In the General’s Mansion, General Dai, who had received the honey pomelo tea as a reward from the palace, was enjoying it with his wife, main concubine, daughter-in-law, daughter, granddaughter-in-law, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson. At that moment they received news of an incident at the Marquis Hengyuan residence. The messenger delivering the news was Dai Mingge, the fourth son, who now served as the Deputy Minister of Justice.

General Dai exclaimed in surprise, “The Emperor has ordered the Marquis Hengyuan residence to be surrounded?”

Dai Mingge replied, “Yes. The Emperor commanded General Xiao to lead the Imperial Guards there personally. The news from Dai Jiang is that Wei Hongzheng went to Yongxiu County and captured Shao Yunan. He even injured him and forced him to reveal the recipes for the new tea and wine. Fortunately, Dai Jiang, Kangning, and Shao Yunan’s husband, Wang Shijing, arrived in time to rescue Shao Yunan and capture Wei Hongzheng.” 

“However, Dai Jiang sent word that the Emperor’s anger seems not only because of this incident, but also because Wei Hongzheng said something disrespectful. As for what was said, Dai Jiang doesn’t know. Shao Yunan urged him not to ask and said that the Emperor should personally interrogate. Only Elder Weng and Grand Secretary Guo were present in the East Hall at that time. Dai Jiang said the Emperor was furious and even called for the imperial physician. The Emperor immediately ordered the tongues of Wei Hongzheng and his associates to be cut out. It seems the words must have been extremely offensive.”

Upon hearing this, the others asked anxiously, “Is the Emperor alright?”

Dai Mingge shook his head, “He’s just upset.”

General Dai grabbed his cane from the side and stood up, “I’ll go to the palace.” Dai Mingge immediately stepped forward to support his father. “Father, shouldn’t you let the palace handle this matter?” General Dai said, “I’ll first go to the palace and find out what has caused the Emperor’s anger.”

Dai Yingru, who was married and living with her husband at the General’s Mansion, lamented, “Wei Chunlin is such an old scoundrel. I feel sorry for Wei Hongru and Wei Hongwen. Those two brothers are actually not bad.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the senior Madame Dai retorted, “You, girl! You’re married, yet you still speak without restraint.” General Dai’s main concubine, Bai Suyan, who was also the younger brother of the senior Madame Dai, indulgently said, “Yingru has a spirited personality. She’s not speaking without restraint… besides our Xin is only thirteen; it’s far from her marriage.”

Dai Yingru immediately laughed and said, “Still, Little Father loves me the most.” The old lady glared at her own brother, “You just spoil them.” Bai Suyan just chuckled.

Dai Yingru’s husband was an orphan and had been away at war for years. No one in the General’s Mansion felt at ease with her living alone so even after marriage, they chose to let her stay in the mansion. Both Dai Yingru and her husband Wei Ye also had no intention of moving out. Almost all the males from the General’s Mansion were stationed at the border, except for the fourth son Dai Mingge and the young children who remained at the mansion. The eldest son, second son, and two elder grandsons were all stationed at the border.

After the two ‘ladies’ finished speaking, General Dai finally said, “Suyan, come with me to the palace. You can also check on the Empress.”

“Alright.” Bai Suyan held the title of First-Rank General’s Main Concubine and her title was paired with First-Rank Bestowed General’s Lady for Madame Bai Shuting. General Dai had married a brother and sister as his wives and had no other concubines, which had been a topic of much talk and praise in the past.

Just then, the steward rushed in anxiously. “Master! Young Master! Madam! Something serious has happened! The Empress is experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomiting blood! The Imperial Tutor has instructed us to send people to the palace immediately!”

“What?!” The senior Madame Dai’s body swayed and Dai Yingru quickly stepped forward to support her mother. General Dai immediately said, “Suyan, Mingge, come with me to the palace. The rest of you stay at the mansion and wait for news! Prepare the carriage at once!”

“Yes!”

Still caring about the matter of the Hengyuan Marquis, Elder General Dai got on the carriage as fast as he could, Dai Mingge was afraid that he would fall, holding his own father on one side and his little father on the other as the three of them rushed to the palace.

The matter of Jingyu Palace quickly spread out of the palace, spreading to the various families in the capital. Inside Jingyu Palace at that moment, Emperor Yongming was on the brink of madness. When the Empress showed an appetite, Emperor Yongming initially felt some relief. However, as he arrived at the Empress’ palace and sat with the Empress, he began to experience intense abdominal pain. Before the imperial physicians could even arrive, the Empress’s body began to exude black beads of blood. Emperor Yongming was so frantic that he almost spewed blood himself.

Inside Jingyu Palace the Empress, Dai Qiyu, was clutching his stomach in agonizing pain on the bed. Two court physicians were holding him down, preventing him from hurting himself further. The bed was stained with blood and a continuous stream of blood flowed from beneath the Empress’ body.

“Release me! Release me! If you don’t release me, I’ll exterminate your entire clan! Qiyu! Qiyu!” The Empress didn’t want Emperor Yongming to see him in this state, so Dai Jiang stopped him, and the imperial physicians also disagreed with the Emperor entering. Emperor Yongming was skilled in martial arts and it was quite a struggle for Dai Jiang and the seven or eight imperial guards to prevent him from injuring himself.

Elder Weng who was waiting for news outside the Jingyu Palace couldn’t sit still when he heard the commotion from inside. However, since it was the Empress’ sleeping quarters, even though he was an elderly official, he couldn’t enter casually. The activity within Jingyu Palace couldn’t be hidden and now the entire imperial harem was awaiting updates from it. While there were few anxious people, there were more people who looked forward to it.

In Minghua Palace, Consort Jing sat restlessly, sending her personal maids and eunuchs repeatedly to inquire about the situation near Jingyu Palace. Consort Jing, Chu Yue, was raising Emperor Yongming’s only imperial son. Moreover, since the Empress was male, he had always been lenient towards the women in the harem, which were already few in number. 

It could be said that as long as Consort Jing didn’t cause trouble, she was the concubine in the imperial harem second only to the Empress. If Emperor Yongming had remained without an imperial son, she might even become the future Empress Dowager, so If anyone in the palace would be delighted to see the Empress die early, it was Consort Jing.

Emperor Yongming’s harem consisted of only two consorts and one noblewoman, along with the former Empress Duan who had been relegated to the cold palace. Concubine Qi, who bore Emperor Yongming’s only imperial son, had passed away. This left Consort Jing and the other consort, Consort Zhuang. 

Consort Zhuang had given birth to a daughter, but she was like a transparent presence in the harem. She had been given to Emperor Yongming as a reward by the previous Emperor Kangsheng, after the selection of beauties. Consort Jing, Chu Yue, had been selected for Emperor Mu Rongkun by Empress Min, his mother, who was alive at the time, when he was crowned the Crown Prince.

Consort Duan was appointed as the Crown Prince’s Consort by Emperor Kangsheng when Empress Min passed away and the consort at that time, Consort Duan, wielded his authority. Consort Qi was sent to Emperor Mu Rongkun as a woman after Prince Lin gained favor and became the Emperor’s right-hand man. However, she was actually Lin Wang’s informant, planted beside Emperor Mu Rongkun.

At 19 years old, the year before his coming of age, Emperor Mu Rongkun was accompanied by Dai Qiyu, who became his companion-reader. In fact, his health had been deteriorating and Empress Min had secretly implored the then Grand General, General Dai, to select a close personal guard for Mu Rongkun. 

At that time, both of General Dai’s sons, Dai Mingjun and Dai Mingrong, who were skilled in martial arts, were already stationed at the border with him. Since the fourth son, Dai Mingge, was inherently unable to learn martial arts, General Dai had sent Dai Qiyu, who was under his care, to accompany Mu Rongkun. At that time, Dai Qiyu was only a 13-year-old boy, but possessed exceptional martial skills.

Since then, the two had been inseparable, weathering numerous challenges together. Especially after the death of Empress Min, the position of Lin Wang’s son, Lin Wang, had risen steadily. Mu Rongkun’s situation had become increasingly difficult, almost being deposed twice. He was fortunate to have his teacher, Elder Weng, and the Dai family’s powerful assistance. 

Dai Qiyu had saved his life countless times during assassination attempts. By Emperor Kangsheng’s later years, the Dai family had fallen into a quagmire. Mu Rongkun had lost the support of the Dai family and Emperor Kangsheng’s incompetence had become more pronounced. 

Faced with various schemes from Prince Lin and Consort Duan, Dai Qiyu had managed to stop Mu Rongkun from death time and time again. He persisted until Emperor Kangsheng’s death and Mu Rongkun’s ascension to the throne after killing Prince Lin and Consort Duan.

Edited by: Jaisland

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