74: The Secret History of the Royal Cultivation

Chapter 74: Secret History of Imperial Cultivation

Kun Ning Palace.

Lu Liner washed herself until she was snowy white, and she even used the scented powder bestowed by Your Majesty last month, so that a rich floral fragrance could be caught with just a gentle sniff.

Perhaps nourished by the hot spring water, her entire face was extremely delicate, rosy, and tender enough to be broken by a blow, just like a shelled egg.

Especially the pair on her chest; to maintain her figure and cultivate her Yang essence, Lu Liner had never personally breastfed her daughter Zheng Yuhuan, leaving it all to four wet nurses.

As for her, under the guidance of the palace matrons, she had always nourished her body with precious things, waiting only for Your Majesty to arrive so she could serve him well.

Just as she was combing her hair in front of the bronze mirror, the head eunuch walked in briskly.

"this servant pays respects to the Empress!"

Lu Liner hurriedly turned her head: "Lu Fu, is Your Majesty here? Quick, quickly go fetch the white fungus and snow lotus soup for Your Majesty."

"Empress!"

Lu Fu stopped Lu Liner and said: "Your Majesty has gone to Yonghe Palace."

"Yonghe Palace?"

Lu Liner's expression changed slightly: "How is that possible? Isn't Yonghe Palace the place where the criminal woman Yang Huan lives? That place has already become a cold palace, and all the eunuchs and palace maids have fled. What is Your Majesty doing going there?"

"Reporting to the Empress, today Yang Huan took advantage of the grand selection ceremony held in the Imperial Garden to summon the eunuchs guarding Yonghe Palace. Disguising herself secretly as a palace maid, she ran to the Imperial Garden and collided with Your Majesty's sedan chair."

"Using the severe illness of Princess Yaochi as an excuse, she called Your Majesty away."

"Bitch!"

Lu Liner gritted her teeth and said: "How dare she snatch this palace's favor? Why hasn't that bitch Yang Huan died yet?"

"The Princess is ill? Then go invite an imperial physician to diagnose and treat her. Yang Huan bears a heavy crime; at most, Your Majesty will just take a glance at Princess Yaochi and that will be it."

Lu Liner continued: "Lu Fu, go keep watch at Yonghe Palace. The moment Your Majesty comes out, immediately bring him here to this palace."

"Empress."

Lu Fu continued: "this servant has been guarding the entrance of Yonghe Palace all along. Your Majesty flew into a great rage and beat to death all the palace attendants who left Yonghe Palace, and also ordered the imperial physician and chief medical officer Liu Chen to be put to death."

"Hmph!"

Lu Liner snorted coldly: "They are just a bunch of ungrateful servants who curry favor with the powerful. No matter how grave the fault Consort Shu has committed, as long as Your Majesty has not punished her, she remains a consort!"

"A bunch of servants actually dared to bully a consort; they truly deserve to die!"

"And then?"

Her tone shifted again: "After dealing with all this, Your Majesty should have left. Yang Huan is the descendant of a criminal official after all, so Your Majesty has no reason to sleep over at Yonghe Palace tonight."

"You, quickly go and stay at Yonghe Palace. Your Majesty said he is coming to sleep at Kun Ning Palace tonight. You must bring Your Majesty over, understand?"

"Understood!"

Lu Fu hesitated for a moment before saying: "Empress, should we be cautious of Consort Shu in the future?"

"Cautious of Consort Shu? Why?"

"Your Majesty has stayed in Yonghe Palace for so long without coming out. If Consort Shu regains favor, then—"

"Impossible!"

Lu Liner gritted her teeth and said: "Yang Huan is the descendant of a criminal official after all; how could she possibly regain favor?"

"Empress!"

Lu Fu added: "Which woman in the palace doesn't rack her brains to squeeze onto Your Majesty's dragon bed, just like those few women during today's selection."

"Since Your Majesty went to Yonghe Palace tonight, there is no guarantee that Consort Shu won't pull out all the stops."

"In case Consort Shu regains favor—"

Lu Liner furrowed her brows and immediately said: "Consort Shu... Yang Huan!"

"Lu Fu, go keep watch at Yonghe Palace first. Notify this palace immediately of any changes; this palace needs to ponder this carefully."

"Understood!"

Watching Lu Fu's retreating figure, Lu Liner knitted her brows tightly.

"Your Majesty has taken so many women into the palace, and it's hard to guarantee that no accidents will happen. For the stability of Your Majesty's inner palace and the longevity of Great Yu's realm, this palace has no choice but to play the villain once!"

"And Consort Shu Yang Huan... her identity dictates that she can never be this palace's rival or enemy, unless Your Majesty has lost his mind!"

Yonghe Palace.

Yang Huan leaned against Zheng Yi's embrace, gazing infatuatedly at Zheng Yi's face as she said: "Your Majesty, it is not that Zheng Yuhuan deliberately deceived you; it is truly that Zheng Yuhuan could no longer go on living."

"If it weren't for the fact that Princess Yao, Qing'er, and Ning'er are still young—"

Zheng Yi kissed Yang Huan on the forehead and said: "Rest assured, Zheng Yuhuan, from now on We will not let anyone bully you all."

Yang Huan said softly: "Your Majesty, this concubine is so happy. Even if this concubine were to die tomorrow, this concubine would be completely willing!"

"Don't talk about dying or not dying."

Zheng Yi pulled her tighter and said: "You are Our woman. Without Our command, no one is allowed to make you die, understand?"

"This concubine... understands."

Liu Chengen had long since chased the people out of the room, and now only the two of them were left inside the entire bedchamber.

Zheng Yi patiently pacified Yang Huan. After a full cup of tea's time, Yang Huan finally sat up and tidied her disheveled imperial robes.

"Your Majesty."

She said solemnly: "My father... sigh, he once said that the reason why Fire Spirit Master, the vice master of Fuyou House, helped him that night was to make him do something after achieving success—something Your Majesty would absolutely never agree to."

"Oh? What matter?"

Zheng Yi asked with rising interest: "We were also puzzled before; as a Cultivator, what else could Fire Spirit Master possibly fail to get?"

"Even if he couldn't get it, he could have completely come to Us, and We would surely have fulfilled his wish. Why bother looking for your father for help?"

Yang Huan said earnestly: "Your Majesty is the ruler of Great Yu; everything within the four seas belongs to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty can accomplish whatever you wish to do."

"But this matter... Your Majesty might really not be able to do it."

Zheng Yi frowned and asked: "What matter?"

"My father said that that night, Fire Spirit Master made a very strange request of him."

Yang Huan said: "After success, he wanted my father to assist him... in digging up the imperial mausoleum!"

"Digging up the imperial mausoleum?"

Zheng Yi's tone was peculiar, and his eyes suddenly lit up as he said: "Digging up the imperial mausoleum! Digging up the imperial mausoleum!"

"Did he say which emperor's mausoleum to dig?!"

Right!

How could he not have thought of this after all this time!

Great Yu was an Imperial Dynasty built upon the corpses of Fu You Sect and the corpses of those dozens of Cultivator Families. The founding Emperor Zheng Mingsen himself might very well have been a Cultivator.

At the very least, he also cooperated with other Cultivator Families.

Otherwise, why would he imprison the descendants of the Dongyun Family?

Or rather, that Dongyun Family was originally the ruler before Great Yu, yet they were overthrown by Zheng Mingsen, who established Great Yu!

Within his mausoleum, there were bound to be records of cultivation secrets.

Perhaps cultivation artifacts, perhaps cultivation secret techniques—all these were possible!

No wonder Fire Spirit Master sought cooperation with Yang Xuansu.

No wonder Yang Huan said that Your Majesty could absolutely never accomplish this matter.

Indeed.

If it were truly Emperor Zhengyong, it really would be impossible to accomplish.

What a joke.

As an emperor, he actually wanted to dig up the imperial mausoleum.

If this matter were to spread, let alone the imperial court, the entire Great Yu would fall into chaos!

Those princes, marquises, and so on enfeoffed in various places—as long as they had ambitions, they would be the first to raise troops to rebel against the imperial court.

Although Great Yu was not founded on filial piety...

However, filial piety also occupied a very lofty position in Great Yu, second only to 'loyalty'.

But... he himself was not Emperor Zhengyong!

As long as he was willing, he could completely dig up the imperial mausoleum without the slightest psychological burden.

It was just that it needed to be done more secretly!

Yang Huan frowned and said: "There was none, but this concubine later looked into the lives of our Great Yu's twenty-one emperors and found that Fire Spirit Master's target was none other than three emperors."

"The first is the founding emperor of our Great Yu, Martial God."

"He wiped out the Cultivator rule and established a Mortal Dynasty; he is bound to have Cultivator items in his hands."

"The second is the third emperor of our Great Yu Dynasty, Emperor Jingwen."

"It is rumored that during his reign, he worked diligently to govern and cultivated strength with rest, allowing the entire Great Yu to gradually stabilize and move toward prosperity."

"According to historical records, in the 18th year of Jingwen, an Immortal crossed east from the East Sea and was revered as the Imperial Advisor by Emperor Jingwen."

"And Emperor Jingwen, because of this Imperial Advisor, reigned for forty-one years, making him the longest-reigning emperor among Great Yu's emperors to date!"

"The third..."

Speaking up to this point, Yang Huan raised her head to glance at Zheng Yi and said: "It is... it is the late emperor."

"The late emperor?"

Zheng Yi muttered. Wasn't that Emperor Zhengyong's father?

"Mn!"

Yang Huan nodded vigorously and said: "The late emperor, Emperor Tianqi."

"During his reign, he heavily employed Xu Mujun, my father, and Yunzhou Regional Commander Minister Miao and others, wooed the Baiyue Clan of Nanyue County, expelled the Heiyue Clan who held a hostile attitude toward our Great Yu, and supported the Baiyue Clan."

"From then on, he occupied Nanyue County, expanding territory for our Great Yu."

"It is rumored that back then Emperor Tianqi personally led an expedition and suppressed and killed a member of the Nanyue Tribe who controlled flying insects all over the sky."

"Ever since then, upon returning to the capital, Emperor Tianqi initiated major construction projects to build a mausoleum, which lasted for eighteen years and ultimately established a massive underground mausoleum."

"Six years ago, when the late emperor passed away, he was buried beneath that mausoleum..."

"The late emperor, Emperor Tianqi!"

Zheng Yi muttered, his eyes filled with deep thought.

After several breaths, Yang Huan whispered: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty~"

"What is it?"

"Does this matter that this... this concubine spoke of have any use for Your Majesty?"

"It does! Of course it does! Hahaha~"

Zheng Yi scooped Yang Huan up again and burst into hearty laughter.

With a beauty in his arms, why think about matters of the dead.

No matter what, since Fire Spirit Master wanted to dig up the emperor's mausoleum, it meant that there must be something he coveted within the mausoleum.

Now that he had escaped with heavy injuries, it was unknown where he was recuperating.

Then the things inside the emperor's mausoleum belonged to Us!

As for filial piety or unfilial piety?

He was not a person of the Great Yu Zheng Clan, so why couldn't he dig it up?

As for which mausoleum to dig?

Never mind, dig all of them up first; We refuse to believe We won't find what Fire Spirit Master is looking for!

However, how and when to dig while keeping it hidden from the many ministers required a good plan.

"The Beloved Consort has accomplished a major matter for Us; Zheng Yuhuan, you tell Us, what reward do you want from Us?"

Yang Huan leaned against Zheng Yi's broad shoulders and said sincerely: "This concubine does not want anything; as long as Your Majesty can spare a little time amidst your busy schedule to visit this concubine and Princess Yao, this concubine will be completely content."

"Zheng Yuhuan..."

Zheng Yi cupped Yang Huan's head, gazing at her breathtakingly beautiful yet somewhat haggard face, his heart full of emotion and pity.

"Chengen!"

"this servant is here!"

The room door was pushed open, and Liu Chengen walked in briskly.

"Pass down the decree: Consort Shu Yang Huan is gentle and virtuous in nature, prudent and proper in self-conduct; her movements harmonize with the tinkling of jade pendants, and she is thoroughly versed in propriety. She reverently respects the discipline of dawn and dusk and is unremitting in her diligence."

"Conferred as: Consort Yang!"

Liu Chengen's figure trembled, his eyes filled with shock.

Consort Yang?

Consort Shu was conferred as Consort Yang?

This... was simply a matter of heaven-shaking proportions!

However, he quickly snapped back to his senses and hastily knelt to say: "this servant obeys the decree!"

"Step down."

"Understood!"

"Your Majesty~!"

Liu Chengen withdrew, while Yang Huan gazed at Zheng Yi with eyes full of excitement, her eye sockets brimming with tears.

"Your Majesty's great grace and immense virtue are beyond this concubine's ability to repay; this concubine is only willing to use this frail willow-like body to serve Your Majesty with all her heart and soul!"

"Zheng Yuhuan, you've worked hard!"

Snatching Yang Huan up in his arms, he strode toward the bedchamber.

For a time, red candles flickered, and the cries of the Phoenix filled the room.

Outside Yonghe Palace, Liu Chengen also walked out with a very peculiar expression on his face.

Just what kind of soul-stealing soup did this Consort Shu Yang Huan feed Your Majesty to actually get conferred as Consort Yang!

The rank of Consort Yang was second only to the Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort.

She, the descendant of a criminal official, how could...

"Liu Chengen!"

In the darkness, a stooped figure walked over briskly and deftly slipped a gold ingot into Liu Chengen's sleeve.

"When is Your Majesty departing? The Empress is still waiting for Your Majesty to partake in the evening meal."

Taking a look with the dim lamplight, Lu Fu, the head eunuch of Kun Ning Palace, weighed the gold ingot in his sleeve cuff again and hesitated before speaking:

"Lu Fu, you are also an old-timer in the palace. Listen to a word of advice from this old servant—have the Empress rest early."

"Tonight, Your Majesty is staying overnight at Yonghe Palace."

"Ah?"

Lu Fu asked in astonishment: "Th-this, why is that?"

"Consort Shu Yang Huan has been bestowed the title of Consort Yang!"

"What?!"

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~