Chapter 74
Chapter 74
In the end, the emperor stayed for lunch at Chengyi Hall before hurrying to Qingzheng Hall, where he made a great show of summoning several imperial physicians.
The empress had no idea what was going on, but she obediently let the physicians take her pulse. At the same time, she asked in puzzlement, “Your Majesty, I feel perfectly well. Why did you suddenly summon so many physicians?”
The emperor took her other hand reassuringly, then turned to the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau. “How is the empress’s health?”
Chief Physician Zhang stroked his graying beard and offered the same old answer. “Her Majesty has no serious ailment. She is merely deficient in qi and blood. She may continue taking the nourishing foods I prescribed previously.”
The emperor said nothing. He waved the other imperial physicians forward one by one to take her pulse, but received much the same answer from all of them.
With no emotion visible on his face, the emperor waved them away.
Only then did the empress ask, “Is something wrong with my health?”
The emperor shook his head. “The lady at Chengyi Hall mentioned that you were frail. It made me uneasy.”
The empress smiled when she heard that. Nestling against her husband, she rested her head lightly on his shoulder. “I know my own body. Your Majesty need not worry so much.”
After leaving Qingzheng Hall, the emperor summoned every physician who had examined the empress that day and asked them about her health again.
“We want the truth,” he said coldly. “Do not give Us those soothing platitudes. The empress has been in poor health for more than a day or two. She has taken the medicinal foods you prescribed all this time, yet she has shown no improvement.”
“We want to know if the empress’s health might…”
He paused before continuing, “Might it shorten her life?”
The imperial physicians dropped to their knees, pressing their upper bodies close to the floor. None dared speak.
The emperor’s heart sank. He called out coldly, “Chief Physician Zhang, you will answer.”
Chief Physician Zhang sighed inwardly, but dared not remain silent. “Your Majesty, this old minister has always been responsible for nursing Her Majesty’s health. Two years ago, I warned Your Majesty that she must avoid excessive worry and strain. Otherwise, no amount of medicinal food will do more than treat the symptoms without addressing their cause.”
The emperor did not want to hear that. “Can you cure the empress or not? What must be done?”
Chief Physician Zhang gritted his teeth and said, “If Your Majesty can persuade Her Majesty to relinquish all responsibility for palace affairs and allow this minister to devote himself to her care, perhaps… perhaps I can prevent her condition from worsening and ensure that she lives out her natural span. As for restoring her completely to the health of an ordinary person…”
He bent low in a deep bow. “Please forgive this old minister’s limited ability.”
Crash!
The furious emperor swept the teacup before him to the floor.
Shocked and enraged, he wanted to curse them as useless. But when he looked down at the kneeling physicians, all with graying hair and beards, he forcibly swallowed the insult.
Then he suddenly remembered something and took a porcelain vial from his sleeve. “Examine this.”
Trembling, Chief Physician Zhang accepted it and removed the stopper. After inhaling its scent for a moment, his eyes abruptly lit up. “May I ask Your Majesty what this is?”
…
While the emperor was losing his temper in Mingguang Hall, the empress sent someone to bring Zhu Yin to Qingzheng Hall.
She drew Zhu Yin down beside her, held her hand, and asked if she wished to move to a different palace.
Ever since learning Zhu Yin’s identity, the empress had felt that every aspect of Zhu Yin’s present circumstances wronged her.
Being reduced to a mere Radiant Consort was an injustice. Being confined to Chengyi Hall was an injustice.
Empress Wu was a heroine among women, capable of leading armies in war and directing the government in peace. She had ushered in Great Yong’s first golden age.
If she had been able to find a suitable justification, and if propriety allowed it, the empress would have gladly yielded Qingzheng Hall to Zhu Yin.
After all, the name “Qingzheng Hall” had been personally inscribed by Empress Wu, and she had been the hall’s first mistress.
Since she could not let Zhu Yin live here, the empress wanted to move her to a larger and more comfortable palace.
When Zhu Yin learned what she had in mind, she chuckled and declined. “There is no need. I am perfectly comfortable in Chengyi Hall.”
That was no excuse. Great Yong was prosperous, and every major palace in the imperial city had been renovated more than once. Zhu Yin had held the highest rank among that year’s palace women, and Chengyi Hall, the residence assigned to her, could be called elegant and magnificent even among all the halls of Great Yong’s imperial city.
Seeing that the empress still seemed to have more to say, Zhu Yin added, “Empress, what sort of place have I not lived in? What have I not seen? In my eyes, there is no difference between Qingzheng Hall and Chengyi Hall.”
The empress seemed to understand. “I was too attached to appearances.”
Since Zhu Yin would not move, she soon brought over a sheet of paper for her to see.
Several names were written upon it: Ruyi, Hanguang, Zhaoming.
When Zhu Yin looked puzzled, the empress explained, “The name Chengyi Hall is unsuitable and unworthy of you. I have thought of several alternatives. See if any of them appeal to you. If not, we can think of something better.”
Chengyi Hall had traditionally housed the emperor’s favored consorts, and the empress had never before found anything wrong with its name. Now that Zhu Yin was living there, however, everything about it seemed inadequate.
Zhu Yin had never considered such things. To her, however splendid a palace might be, it was merely a place to live. If the attendants and eunuchs did not mention it so often, she would not even remember the palace’s name.
Although she did not care about such matters, she had always known how to treasure the goodwill of others.
She carefully considered the three names, then smiled and nodded. “They are all lovely. I like every one of them.”
All three carried auspicious meanings. After thinking for a moment, she picked up the brush and circled the characters for “Ruyi.”
“Let us choose this one. In a mortal lifetime, there is no finer hope than for everything to go as one wishes.”
The empress liked it too. She looked at Zhu Yin with heartfelt sincerity. “You are favored by heaven and earth. The chance to live a second life must be heaven’s reward for all you sacrificed for Great Yong. I hope that in this lifetime, everything will go just as you wish.”
Zhu Yin gazed at the young empress and could not help saying to Barbara, “The young emperor is so lucky to have such a wonderful wife. She is so sweet.”
Zhu Yin rather wanted to take a taste.
But that would be inappropriate. She had to restrain herself, or she might frighten the delicate young empress.
She ate a few pastries in the empress’s Qingzheng Hall, then grew sleepy and lay down to rest under the attendants’ care.
And then the emperor came storming in and woke her.
Zhu Yin glared at his excited face.
Unfortunately, the elated emperor did not notice her expression at all. He asked eagerly, “Great-Grandmother, where did this pill come from?”
Of course an emperor would have a thoroughly calculating heart. He was already calling her Great-Grandmother.
The emperor received no answer.
Puzzled, he lowered his head and met Zhu Yin’s icy gaze.
She stared at him with dead eyes and spoke in a sinister tone. “You little brat. If you know enough to call me Great-Grandmother, do you not know that an elder’s sleep is precious and must not be disturbed?”
The emperor: “…”
An elder?
Did she mean the sort of elder who could lift a massive cauldron and swing a grown man like him around with one hand?