Chapter 24

“Xiao Jiu.”

Seeing Qin Jiu who had only left yesterday return again today, Empress Wei hurriedly beckoned her over and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did the Qin family bully you?” A strange glint flashed through Empress Wei’s eyes.

Qin Jiu curtsied and walked over to her with a smile, “Don’t worry, Auntie. I wasn’t bullied. If anyone got bullied, it was Qin Xin by me. I came here to lie low for a while.”

Only she could say she was “lying low” so brazenly.

Qin Jiu’s words piqued Empress Wei’s curiosity. She raised an eyebrow, “What happened?”

Qin Jiu didn’t hide anything and recounted the entire sequence of events, focusing especially on how she had countered Qin Xin. Sure enough, Empress Wei was thoroughly entertained, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.

Extending a slender, jade-white finger, Empress Wei lightly tapped Qin Jiu on the forehead and laughingly said, “You…”

Her eyes brimmed with amusement, and inwardly she felt rather pleased: no wonder Xiao Jiu was her younger sister’s daughter. She had the exact same temper, refusing to admit defeat!

Thinking back, Qin Xin always wore a wronged expression, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment. It was such a petty, small-minded demeanor, completely unlike her sister’s. Somehow, she had failed to see it for all these years.

Empress Wei took Qin Jiu’s hand, “Xiao Jiu, if anything like this happens again, do whatever you want! No matter what happens, this Empress will back you up.”

Her words were almost identical to what Qin Zening had said earlier. Qin Jiu found it amusing and readily agreed, smiling brightly and openly, without the slightest trace of awkwardness.

Empress Wei continued, “Xiao Jiu, you were just talking about that Yunguang…”

Before she could finish, a small figure came running over. His voice arrived before he did.

“Mother Empress! Cousin Jiu!”

The newcomer was none other than the Sixth Prince, Gu Zhen, who had just returned from his lessons at the Imperial Study.

“Cousin Jiu, you’re back!” Gu Zhen happily grabbed Qin Jiu’s hand. His fair, rosy little face glowed with delight.

“Xiao Jiu, when Zhen’er came back from lessons yesterday and saw that you were gone, he was upset all day.” Empress Wei said with a particularly gentle smile, “He kept asking when you would ‘come back.’”

Like Gu Zhen, Empress Wei also used the phrase “come back [home].”

“Xiao Jiu, just stay in the palace without worry.

“You can go back after your grandmother realizes where she went wrong.”

Her smile was graceful, warm, and affectionate.

Qin Jiu smiled and replied, “Alright.” Living in the palace was so comfortable, and she didn’t have to engage in an endless battle of wits with the female protagonist. She naturally wouldn’t mind staying a while longer.

“Cousin Jiu, come play the Nine Linked Rings with me!” Gu Zhen immediately instructed a nearby eunuch to bring the puzzle over. His dark eyes sparkled with excitement.

The Nine Linked Rings puzzle consisted of nine metal rings linked together and mounted on a frame. Gu Zhen owned an entire collection of them. Some had simple sword-shaped handles, while others were shaped like plum blossoms, palace lanterns, butterflies, goldfish, and more.

Though still young, Gu Zhen was exceptionally clever. In his hands, his cute chubby fingers moved remarkably fast, dancing swiftly, and a ring was detached with just a few quick motions.

“Very impressive.”

Qin Jiu cheerfully picked up another set of Nine Linked Rings and fiddled with it while wondering whether she should make a Rubik’s Cube for Gu Zhen to play with.

Empress Wei wore a gentle expression as she watched the cousins play together  and asked, “Xiao Jiu, you said earlier that Yunguang was sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture Office?”

Qin Jiu nodded, “Auntie, do you know Daoist Master Yunguang as well?”

“Of course I know her.” The Empress let out a cold laugh and said unhurriedly, “Over the past few years, Yunguang’s reputation has risen rapidly in the capital. The Empress Dowager has always been devoted to Daoism. Once, when she went to offer incense at Xuanqing Temple, she suddenly suffered a severe headache. Yunguang drew a talisman, burned it, dissolved the ashes in water, and had the Empress Dowager drink it. Her headache disappeared immediately. From then on, the Empress Dowager trusted her completely and frequently summoned her to the palace.”

At this moment, Gu Zhen removed another ring from the puzzle and looked at Qin Jiu expectantly. The sight nearly melted her heart.

“Zhen’er is so amazing!”

Qin Jiu quickly applauded him and rubbed the top of his soft hair. Gu Zhen smiled shyly, pursing his lips. The four-year-old boy was gentle, well-behaved, and adorable.

The Empress’s smile became even more tender.

Gu Zhen happily returned to playing with the Nine Linked Rings. Qin Jiu turned back to the Empress and continued their earlier conversation, “Auntie, does Daoist Master Yun Guang really have such abilities?”

Somehow, Qin Jiu felt that Yun Guang didn’t seem all that reliable?

Having experienced something as unbelievable as transmigrating into a novel, Qin Jiu couldn’t confidently assert that you should trust in science.

However, she believed that a truly extraordinary master would not be so easily manipulated by Qin Xin.

“She’s nothing but a charlatan,” the Empress said disdainfully, frowning slightly.

The mere mention of Daoist Master Yunguang made her uncomfortable. There were things she had kept bottled up because she had no one to confide in, but with Qin Jiu here, she couldn’t help venting her frustrations.

“It would be one thing if the Empress Dowager trusted Yunguang herself. This Empress could simply ignore it, but Yunguang keeps presenting pills and alchemical formulas to the Empress Dowager. Whenever the Empress Dowager receives these pills, she insists that His Majesty take them!

“The Emperor has a gentle temperament. He can’t refuse the Empress Dowager, so he can only yield.” The more the Empress spoke, the more agitated she became. Her well-maintained hands clenched a handkerchief tightly, “Ever since he started taking these pills a year ago, His Majesty’s health has only grown worse. Yet the Empress Dowager refuses to see it and insists that these pills can prolong life!”

“A few days ago, Yunguang entered the palace again. This time she gave the Empress Dowager another alchemical formula, making all sorts of grand claims about how it could cure the Emperor’s chronic illness. The Empress Dowager treated it like a priceless treasure and ordered people to refine the pills so the Emperor could take them.”

Qin Jiu’s almond-shaped eyes widened in shock.

It turns out that the Emperor had been taking alchemical pills all this time?!

Blinking, Qin Jiu suddenly recalled that the novel had briefly mentioned something like this. It said that the Emperor had become obsessed with immortality techniques and alchemical formulas, taking pills every day. Eventually, he even lost interest in state affairs, and it was thanks to the Second Prince, Gu Jing, that government matters continued to be handled…

But from the Empress’s account, it did not sound as though the Emperor was hopelessly addicted to these pills.

Qin Jiu knew that many ancient Chinese elixirs were made with cinnabar, which was toxic. History contained no shortage of emperors who consumed alchemical pills in pursuit of immortality, yet few of them lived long lives.

“Auntie,” Qin Jiu asked with a slight frown, “have you had the imperial physicians examine those pills?”

“The physicians always test them for poison beforehand,” the Empress replied with a sigh.

Everything the Emperor consumed had to be inspected and tested by designated officials, and the pills were no exception. If the pills had been proven poisonous, the Empress would never have agreed to let him take them.

Empress Wei furrowed her brows in deep concern.

Fourteen years ago, when the Emperor was still Crown Prince, he had nearly been stripped of his title by the late Emperor.

In the end, because the civil and military officials repeatedly pleaded on his behalf, the late Emperor reluctantly refrained from issuing the decree to depose him. Even so, the Crown Prince was placed under house arrest for three years. At one point, the late Emperor even confined him in a horse stable for a full half year.

Those three years had been extremely difficult. Her eldest son had died young, and the Emperor’s health had also been permanently damaged by the hardships and humiliation he endured. As a result, his constitution was much weaker than that of an ordinary person.

Still, the imperial physicians had said that as long as he took care, his lifespan should be no shorter than anyone else’s.

Yet ever since he began taking those elixirs a year ago, not only had his health failed to improve, it had steadily worsened. He often spent entire nights unable to sleep, and recently painful boils had even appeared on his back.

The more Empress Wei thought about it, the more distressed she became. Her heart clenched with anxiety.

Choosing her words carefully, Qin Jiu said, “Auntie, could it be that the pills contain a small amount of poison? Taking them once might not matter, taking them twice might not either, but if someone takes them over a long period of time, the toxins could gradually accumulate in the body. That would explain why the physicians find nothing wrong when they test them, yet after His Majesty has taken them for so long, the harmful effects begin to appear.”

How could Empress Wei not have considered the same possibility? Her expression grew solemn.

That was exactly what she suspected. She had even said so to the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager refused to believe it. She insisted that the Emperor had simply not taken enough of the elixirs yet, so his chronic ailments had not been fully eliminated. The Emperor, being a filial son who did not want to cause his mother worry, could only continue taking them.

Empress Wei sighed softly, “I’ve already had someone secretly take a few of the pills to some physicians among the commoners for examination.”

Qin Jiu pondered for a moment, the corners of her lips curving upward thoughtfully. She was just about to speak when Gu Zhen, who had been concentrating on the Nine Linked Rings puzzle, suddenly let out a joyful cheer: “Cousin Jiu, look, look! I solved it all!”

Gu Zhen’s dark, bright eyes sparkled. His radiant smile was like sunlight breaking through the clouds, capable of dispelling every trace of gloom.

“Zhen’er is awesome!” Qin Jiu applauded once more and then shook the Nine Linked Rings in her own hand, “Zhen’er, I’ve only managed to remove one ring. Can you teach me?”

“Okay!” Gu Zhen puffed out his little chest proudly and pointed at her puzzle with his chubby fingers, “Cousin, you have to do it like this…”

He seriously explained the solution to Qin Jiu, looking every bit like a little teacher. The upturned corners of his mouth and the rosy flush on his cheeks revealed just how excited he was.

Empress Wei watched the harmonious pair of cousins with a smile. The knot of worry in her heart loosened somewhat, and her gaze grew even gentler.

Outside the window, the autumn wind rustled through the leaves. Fengluan Palace was filled with a peaceful and warm atmosphere.

Qin Jiu once again settled down in the palace, staying in the same side hall of Fengluan Palace as before.

Over the following days, she lived there quite contentedly. Every day she either chatted with Empress Wei, played with Gu Zhen, or spent time reading on her own. She enjoyed herself so much that she had no desire to leave.

Empress Wei specially instructed the imperial physicians to prepare medicinal ointments for her. After applying them daily, Qin Jiu saw several old scars gradually fade. Her skin, which had become somewhat rough from years of exposure to sun and rain, also grew noticeably smoother and softer.

She even found time to draw up plans for a Rubik’s Cube and asked Empress Wei to have craftsmen from the Ministry of Works manufacture it.

Qin Jiu provided only a simple blueprint, showing the cube’s appearance, the dimensions of its various parts, and a rough explanation of how it was meant to be played. Yet in just three short days, the craftsmen had already succeeded in producing a working Rubik’s Cube.