Chapter 55 Chapter 55 New Queen.
The rumors surrounding Hualin Garden intensified, like a storm brewing, yet one person remained isolated from them.
Helan Zhen awoke amidst a tearing pain.
Sunlight streamed down from the top of the tent, and the air was filled with a strong scent of herbs and a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood.
She gazed at the canopy above her head, parted her parched lips, and uttered a weak voice, "Granny, Granny..."
There was no one else inside the tent.
He Lanzhen subconsciously propped herself up, but her right arm was completely powerless. She weakly thought that the pain had numbed her arm, so she used her other hand to reach for her right arm.
Suddenly, her movements stopped.
The right sleeve was empty, and as I moved upwards, there was still no outline of an arm. I continued to stroke the shoulder, where I finally felt something real, but it was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze.
He Lanzhen's breathing completely froze.
She stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the area below her right shoulder, which looked as if it had been cleaved open by an invisible axe.
"Ah!" A sharp scream rang out.
Hearing the commotion, the Helan family servants and imperial physicians outside the tent lifted the curtain and went inside.
On the bed, the woman's face was deathly pale, her eyes filled with terror and despair. She frantically tore at her robes, crying out, "What happened to my hand? Where is my arm?!"
Helan Zhen pushed away the old woman's hand and finally tore off her robe and bandages. She saw blood gushing out from the severed arm. The neatly severed limb was covered with ointment, and white bone and flesh could still be seen.
Her eyes were fixed on that spot, tears streaming down her face. "What happened to my hand? Someone, someone—"
Just before she was about to fall off the bed, the old woman reached out and caught her, saying, "Miss, do you remember being injured by a wild bear in the forest?"
A flood of memories rushed in, and Helan Zhen remembered.
In the hidden jungle, wild beasts confronted each other. Yuan Chaolu pushed her forward, and a wild bear pounced on her. In the excruciating pain, before she lost consciousness, she saw Yuan Chaolu hastily abandon her and leave without a care.
Helan Zhen was in tears, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "Yuan Chaolu, I want to see Yuan Chaolu! Make that wretched woman get in front of me, I'm going to kill her right now!"
The old woman was terrified by her frantic behavior and said, "No, no."
"Why?" Seeing the old woman cowering, Helan Zhen snapped, "Speak quickly!"
The old woman recounted in a low voice what had happened during the day she was unconscious. He Lanzhen's facial muscles became increasingly tense, and in the end, her expression was almost distorted.
"She's spouting nonsense. How could a lowly servant like her possibly have a relationship with His Majesty?"
Helan Zhen felt as if she were in a dream, and everything was so chaotic. She had originally wanted Yuan Chaolu to die in the bear's jaws, but when she woke up, she had lost an arm. Not only that, Yuan Chaolu had also used some means to bewitch the emperor and get on the dragon bed.
Just a few months ago, she was nothing more than a lowly slave kneeling at her feet, at her beck and call for years…
How could Yuan Chaolu possibly be favored by His Majesty?
He Lanzhen mumbled something, raised her hand to touch the raised bumps on her face, and immediately asked the nanny for a bronze mirror.
When she saw herself in the mirror, her face was pale and swollen, her eyes were sunken, and she looked completely different from her former bright appearance. What was even more terrifying was that her cheeks were covered with rashes, making her skin as rough as a mound.
She threw off the brocade quilt and smashed the bronze mirror on the ground with a crash.
A voice came from beside me: "Miss Helan!"
Helan Zhen looked up and realized that there was another person standing in the tent. The person speaking was Qi Yu, an imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Seeing that Helan Zhen had scratched her cheek, he came forward to reapply the medicine to her.
Qi Yu said with pain in his eyes, "I feel extremely guilty about Miss Helan's condition. I was late that day. If I had come earlier to treat your injuries, at least you could have kept your arm."
Helan Zhen asked, "What do you mean?"
Qi Yu frowned deeply, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
He Lanzhen turned her questioning gaze to the nanny, who said, "When Miss was injured, the Empress Dowager suddenly fell ill. Physician Qi wanted to stay and treat Miss's injuries, but was stopped by... Miss Lu."
He Lanzhen: "Lu Runlan?"
Qi Yu said, "Yes, Miss Lu used to be a military doctor in the army and she can handle this kind of situation. She asked me to go and attend to the Empress Dowager's illness first, while she stayed behind to treat Miss's injuries. I went with peace of mind, but who would have thought that when I came back after treating her... Miss's entire arm had been amputated."
Helan Zhen trembled violently as she looked at her other empty arm.
“Miss, your right hand was completely torn off by a wild bear. Your arm can still be treated, but it shouldn’t be like this.”
Qi Yu said, "But we can't entirely blame Miss Lu. Sometimes, improper handling can lead to infection and spread of the wound. Miss Lu is skilled in medicine, but she probably hasn't treated injuries in a long time, which is why she was negligent. The rashes on her face are also caused by her improper use of needles."
Tears welled up in Helan Zhen's eyes as she gritted her teeth and said, "If she can't handle it, why did she take on this responsibility! Does the Empress Dowager really need another imperial physician like you?!"
He Lanzhen's eyes surged with hatred. She told the nanny to summon Lu Runlan, but the nanny hesitated several times.
Later, when Lu Runlan was invited over, she found only Helan Zhen in the tent, staring at her severed arm. Lu Runlan stopped and walked over, saying, "Sister Helan, you're awake."
She sat down by the bed and softly inquired about the situation, noticing Helan Zhen looking at her with a deep gaze.
Helan Zhen asked, "I was seriously injured at the time, why did you stop Qi Yu from staying?"
Lu Runlan said, "The Empress Dowager was unwell and her pulse was critical. All the imperial physicians were summoned. I saw that my sister's injuries were really bad, so I stayed behind. Fortunately, in the end, my sister's life was saved."
Helan Zhen sneered: "But I heard from everyone that it was Miss Lu who caused me to lose an arm for no reason. At that time, she was treating my injury when she heard the Empress Dowager's summons and left me to others."
From the moment Lu Runlan lost control of the spread of her wound infection, she knew she had made a mistake and had anticipated the scene of Lu Runlan questioning her now.
She pulled Helan Zhen's hand to comfort her, but Helan Zhen remained unmoved and pressed her for answers.
"Now that I've lost an arm, how am I any different from a cripple!"
"Is Sister Helan determined to blame me for this?"
Lu Runlan put away her gentle expression. "Miss Helan is also the daughter of a military family. Have you never helped your brother treat wounded soldiers? Don't you know that it is already a blessing for a soldier to survive after having his limbs amputated? Miss Helan should be thanking me."
Lu Runlan's eyebrows were cold and aloof. She had long known that Helan Zhen was arrogant and domineering. She had been getting along well with Helan Zhen because of her own interactions with the Helan family's sons. Who would have thought that Helan Zhen would be so unreasonable?
"I saved Miss Helan and didn't receive a single word of gratitude. Instead, I'm being blamed like this. How is this any different from repaying kindness with enmity?"
He Lanzhen was stung by those four words. She grabbed Lu Runlan's hand and her voice suddenly rose: "Lu Runlan!"
The commotion inside the tent attracted the people waiting outside. The curtain was lifted, and a figure strode in: "Runlan."
Lu Runlan withdrew her wrist and went to Lu Changli's side, saying, "Brother, I'm fine."
Helan Zhen lay limp on the bed, a metallic taste rising in her throat. When she looked up, she met the man's eyes.
Those eyes were unfathomable, their gaze pressing down forcefully.
"How can you blame Runlan for the fruit that Miss Helan brewed herself?"
Helan Zhen forced herself to meet his gaze. The man before her exuded an imposing aura, making her feel extremely oppressed.
"My brewed fruit? Lord Lu truly loves his sister, coming here to distort the truth."
"The Emperor appointed the Prince of Yan to oversee the safety of Hualin Garden, while I happen to be in charge of that hunting forest. Miss Helan should know better than anyone why the wild bear appeared out of nowhere that day. You warned me beforehand that you were planning some private actions, and I turned a blind eye. Even now that there's an investigation, I've covered for the Helan family. The Yuan Dynasty is not what it used to be. If they use this as an excuse to investigate, Miss Helan, do you think you can protect yourself?"
Helan Zhen said, "Are you using this to pressure me?"
Lu Changli glanced at her disdainfully, his voice cold: "Miss Helan harmed others but ended up harming herself; she has no one to blame but herself. Considering the marriage ties between the Lu and Helan families, I may be able to leave this matter aside. However—"
He spoke slowly and deliberately: "If General Helan knew that his sister had caused such a thing, what would he think?"
Helan Zhen stood up and called out, but the two people had already left.
She bit her lower lip, tears streaming down her face.
It was clearly Lu Runlan who caused her to end up like this, yet she had to swallow her anger and couldn't hold the Lu family accountable!
Helan Zhen's cries echoed through the tent, her throat emitting a resentful roar.
The old woman entered and saw her with red eyes, looking up at her: "I want to see my brother! Where is my brother! The Lu siblings have bullied me so much. If my brother were here, he would never have treated me like this!"
She brushed aside the old woman's arm, her eyes red and almost bloodshot. "Go write a letter to my brother and ask him to come to the capital."
Why is it that while I'm like this, Lu Runlan can still marry into the Helan family and I'll have to kowtow to her and call her "sister-in-law" with a smile?
Lu Runlan has an older brother, and He Lanzhen also has an older brother.
Then let's call my brother to come to Luoyang and see what the Lu family will be capable of then.
Helan Zhen gritted her teeth and said each word clearly, "Remember to tell my brother that His Majesty wants to take Yuan Chaolu as a concubine, and urge him not to delay."
Pain swept through her entire body; Helan Zhen gripped the bedsheets tightly, her knuckles turning white.
**
The atmosphere inside the tent was oppressive, and the chilling feeling only disappeared after Lu Runlan stepped out of the tent.
Lu Runlan stopped and said coldly, "He Lanzhen is really shameless. I kindly treated her, but she blamed me instead. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have helped her. But I was held there at the time and had no way to refuse."
Upon hearing this, Lu Changli asked, "Who was instigating this all along?"
Lu Runlan frowned and said, "I can't remember clearly. There was a crowd of people around at the time."
Lu Changli patted Lu Runlan on the shoulder and, seeing her lost in thought about the matter, said, "Don't blame yourself. This matter can't be blamed on you at all. I will personally write a letter to comfort Helan Yi and explain it to him. He is a smart man who understands the pros and cons and will not let this matter affect the marriage between our two families."
Lu Runlan was distracted and managed a weak "hmm".
The two walked toward the tent, which was not far from Yuan Chaolu's tent.
Ever since the Prince of Yan stumbled upon the Emperor and Yuan Chaolu that night, rumors and gossip had been rampant, and everyone was waiting to see what would happen next. But several days passed and everything remained the same, as if the swirling vortex had suddenly stopped.
"Brother, do you know what His Majesty's true intentions are?"
Lu Changli said, "My aunt disagreed with His Majesty taking a woman from the Yuan family into the palace, and secretly sent my father to persuade His Majesty, but she never revealed any details to me."
Not only the Lu family, but everyone was curious about the Emperor's treatment of Yuan Chaolu. However, the Emperor summoned his ministers to discuss matters every day as usual, but never issued an edict to confer the title of Consort. This attitude was ambiguous, which made people in the hunting grounds think more about it.
His Majesty is twenty-one years old and has been on the throne for three years. The palace is empty and there are no concubines. Moreover, when the late Emperor was dying, the Emperor was unwilling to accept the throne that the late Emperor had passed on before his death. Even after he ascended the throne, he seemed to have no interest in the throne. He even ignored the opposition of the court officials and selected princes and members of the imperial family to enter the palace, hoping to choose a crown prince from among them and abdicate the throne as soon as possible.
Now, there is a woman who has been involved in a scandalous affair with the king.
The situation in the imperial court suddenly became unpredictable, and it no longer concerned more than just the harem. The gazes of all the civil and military officials were like a dense spider web, all focused on that slender figure.
Everyone knew that if the emperor bestowed any honors upon her, it would mean that the emperor was finally going to open a harem and had given up the idea of choosing a crown prince from the imperial clan.
What rank could Yuan Chaolu obtain?
Her background is common knowledge. She is an orphan girl from the Yuan family who was separated from Chang'an since childhood. Compared with the noble ladies of the capital, she is far inferior in terms of etiquette, literature, and vision. The only thing that stands out is her face.
How can one who relies on his looks to please others last long?
Her greatest and most obvious weakness was her isolated family background. The Yuan family was deserted and had no connections in the court, which meant she could never climb to a high position. Even with her stunning beauty, she would probably only be a sparrow for the emperor's amusement, let alone dare to dream of flying into the phoenix nest.
With the Emperor yet to issue a summons, it is clear that Miss Yuan's situation is even more uncertain.
After several days of silence, in the afternoon, a figure in a deep red official robe appeared on the grassy slope.
Zhong Changjun, a close attendant of the emperor, carrying an imperial edict on a jade plate, arrived outside Miss Yuan's tent in a grand procession of palace servants.
The spies scattered like startled fish, and the news spread rapidly. Upon seeing the imperial edict, the officials emerged from their tents and bowed in unison.
The nobles and aristocratic families all knelt down.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation. Prince Anle and Prince Yan stayed together, whispering words of comfort to him. Behind them were the Lu family, and further to the side were the Grand Marshal, the Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Helan family... a vast, bustling crowd.
The grassy slope was covered with brocade, and all the officials in the court bowed their heads at this moment, but the Second Miss Yuan had not yet shown herself.
Just as the eunuch was about to enter to invite Miss Yuan Er, Zhong Changjun raised his hand to stop him and slowly unveiled the imperial edict.
Everyone assumed it was just the imperial edict of conferment brought by Zhong Changjun and waited as usual. But they gradually realized something was wrong. As Zhong Changjun stepped aside, a tall figure walked out from behind him.
The visitor was Jia Li, the Duke of the Founding State.
The Duke of Kaiguo can be considered the most important minister in the founding of the country. What kind of edict could persuade the Duke of Kaiguo, a close minister who had followed the emperor in his campaigns, to read it?
Jia Li took the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.
The rustling of robes filled the air, accompanied by gasps of surprise. When that deep, steady voice echoed in the wind, its words fell like thunder.
The yellow silk edict fluttered in the wind, the mountain breeze carrying the words, word by word, far away until the last sentence reached everyone's ears.
The emperor's edict was actually...
The Prince of Yan couldn't wait to get up, but the Prince of Anle reacted quickly and grabbed his wrist.
Lu Changli behind him slowly raised his head, his expression changing several times, from shock to confusion to a somber look, while Pei Xi beside him also suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"So be it." After reading the imperial edict, the Duke of the Founding Kingdom presented it back with both hands.
Zhong Changjun smiled back and they walked together into Miss Yuan's tent.
After the two left, the discussions could no longer be suppressed and surged in like a tidal wave.
**
As the curtains fell, the noise outside was shut out.
The Duke of the Founding Kingdom slowly entered, carrying a gilded jade plate. Behind the table, a young girl sat gracefully, dressed in a crimson gauze skirt. The sunlight illuminated her jade-white skin, revealing a radiant, pearly glow.
Miss Yuan, who had received news earlier that the Emperor would send an imperial edict, was waiting, dressed in a dignified and gorgeous dress that exuded nobility.
It was as if they had foreseen the storm and were waiting for fate to decide their fate.
"Congratulations, Miss Yuan Er."
The Duke of Kaiguo unfolded the edict, only to see her gaze lift up, her eyes also showing shock.
Silence reigned within the tent, broken only by the deep voice of the Founding Duke, until the very last sentence was read—
"I hereby dispatch the Duke of the Founding Kingdom with imperial credentials to bestow upon you the Empress's seal and ribbon. You shall assume the position of Empress. Assist me in governing the realms of Yin and Yang, and assist in the administration of state affairs, so that the palace may be peaceful and the world at peace. This proclamation is hereby issued, so that all within and outside the palace may know."
What the Emperor sent today was not a decree to confer titles of concubine or imperial consort, but rather an edict to confer the title of Empress.
-----------------------
Author's note: Welcome the new Empress.
The edict appointing the empress referenced and adapted ancient texts.
The author's wrist was sometimes better and sometimes worse. The pain would come without warning, and he would write very slowly with a plaster on it. He had to rest every now and then, otherwise it would hurt a lot, so he wrote very slowly.
Red envelopes will be dropped in this chapter!
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