Ranran desperately tried to calm herself down while also attempting to draw the mechanism stick tucked at her waist, preparing for a sudden attack from the dragon.
But just then, a familiar voice sounded in her ear, "So you actually know fear? A disciple as disobedient as you, I really should expel you from the sect immediately…"
This voice… It was her Shifu!
This voice, pouring into her ears, was just like how Shifu used to communicate with her through the White Tiger in secret. Ranran was certain that this dragon was communicating with her through their spiritual connection.
The dragon seemed to harbor no ill intentions towards her. It carefully retracted the spikes on its claws and lifted Ranran gently, as if afraid of hurting her. However, it was bound by chains, and even the slightest movement caused the chains to clatter loudly.
Seeing Shifu's body entwined by the dragon's tail, Ranran seemed to understand, her master had used beast control techniques to control this dragon, attaching his spirit to the dragon's body. So, her master's body at this moment was merely an empty shell without his soul.
As the dragon spoke, it gently lifted Ranran with its big claw and blew a bubble of water around her, enveloping her. With the bubble protecting her, Ranran could finally breathe freely underwater.
"Shifu, why… have you turned into a dragon?"
The golden dragon used its claw to hold the water bubble, and continued to transmit its voice, "This young dragon is about to mature. It had previously consumed many cultivators with formed cores but had been suppressed under the lake, unable to digest its spiritual energy, making its temperament increasingly irritable. If left uncontrolled, even the palace's Trigram formation won't be able to contain it. It would overturn the entire Capital, sparing no one. I'm temporarily controlling it with Beast control techniques to see if I can completely subdue it and send it back to the deep open sea."
Hearing this, Ranran understood. When Shifu had seen the heavy rain in the Capital and noticed something amiss by the river, he understood the root cause. That day, Shifu had pretended to be deceived deliberately, then actively fled towards the Lake of Enquiry, jumping in to control this lurking water dragon.
But… why did the palace harbor such a colossal beast? What did Su Yu intend by raising dragons in the palace?
"Su Yu's life is nearing its end. He is raising the dragon to prolong his life," Su Yishui explained.
Years ago, Su Yu was poisoned by Prince Ping xi during the succession dispute and had been saved by Mu Qingge, but his body was already damaged.
Although he later became Emperor, he couldn't regain his health. It's said that he had been seeking elixirs and medicines everywhere, eventually turning to unconventional methods when his condition worsened.
Ranran suddenly understood everything. No wonder Su Yu had shown great interest in the water demon's corpse at Wangxiang Pass. He had sent many people before and after to search for clues at Wangxiang Pass and had gathered people like Bao Ming who could transform their bodies.
Because Su Yu's body was already severely damaged, those so-called alchemists and cultivators couldn't help his immediate need.
Emperors always referred to themselves as the true sons of dragons, but Su Yu was taking it a step further. He wanted to merge his body with a real golden dragon to gain a dragon's lifespan of thousands of years.
She had heard from the eunuch that her master had brought that the lake was expanded twenty years ago. That meant the Emperor had obtained this dragon at that time.
But where did this dragon come from? How did Su Yu manage to transfer it to the lake?
Su Yishui knew the dragon's origin. He said mildly, "Someone was once saved by the Azure Dragon Meng zhang from the Dragon Island in the East Sea. Unfortunately, Meng zhang was killed by… the Demon's Son from the Nether Realm. Before dying, the Azure Dragon laid a dragon egg, which probably fell into Su Yu's hands later."
If Su Yu had initially obtained a freshly hatched baby dragon, everything could be explained. But this dragon was forced to mature, compressing what should have been a growth period of hundreds of years into twenty.
This young dragon has consumed too much spiritual power, growing too quickly. Perhaps the Lake of Inquiry will no longer be able to contain it any longer. That's why Su Yu is urgently searching for the Seven Evil Transformation Spell that can absorb the dragon's essence, wanting to gain the dragon's spiritual power to extend his own life.
It is precisely because of this dragon that the Capital has continuous rainfall, nearly causing a flood disaster.
After understanding all this, Ranran tried to move the water bubble around her, floating up and down around the giant dragon's body—opportunities to see a dragon up close are rare, so she wanted to take a good look while her master could still control it.
Su Yishui looked on helplessly as his disciple floated around excitedly like a jumping bean.
It can't be helped; this was still an immature girl with a playful nature, which was normal… and besides, he knew that even if she grew older, her nature might become even more immature. Someone who would live their whole life being carefree and playful couldn't be expected to act with composure…
chains."
*Duanwu Zhen yang, which is tomorrow.
*端午正阳 Fifth day of the fifth lunar month
Su Yishui had originally planned to take a risk, wait until noon when the sun's energy was strongest, to unleash the dragon's own power to break free from the chains and then control it to ascend to the sky and return to the sea.
After he discovered the signs in the Capital, he intended to enter the palace to investigate. When he saw scales underwater in the inner rivers, he vaguely guessed the truth.
Before jumping into the lake, he had explained the severity of the situation clearly to Su Yu, but Su Yu had insisted to go his own way, to use the dragon to prolong his life. So, Su Yishui had jumped into the lake and temporarily controlled the dragon.
Su Yu naturally knew he couldn't keep the dragon any longer. Although he had many ways to kill the dragon underwater, he couldn't bear to miss this chance to prolong his life, so he temporarily had no immediate way to deal with Su Yishui.
But the one thing Su Yishui had miscalculated, was Ranran's unpredictable nature. She had actually controlled the vermilion bird and witnessed his capture, and even disregarded the danger to enter the palace.
If she were not here, he could be more reckless. But with her inside the Great Qi Palace, Su Yishui's previous plans were all rendered useless. If he couldn't control the dragon later, wouldn't Ranran be in danger too?
However, Ranran felt that her master's physical body must not remain in the water any longer. While the vigilance was lax now, it was a good opportunity to send his physical body out of the water to prevent Su Yishui from neglecting one for the other.
She remembered the joints where the magnetic force was reduced that she had discovered when running around the palace earlier, so she explained it to her Shifu again in detail. After a simple agreement, Ranran pushed his physical body and surfaced the lake.
Zhou Feihua was waiting on the shore. But when she saw not only Ranran surfaced, but a man was also pushed out, she was surprised.
When she saw that the unconscious man was Su Yishui, she immediately drew her dagger, ready to slit his throat. Ranran quickly stopped her, glaring at Zhou Feihua and said, "What are you doing? If you kill my Shifu, the dragon underwater will be out of control!"
She briefly explained the situation underwater to Zhou Feihua.
Zhou Feihua also knew it was almost time for a shift change, and it was also time for those drugs to wear off, so she glared at Su Yishui resentfully, then helped Ranran lift him into a sedan chair and returned to Zhou Feihua's palace.
After they made it back, Ranran detailed the chain of events and the current circumstances to Zhou Feihua.
Zhou Feihua was silent for a long time when she heard that the dragon underwater was raised by Su Yu to extend his life. She struggled to digest this information.
Having stayed in the palace for so long, although she had sensed that something was wrong, she still couldn't believe that there was such a demonic beast in the palace. However, only the emperor Su Yu could successfully hide a small dragon from everyone in the palace.
Since Su Yu ascended the throne, he had been diligent and loved his people. If nothing unexpected happened, after his passing, he would be known as a wise ruler of his generation.
But he had actually done such an appalling thing,. He was practically playing with the lives of all the citizens in the Capital.
But thinking about it, Su Yu's body had indeed deteriorated significantly over the years, and she was one of the few who could see him. Listening to the sound of the Emperor coughing from behind the curtain was indeed heart-wrenching, feeling like thin threads of air were being torn apart.
But recently, the Emperor seemed to be recovering, and his spirit and complexion had improved a lot. If what Su Yishui said was true, that this small dragon was related to Su Yu's life extension, then everything made sense.
Thinking of this, Zhou Feihua fell into contemplation, her head lowered, lost in thought.
In fact, Ranran didn't expect Zhou Feihua to be of much help. If it weren't for the delicate situation her Zhou family was in at court, Zhou Feihua's first priority would probably be to consider how to help the Emperor live longer and healthier?
At this moment, Zhou Feihua self-mockingly smiled and said, "The reason I entered the palace back then was because Mu Qingge entrusted my Zhou family to diligently guard the king. At that time, she said she had altered the Emperor's destiny on her own, and would not be able to escape heavenly punishment. However the Emperor Su Yu she saved in the nick of time, was too young and his character was still uncertain and needed someone by his side to support him well, so as not to disappoint the people of the world. I thought there was no place more convenient to do this than within the palace, so I became a consort. But later on, I became lazy, only wanting to avoid the jealousy and struggles in the palace, and also I thought that the Emperor was a good ruler who governed diligently and cared for the people. But… now the Emperor has actually done such things, it's my failure to fulfill the task entrusted by an old friend. If things continue like this, even if my friend doesn't blame me, I can only apologize with my life…"
Her meaning was clear in her words. Although she was Su Yu's consort, in her view, she still bore the earnest instructions of Mu Qingge. Now that Su Yu had made mistakes by resorting to demonic means to prolong his life, she couldn't evade responsibility either and must do her utmost to guide the Emperor back to the right path.
Ranran felt her words carried deeper significance. What did she mean by Mu Qingge altered destiny on her own? Wasn't Su Yu supposed to be the destined Emperor? Then who should it be? The rebel Prince Ping?
Ranran didn't understand the grudges of the previous generations of the Da Qi imperial family and was unable to make sense of it all at this time.
But what surprised Zhou Feihua more than Su Yu, was Su Yishui's voluntary capture, just to subdue the restless dragon.
"When did he become so concerned about the world?" As she said this, Zhou Feihua unconsciously played with the dagger in her hand, seemingly looking for an opportunity to bypass Ranran and stab the unconscious man lying on the bed.
Ranran had to be on guard, sitting straight in front of her master to protect him, as she declared proudly, "My Shifu has always been such a good person, not only helping the world but also caring for his disciples and vanquishing demons everywhere. Even without high cultivation, he could become a deity through accumulated kindness!"
Zhou Feihua wasn't sure about what the young girl said, because it did not match the Su Yishui she knew.
Her impression of Su Yishui had always been of a cold, aloof young man. So, hearing the naive words of Ranran, she couldn't even muster a smile, saying coldly, "It's just that you, a girl who hasn't experienced much of the world, can't see through his true nature… However, is it really true that he can succeed at noon tomorrow?"
Ranran nodded, saying seriously, "But it would be safer to find a way to unlock the dragon's chains. The palace concubines all say that the Emperor favors you the most. People say that pillow talk is very effective, can you try to sway his favor and see if you can find a solution?"
Zhou Feihua, upon hearing this, smiled bitterly, "He turns his favor to me? It's just because he wants to watch me in red clothes dancing with a sword, reminiscing about his old friend who passed. We haven't spent a night together, so I can't even sway his favor even if I wanted."
As she said this, although Zhou Feihua's face showed a bit of melancholy regret, there was no sign of the typical resentful abandoned concubine in the palace. It's just that her words were a bit heart-wrenching. In that case, hadn't she been living in the palace for the past twenty years like a widowed woman?
But Zhou Feihua said it was fine; she had spent these years enjoying painting and calligraphy, and her swordsmanship was even better than when she was a young girl. She was content with her life.
Ranran nodded, Zhou Feihua has turned the bitter years of serving in the imperial harem into a peaceful retirement life of a high-ranking official."
This Consort Jing is truly a master of how to live a peaceful life.
Upon hearing Ranran's admiration, Zhou Feihua smiled and said, "If given the chance, I would definitely leave this Imperial palace, roam freely in the mountains and waters, without any restraints. That would be a fulfilling life…"
Ranran also felt that it was a pity for someone like Zhou Feihua to be stuck in the palace, serving a sick emperor. She was very serious when she replied her, "There will definitely be a chance. When that time comes, enjoy yourself and make up for these years of owed happiness!"
This kind of encouragement for a consort to escape the palace was indeed rebellious. Zhou Feihua laughed heartily upon hearing it, expressing in a Jianghu manner, "I'll take your good words as a blessing!"
Although their ages differed by *fourteen or fifteen years, they could still talk happily, which was quite surprising.
*Ranran is already 18 years old… so this doesn't seem quite correct
Since that was the case, the two continued to discuss their cooperation. Zhou Feihua promised that she would find a way to cover for Ranran's master until the dragon left the palace.
Ranran explained that the Seven Evil Transformation Spell was just a demonic technique used by the Spirit Spring to enchant hearts. Once used, it would lose one's true self. Although Zhou Feihua hoped for Su Yu's recovery, she couldn't let him lose his sanity as a price.
If an Emperor lost his benevolence and righteousness, the consequences would be unbearable for the world.
After they agreed on this, the sky started to lighten up. The palace maids were still asleep, but Ranran felt hungry.
Fortunately, Consort Jing lived a secluded life in the palace, so there was a small kitchen with only a stove to heat water and rice, which was just right for making porridge.
Ranran saw chicken meat and dried scallops in the kitchen, remembering the secret recipe for Chicken porridge from the [ Playing Classics]. She followed it and cooked a pot of thick porridge, the porridge was just the right thing to feed to her unconscious Shifu.
Although he was in a fasting state and didn't need to eat or drink, considering how worn out he had been after merging with the White Tiger the last time, it was still best to have some nourishment.
Zhou Feihua watched as Ranran carefully fed the porridge to the unconscious man and wiped his face. Her attentive demeanor, rather than filial piety towards her master, resembled more of caring for a beloved husband.
While eating the porridge Ranran made, Zhou Feihua said, "Little girl, don't be fooled by his good looks. This person has no heart. Falling for him will only lead to a bad end… This porridge is really delicious! Why don't you stay in my palace from now on and accompany me…"
Just then, someone outside the palace announced, "The Emperor has arrived, Consort Jing please receive him!"
It turned out that Emperor Su Yu, upon hearing that Consort Jing was unwell, and specially came to check on her early in the morning.
Ranran's body stiffened slightly upon hearing this, feeling like things had gone back to square one. This time, Consort Jing would be seen by the Emperor himself. And there was still a man in her bed, Su Yishui no less, which was much worse than her cousin from the Imperial Guards!
However, Zhou Feihua remained calm. She carried the clothes from the box to place behind the screen and, together with Ranran, placed Su Yishui inside the clothes box.
After doing this, Consort Jing applied some powder on her face and lips, deliberately making her appearance look a bit haggard, and went to meet the Emperor.
Since Ranran couldn't show herself, she hid in Consort Jing's inner chamber, guarding her own master.
But before Consort Jing could leave the room, the Emperor had already pushed open her door.
Consort Jing greeted the Emperor quickly.
Separated by a brocade curtain, they heard the deep voice of a man speaking gently, "Beloved Consort, there is no need for formalities. I heard that you were unwell, so I came to check on you…"
After speaking, the Emperor seemed to sit at the table in Consort Jing's outer chamber.
On the table was the chicken porridge Ranran had just cooked, still emitting steam.
Consort Jing had to graciously offer it, saying to the Emperor, "I had the kitchen just make this porridge. If Your Majesty is hungry, would you like some."
Ranran and two palace maids knelt in the inner chamber, she peeked through the brocade curtain with curious eyes, sizing up the Emperor Su Yu, whom she had only heard of but never seen.
The man sitting at the table had a gentle demeanor, bearing some resemblance to the impersonator.
However, no matter how well-trained the impersonator was, he couldn't exude the noble elegance of a true royal. This Emperor, was definitely different, radiating an imperial aura.
And Ranran also noticed that this Su Yu actually bore a slight resemblance to his nephew Su Yishui in his eyes and brows, looks like they are both descendants of the imperial Su family.
Unfortunately, Su Yu couldn't maintain the youthful appearance of Su Yishui, so the signs of aging were evident around his eyes and brows. His pale skin and tall, emaciated figure also indicated his ailing condition.
Noticing the fragrant porridge, Su Yu seemed genuinely hungry and smiled, "Consort Jing's kitchen seems to cook better than my royal kitchen. The smell of this porridge is quite special."
A eunuch beside him had already scooped some porridge into a bowl from the pot and tasted it first. It would appear that Su Yu was very vigilant; even if it was food from the beloved Consort, he still needed the eunuch to taste it first.
Usually, it was enough that the eunuch would only taste a little, to check for poison.
But today, after tasting a bit, the eunuch couldn't help but scoop up a large spoonful and gulped it down, eating rather voraciously.
The eunuchs who served before His Majesty, apart from a bowl of plain porridge before going on duty, dared not eat anything substantial, lest they commit the offense of farting or burping in front of His Majesty.
So this eunuch who was tasting the food was truly hungry. Suddenly, he tasted this incredibly delicious chicken porridge that melted in his mouth, and couldn't help but finish all the porridge in the bowl…
After finishing the bowl, he realized his indiscretion and was scared, falling to his knees and waiting for the Emperor's punishment.
Su Yu chuckled, curious about the taste of the porridge that made the tasting eunuch forget etiquette. He took the bowl that Consort Jing had scooped for him from the pot, stirred it with a spoon, and then took a sip… The Emperor's charming smile froze for a moment, then slowly chewed and swallowed the porridge, finishing the bowl just like the eunuch had…
"Beloved Consort, who made this porridge?" he asked suddenly Zhou Feihua while eating.
Zhou Feihua was stumped. She replied a little distractedly, "It was made by the servants in the kitchen."
The Emperor looked at her with a smile, "Summon the person here and let her dictate the recipe. I'll write down the recipe and give it to the royal kitchen staff so they don't keep making food that doesn't please me."
Zhou Feihua hadn't expected the conversation topic to turn here, so she felt caught off guard.
Ranran had not expected the Emperor to also be a food enthusiast, asking about the porridge recipe in the middle of the night. Just then, the steward eunuch beside the Emperor had already summoned the palace maid from the kitchen.