Chapter 893: Seduction

Zhu Qiyu stepped out from behind the screen, saw Sui Shu, sized her up for a moment, and asked skeptically, "What's so special about her?"

Pan Yun answered with one sentence: "Her birth chart most strongly benefits Your Majesty."

Zhu Qiyu's eyes lit up instantly; he no longer asked why, only demanded her birth details.

Sui Shu's heart pounded wildly as she replied respectfully.

Zhu Qiyu calculated with his fingers; she was thirty-two. He couldn't see how her birth chart benefited him, but since the State Seer said so, it must be true.

Pan Yun said, "She benefits Your Majesty; Your Majesty, in turn, benefits the realm."

Zhu Qiyu was overjoyed and immediately ordered Sui Shu to hold the incense; from then on, her duties moved from Empress Qian's western palace to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, where she exclusively held incense whenever the Emperor came to offer it.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau, once dedicated to observing celestial phenomena and calculating calendars, became a superstitious shrine resembling a Daoist temple.

Peng Deqing, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, was deeply frustrated, but he had no voice left.

He had barely survived the personal campaign.

But living was worse than dying.

Now he trembled in constant dread, terrified that one day the imperial court and the Empress Dowager would settle accounts with him.

He had not objected at all to Pan Yun seizing control of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and making the Emperor offer incense there; he even wished she would grow even more arrogant and conspicuous, to draw attention away from himself.

But soon, reality told him his wish had failed.

After the Ying Sect's funeral, Zhu Qiyu finally turned his attention to handling the personal campaign.

For high ministers like Cao Nai, Zhu Qiyu did his best to protect them—demoting or exiling them to preserve their lives and official posts; but many of Wang Zhen's faction were purged on the spot, and Peng Deqing was no exception.

His crimes were not merely his association with Wang Zhen, but also his selection of the campaign date and his failure to accurately forecast the weather.

If he hadn't advised the Emperor, would the Emperor have rushed into battle? Would the entire army have prepared for only two days, only to be caught in a downpour, dying before even achieving victory…?

Thus, Peng Deqing bore the heaviest guilt.

Not only the new Emperor, but even the Empress Dowager hated him with a gnashing fury—and so Peng Deqing was thrown into the Imperial Prison.

Empress Dowager Sun chose to leave the palace in the dead of night.

The palace had a small gate; beyond it lay a narrow corridor leading directly to the Imperial Prison.

For the palace's safety, this gate was rarely opened.

Empress Dowager Sun, wrapped in a cloak from head to toe, arrived at the prison. It was eerily quiet. A Vice Prefect of the Embroidered Uniform Guard waited at the entrance; seeing two servants carrying lanterns escorting a noble figure, he dared only glance up once before lowering his eyes, bowing deeply to usher them inside.

Inside the prison, both sides of the cells stood empty; only the central cell held a huddled figure.

The Vice Prefect respectfully handed the key to the eunuch, bowed, and withdrew.

The lantern-bearing eunuch unlocked the cell door and stood inside to attend the noble guest's entry.

Peng Deqing had been watching them since they entered; when the noble figure lifted her hood, his eyes widened instantly, and he threw himself to the ground in a kneeling bow: "Your Majesty…"

"Be silent," the eunuch hissed, and only after silencing him did he and the attendant lady-official help Empress Dowager Sun sit at the table.

Empress Dowager Sun's face was hidden in shadow, but Peng Deqing could still see her pallor and the dark circles beneath her eyes.

He blinked in surprise—had Empress Dowager Sun become so haggard?

Empress Dowager Sun asked in a low voice: "Peng Deqing, when people die, do they all go to the netherworld?"

Naturally.

Peng Deqing's heart pounded violently—what did she mean? Empress Dowager Sun fixed him with a piercing gaze, demanding an answer.

Peng Deqing, possessing genuine talent, swallowed hard and said: "If the soul's destination is called the netherworld, then yes, it exists."

Empress Dowager Sun leaned forward: "When my servant dies and reaches the netherworld, will she still be a servant?"

"Of course not," Peng Deqing replied instinctively: "When a person dies, all their earthly status vanishes like smoke—how could they remain a servant?"

Peng Deqing studied her expression and added cautiously: "Yet, if one's destiny is noble in this life, they may be reborn as noble in the next."

But Empress Dowager Sun was not comforted—Pan Yun had not lied about the first two points, so the third point must also be true.

That meant, all Great Ming emperors, upon entering the netherworld, are surrounded by vengeful spirits, for each emperor had many concubines and palace servants buried with them.

What of her son…?

Zhu Qizhen had no concubines or servants buried with him, but many soldiers, officials, and civilians died during the personal campaign—did they harbor hatred toward the Emperor?

Empress Dowager Sun rose, pale-faced, to leave.

Peng Deqing stared after her helplessly; suddenly, she turned back, her voice chilling: "Is there any way to stop vengeful spirits from seeking retribution in the netherworld?"

Peng Deqing stared blankly: "Huh?"

Empress Dowager Sun coldly withdrew her gaze: "You couldn't even forecast the weather—how could you know?"

"I know! I know!" Peng Deqing shouted: "To stop vengeful spirits, scatter them! Ghosts can die too!"

Empress Dowager Sun paused slightly.

Peng Deqing hurried on: "If you can kill a man, why fear a ghost? If ghosts come, kill them!"

Empress Dowager Sun asked: "What if there are many vengeful spirits?"

Peng Deqing paused, then asked: "How many?"

Three? Five? Empress Dowager Sun said coldly: "All soldiers, officials, and civilians who died of illness or battle during the personal campaign."

Peng Deqing's mouth gaped open—this was too bold, too cruel…

Seeing her turn to leave, he cried out: "There is a way! A way! Set an array! Destroy them with an array!"

Empress Dowager Sun's interest stirred; she pressed: "What happens if they are destroyed?"

Peng Deqing replied matter-of-factly: "They will be utterly scattered—no chance of rebirth."

He studied her expression and added cautiously: "If Your Majesty will forgive my crimes, I pledge all my skill to relieve your troubles."

Empress Dowager Sun hesitated, about to agree—when a sigh sounded beside her ear.

She froze in shock; the others in the cell also widened their eyes, terrified, scanning the darkness.

Pan Yun stepped out from the shadows, holding Pan Xiaohei, standing where the lantern light reached, and said sadly to Empress Dowager Sun: "Why seek distant solutions, Your Majesty, when you only create more karmic debt?"

Empress Dowager Sun frowned at her: "You've been following me!"

Pan Yun shook her head slightly: "I was merely observing the stars at night, saw a shift in the celestial signs, and after calculating with my fingers, realized the error lay with Your Majesty."

Actually, Pan Xiaohei had nothing to do and was wandering about late at night, just happening to see Empress Dowager Sun wrapped in a cloak, sneaking out through a small palace gate.

Pan Yun wore an expression of profound compassion, sighing at Empress Dowager Sun: "Your Majesty truly intends to place the Great Ming's state on the brink of peril for personal desire?"

"They're merely ghosts—what does that have to do with the Great Ming's state?"

Pan Yun: "They are either subjects of the Great Ming or officials and soldiers who died fighting for it. If Your Majesty lets their souls be scattered, this karmic debt will be laid squarely upon Your Majesty's shoulders—and since you do this for the late Emperor, who is tied to the state, it naturally damages the national destiny and the dragon vein."

Pan Yun asked Empress Dowager Sun: "Even so, will Your Majesty still press on stubbornly?"

Empress Dowager Sun remained silent for a long while, then asked hoarsely: "Then how am I to save the late Emperor? I cannot let him die unjustly, and suffer after death."

Pan Yun's face was filled with pity: "I have a method to pray for the late Emperor's blessings, but I require Your Majesty's cooperation."

Pan Yun escorted Empress Dowager Sun back to the palace.

Peng Deqing watched helplessly as Empress Dowager Sun departed; seeing no room for compromise, he glared angrily at Pan Yun.