Rebirth
On the Lantern Festival of the seventeenth year of the Yuanhe era of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the capital city was hit by a rare heavy snowfall.
The city was covered in a blanket of white snow. Overnight, the snow piled up to the thickness of a person's calf, making it difficult for people to travel. Even many seedlings in the fields froze to death.
But the officials still had to brave the heavy snow and travel under the stars and moon to attend court. Two men in dark red official robes met and couldn't help but huddle together. After chatting about romance for a while, they suddenly started talking about politics. The short, stout one couldn't help but ask, "...Minister Liu, Consort Lan poisoned Emperor Sheng. Do you think this matter is related to Prince Zhao?"
The other quickly put his index finger to his lips and gave a strong "shh" sound, saying, "It can't be said, it can't be said..."
A glint flashed in the eyes of the short, stout man. He raised his hand to cover the corners of his mouth, which were turning up, and continued walking into the palace.
Two days ago, Consort Lan poisoned Emperor Sheng, but due to insufficient evidence and Consort Lan's refusal to admit it, she was ultimately only placed under house arrest in the Cold Palace.
If the crown prince is not yet determined, the eldest son of the legitimate wife should be chosen according to the rules. If there is no eldest son of the legitimate wife, then the eldest son should be chosen. If the eldest son is too young, then the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife can be chosen.
Unfortunately, the eldest daughter, Shen Yao, was poisoned by the Jin people seven years ago and died suddenly in Xiliang. Thus, Emperor Sheng only had one eldest son, Shen Yue, who was only seven years old. Therefore, there was no doubt about who would inherit the throne.
Over the past seven years, the military group led by Prince Zhao Lanyunyi and the civil official group led by Prince Zhennan have been constantly clashing.
Prince Zhao, Lan Yunyi, was the maternal uncle of the prince and the consort of the princess Shen Yao. He also defeated the famous Xiliang garrison general of the Jin Kingdom. With his military achievements and kinship with the royal family, Prince Zhao was naturally a pivotal figure in the court, and thus the power of his military group was also very large.
Prince Pei Yuan of Zhennan represented the traditional civil official group, which had the advantage of a large number of people, a stable foundation, and each of them being eloquent and persuasive, and also controlling public opinion.
But with the ascension of the new emperor, this civil war finally came to an end.
Despite the heavy snowfall and the remote location of Prince Zhao Lan Yunyi's residence, he was still the first to arrive. He stood at the head of the group, dressed in a long black robe, his back to the palace gate, seemingly unmoved by any sound.
When Liu En, the Minister of Rites, and a young eunuch led the young prince, dressed in a dragon robe, into the main hall, everyone held their breath. The young prince, innocent and naive, glanced around the hall, and when he reached Lan Yunyi, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Uncle!"
The eunuch stopped and glanced at him, but didn't receive a single look from Lan Yunyi. The eunuch understood and then pulled the little prince up the steps one by one.
Just then, the little prince suddenly tripped and fell, then burst into tears, refusing to take another step up the steps. Only then did Lan Yunyi lazily open her eyes.
He took a step, but suddenly limped when his foot landed, before taking a second step.
He walked very slowly, each step causing his tall body to sway, making it both startling and dangerous, as if he might suddenly fall to the ground at any moment.
His leg was wounded by an arrow shot by Princess Ayintu of the Jin Kingdom during the Great Battle of Shengjin five years ago. He almost lost his life because he did not receive timely medical treatment.
Even though everyone knew this, no one dared to help. Once, a doctor, wanting to curry favor with Lan Yunyi, specially hunted a white snake from Xiliang, removed its gall bladder, and presented it to Lan Yunyi. Lan Yunyi immediately killed the doctor.
From then on, everyone knew that Lan Yunyi disliked being reminded of her leg injury, and also disliked having her past in Xiliang mentioned.
He limped to the foot of the dragon throne, bent down, and picked up the little prince.
Just as he lifted his foot, about to land on the steps beneath the dragon throne, a eunuch outside the hall suddenly shouted, "The Marquis of Zhennan has arrived—"
Logically speaking, since the Marquis of Zhennan was at Ganshan to sweep the tomb and pay respects to the former dynasty's princess on her birthday, he shouldn't have suddenly appeared in the court. Could it be that something has gone wrong in the city?
Lan Yunyi frowned, and as she slowly turned around, the long-dormant black thing on her wrist suddenly moved.
He initially thought it was his imagination, but when he turned around, a black snake as thick as a human wrist had slowly crawled up his sleeve and onto his shoulder.
His eyelashes trembled, and after glancing at the black snake, his eyes unconsciously turned towards the direction of the Imperial Preceptor. However, due to the heavy snow in the capital for days and the upcoming ascension of the new emperor, the Imperial Preceptor was working day and night to calculate the stars in preparation for the sacrifice, so he was not there today.
The Marquis of Zhennan had a sharp face, and although he was quite old, he looked only in his thirties, with a mature and composed demeanor.
He was dressed in simple cloth robes, but held a bright yellow imperial edict in his hand. He strode into the main hall, raised the edict, and said coldly, "The late emperor's will establish the eldest princess as empress. Is Prince Zhao plotting a rebellion?"
Lan Yunyi curled his lips into a cold smile. There was no fear on his face, but he still obediently carried Shen Yue down the steps.
“The Marquis of Zhennan is truly getting old; he’s spouting such nonsense in court.” Lan Yunyi stopped after taking a few steps. “The Eldest Princess is dead, yet he still talks about ‘establishing the Eldest Princess as Empress.’ The only one who can inherit the throne now is the First Prince, Shen Yue.”
From the perspective of the Zhao King's faction, Pei Yuan and others were merely using the late emperor's edict to delay the inevitable in order to prevent the Zhao King's faction from seizing power.
Pei Yuan's words chilled the hearts of the Zhennan Marquis's faction, who felt that the Zhennan Marquis was powerless to reverse the situation and had lost his mind; otherwise, how could he have uttered such nonsense in the court?
Marquis Zhennan remained calm and said, "Emperor Gaozu sealed Princess Zhenguo under Ganshan Mountain. After 32 years, her body has remained unchanged and incorruptible. Today, auspicious snow has fallen, and this winter is colder than ever before, but it is warm as springtime under Ganshan Mountain."
“What does the Marquis of Zhennan mean?” Lan Yunyi couldn’t help but ask. “Our Great Sheng has plenty of living princes. Are we supposed to support an old hag from the foot of Ganshan Mountain as emperor just because of the late emperor’s jest? That’s ridiculous.”
Ignoring everything else, Marquis Zhennan continued, "The princess's ice coffin has completely melted today, and flowers are blooming all around it. The princess's complexion is also rosy, as if she is about to wake up. I have already dispatched the imperial physicians to check on her, and we will have an answer soon."
Princess Shen Yao, the eldest princess of the Zhenguo era, was the crown prince during the reign of Emperor Gao. She suddenly died in the palace thirty-two years ago, which is why her younger brother, Emperor Yuanhe, was able to inherit the throne. Emperor Gao loved his daughter dearly and never believed that the princess had died suddenly. So he had Princess Shen Yao frozen in ice beneath Ganshan Mountain and bestowed upon her the title of Princess Zhenguo.
The young prince was confused, but he could sense the tense atmosphere in the hall. So he carefully shrank into Lan Yunyi's arms and whispered, "Uncle."
Lan Yunyi ignored him and simply looked at Pei Yuan in silence.
Pei Yuan then asked softly, "Does King Zhao not believe that the dead can truly be brought back to life?"
Lan Yunyi didn't speak, but just stared at him with a gloomy expression.
Suddenly someone stood up and angrily said, "Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural order of things. How can there be a phenomenon of the dead coming back to life in this world!"
"Could it be that the Marquis of Zhennan has randomly chosen some common woman to impersonate the Princess Zhenguo? I request that the Imperial Preceptor and others be sent to investigate thoroughly!"
Then someone else said, "It is true that a concubine in the previous dynasty resurrected a prince using sorcery, but even if that were the case, how can we just stand by and watch a demoness inherit the throne!"
Dissenting voices rose and fell, but as the argument raged, they suddenly noticed that Lan Yunyi remained silent, so they gradually fell silent as well...
Lan Yunyi turned to Liu En, the Minister of Rites, and said, "I would like to trouble Minister Liu to invite the Imperial Preceptor..."
Pei Yuan smiled and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, so I sent someone to bring the Grand Preceptor to Ganshan a long time ago. I believe we'll have an answer soon."
"Wait there." Lan Yunyi handed the little prince to a eunuch beside her. The little prince seemed reluctant to leave his family and looked a little unwilling. But Lan Yunyi ignored him and limped back to her seat.
Snowflakes were falling heavily outside the palace, and a sliver of light seeped from behind the dry mountains in the east into the dark sky.
Shen Yao felt a glimmer of light in her sleep, but as she woke up, her senses returned, and discomfort gradually enveloped her body. When she opened her eyes and saw the lush flowers in front of her, she suddenly realized that she had been woken up by the cold.
It's so cold.
Shen Yao gradually regained her sense of limbs, so she moved her fingers and struggled to sit up. But as soon as she lifted her head, the movement exhausted all her strength, and Shen Yao lay back down in despair.
Just then, she felt something wrap around her wrist. It was cool, smooth, and textured. Shen Yao moved her fingers, her fingertips tracing the scale-like object.
She grasped the living creature that slithered in her hand like a snake. The snake was incredibly long; its head crawled up from Shen Yao's shoulder and wrapped around her neck. Its eyes gazed lovingly at her from above, while her palm still held the snake's tail.
Shen Yao said softly, "Good morning."
The snake's tail swayed in her palm, like some kind of greeting gesture.
Shen Yao gradually regained her strength, and her body temperature gradually returned to normal. Supporting herself on the hard wooden plank beneath her, she sat up with the help of the little white snake. Looking around, she found herself in the center of a magnificent hall.
Although it is called a main hall, there are no windows on the surrounding brick walls, the exquisitely carved wooden pillars are covered with vines, and the cracks between the bricks on the ground are filled with strange flowers and plants that are half a person tall. Only the burning incense lamps and some strangely shaped sculptures indicate that this is not a naturally formed place.
Shen Yao roughly guessed her identity in this rebirth; it must be someone of high status and wealth once again. But to live in a grand hall decorated with dragon patterns meant she must be a member of the royal family.
Shen Yao raised her hand to look at her current body's hand, then touched her face, guessing that the original owner's age was no more than 30. She was immediately very disappointed.
A member of the royal family, a young woman, living lifeless in a desolate palace… no one from that previous dynasty could be matched up. Shen Yao seriously suspected that the Sheng Dynasty was already history.
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