Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Su Yiwan’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
She stared in terror at the emperor and empress seated above, her lips trembling. “This consort… This consort does not know what Your Majesty means.”
She was already delicately pretty, and nourishment from the spirit spring had left her skin fair and lustrous, enhancing her beauty further. Now, frightened colorless, her small pale face made her look helpless and touching.
But the emperor felt no urge to cherish the beauty before him. He said indifferently, “You are not Su Yiwan. You are a ghost who died and returned to life in your own body, and you carry a spirit spring with extraordinary properties.”
“The beauty pills you gave Radiant Consort Yu were refined using spirit-spring water.”
The emperor watched Su Yiwan’s face grow paler with every word and asked, “Is that true or not?”
Su Yiwan collapsed weakly to the floor.
She did not understand.
She did not understand why she had been exposed when she had been so careful.
Was it Radiant Consort Yu?
Radiant Consort Yu had truly told the emperor and empress about the beauty pills!
No. She had only given Radiant Consort Yu a vial of pills. She swore she had never revealed the secret of the spirit-spring realm to anyone.
How in the world had it been exposed?
“Attendant Su, We will give you two choices.”
She raised her head blankly.
“The first choice: the imperial city will tolerate no demons or monsters. You will be disposed of as an evil spirit…”
The empress quietly tugged the emperor’s sleeve, telling him that was enough. Look how badly he had frightened the girl.
The emperor cleared his throat and softened his tone a little. “Of course, there is another choice.”
Su Yiwan was only fifteen in this life and had not even reached twenty when she was implicated and died in her last. How could she withstand such intimidation? Her mind was now consumed by panic and helplessness.
When she heard there was another choice, hope appeared in her eyes.
Keeping his face stern, the emperor said, “You will give a full account of your previous life, down to the smallest detail. As for your spirit-spring realm, a rare treasure like that should be presented to the court of Great Yong.”
“We will arrange for people to analyze your spirit-spring water and assess its effects.”
“We will not simply seize what belongs to you. As long as you cooperate, We promise you wealth and honor for the rest of your life.”
…
Zhu Yin sat in the front hall of Bixiao Palace with Barbara in her arms, watching the three young imperial grandchildren fly kites.
The empress dowager was chanting scriptures in the rear hall. Zhu Yin did not enjoy listening.
The three children were close in age. The empress’s eldest princess was five, while the eldest prince and second princess were both four, born only a month apart.
Zhu Yin had visited Bixiao Palace frequently of late and had become familiar with the three little ones.
She seemed to possess a special magic that drew children to her. In particular, she always had Barbara with her, an absolutely irresistible weapon against any youngster.
Who could resist an exquisitely beautiful pink kitten?
Barbara was sharing intelligence with Zhu Yin. There was no need for Zhu Yin to spy on the events in Qingzheng Hall herself when Barbara could watch for her.
It could now appear openly but could not speak in public. To everyone else, the kitten simply seemed excessively talkative, lying in Radiant Consort Yu’s arms and meowing without pause.
Zhu Yin’s mission progress bar was rising rapidly.
The three children finally tired themselves out.
The wet nurses and attendants behind them moved to pick them up. The young prince and second princess obediently let their nurses carry them, but the five-year-old eldest princess refused and insisted on walking by herself.
She always knew her own mind.
Unsurprisingly, all three little humans soon appeared beside Zhu Yin, cupping their faces and gazing longingly at Barbara.
At first, the wet nurses had been uneasy. His Majesty had only these three children, and every one was a treasure of the palace. Nothing could be allowed to happen to them.
Only after the empress dowager personally ordered them to let the imperial grandchildren spend more time with Radiant Consort Yu did they fall silent.
The eldest prince was a month older than the second princess, yet looked a little shorter. He was the smallest of the three.
He asked obediently, “Consort Yu, may I pet Barbara?”
Naturally, Zhu Yin had supposedly “chosen” Barbara’s name. Everyone, including the empress dowager, thought it sounded strange.
But the cat belonged to Zhu Yin.
And the few important people in the palace who had the standing to question what she named her cat all knew her identity as their “Great-Grandmother.”
Thus, no one objected, and Barbara happily retained its own name.
The three children saw nothing strange about the name. After saying it often enough, they even found it rather cute.
Zhu Yin said, “You must ask Barbara whether it wants you to pet it.”
The eldest prince therefore solemnly negotiated with Barbara for permission to pet it.
Zhu Yin found the sight delightful. The young emperor was fortunate. He had an excellent empress in every respect, and not one of his three children was a little terror. All of them were remarkably well behaved.
Even the domineering eldest princess was domineering in a reasonable way.
For instance, she had adored Barbara at first sight–so much that she wanted to own it.
She was the emperor’s only daughter by the empress, and her status could hardly have been more exalted. She was also a child. If she truly wanted something belonging to a Radiant Consort, there were countless ways she could obtain it.
But instead, she opened her little treasury, chose several objects she considered precious, and had people carry them to Zhu Yin to propose a trade.
Zhu Yin naturally refused.
The rejection did not make her give up. Instead, she tried another method.
She found ways to play with Barbara and brought it all sorts of toys and treats that kittens liked.
Barbara complained to its Host that the little princess had secretly asked it many times whether it wanted a new owner and would come live with her instead.
She already understood how to win hearts at such a young age.
Zhu Yin nearly laughed so hard she could not hold her teacup steady. This child was truly interesting.
For example, the eldest prince and second princess were now circling Barbara excitedly, but the eldest princess had remained behind and was studying Zhu Yin with a solemn little face.
Zhu Yin asked, “Why are you looking at me, Princess?”
The little girl in a golden crown replied seriously, “I want to know what is different about Consort Yu. Why do Father, Mother, and Imperial Grandmother all like you so much?”
Zhu Yin said, “Perhaps I was born lovable.”
The eldest princess considered this seriously for a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense.”
She added, “My brother, sister, and I also like Consort Yu very much.”
“Hahaha…” Zhu Yin laughed so loudly that even the empress dowager heard her from the rear hall.
Bixiao Palace was filled with warmth and laughter, but Qingzheng Hall was deathly silent.
The emperor had just confirmed one piece of information from Su Yiwan: Jin and Liang Prefectures would indeed suffer floods at the end of the tenth month.
Su Yiwan’s previous life had actually been rather uneventful, and she knew little about the floods. News traveled poorly in the inner palace. She had only learned a little because His Majesty was in a foul mood at the time and tension had filled the palace.
The news of the floods had only just tightened the emperor’s heart. Fortunately, he thought, he had listened to Great-Grandmother’s warning and taken the matter seriously. Every necessary deployment was already underway, so they would not be caught completely unprepared when the time came.
Soon afterward, however, he received a bolt from the blue.
Su Yiwan’s previous life in the inner palace had been so dull that only a few sentences were needed to reach its end.
And that “end” came when she was implicated in the empress’s miscarriage.
The emperor’s mind buzzed. His emotions plunged from surprise and delight to grief, then utter devastation.
After so many years, the empress would become pregnant again?
Someone would collide with her, and the child would be lost?
The empress would sink into despair, waste away in bed, and die?