Chapter 80
Chapter 80
The emperor and empress came to Ruyi Hall in person.
After dismissing the attendants, the couple knelt before Zhu Yin and paid their solemn respects with a deep ceremonial bow.
Zhu Yin could roughly guess why they had come, but still had to look puzzled.
The emperor truly seemed shaken. He rose while gripping the empress’s hand tightly, sat down, and told Zhu Yin everything, from Su Yiwan’s origins to the information he had pried out of her.
At first, Su Yiwan had tried to conceal a few things. But she was not yet the valiant, peerless victor from the plot who had defeated the entire harem. She was only a young girl, newly reborn after a previous life that had lasted just a few years longer.
After the emperor alternated threats and inducements several times, she confessed everything clearly.
That included her spirit spring, the secrets she knew, and the major events due to occur over the next several years.
Aside from the floods in Liang and Jin Prefectures, nothing shocked and pained the emperor more than the empress’s early death.
In Su Yiwan’s account, Lady Yu from her previous life seemed to have been an ordinary consort with nothing remarkable about her.
The emperor and empress guessed that in Attendant Su’s previous life, Empress Wu had never come to the future.
Then they considered that Zhu Yin had also been the first to mention the empress’s health, prompting the emperor to take it seriously and order the imperial physicians to examine her carefully.
The emperor, unusually emotional at that moment, could not help wondering whether his ancestor had manifested through Lady Yu precisely to spare him, her descendant, a lifetime of regret.
“Fortunately, we learned of this in advance. There is still time to nurse the empress back to health, especially with Attendant Su’s spirit spring…”
Despite what he said, lingering fear still filled the emperor. Zhu Yin noticed that he had not released the empress’s hand once since entering Ruyi Hall.
The observant empress noticed Zhu Yin looking and grew embarrassed. She tried to pull her hand free, but the emperor refused to let go.
Remembering her supposed identity, Zhu Yin offered several remarks such as, “There is no need to thank me,” and, “A harmonious imperial marriage is Great Yong’s blessing.”
The more she spoke, the more she felt she truly sounded like an ancient ancestor. She promptly burst into delighted laughter, leaving the emperor and empress red-faced.
At last, the atmosphere relaxed.
It was time to discuss serious business.
That business was the female lead.
According to Su Yiwan, drinking from her spirit spring could strengthen the body, cleanse the muscles and marrow, extend life, and improve longevity. A small pavilion within the realm also contained several medicinal formulas said to have extraordinary effects when prepared with spirit-spring water.
Given an emperor’s desire for control, he would naturally feel at ease only if such a miraculous object were firmly in his own hands.
But the spirit-spring realm seemed bound to Su Yiwan. No one else could enter it.
The commander of the Black-Robed Guards personally interrogated her and reported that Attendant Su was most likely telling the truth.
That made the question of how to handle the miraculously gifted Attendant Su well worth discussing.
A ruthless ruler could simply arrange for Attendant Su to “die of illness,” confine her in an unknown palace, and turn her into a tool for extracting spirit-spring water.
But the present emperor was benevolent and disdained such methods.
He said, “We promised her wealth and honor for the rest of her life. The empress and I have discussed it. If she agrees, We will grant her a high rank and let her live out her life in luxury within the palace.”
“Great-Grandmother, do you think this plan is feasible?”
Zhu Yin nodded without objection. “You are the emperor. The decision is yours. But any spirit-spring water she produces must be carefully examined before it is used.”
The emperor said, “Naturally.”
It had taken him so long to place his trust in his own ancestor. He certainly did not trust Attendant Su.
Within days, an imperial decree circulated throughout the six palaces.
Attendant Su was elevated to Noble Lady and granted residence in Liuzhu Hall.
Every consort in the palace: ???
Radiant Consort Yu was one thing. Her family background and beauty were both outstanding, and she had won the affection of His Majesty and the empress. However jealous the other consorts might be, they knew they could not compare.
But what did Attendant Su have to justify this?
No one was more indignant than Noble Lady Meng. She had accompanied His Majesty for years before his accession, and only that long-standing affection had earned her the rank of Noble Lady.
Now one newcomer after another was overtaking her.
Attendant Su had neither favor nor children. Why should she receive such a rank?
Yet jealousy was useless, and indignation changed nothing. Of the three people in the harem who could make decisions, the empress refused to involve herself, while they could not even gain an audience with the empress dowager.
The emperor had few high-ranking consorts. In his view, Noble Lady was just right: inconspicuous enough, yet sufficient to provide Su Yiwan with wealth and honor.
To his surprise, Su Yiwan herself was dissatisfied.
She did not object to the rank of Noble Lady. She objected to still ranking below Radiant Consort Yu.
She did not know that the person inside Radiant Consort Yu had also changed. She only remembered the humiliation she associated with Lady Yu in her previous life.
She had thought that with the spirit spring in her hands and His Majesty’s promise, even if she could not surpass Radiant Consort Yu, surely she could stand as her equal.
Yet she had begun life again and even exposed the secret of her spirit spring, only to remain one rank lower.
She dared not say so openly, but Black-Robed Guards watched her without interruption around the clock. Word of her resentment soon reached the emperor.
“She wants to stand as Radiant Consort Yu’s equal?” The emperor found the idea absurd and muttered, “Neither the empress nor I would dare think that.”
Naturally, it was impossible. The emperor and empress were determined that their ancestor should suffer no grievance. How could they permit Su Yiwan, who harbored resentment against her, to outrank her?
Besides, there was also the empress dowager.
Ever since learning Zhu Yin’s true identity, the empress dowager often summoned her to Bixiao Palace to discuss the Dao. She was deeply dissatisfied with Zhu Yin’s lowly rank as a mere Radiant Consort and considered it an intolerable injustice.
Only after Zhu Yin repeatedly insisted that she was content, wanted a peaceful life, and would become a target for everyone if raised to a higher rank did the empress dowager abandon the idea of issuing a decree.
In the tenth month, the officials dispatched by the emperor to Jin and Liang Prefectures reported that an unusual deluge had continued for several days without stopping.
By the end of the month, every low-lying area in the two prefectures had flooded.
Because preparations were already in place, imperial commissioners took charge of both prefectures, relocated the people in advance, protected their property, and arranged relief grain and supplies well ahead of time.
The flood that had killed and injured countless people in the plot caused only minimal losses.
When the sky finally cleared, good news also came from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Using the miraculous spring water as a catalyst and supplementing it with several medicinal ingredients, the physicians had developed a gentle pill for nourishing the body.
After repeated trials, the health-preserving pills were presented to the empress.
The empress grew visibly healthier with every passing day.
The emperor was overjoyed, and rewards flowed into Liuzhu Hall like water.
He fulfilled his promise. Not only did he ensure Su Yiwan a lifetime of peace, wealth, and honor, but every contribution made by her spirit spring earned her additional rewards.
The first batch of health-preserving pills went to the empress. The emperor gave the second batch to the empress dowager and the elderly senior officials at court.
Whether the ailment came from an aging body or an old wound suffered by a military officer in youth, the pills proved remarkably effective.
Histories written by later generations recorded that during Great Yong’s Shenyou era, the dynasty truly seemed blessed by the gods, just as the era name proclaimed.
The sovereign was wise, and ruler and ministers worked in harmony. Both the emperor and his civil and military officials enjoyed exceptional longevity. Together, they ushered in the most prosperous and abundant golden age since Great Yong’s founding.