The Changchun Palace team travels back in time to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

One night in late December of the twelfth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Consort Xian, acting without due virtue, broke into the Hall of Mental Cultivation. A sudden clap of thunder warned of this, damaging the hall's doors and windows. Although Prince Duan arrived in time to rescue the Emperor, he was still frightened and fell ill. Furthermore, Consort Xian, carrying a contagious disease, disobeyed the Empress's orders and moved about freely, causing Prince Duan and several eunuchs and palace maids to contract smallpox. Fortunately, Prince Duan was blessed with good fortune and had been vaccinated against smallpox; he only developed a few red rashes resembling chickenpox and did not have a fever. He simply stayed in a separate room in the Xiefang Hall to recuperate, and after several days of quiet rest, he recovered completely.

Most of the palace maids and eunuchs, like Prince Duan, did not have serious illnesses. However, Bai Zhi, the aunt of Prince Duan's mansion, and Jin Zhong, the imperial eunuch, seemed to have been struck by lightning, which caused their illnesses to deepen and they fell into a coma.

Fortunately, the imperial physicians had previously diagnosed and treated patients and summarized a prescription for this smallpox epidemic. Bai Zhi and Jin Zhong eventually recovered. However, the emperor had a history of indulgence and suffered from indigestion, shingles, scabies, and other old ailments. His recovery was not good, and the disease had even penetrated to the bone. Even if he recovered, he would likely suffer from chronic problems in his leg joints in the future.

As for Xian agreeing...

The emperor was unconscious for a day. Upon waking, he immediately ordered that Consort Xian, Rong Pei, and Xiao Lingzi be confined to Miaoyun Pavilion. He placed three locks on the door of their room and the palace gate, and assigned twenty guards to watch over them every day, only unlocking the doors when food was delivered.

The person who attacked Consort Xian was covered in pustules and unrecognizable, but the emperor immediately revealed her true identity—Consort Xian's personal maid, Hailan—and ordered her to be carried into the Cold Palace, where the door was locked with three locks.

In addition, this year, after returning to Beijing from Jiangnan, the Fifth Prince will not need to go back to the Forbidden City for the Lunar New Year; instead, he will stay at the Old Summer Palace.

After arranging all these things, the emperor fainted again.

On the other side, when Baizhi woke up, she saw Ying'er standing by her bedside with red eyes.

She learned from Ying'er that she had contracted smallpox in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and had been sent to the imperial estate in the suburbs of the capital for several days.

Bai Zhi asked anxiously, "Then why did you come? Smallpox is a serious disease! Wait, how did you get into the imperial estate?"

Ying'er told her that she had learned some medical skills after leaving the palace, and had been helping to treat patients since the smallpox outbreak. She knew some people in the smallpox prevention center and the royal estate that treated patients from the palace. She asked an aunt who worked at the royal estate for help. That aunt was a relative of one of her former patients, so she raised her hand and let her in.

Bai Zhi thought to himself, since she had treated so many people and the disease hadn't spread, Ying'er must be well-versed in medicine and had her own preventative methods.

She was relieved and said with satisfaction, "Ying'er has really grown up; she can even heal and save lives now."

Ying'er hesitated for a moment, then simply told her to rest well before leaving.

Bai Zhi was unaware that when she was delirious with fever, she had grabbed Ying'er's hand and murmured, "Xian, please, I'm begging you, don't come any closer. You have the plague, don't come near me..."

After resting for a few days and recovering from his illness, Bai Zhi left the imperial estate once he was sure he was alright.

Back at the Prince Duan's residence, the Princess Consort, understanding that she had fallen ill in the palace, rewarded her with silver and told her to rest for a few days before returning to her duties.

When her family heard that she was sick, they sent a letter asking if they could come and visit her.

The letter also mentioned that the palace had developed a prescription for treating smallpox, and what was even more gratifying was that the ingredients in the prescription were common and not expensive. Prince Lü was in charge, with the assistance of Prince Shen, Prince Xian, and officials from the Ministry of Works, the Imperial Medical Academy, and the Ministry of Revenue, who were purchasing the medicine and distributing it to the smallpox clinics for patients. The smallpox epidemic in the capital had subsided, and her younger brother, who had been assigned to deliver medicine to the smallpox clinics, had returned safely.

"In the smallpox shelter, nuns from nearby temples also came to help. Among them was a nun named Jueqing, who, upon hearing that she was a concubine who had left the palace to cultivate, took care of everything with great care. She was truly a kind and benevolent person who was a Bodhisattva reincarnated," Baizhi's younger brother wrote.

Yi Huan was unaware of the smallpox epidemic—ever since her sudden misfortune, she had been depressed and afraid of strangers, even refusing to see Yingluo, who was sent by the Empress, wishing she could lock herself away and never contact the outside world again.

Abbot Mo Yan said that this wouldn't do, so he assigned her more work that required her to go outside, such as gathering firewood.

Fortunately, gathering firewood was done in the wild, where she didn't have to see anyone. In her spare time, she could listen to the evening breeze in the mountains and the calls of deer in the forest, which made her feel quite at ease.

In early winter, she suddenly noticed that a large number of people had arrived at a semi-abandoned mortuary near Ganlu Temple, bringing timber and carrying out extensive repairs.

Then every day people wearing veils would carry people in, and sometimes monks and nuns from other nearby Buddhist temples would also go in. Once those people were carried in, they never came out again. Sometimes, however, scrolls wrapped in white cloth and straw mats would be pulled out.

Everyone who came and went had a solemn expression.

She hadn't paid much attention to it at first, just thinking that there were too many people and she should stay far away. But one day, she saw a person kneeling in front of the guards of the mortuary.

She knew that person all too well—it was He Xi, her former dowry maid.

She went up to inquire and learned that the mortuary had been converted into a smallpox shelter. He Xi's mother had contracted smallpox and was moved there, but she didn't survive and died there. Upon hearing this, He Xi secretly ran away from home, hoping to take her mother's body back and give her a proper burial.

The guard was in a dilemma: "Young lady, it's not that we're heartless, but the bodies of those who died from smallpox still carry the disease's energies and must be cremated, otherwise the disease will spread even further. How about I speak to someone and ask them to bring the old man's ashes back to you?"

He Xi turned to Yi Huan and kowtowed several times: "Please, mistress, have a word with me! My mother served the family her whole life, we can't just let her be reduced to ashes like this!"

Yi Huan didn't really remember He Xi's mother; she had never cared much about servants. She only vaguely remembered that He Xi's mother valued rewards a lot, was incredibly vulgar, and always had a fawning smile on her face.

Before Yi Huan could react, she heard He Xi cry out "Mother!" and a body wrapped in white cloth was carried out from the inner room, revealing disheveled hair and half a face.

He Xi cried out for her mother and tried to rush towards her, but Yi Huan reacted first and hugged He Xi tightly.

He Xi burst into tears in her arms, her expression blank and dazed. She knelt down on the ground with He Xi, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

What happened next? It seems that the second sister sent someone to take He Xi back. The old woman told her that she should live separately from others when she got back, and comforted her. The second young lady said that she would definitely take good care of her mother's ashes and build a cenotaph.

Yi Huan returned to Ganlu Temple with an empty bamboo basket on her back. She knelt down in front of Mo Yan and asked her to allow her to do something at the smallpox prevention center, like the monks and nuns of other temples, even if it was just to help with the salvation of the dead.

Mo Yan gave her a deep look: "Ganlu Temple is a royal Buddhist temple, and at this time of year, noble people may come to pray for blessings. Therefore, although I am willing to lend a helping hand, I am worried that it may cause complications and allow the epidemic to spread to the palace. If you are going, you will not be able to return to the temple for a while. There is a nunnery near the mortuary. The abbess of the nunnery is familiar with me, and she has sent some people to help with the burial and the funeral rites. However, her rooms are a bit small and simple. Would you like to stay there?"

Yi Huan said, "This disciple is willing."

Therefore, Yi Huan moved into that nunnery and went with the nuns there to do what they could at the smallpox prevention center.

There was a nun who knew medicine and could help with consultations.

As for Yi Huan and the others, the staff at the smallpox clinic were afraid they would contract the disease, so they did not allow them to come into contact with patients.

At first, Yi Huan helped people collect bones and chant sutras for the deceased along with other monks and nuns. Later, because she was literate, she also learned some pharmacology from the bhikkhuni who knew medicine, and helped to brew medicine and do odd jobs.

Every patient in the smallpox clinic was suffering from the pain of the disease and the fear of death. Some families were sick and could only watch helplessly as their loved ones died.

The basic detoxifying medicines were insufficient. As more and more people were carried to be burned, Yi Huan became increasingly proficient in reciting the Rebirth Mantra, to the point that she could recite it backwards.

With no hope in sight for a long time, many people felt that they had been abandoned and would not be cured, and that they were being gathered here to die simply to prevent the spread of the disease.

This atmosphere of despair and grief spread throughout the smallpox sanctuary until one day, Yi Huan went to deliver medicine and heard a patient, unable to bear the torment any longer, shout in the sanctuary: "Since I'm going to be left here to die anyway, I might as well go out and take someone down with me before I die!"

The nun who was seeing patients tried to comfort them, but the patients had heard those same comforting words so many times that they no longer believed her.

Seeing that a group of patients were about to rush out of the smallpox shelter, the guard even drew his knife, but he was afraid of contracting the smallpox from close contact and dared not go forward.

Seeing that the situation was about to erupt, Yi Huan, in extreme tension, heard herself open her mouth: "No, you, you weren't left here... His Majesty, His Majesty is wise and mighty, a man of extraordinary talent, he must, he must be trying to find a way to solve the smallpox epidemic! In a month, in a month, there will definitely be a prescription and medicine!"

All eyes turned to her, filled with sadness, anger, and despair.

Yi Huan's mind went blank, her face flushed, and her tongue stammered for a long time before she suddenly recited fluently: "On the first day of the first year of Qianlong's reign, His Majesty wrote the poem for the first day of the new year: 'On the first day of the first year, the whole world rejoices, harmony brings auspiciousness, and a bountiful year is a sign of good fortune. May all subjects of the world forever enjoy peace and prosperity, may all wishes be fulfilled, may all desires be realized, and may good fortune and happiness be with you.'"

In the eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Jiang Pu was appointed Governor of Hunan. The Emperor wrote a poem, "A Gift to Jiang Pu as Governor of Hunan," to encourage him. The poem reads: "A distinguished official is appointed, to advise on the importance of maintaining order. This land, bordered by rivers and lakes, is easily influenced by its customs, but difficult to change. Low grain prices reflect the hardship of farmers, and light cotton prices indicate the need to consider the cold winter. Receiving the Emperor's abundant blessings, we should share the same vastness as Dongting Lake." Is this not precisely the Emperor's concern for the people's livelihood?

She was naturally aloof, and in recent months she had become even more taciturn, rarely speaking to others. However, years of reciting and copying imperial poems had etched them into her very memory, and reciting and annotating them had become second nature to her. She had initially been unsure of herself, but the more she spoke, the more fluent she became. The emperor's verses and her understanding of them flowed forth effortlessly. Using these fragments of knowledge she had painstakingly copied and memorized, she portrayed the emperor as a wise ruler who cared for the people and had a broad vision for the nation. She almost believed it herself.

In the Qing Dynasty, where imperial power was supreme, the emperor already held an unparalleled position in the hearts of the people. With her well-reasoned and evidence-based description, the emperor's image became even more lofty, truly making the patients believe that the emperor would care for the people and would not abandon them, giving them a glimmer of hope and faith.

This small glimmer of hope calmed the patients and averted a tragedy. A month later, at the end of the lunar year, the prescription and medicine were indeed distributed, and the surviving patients were cured and returned home by special personnel.

Seeing that the lies she had made up in her haste had actually come true, Yi Huan breathed a sigh of relief, but then fell ill. The nun who knew medicine diagnosed her with it and said that she had been overworked and worried, which had caused internal heat, and coupled with her weak constitution, it had led to the fever.

The huddled shadow blended into the vast darkness, but glimmers of light gathered from all directions.

In the dim light, the shadow swelled up as if inflated, and then white joints burst out of the darkness with a cracking sound. Blood vessels, nerves, and muscles intertwined and covered each other, giving rise to internal organs. The thumping heart pumped gushing blood, and the pink stomach and intestines gurgled as they twisted together.

Eyeballs sprouted from the empty eye sockets, and were subsequently covered by eyelids. Skin grew inch by inch until it completely enveloped the body, and a head of black hair cascaded down.

The woman opened her eyes, letting out a joyful exclamation of new life from deep within her chest.

When Yi Huan opened her eyes, she saw the familiar scene before her and realized that she was lying in the meditation room of the temple.

Abbot Mo Yan sat by the bedside and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her wake up.

Only then did she realize that she had been ill for several days, sleeping in a daze every day.

Abbot Mo Yan told her that her second sister had sent her medicine through someone, and that the patients at the smallpox sanatorium and their families, upon hearing that she had fallen ill from exhaustion, had all brought her dried vegetables, pickled vegetables, rice, and flour from their homes, which were still piled up in the sanatorium.

By the time she recovered and returned to Ganlu Temple, it was already the New Year.

She returned to her room, swept away the dust, placed an incense stick in the incense burner in front of the Buddhist shrine, struck the wooden fish, and began chanting scriptures.

“From ignorance arises love, and thus my illness arises. Because all sentient beings are ill, therefore I am ill.”

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Nen Cai got up very early, changed into a crimson embroidered cloak, and put on a lucky cloud-shaped gold beaded hairpin and a pair of red gold rose hairpins to offer incense to Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun.

After offering incense, Shui Linglong poked her body out of the bottle, stretched, crawled over upside down, and rubbed against the tender cat. The calico cat, curled up on the incense table, couldn't stand how these infant spirits treated the human who was cleaning up their mess with contempt. It gave them a disdainful look, turned around, and lazily went back to sleep.

Nen Cai sighed and ran his fingers through Shui Linglong's loose hair, preparing to comb it for her.

At this moment, a maid came in and reported, "Mother Shui, Princess Qingli has arrived and says she has something to discuss with you."

Nen was a little surprised, since she hadn't had much contact with this blood-related sister. But since it was the New Year, she thought, "It's a rare guest, please come in."