Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Cannot Be Kept

Yu Zhi Yi did not act mysterious. She explained at once: “When the Yue Zhi Kingdom sent the Ban Ruo Glass Lamp, the envoy said that if you placed it in a room and lived with it for a long time, it would extend your life and keep you young. Grand Empress Dowager Jing’an asked for the lamp because of those two effects. Women love beauty. Even when older, it is hard to resist the promise of staying young.”

“At that time, she was already the empress dowager. Her son was the emperor and was very filial to her, and the late emperor already had heirs, including two princes. Her son’s throne was steady. There was nothing else she truly wanted, except lasting beauty. It did not need to be forever. It would be enough if she could stop growing old.”

Aunt Chang frowned, saying: “You have some skill, girl, but this is no secret. Anyone can find it by checking the records.”

Consort Yu held her tongue at first. When Aunt Chang finished, she spoke in a gentle, caring tone, saying: “Yi’er, do not make trouble. This matter is no small thing. Grand Empress Dowager Jing’an was the most honored woman of our Great Sheng Empire. I know you are eager to prove yourself, but you should not do it like this.”

Yu Zhi Yi looked at her coldly, saying: “Consort Yu, does it feel good to borrow a knife to kill?”

Consort Yu’s face changed as she stammered: “W-what knife? I do not know what you are talking about!”

Yu Zhi Yi no longer looked at her. She turned to the emperor and Aunt Chang and said: “When the lamp entered the Capital City, a girl came with it, a princess of the Yue Zhi Kingdom. She was given to the late emperor to seal a marriage alliance. The Yue Zhi princess came a long way, alone and helpless. The late emperor favored her a few times because she was an alliance princess, but he did not like her. After a few months, she fell out of favor.”

“In the deep palace, a consort without support may have the grandest title in name, yet without affection, many live worse than a common family’s daughter. Once the late emperor stopped visiting her, people in the palace began to mistreat her. The Imperial Household Department shorted her food, cloth, and supplies. Lowly palace attendants even stepped on her when they could.”

“While she struggled day after day and was almost in despair, Her Highness the Empress Dowager Jing’an gave her warmth. Pitying her, the empress dowager often summoned her to the Longevity and Health Palace to attend her during illness. In truth, there were attendants for all chores. The Yue Zhi princess only needed to chat and keep Her Highness company.”

“Grateful for the empress dowager’s kindness, and seeing how much Her Highness valued the Ban Ruo Glass Lamp, the princess felt torn. As a Yue Zhi princess, she knew more about the lamp than others. In the Yue Zhi royal palace there was a hidden legend: the lamp’s wick had two souls in one. One soul was good and could calm the mind and lengthen life. The other was a Malevolent Soul. Its evil was not that it did wicked deeds on its own, but that it would curse the lamp’s possessor so that what they wished would not come true.”

Everyone froze. The emperor said in shock: “There is such a thing?” Aunt Chang denied it on instinct, saying: “Impossible. The envoy did not say that then. And how would the Yue Zhi Kingdom dare offer our Great Sheng Empire an evil thing?”

The emperor frowned too. Yu Zhi Yi said: “Even in the Yue Zhi royal house, few knew about the two-soul legend. The princess heard it by chance. She did not want the empress dowager to be cursed by the Malevolent Soul, but she did not dare speak. If the Great Sheng Empire grew angry and used this as a reason to attack the Yue Zhi Kingdom, she would become a criminal to her whole nation. She did not want that, and she did not want her family to die in war. So she tried to save the empress dowager in her own way.”

“She thought and thought, and finally found a solution: switch the peach for the plum. If she replaced the lamp, then the empress dowager would not be the one to suffer the Malevolent Soul’s curse.” At that time the Yue Zhi princess still was not very favored, but because the empress dowager liked her, she had a bit of freedom. She ordered a trusted servant to have a copy made outside the palace. They swapped the real lamp for the fake, and she hid the real one. As for why she did not send it out of the palace, she never found the chance. Palace restrictions are no joke. The last time they smuggled something in, it was pure luck: a major incident happened in the palace that day, and the guards did not search too closely a palace attendant favored by the empress dowager.”

“As for destroying the lamp, she did not dare. The legend said the lamp had a spirit. She feared it would take revenge. So she disguised it and hid it first, then looked for a chance. She hid it in a cold, unused palace.”

“Soon, the Yue Zhi princess’s residence caught fire. The emperor ordered that cold palace to be cleaned and told her to move there. When it came time to name the hall, the princess thought of the lamp she had hidden. For some reason, she suggested: ‘Why not call it the Crystal Palace?’ The late emperor believed she was missing her homeland’s national treasure and agreed.”

Only the princess knew the lamp was truly hidden in that palace. Later she gained a bit more favor. The emperor sometimes sat with her, and other consorts came to visit. To keep the secret from slipping out, she dug a pit in the courtyard and buried the lamp.

As Yu Zhi Yi spoke, they walked through the front halls and reached the back yard of the Crystal Palace. She pointed at a large tree, saying: “The lamp is under here.”

Consort Yu opened her mouth to speak, but the emperor had already ordered Eunuch Hu to fetch people to dig. Seeing his determined face, Consort Yu swallowed her words.

Before long, the attendants unearthed a box. They opened it. Inside, a crystal-clear lamp shimmered in the sunlight with a dreamlike glow. Aunt Chang covered her mouth and gasped, saying: “It is truly the Ban Ruo Glass Lamp!”

Consort Yu tightened her handkerchief, deeply glad she had not said anything a moment ago. At the same time, her fear of Yu Zhi Yi grew. She thought: [This woman cannot be kept.]