Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 337 Confusing the King’s Heart

Wang Chengxi is not on duty tonight and will not be staying at the Zichen Palace.

Startled awake from his dream by his disciple, he stumbled and scrambled into the Zichen Palace, nearly losing a shoe in the process, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, a miracle has occurred... the sacred flame is burning in the sky!"

Emperor Chongzhao was troubled by his illness and the chaos in the western frontier.

After nightfall, the cough worsened, causing a feeling of tightness in the chest and making it difficult to fall asleep.

Upon hearing this joyous news, he abruptly sat up from his imperial couch, his cloudy eyes filled with disbelief.

"really?"

“Absolutely true! Your Majesty. This old servant saw it with my own eyes…”

Emperor Chongzhao's heart skipped a beat. After hearing Wang Chengxi recount the "miracle" again, he abruptly threw off the brocade quilt.

"Quickly, help me change my clothes."

Surrounded by Wang Chengxi and a group of eunuchs, Emperor Chongzhao strode into Hanzhang Hall.

The palace maid stepped forward to pay her respects.

He was about to go inside to report when he raised his hand to stop him.

"Keep quiet. Do not disturb the celestial signs."

Emperor Chongzhao walked with his hands behind his back into the spacious front courtyard of Hanzhang Hall and looked around.

The towering Wangshu Pavilion behind the main hall has now become the most eye-catching spot in the entire palace.

Beneath the eaves, Tuya, dressed in pure white, her robes fluttering, appeared like a snow-capped mountain goddess, detached from the world. Before her, a massive prayer flag, over ten feet long, moved without wind…

At the center of the banner, a dazzling white light swirled and danced, as if it were alive, pure and unlike any ordinary fire…

Strangely, the flames rose but did not spread; upon closer inspection, the blazing white light faintly outlined a strange pattern of flowing scripture...

At the same time, Tuya's melodious and ethereal chanting, carried by the night breeze, clearly reached the ears of those who looked up, as if it came from the heavens above...

Emperor Chongzhao frowned slightly. "What did Consort Jing recite?"

Wang Chengxi bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

The accompanying officials from the Court of State Ceremonial immediately stepped forward, kowtowed, and reported back loudly.

"Your Majesty, the translation of the Xiz language is: The sacred fire leads the way, and the purple aura descends from the east. Auspicious omens abound, and Heaven's mandate is bestowed upon us. May the calamities of war be quelled, and may the nation's prosperity last forever..."

"The sacred flame guides the way, and auspicious purple clouds descend from the east?"

"To eliminate the scourge of war and ensure the eternal prosperity of the nation?"

"A miracle...is it really a miracle...has it happened?"

Emperor Chongzhao muttered to himself.

The scene before him, which was beyond human capability, strongly challenged his preconceived notions.

His fingers gripping the railing tightened suddenly, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"Wang Chengxi, come with me to Wangshu Pavilion for a look."

As soon as the words fell——

The eunuch on duty at Fengxian Hall rushed over, his face ashen.

"His Majesty--"

He fell to his knees with a thud, touching his head to the ground, and spoke incoherently due to his extreme shock.

"Your Majesty, in the Fengxian Hall... in the Fengxian Hall, the pair of bronze crane lamps that burn eternally before the ancestral tablet of the founding emperor... they... they started turning on their own... the crane heads... the crane heads all turned... towards the Jiaofang Hall..."

"What?" Emperor Chongzhao was shocked.

Heavenly fire spontaneously combusts, and bronze cranes spin on their own?
These two unusual phenomena are no coincidence—

Emperor Chongzhao suddenly remembered the report from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau a few days ago: "Auspicious signs of auxiliary stars are appearing beside the Ziwei Emperor Star, and their light is gradually increasing, indicating that auspicious omens are about to arrive"...

Emperor Chongzhao felt a chill run down his spine. Just as he was about to take a step, a young palace maid from Jiaofang Palace came running over, stumbling and staggering.

She was very nervous and knelt down before the emperor, trembling like a leaf.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Empress, upon hearing of the strange phenomenon at Wangshu Pavilion, was worried about Your Majesty and the fate of the nation. She forced herself to get up to pray for blessings, but fainted as soon as she stepped off the bed..."

Emperor Chongzhao's brow remained unchanged, and his expression showed little emotion.

"Where is the imperial physician? Summon the imperial physician over there."

The palace maid stammered, her voice urgent, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician...the imperial physician says that Her Majesty...is pregnant! Five days ago, when he took her pulse, he said that her blood and qi were deficient and there were no signs. But today she suddenly became pregnant. The imperial physician...says it's a strange thing. He begs Your Majesty to come to the palace..."

Is it a pregnancy pulse?

It just appeared out of nowhere?
Emperor Chongzhao was slightly taken aback.

"Could it be this pregnancy...?"

A thought flashed into my mind like lightning.

Could it be that the unborn child in the Empress's womb is an auspicious sign that has been born at the right time?
So, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, and a bronze crane pointed the way?

Was he here to stabilize the nation's fate and save the country? A surge of passion welled up in his heart. He disregarded his imperial dignity, pushed aside Wang Chengxi's support, and strode towards the Jiaofang Palace.
-
Inside the Jiaofang Palace, the lights were bright, and people were in a flurry of activity.

As the emperor stepped into the palace, he saw Empress Xie being supported by Zhou Mama and two senior palace maids. She was pale-faced and half-reclined on a soft couch, one hand weakly stroking her lower abdomen, her brows furrowed, and she looked full of guilt.

Upon seeing the emperor, she struggled to get up.

"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects..."

"Your Majesty, lie down quickly, lest you disturb the fetus..."

He rushed to the bedside, grasped Empress Xie's hand tightly, his eyes surging with excitement and hope, as well as a kind of awe of destiny that even an emperor could not escape.

"You don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"

The emperor's voice carried an urgency he himself was unaware of.

Seeing this, Granny Zhou knelt on the ground, her voice choked with sobs: "Your Majesty...the Empress has been unable to sleep these past few nights, constantly worrying about the unrest in the Western Frontier and Your Majesty's health and well-being...hearing that there was a strange light at Wangshu Pavilion, she insisted on going there in person to pray for blessings...we couldn't stop her no matter what..."

Emperor Chongzhao waved his hand, his gaze fixed on Empress Xie's face.

After examining him for a moment, he suddenly turned his head to face the kneeling Physician Liu.

"From this day forward, everything needed for the Jiaofang Palace shall be procured immediately. Imperial tribute shall be provided to the Empress first, and the Empress's private funds shall be freely withdrawn. The Imperial Physicians shall be on duty in shifts and shall not leave the palace to ensure the safety of the Empress and her child..."

Physician Liu was filled with trepidation and bowed deeply to Emperor Chongzhao.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Heaven blesses the Great Liang! Your Majesty is in good health, but the newly formed fetus is easily disturbed, causing temporary imbalances in your qi and blood... We will certainly keep watch day and night, daring not to slacken in the slightest..."

"You failed to properly diagnose the pulse and nearly harmed the imperial fetus. I have not punished you, yet you have resorted to flattery and sophistry?" Emperor Chongzhao's voice suddenly turned stern as he pointed at Physician Liu.

"If the Empress and my son suffer even the slightest harm, you will all come to me with your heads!"

"Your Majesty..." Empress Xie managed a weak smile, her fingertips pressing coldly against his hand.

"It is my incompetence that has caused Your Majesty such worry. The imperial physicians have always served you diligently and without fail... Perhaps it is because I have been worrying too much lately that my pulse is disordered... Your Majesty must not be angered by me and harm your health..."

"Empress, quickly lie down and rest, don't trouble yourself any further. I will take care of everything..."

Emperor Chongzhao gently patted the Empress's hand, his voice filled with an unprecedented tenderness.

"They are fed by the emperor and receive the emperor's favor; they should be completely blameless. Such negligence and disrespect towards you deserves severe punishment from me..."

Empress Xie shook her head, her brows furrowed, and sighed softly.

Emperor Chongzhao asked, "What's on the Empress's mind?"

Empress Xie's eyes were filled with tears, and she sighed again.

"Though I live deep within the palace, I have heard of the events in the Western Frontier. The old ministers and the new nobles hold differing views, and the princes and princesses are often at odds... The court is in turmoil, and Your Majesty is troubled. As the Empress, I am truly uneasy and have come up with this foolish suggestion..."

She raised her eyes and fixed her gaze on the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhao asked, "Tell me about it."

Empress Xie took the emperor's hand and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, the auspicious signs that have appeared today may be a warning from Heaven—that the people of our Great Liang should spread kindness and harmony, transform hostility with benevolence and righteousness, and gather blessings with good intentions, so that Heaven and Earth may take pity on us, nurture the imperial heir, and ensure the longevity of the nation."

Her words were tactful and to the point.

Yet it precisely touched the emperor's sensitive heartstrings.

He needed this "auspicious omen" to reassure people's hearts, and even more so, he needed the divine mandate it brought to alleviate his fear of the gloom of the old mausoleum and the wavering of his own authority.

In particular, the affection and dependence in Empress Xie's eyes were more genuine and tender than ever before.

After many years of marriage and mutual respect, deep-seated estrangement exists between them, making moments of warmth rare.

For a moment, Emperor Chongzhao was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and a sense of pride that "Heaven's mandate is in my hands" arose spontaneously.

"The Empress is kind-hearted and thoughtful—"

He spoke slowly, suppressing a few coughs.

“I have been worrying about the affairs of the state day and night lately, and my health is not as good as before. It is appropriate to… accumulate some merit and virtue, take care of my body and mind, and protect the imperial heir.”

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Wang Chengxi, who was standing to one side.

"Drafting an imperial edict—"

Wang Chengxi immediately stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

Emperor Chongzhao pondered briefly and then dictated the words clearly.

"By imperial decree, the Empress is adorned with auspicious omens, a sign of Heaven's blessing upon the Great Liang and the protection of our ancestors. I am moved by Heaven's will and have compassion for my officials, so I hereby issue this decree—to pardon Princess Wenjia's punishment of confinement, ordering her to reflect on her mistakes and forbidding her from discussing state affairs again."

"The Lu family...is a descendant of loyal martyrs, whose contributions to the nation are immense. Now, in the investigation of Lu You'an's alleged rebellion, doubts remain. The confinement of the Lu residence is hereby lifted, and all Lu family members and their subordinates shall temporarily return to their residence. Without my personal edict, no one may move or interrogate them! The case will be decided after the truth is revealed."

The candlelight flickered inside the hall.

Reflected in Empress Xie's warm eyes.

She smiled weakly and bowed, leaning on the couch.

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless, a blessing for the loyal and virtuous of Great Liang, and a fortune for the nation and its people. Your Majesty, I thank you for your benevolence and for bestowing blessings upon our unborn child..."

　Li Zhao: Xue Ping'an is indeed skilled. If only this skill were the same as mine...

　　Xue Sui: ? ? Your Highness wants me to give you a handy move?
　　Li Zhao: He's got some skills. If all else fails, having an affair will do.

　　(End of this chapter)