aimed at the Duke of Wujing!"

"Hey, storyteller, Old Feng, you always love this artsy tone. Isn't your story just about the Empress Dowager framing Duke Wu Jing? How do you know the Empress Dowager loved Duke Wu Jing himself? And what about Duke Wu Jing's wife being a close friend of the Empress Dowager…"

"Yeah, yeah, and what about that businessman? What happened to him?"

The storyteller calmly continued:

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. I've investigated with people from back then! The Empress Dowager and Lady Wujing were close friends in the capital! And Tong Yuxing, didn't you see what the Empress Dowager said? She accused Tong Yuxing of colluding with foreign enemies, and later, one of the charges against Duke Wujing was also colluding with foreign enemies..."

"You're just guessing again!"

"Alas, at least the Empress Dowager dares to admit her mistakes, and I admire her for being a person who dares to take responsibility! His Majesty allows everyone to criticize, but your slander is going too far."

……

That's roughly it. Regardless of whether the storyteller was right or wrong, the name Tong Yuxing left a small mark in Yun Qingjin's memory.

Yun Qingjin felt a mix of emotions upon hearing this discovery.

"What's wrong, Qingqing? You don't look well." Yuan Chen noticed that Yun Qingjin was in a daze and asked.

"Sister Chenchen, I'm fine," Yun Qingjin shook her head and forced a smile. "Sister, what is this for?"

“Hmm… how should I put it?” Yuan Chen’s face was full of helplessness. “This is probably a memory my sister suddenly found about my parents and family. I didn’t expect to see these things after so long. Seeing things from old friends is like seeing old friends again.”

really.

Yuan Chen spoke casually, but Yun Qingjin knew that the girl in front of her was likely a survivor of the massacre that took place in the name of jealousy.

Yun Qingjin let out a long sigh, calmed herself down, and decided to think it over carefully using the method that Teacher Zhu had taught her before.

First, it is now known that this shop called Tong Yuxing, according to the storyteller at the time, was one of the conditions used to frame Duke Wu Jing.

Secondly, assuming the storyteller wasn't making things up, and Tong Yuxing himself was innocent, but was merely trying to bring down Duke Wujing by first framing Tong Yuxing and then claiming that the business was colluding with Duke Wujing...

How could that be? I feel that although this speculation is outrageous, it still makes some sense.

Furthermore, the sudden appearance of the gift list... and the unexpected meeting with Tong Yuxing's descendants...

No, it's a complete mess.

And... we absolutely mustn't let Sister Chen go to Beijing to claim the victim's identity...

Oh no, this is only the first year of the Hegemony Era. This incident happened in the twelfth year of the Hegemony Era. The dates are all mixed up.

What Marquis Changxing said back then was that since the people the Empress Dowager had harmed were mostly people from more than ten years ago, there was basically no issue of descendants.

Therefore, the capital city has long prepared countermeasures. If someone does come to the capital city, and if the person has a significant impact, there will be ways to silence them.

Moreover, because of the two imperial edicts issued this time, which encouraged public discussion, the extreme actions did not have a significant impact, and the public opinion in the capital also changed.

Let's put aside what happens more than ten years from now. Now that I know the secret behind this, how should I tell my mother and Sister Yuanchen?

I can't exactly tell them that I was reborn.

No, no, I've finally gotten to live a good life, I absolutely can't let them treat me like a madman and kick me out.