Empress Dowager? The Emperor’s only bloodline?
Magistrate Liu felt as though half the sky above him had suddenly collapsed. He had expected her to be someone of high standing, but never this high!
Of course only someone of such rank could possibly possess the Nine-Dragon Imperial Seal.
Liu Fuhai’s mind was in utter turmoil. He could never have imagined that the “bastard” he had abused was actually a child of the imperial bloodline!
And if Jiang Wantang had already shared the Emperor’s bed, why had she been living in such wretched conditions here in Huzhou?
To have coveted a woman meant for the Emperor, and to have gravely wounded the imperial heir…
It was over. Everything was over.
Father and son both knew they faced certain death. They stopped struggling and were dragged away.
Magistrate Liu and Liu Fuhai were sentenced to die by a thousand cuts. Everyone else in Huzhou who had mistreated Yi Yi and her mother was likewise punished.
All the filth and wrongdoing in the region was thoroughly settled before the Empress Dowager and her party prepared to return to the capital.
Originally, it was thought that Yi Yi’s severe injuries would delay their journey, but the little girl’s body recovered far faster than anyone expected. She was already lively and full of boundless energy, running about from dawn till dusk.
Holding the chubby child in her arms, the Empress Dowager spoke to her about the journey ahead: “Little Yi Yi, would you like to go back to the palace with Grandmother tomorrow to meet your father?”
“Are you eager to see him?”
Yi Yi blinked her big eyes and broke into a sweet smile. “Yes, I want to.”
She had never seen her father before. Her mother had told her he was very handsome and Yi Yi liked all things beautiful.
All the other children in the neighborhood had fathers, and she wanted one too. Hers must surely be the most handsome of all!
“Grandma, why doesn’t Father come to us?”
Was it because he didn’t like her?
Hearing her question, the Empress Dowager’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Your father is very ill. He is waiting for our Yi Yi to save him.”
Sensing the sadness in her voice, Yi Yi patted the Empress Dowager’s neck gently with her chubby hand. “Don’t cry, Grandma. Baby will save him.”
She remembered what the wide-mouthed little beast had told her that she had the power to heal her father.
Early the next morning, the Empress Dowager and her entourage set off for the capital.
Anxious to return, they rode hard and fast, covering what should have been a ten-day journey in only eight days.
Zichen Palace
Here lay Emperor Jing, motionless upon his bed, surrounded by those who feared for his life.
The air inside was thick with the sharp scent of medicinal herbs, mixed with an oppressive stillness that felt almost like death itself.
A group of imperial physicians pored over ancient texts, scribbling prescriptions furiously, their faces glistening with sweat from worry.
Prince Jing watched them and could barely contain his rage. “Useless! All of you are useless!”
“His Majesty has lain unconscious for a full fortnight! Are you all eating your salaries for nothing? Can none of you find a cure?”
Prince Jing had grown up alongside the Emperor and had always looked up to his elder brother. He simply could not accept the possibility that Emperor Jing might die especially when the Emperor had not yet left a single heir behind.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, he murmured to himself, “Perhaps… there really is a child.”
Wasn’t the Empress Dowager away searching for that very child?
It was said that the Nation-Protecting Divine Beast had guided her, and that the child alone could save the Emperor.
Prince Jing found it hard to believe. If the entire Imperial Academy of Medicine and the greatest healers in the land were helpless against this strange illness, what good could a mere toddler possibly do?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a eunuch’s high-pitched announcement echoed from outside: “The Empress Dowager has arrived!”
Travel-worn and weary, the Empress Dowager carried Yi Yi into the hall. Neither had stopped to freshen up; they had come straight from their carriage.
Yi Yi was fascinated by this grand room, turning her head this way and that to take everything in. So many shiny, sparkling things caught her eye she reached out eagerly to grab them. Afraid she might slip and fall, the Empress Dowager set her gently on the floor.
At once, the little girl scurried forward on her short, plump legs until she reached Prince Jing. She held out both her round hands and called out, “Carry baby, please!”
This uncle was so handsome! Yi Yi loved being held by good-looking people after all, she was a Glutton beast with a very keen eye for beauty.
From the moment Yi Yi entered, Prince Jing had not been able to take his eyes off her.
The reason was simple: this little bundle of chubby cheeks and bright eyes looked exactly like the Emperor!
She was a perfect miniature version of Dongfang Mo as a child only a girl.
Prince Jing had harbored doubts about whether the child was truly his brother’s, but one look was all it took to dispel every suspicion.
When he remained frozen in place, the little girl, who barely reached his knees, grew impatient. “Hurry! Carry baby!”
She gave his leg two firm pats surprisingly strong for such a small child making Prince Jing wince in pain.
He lifted her into his arms and carried her deeper into the inner chamber to see her father.
News of the Empress Dowager’s return, bringing a child into Zichen Palace, spread quickly among the imperial consorts.
“Damn it! Which vixen has seduced His Majesty and given birth to an heir?”
Consort Liu was in a towering rage, smashing ornaments and vases across her chambers.
Every courtier knew that Emperor Jing Dongfang Mo was a man of cold and stern temperament distant from his ministers and unmoved by public sentiment, a true tyrant in all but name.
Though he ruled over thousands of women in his harem, he had never once favored or visited any of them.
Once, a consort had tried to approach him too closely, only to be run through with a blade and carried out of the hall.
Consort Liu was herself a woman of breathtaking beauty, the most dazzling in the entire palace. She had always believed she stood the best chance of winning the Emperor’s heart only to be outdone by some wild fox from outside the palace walls.
“Is this child a prince or a princess?”
In the six years since Emperor Jing had ascended the throne, he had never fathered a single child. This new arrival could not be allowed to remain.
And as for that low-born woman…
She would never let anyone stand above her.
“Your Ladyship, word is that it is a princess,” replied a trembling maid, kneeling on the floor.
Hearing it was only a daughter, Consort Liu let out a long breath and felt her temper subside. “Have the healers from the Divine Medicine Valley arrived yet?”
Now that the Emperor lay gravely ill, if the experts she had summoned could cure him, the position of Empress would be well within her grasp. Why should she fear a mere wild fox from the countryside?
If His Majesty had truly wanted the woman, he would have brought her into the palace long ago. Clearly, she had never meant much to him.
A confident smile spread across Consort Liu’s face. “Come. We shall go to Zichen Palace.”