Youthful Glory

That night, everyone in the palace was destined for a sleepless night, and Ming Tan also slept poorly.

Early the next morning, as dawn barely broke, Ming Tan quietly left the palace with Jiang Xu as soon as the gates opened. The palace was in chaos, and having finally extricated herself, she had no intention of getting involved again.

Within a few days, news spread from the palace that Imperial Concubine Jia had passed away.

The Emperor issued an edict: Imperial Concubine Jia had contributed by bearing a royal heir, and thus she was granted the honor of a Consort’s funeral.

She had given birth to a young prince, been posthumously promoted to the rank of Concubine, and was buried with the rites of a Consort. Naturally, the Du family had no complaints. In fact, they sought to leverage this honor to secure a position in the Ministry of Rites for her half-brother. Though the Emperor disliked such opportunism, as compensation to the Du family, he still granted the request.

When Ming Tan heard Jiang Xu recount this, she felt deeply unsettled.

No matter how noble one’s background, once sent into the palace, one was destined to be a mere pawn for exchanging interests. Once those interests were secured, whether the pawn lived or died seemed of little consequence to the family.

As for the young prince born to Imperial Concubine Jia, the Emperor appeared inclined to place him under the care of Consort Lan.

This was indeed a good thing. Consort Lan had always been aloof and rarely mingled with others. Raising a young prince would at least alleviate some of the loneliness of the inner palace. Moreover, with a high-ranking mother-figure, the young prince’s life in the palace would be much easier.

As the mastermind behind all these events, Shufei naturally met a grim fate. First, she was confined to Qiyun Palace, forbidden to leave. Later, her personal maid voluntarily sought out the Empress’s palace and confessed to the malicious deeds Shufei had committed against other consorts and royal heirs over the years.

Though Shufei had always appeared gentle and virtuous, never openly competing for favor, it turned out she had orchestrated most of the major and minor incidents in the palace over the years.

As the Empress investigated and presented each case, Emperor Chengkang’s expression grew darker with every word. He had never imagined that his seemingly kind-hearted companion could be so ruthlessly cruel!

Originally, out of lingering affection, he had planned only to demote her to the rank of Meiren and banish her to the cold palace. But now, it seemed even that would be too lenient.

“This vile woman deserves death ten thousand times over!” Emperor Chengkang slammed the table and stood. “Attendants, hear this decree: Shufei has harmed consorts, plotted against royal heirs, and sown chaos in the inner palace with countless evil deeds! From this day forth, she is stripped of her title, reduced to a commoner, and granted a white silk cord to atone for her sins!”

Shufei seemed to have long anticipated this outcome. When the white silk arrived, she calmly dismissed her attendants.

Half a quarter-hour later, the sound of a toppled stool came from the room. When the eunuchs pushed the door open, she lay lifeless, her eyes closed.

With Shufei’s execution, her father and brother—who had remained unscathed due to her pregnancy—could no longer escape blame. Each name on the bribery ledger was pursued, with her father and brother bearing the heaviest punishment: stripped of their positions, their homes confiscated, and exiled to the borderlands, forbidden to return to the capital for three generations.

With this matter concluded and the Emperor’s wrath witnessed, the palace finally quieted for a time. The consorts adhered strictly to their duties, and even chance encounters to vie for favor became rare occurrences.

With the palace at peace, the outside world also settled. Ming Tan was delighted to avoid entering the palace for many days. In her leisure time, she accompanied Zhou Jingwan in embroidering her dowry.

After the Lunar New Year, Zhou Jingwan and Lu Ting’s wedding would soon be on the agenda.

Traditionally, the bride and groom should not meet before the wedding. But Lu Ting was never one for conventions—during the New Year, he visited the Zhou residence three times to pay his respects.

Zhou Jingwan had no choice but to “accidentally” run into him once in the residence, lest he return for a fourth or fifth visit. If word got out, it would be utterly laughable.After hearing Zhou Jingwan's complaints, Bai Minmin, who was sorting out silk threads beside them, teased, "Don't act coy when you've already got the best deal. Everyone knows Commander Lu scoured every bookstore and publishing house in the capital to marry the talented Miss Zhou, buying up ancient books and paintings, even snatching away their prized collections."

Ming Tan didn’t miss the chance to join in the jest. "Not just the bookstores in the capital—Commander Lu even raided the imperial library! Last time I entered the palace, the Emperor said to my husband... well, it went like this—ahem!"

She set down her needle, cleared her throat, and imitated Emperor Chengkang’s tone: "This Lu Ting has no sense of restraint. I told him to pick whatever he wanted from the library, and he actually took me at my word! Not only did he pick for himself, but he even asked the eunuchs which ones were the rarest!"

"Is that true?"

"Absolutely."

"I can't—this is too hilarious! How can Commander Lu be this amusing?" Bai Minmin clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

Ming Tan covered her lips with her hand, giggling along.

Truth be told, her imitation wasn’t exaggerated—she’d just omitted the most crucial line.

After his grumbling, Emperor Chengkang had even glanced suspiciously at Jiang Xu and asked, "He didn’t learn this from you, did he?"

At the time, she’d been so embarrassed she nearly wished the ground would swallow her whole.

Zhou Jingwan, already thin-skinned, flushed crimson under their teasing, equally mortified and wishing she could vanish into the earth.

Flustered, she suddenly softened her tone, as if struck by a thought, and redirected the topic to Bai Minmin. "You’ve got the nerve to tease me when you can’t even embroider a handkerchief properly! What will Her Highness the Empress think of you?"

"I’m not marrying Her Highness, and besides, the Empress said she likes my cheerful and lively nature. Isn’t that good enough?" Bai Minmin declared shamelessly. "And as for Zhang Huaiyu—why should I bother embroidering a handkerchief for him?"

Zhou Jingwan had been watching her closely and suddenly smirked, her tone turning teasing. "Oh? Who was it that kept complaining how the Heir Zhang paled in comparison to Second Young Master Shu’s grace and refused to marry him? Yet here you are, worrying whether the Empress approves and whether you should embroider a handkerchief for the Heir Zhang. Seems someone’s being quite the hypocrite!"

Bai Minmin paused, realizing she’d been tricked into revealing her thoughts.

She set down the silk threads and reached to tickle Zhou Jingwan’s delicate neck. "Oh, Zhou Jingwan, you’re not even married yet, and you’ve already learned how to trap people with words? That scoundrel Lu Ting must have corrupted you!"

Zhou Jingwan, though ticklish herself, knew Bai Minmin was just as vulnerable and quickly retaliated.

Ming Tan happily watched them tussle, chiming in now and then to egg Bai Minmin on or side with Zhou Jingwan. Just as she was thoroughly enjoying her role as instigator, the two suddenly turned on her, dredging up embarrassing stories from before her own wedding—then ganged up to tickle her mercilessly. She had no one to blame but herself and was soon begging for mercy between fits of laughter.

—

The Lantern Festival passed, and soon the first month of the year came to an end.

Though the turmoil in the palace had settled, the bloodshed during the festival was hardly an auspicious sign.

No sooner had the month ended than the Chief Astrologer urgently reported unusual celestial phenomena to Emperor Chengkang. According to his observations, the southern constellations had been unusually active—first, a guest star entered the Well constellation, followed by a meteor shower raining down upon the southern skies.

Bowing deeply, the Chief Astrologer cautioned, "Your Majesty, the twenty-eight mansions are symbols of the sovereign, and the myriad stars represent the people. If stars fall in great numbers, it foretells the people losing their place in the world."

The south...

Emperor Chengkang frowned in contemplation.Before he could ponder further, news arrived from Yuzhou that the Daoist priest Yin Chuan had been spotted in the western regions of Yu recently. When conversing with people, he had uttered a prophecy: "The Dragon King of the Sea emerges. Worshipping gods with jade brings calamity."

Like Master Yun Yan, Daoist Yin Chuan was a renowned figure during Emperor Gaozong's reign, who once praised him as "possessing extraordinary foresight, able to predict events before they occur."

Having wandered the land and lived in seclusion for many years, he had not made any prophecies since Emperor Gaozong's passing. Now, even Emperor Chengkang, who did not believe in spirits and deities, had to take this prophecy seriously.

That night, Emperor Chengkang urgently summoned Jiang Xu to the palace.

Jiang Xu said, "Daoist Yin Chuan is not one to fabricate mysteries. During Emperor Gaozong's time, he predicted the breach of the E River, the locust plague in Chong County, and the invasion of the southern barbarians."

Emperor Chengkang nodded gravely. "That is precisely why I called for you."

Jiang Xu approached the imperial desk and stood shoulder to shoulder with the emperor. He picked up a brush and swiftly wrote the somewhat intricate character "Ling" on paper. Then, both fell into silence for a long while.

"Worshipping gods with jade"—this referred to Ling, Lingzhou.

Earlier, when the Imperial Astronomer had mentioned the south, Emperor Chengkang had wondered if something might happen at Tong Port, which was about to open for trade. Now, connecting it with Daoist Yin Chuan's prophecy, he realized the trouble might be in Lingzhou.

"The Dragon King of the Sea emerges—what do you make of it?" Emperor Chengkang asked again.

Jiang Xu replied calmly, "The Dragon King of the Sea emerging could only mean rebellion in Lingzhou, pirate uprisings, or... a tsunami."

Given the current situation, unless the Su family had lost their minds and grown tired of their comfortable lives, they would not recklessly act.

Pirate uprisings... they existed during Emperor Gaozong's time. But by the previous dynasty, Lingzhou Port had become extremely prosperous, maritime trade had matured, and pirates were rare. Even if they appeared, they were quelled after a few disturbances, never amounting to much.

So if it was a tsunami...

After a long silence, Emperor Chengkang suddenly said, "I would rather it be the Su family rebelling or pirates attacking."

The devastation of a tsunami would stretch for thousands of miles, especially in a crucial place like Lingzhou. The casualties could number in the millions, with people displaced, disasters multiplying, and chaos inevitable.

"What did the Empress Dowager say?" Jiang Xu asked.

Emperor Chengkang paused before answering, "I sent the head of the Imperial Astronomers to Shoukang Palace and had Daoist Yin Chuan's prophecy delivered as well. The Empress Dowager's response was just four words: 'sheer nonsense.'"

Lingzhou had never experienced a tsunami before. If someone claimed it might happen now, Empress Dowager Su would never believe it. Even with Daoist Yin Chuan's words, she would likely suspect Emperor Chengkang had coaxed the Daoist out of seclusion to use the prophecy as leverage to force her to relinquish Lingzhou Port.

Even if she did believe it, Empress Dowager Su would do nothing.

If a tsunami were imminent, Lingzhou would have to close its port. Given the current daily volume of maritime trade, even a single day's closure would bring immeasurable losses. Moreover, evacuating the people of Lingzhou... Lingzhou was no small place. Where would its entire population go, and how? What would become of the Su family?

The implications were too vast—a single move would affect the whole. She could only choose not to believe it and pray this was merely Emperor Chengkang's ploy to reclaim Lingzhou.

Though this outcome was foreseeable, Jiang Xu still fell silent upon hearing it.