After a moment of silence, Ling Lihua said, “Now that Weiwei mentioned it, I remember that fourteen years ago, just a few days before I gave birth, I attended a banquet in the palace. I noticed that you seemed a bit pale and showed symptoms of poisoning. I wanted to ask you about it, but the Empress Dowager stopped me. Back then, I didn’t think there was anything wrong, but now that I think about it, the Empress Dowager was clearly trying to stop me from saving you, Your Majesty.”
A memory suddenly flashed through Lu Liangwei’s mind, and she looked at Long Yang and said, “Your Majesty, do you remember what I told you that time? Actually, I’ve already been suspecting that it was the Empress Dowager who had poisoned you.”
Long Yang remembered it too. Weiwei had indeed analyzed the case of Madam Ling leaving before, and at that time, she had suspected that Madam Ling’s breakup with Lu Hetian was related to the person who poisoned him.
To stop Madam Ling from curing him of the poison, that person used Madam Zheng to drive a wedge between her and Lu Hetian so that she would leave the imperial capital out of disappointment in her husband.
When Long Yang wanted to summon Madam Ling to the palace to cure him, he received the unexpected news of her death.
Now, it seemed that Weiwei’s analysis was reasonable.
If everything coincided too perfectly, it would no longer be a coincidence but a deliberate plan.
It seemed that Weiwei had really hit the nail on the head.
However—
“You mean that the Empress Dowager was the one who poisoned me?” Long Yang’s eyes narrowed, a threatening hint in his voice.
Lu Liangwei nodded. “As of now, she’s the likeliest culprit.”
The Dowager Duchess was puzzled by their conversation; she was still unaware of Long Yang’s poisoning.
However, since Zeng Lunan was still there, she did not inquire further.
Long Yang got up and walked out.
Lu Liangwei could guess his intentions—he was probably going to dispose of the Empress Dowager.
After all, he had no reason to keep her around after she had used such a virulent poison on him.
As for her parents, they were forcefully separated for years because of the Empress Dowager’s wickedness. She was nothing but a despicable villain.
Zeng Lunan wiped away his cold sweat, not expecting to hear all this shocking news today. When he started to feel very uneasy, the Dowager Duchess broke the silence.
“Mr. Zeng, since you’re here to see Shuang’er, I’ll have someone invite her over now.”
Coming back to his senses, Zeng Lunan hurriedly got up and thanked her. “Thank you so much, Madam.”
The Dowager Duchess waved a hand. “It’s nothing. Shuang’er may not be the Lu Family’s flesh and blood, but we’ve raised her for more than ten years, after all. As her birth father, you’re naturally welcome in our home.”
Zeng Lunan was overcome with shame, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
“You must be tired. Why don’t you get some rest first? When Shuang’er comes back, I’ll have someone fetch you over to meet her. Is that all right?” the Dowager Duchess asked.
Zeng Lunan performed a fist and palm salute to her. “That’d be great. Thank you.”
The Dowager Duchess turned to Aunt Lan and instructed, “Get Mr. Zeng something to eat first, then prepare a wing room for him to stay.”
Aunt Lan nodded and led Zeng Lunan away.
After the outsider was gone, the Dowager Duchess immediately took Ling Lihua’s hand, her voice full of guilt and distress as she spoke. “Lihua, you’ve suffered a lot all these years.”
Ling Lihua was snapped out of her daze and, looking into the old woman’s kind eyes, she sighed and said, “I only have myself to blame for being impulsive and falling into someone else’s trap. Besides, I was the one who foolishly invited Madam Zheng into our home.”
Lu Liangwei put an arm around her shoulders reassuringly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mother. How could you have known that Madam Zheng was up to no good? Thankfully, the truth has now been revealed. Lu Yunshuang’s not Dad’s daughter, and everything that had happened back then was Madam Zheng’s ploy.” After a pause, she asked softly, “Can you forgive Dad?”
The Dowager Duchess also looked at her hopefully..
