Chapter 123 - 122: The Substitute Bride Eldest Miss 38

Chapter 123: Chapter 122: The Substitute Bride Eldest Miss 38

In Purple Sky Hall, the gilded beast furnace exhaled wisps of green smoke. Chu Qingyun watched his father’s finger trace across a Star Map, a tribute from the Western Regions, where the positions of the Twenty-eight Constellations were marked in vermillion.

Ji Xiaosong’s hand flew to the Jade Pendant at her waist—the pattern formed by the constellations was unmistakably a Blood Sacrifice Array she had seen in her space.

’Because her memories of past worlds had been wiped, she didn’t know when she had acquired the Blood Sacrifice Array in her space. Perhaps she had casually tossed it in during her time in some Cultivation World.’

"A few years ago, while traveling through the Southern Border, I chanced upon a Daoist. He told me that while I possess supreme authority, I lack eternal life. Qingyun, tell me, is that not a great pity?"

Before Chu Qingyun could reply, the Grand Emperor continued, "At first, I didn’t believe it. But your Empress possesses the abilities of an Immortal, does she not? Three years ago, I found this in the Langhuan Pavilion."

The moment the Sheepskin Scroll was unrolled, the candlelight in the hall dimmed in unison. A totem depicting a human face on a serpent’s body gleamed phosphorescently in the moonlight.

The Buddha Beads in the Empress Dowager’s hand suddenly snapped, the Agarwood Beads scattering across the green jade bricks. "So you believed that charlatan Daoist’s nonsense? You want to use our daughter-in-law as a sacrifice for your array?"

The East Pearls on her phoenix crown trembled. For the first time in decades, she tore away her gentle facade.

Over the past few years, as they traveled the lands, the Empress Dowager had long since become aware of the Grand Emperor’s true purpose.

’At first, she had been hesitant. Ji Xiaosong was, after all, just a daughter-in-law. And since she had already produced an heir, what happened to her afterward didn’t really matter.’

’But now, she no longer thought that way. She was keenly aware of how important Ji Xiaosong was to the nation.’

’When weighing personal gain against national security, she chose peace and prosperity for the country. Only then could her son and grandsons live in safety and health.’

’If the Grand Emperor were to achieve immortality, the future of her son and grandsons would be far from certain.’

An imperceptible gleam of spiritual light condensed at Ji Xiaosong’s fingertips. The places where the Grand Emperor had previously lingered the longest while inspecting her network of influence now perfectly matched the blood-red markings on the Star Map.

"With the Empress’s blood, I can live another hundred years."

An eerie flush spread across the Grand Emperor’s face. "Since the Empress has such immense power, you might as well..."

Before he could finish, the Empress Dowager suddenly pulled out her Nine-tailed Phoenix Hairpin. Its tip, smeared with black blood, pressed against his throat. "That year, you held the month-old Qingyun in your arms and said, ’My son will surely bring about a golden age.’ And now you want to use his wife as a sacrificial offering?"

Before the Grand Emperor could resist, the Empress Dowager plunged the Nine-tailed Phoenix Hairpin straight into his throat.

Chu Qingyun’s finger was still resting on the Horn constellation on the Star Map when the Sheepskin Scroll suddenly glowed with a bloody light.

He watched as his mother’s hairpin sank into his father’s throat. Black blood trickled down the nine phoenix tail feathers, blooming like dark plum blossoms on the green jade bricks.

"Mother!"

As he lunged forward, Ji Xiaosong grabbed his sleeve. Simultaneously, the twenty-eight bronze candelabras erupted with green flames.

The marked constellations on the Star Map began to squirm. The stars, marked in vermillion, moved like living leeches, slithering along the patterns on the Sheepskin Scroll toward the Grand Emperor’s corpse.

The Empress Dowager slammed the bloodstained phoenix hairpin onto the Star Map. "Years ago, when you taught me to identify herbs, you said that aconite juice is a poison that kills upon entering the blood."

The East Pearls in her hair reflected the flickering candlelight, casting an enormous phoenix shadow on the wall. "Qingyun, I..."

"Mother, the Grand Emperor was struck by a sudden, grave illness and has passed away."

Chu Qingyun’s face was a mask of grief, but at this moment, he had no choice but to make this decision.

’This was a royal scandal; it absolutely could not become public knowledge.’

"Summon the Imperial Physician! The Grand Emperor... the Grand Emperor is having a heart attack!"

Chu Qingyun’s hoarse shout, thick with sobs, pierced through the red-lacquered doors.

When the guards on duty burst through the doors, they saw only the Grand Emperor lying peacefully in Chu Qingyun’s arms, and the Empress Dowager clutching her re-strung Buddha Beads, weeping silently.

To the sound of the midnight watch-drum, twenty-eight cloaked figures slipped out of the Imperial Palace.

Each carried a Sandalwood Box inlaid with East Pearls as they departed for the Imperial Mausoleum, the Ancestral Temple, and the Observatory.

Inside each box was an Array-breaking Talisman, penned by Ji Xiaosong with a Phoenix Feather and soaked in morning dew and sunset clouds she had collected.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the clouds, the Meteorite Iron Pillar from the Southern Border dissolved into rust at the bottom of the Imperial Garden’s lotus pond, and the jade tripod from the Western Territory shattered into dust in a hidden compartment of the Book Collection Pavilion.

With everything settled, Ji Xiaosong went by herself to the Lake Heart Pavilion in the Imperial Garden.

Chu Qingyun was handling the aftermath, the Empress Dowager had requested to retreat to a Daoist monastery for spiritual-cleansing, and Chu Yuzhe couldn’t understand why the Grandfather who had doted on him just days before had suddenly passed away.

Everyone was busy, except for Ji Xiaosong.

She sat alone in the Lake Heart Pavilion all day. It was not until the sun began to set that Chu Qingyun came to her side.

"Qingyun, do you blame me?"

The glazed tiles of the Lake Heart Pavilion were bathed in twilight as Ji Xiaosong’s fingertips brushed across the frost patterns on the white jade railing.

"Should I blame you for breaking the Blood Sacrifice Array behind my back, or thank you for saving my mother’s life?"

Chu Qingyun removed his Mystic Fox Cloak and wrapped it around his wife, his palm coming to rest on her burgeoning belly.

"Song, you are my wife and the mother of our children. Father moved against you for his own selfish reasons. As a son and a husband, I cannot pass judgment. But if it were to happen all over again, I still would not stop Mother."

Ji Xiaosong felt she understood. This was his choice.

’At this very moment, she knew with greater clarity than ever before that every world she had traversed was real.’

’And everyone living in those worlds... they all had their own feelings.’

’Interests, selfishness, love, hate, and acceptance...’

"Let’s go. The night air is getting heavy with dew. Yu Ze will start to worry about you."

Taking Ji Xiaosong’s hand, Chu Qingyun rowed them away from the Lake Heart Pavilion.

Several months later, Ji Xiaosong went into labor as expected.

The Empress Dowager had also returned to the Imperial Palace early, waiting for the birth of her grandchildren.

On the Autumn Equinox, at 3:45 AM, the scent of incense wafted through the birthing chamber in the rear of Purple Sky Hall.

Eighty-one Glazed Palace Lanterns illuminated a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Diagram on the wall. Ji Xiaosong lay on a birthing pallet woven from Tianshan Snow Silk, the vermillion mark between her brows flickering erratically.

"Your Highness, follow my lead and breathe."

Before the Chief Nanny had finished speaking, the clear, resonant cry of a crane suddenly echoed from outside the window.

Three mystic cranes, with Kunlun Lingzhi in their beaks, soared past the curved eaves, their ethereal shadows dancing before the moon window.

The Empress Dowager’s hand, clutching her jade Buddha Beads, tightened abruptly. At that same moment, the bronze chime bells in the Ancestral Temple rang out seven times, all on their own.

"Good! Good! Good!"

She repeated the word three times, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Zixi emerged carrying one baby after another, while Chu Qingyun and Chu Yuzhe looked on with eager anticipation.

"Father, my little brothers look like monkeys!"

Hearing Chu Yuzhe’s exclamation, the Empress Dowager gave an awkward smile.

"All newborn babies look like that. They’ll get cuter as they grow."

Chu Qingyun added, "That’s right. Although, when Yu Ze was born, he looked different. He was like an immortal child from beside Guanyin’s throne."

Hearing Chu Qingyun’s praise, Chu Yuzhe proudly puffed out his chest and lifted his chin.

"I knew I was the best! Even though my little brothers are ugly, they’re still my brothers. I’ll be good to them from now on."

Chu Qingyun and the Empress Dowager both laughed. Once the last baby was born, the three of them rushed inside, eager to see Ji Xiaosong.