Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 261 The Real and Fake Emperors Inside Hexi Palace!

Zhou Wei's description was vivid and terrifying, and the princess felt it deeply, so she couldn't help but shudder.

Thinking of someone sleepwalking and building walls in the dark, and then looking back at his two older brothers, everything became clear.

"Weiwei, the person you're talking about is obsessed with murder, which is why he keeps sleepwalking and building walls."

“There are some actions of my two elder brothers that I have pondered repeatedly but cannot explain.”

Zhou Wei sat down next to the princess and said patiently, "If you ask the two princes about childhood trauma, they will definitely keep quiet about it."

"Therefore, we now need to make inferences using limited information."

"Based on the two princes' ages, does the princess believe they witnessed those horrific scenes in the palace or their fiefdoms?"

After a moment's thought, the eldest princess said, "I think it should be in the palace."

"My eldest brother was born before the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but my second brother was born to Consort Rong after our father ascended the throne."

"In the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Da Liu, the Emperor disliked Consort Rong and banished her to the Cold Palace. He also sent his eldest brother, who was only twelve years old at the time, and his second brother, who was six years old, to their fiefdoms."

If the two princes did indeed witness a horrific scene in the palace, where would that scene have been?

Zhou Wei carefully recalled the scene she had just seen. The furnishings in the room were too simple, and there was nothing special about them.

The only unusual thing was that strangely shaped futon.

"Princess, are there any special futons like the ones that were placed in the room earlier in the palace?"

The eldest princess thought about it carefully and then shook her head.

“I have been to all parts of the palace, including some hidden places, which I used to hide in when I was young. I have never found such a decoration before.”

Zhou Wei frowned. The eldest princess was familiar with the layout of the palace. If even she hadn't seen it before, then things would be a bit troublesome.

Just as Zhou Wei was about to turn her gaze outside the palace, the eldest princess suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"No, there's another place in the palace that I've never been to!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wei exchanged a glance with the Princess, and the two said at the same time, "He Xi Palace."

Since its establishment, the Great Zhou Emperor has forbidden anyone from setting foot in Hexi Palace.

Once completed, it became an impregnable fortress, and no one could enter without being summoned.

“My mother once entered Hexi Palace, but she said that once inside, she could not go to the inner palace to see the Emperor immediately.”

Even the Empress had to sit in a dark corner of the Hexi Palace and wait for the eunuch to lead the way.

"Father would meet them in the side hall of Hexi Palace. As for the inner hall, no one has ever gone in except for the people who serve Father personally."

As the eldest princess spoke, she already had some deductions in her mind.

Everything is developing in the most unbelievable way.

Zhou Wei understood Jiang Yueli's feelings and realized that there was something wrong with Hexi Palace from the appearance of the little monk Zhu Qi.

Now, the eldest princess is certain that there is something strange about the Great Zhou Emperor in the palace.

I'm afraid her father is no longer the same father he once was!

“Since the princess says so, let’s assume that the scene the two princes saw took place in Hexi Palace.”

"When the Second Prince was pressed under that strange futon, the name he called out was 'Zhou Lang,' which was actually His Majesty."

The princess listened and closed her eyes in anguish.

This speculation suggests that the two princes may have witnessed the Great Zhou Emperor murdering a woman.

After breaking his limbs and twisting his body, they threw him under the prayer mat!

Before she died, the woman kept calling out for Zhou Lang. Although she was treated cruelly, there was no resentment in her tone, only confusion.

From Zhou Wei's perspective, this woman must have deeply loved Zhou Lang.

Her dying cry was simply a question: why did Zhou Lang treat her this way?

The first round of the game between the two princes was easy to understand, but the second round was a bit more complicated.

When the second prince peeked out from under the prayer mat again, he was clearly a different person.

The eldest prince recited the name of Zhou Yu, making it seem as if Zhou Yu was imprisoned under a prayer mat.

"Princess, this matter is truly strange!"

"The first time the woman was murdered, she called out to the eldest prince, 'Zhou Lang,' but the second time, it was Zhou Lang who was locked in the prayer mat. What role did the eldest prince play?"

The eldest princess had already made her own deduction, though she couldn't accept it emotionally.

But she still said, "Weiwei, I think the one in Hexi Palace now is not my father."

“My father is either imprisoned under a prayer mat or has already died a tragic death.”

The princess's voice trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She could no longer discern when exactly her real father had disappeared.

Over the years, the Great Zhou Emperor had shown her considerable favor, but now reality told her otherwise.

This person might be a fake Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and Jiang Yueli was momentarily dazed.

Zhou Wei stroked her chin and calmly said, "A real and fake emperor? Interesting... However, there are some logical inconsistencies here!"

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess suppressed her emotions and looked at Zhou Wei.

"Weiwei, what's wrong with what I'm saying?"

“Princess, think back carefully. During the first game, Zhou Lang murdered the woman under the prayer mat. The woman clearly had feelings for him.”

"If the Second Prince's sleepwalking behavior completely replicates the woman's state before her death, it means that the woman believed from the bottom of her heart that Zhou Lang would not treat her this way."

The eldest princess was startled and realized what was happening.

"You mean, by now, Zhou Yu has probably already been replaced?"

Zhou Wei nodded and continued her analysis: "Before the woman died, she had confusion and pain, but no hatred, which means that she was not suffering from unrequited love, but that the two of them were truly in love."

"But now her lover is treating her so cruelly, leaving her bewildered and only able to call out to him in anguish."

Little did he know, the person before him was no longer the real Zhou Yu!

Zhou Wei's tone was unusually calm, and the princess couldn't help but tremble as she listened.

She wasn't afraid; it was an uncontrollable physiological reaction.

The eldest princess could not imagine that such an unbelievable thing could happen in the heavily guarded imperial palace!

Zhou Wei continued, "If Zhou Lang had already been replaced when the woman was murdered, then the second game would make sense."

"The Second Prince is playing the real Zhou Lang. He is locked under the futon, and the First Prince calls him Zhou Lang, which means that the First Prince is actually the one who murdered the woman."

The eldest princess's face was deathly pale, and her fingers were trembling: "Are you saying that my real father might be locked up under a futon in the inner palace of Hexi Palace right now?"

Seeing that the eldest princess had already stood up and was uncontrollably trying to walk outside.

Zhou Wei immediately grabbed her: "Princess, you mustn't! If you return to the capital now, that fake emperor in Hexi Palace will definitely be alerted."

"At that time, not only will you not be able to save your father, but you may also be killed by him."

"Don't forget what the little monk Zhu Qi said: the heavenly secrets above Hexi Palace were obscured because a powerful cultivator had intervened."

"No matter who this powerful figure is, he must have some connection with the fake emperor."

"If we are not absolutely certain, we must not alert the enemy. Otherwise, I can protect the princess, but her father's life will be in danger."

Both of them were on high alert when Zhou Wei suddenly heard a strange noise coming from outside the door.

He immediately shouted, "Who's outside?"

Then we heard A Bao roar!