When the Emperor fell ill unexpectedly, the palace should have suppressed the news to prevent panic. Wen Yanran was well aware of this and strictly forbade those around her from spreading the word. However, her daily routine of attending court had always been so regular that her absence from the imperial assembly alone was enough to spark speculation.
Given the circumstances, Wen Yanran could only do her utmost to stabilize the central government. She appointed Zhang Luo to assist Yan Xiaolou. “Since I am ill, rumors are bound to circulate in the capital, accusing me of having ascended the throne unjustly and thus incurring divine retribution… You must keep a close watch on such talk for me.”
Her cheeks were flushed with an unnatural crimson from the fever, yet her thoughts remained sharp and her words were without reservation. Were it not for her sickly appearance, several high-ranking ministers might have suspected that the Emperor was feigning illness to lure out those restless, ambitious figures.
Wen Yanran continued, “The heavens are unpredictable. Should anything unforeseen happen to me, the State Preceptor shall issue the imperial edict.”
“Your Majesty!”
Yuan Yanshi and Song Wenshu were naturally startled by these words, and Wen Jingmei’s expression also faltered. As the person in question, he knew full well that the Emperor had left no such edict, yet it was not the right moment to deny it.
“This matter must not spread beyond these walls. Let it remain known only to the ministers present.”
Wen Yanran remained calm and composed. She spoke thus solely to steady their hearts, continuing gently, “Take good care of the Eleventh Princess and the Thirteenth Prince these coming days. Strengthen the palace guard. The season is unwell – no one should move about freely. With Minister Yan defending the capital, it will be as secure as a fortress. The Grand Tutor, Ministers Song and Lu shall take turns staying overnight in the palace. Once I have recovered, I will duly reward the three of you. Ah-Yi is to oversee the discipline within the palace.” She added, “The State Preceptor shall remain.”
Leaning back against the soft cushions, she finished assigning all the tasks. The ministers rose one by one to accept their orders. Only Wen Jingmei and Chi Yi remained where they were – the former because the Emperor had detained him, and the latter because she still had matters to report.
Chi Yi reminded her, “Your Majesty, the matter of the Eastern Region…”
Wen Yanran paused briefly, then understood: “Indeed. Summon Assistant Secretary Du to draft an edict, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to prepare and dispatch six thousand metric tons of grain and fodder to General Tao’s camp.”
In truth, the frontlines were not short of provisions, and six thousand metric tons would not last many days. By doing this, Wen Yanran was simply expressing her intent to fully support Tao Jia in this battle.
With the Emperor ailing, unrest was spreading not only in the capital but also along the frontlines. It was crucial to dispel the soldiers’ doubts in a timely manner. Once the supplies from Jianping were delivered, the military commanders would understand that the Emperor had no intention of altering the original battle plans due to illness.
Wen Yanran spoke slowly, “The grain shall be transported from the capital…” At this point, she pressed a hand to her forehead. “Perhaps I am overthinking due to my illness. Just instruct Ah-Luo to pay extra attention. As for the person to deliver the grain, go to Minister Chu’s residence and tell him that I originally intended to trouble him only after the new year, but with the current unrest, I must ask him to make a trip to Gu Province now.”
Chi Yi took note of each point, then added, “Your Majesty, please rest now. I shall have the Chief Imperial Physician come to examine your pulse once more.”
Wen Yanran nodded and allowed the palace attendants to help her lie down. Upon receiving the summons, the Chief Imperial Physician hurried over with quick, short steps, knelt beside the bed, and began feeling her pulse. After a long while, he said with a worried expression, “Your Majesty’s symptoms came on swiftly, and the fever persists. It is truly inadvisable to strain yourself like this.” He then administered another dose of medicinal broth.
Chi Yi asked gently, “Would Your Majesty care for a meal?”
Wen Yanran truly had no appetite and waved a dismissive hand toward the outside of the bed curtains.
The Chief Imperial Physician urged, “When one is ill, it is inevitable that the vital energy and blood are depleted. If Your Majesty can manage to eat even a little, it would be beneficial.”
Even the ruler of a nation could hardly disregard a physician’s advice. In the end, Wen Yanran nodded. She then turned to Wen Jingmei and said, “I must trouble you, Brother. Stay and share a bowl of plain porridge with me today.”
Wen Jingmei naturally complied with the command.
Since he had been named by the Emperor to oversee the imperial edict, as the State Preceptor, Wen Jingmei likely would not be able to leave the Western Yong Palace until the Sovereign recovered.
In the past, Wen Yanran had not given it much thought, but now she somewhat understood – the Great Zhou’s system of the State Preceptor was somewhat similar to the secret succession system. When the Emperor had not publicly announced the crown prince to the realm, the preceptor’s existence served as a living decree of succession. No wonder Wen Jingmei had always acted with such caution, never daring to overstep even a single boundary.
The porridge served had been simmered for a long time, a thin barley congee. With just one glance, Wen Yanran felt that the palace attendants would likely need to prepare some extra food for Wen Jingmei. After the two finished the porridge, the table was cleared away. Chi Yi and the others dared not allow the Emperor to continue reviewing memorials and swiftly gathered all the documents.
Wen Yanran smiled faintly and said, “Brother, you must be weary as well. Shouldn’t you go and rest?” Then, turning to those beside her, she added, “Prepare a room for the State Preceptor in the side hall. The Grand Tutor and Minister Song are both advanced in years – staying overnight in the palace is hardly as comfortable as being at home. Send them extra bedding. In the evening, have someone tend carefully to the braziers. Also, assign two additional physicians to the Eleventh Princess and the Thirteenth Prince. Should either of them feel unwell, the palace attendants would be even more uneasy.”
Seeing the Emperor methodically arranging matters for the capital, the frontlines, and the palace, Wen Jingmei almost felt like sighing on behalf of her close attendants. “Your Majesty, please do not worry about others for now. Focus first on resting and recuperating yourself.” He bowed slightly and added, “I will wait just outside.”
Because the Emperor had ascended the throne at a young age and lacked the support of a strong family clan, she had always placed great emphasis on authority and control. Under circumstances where she had explicitly entrusted the imperial edict to him, Wen Jingmei dared not take even half a step out of line, lest it arouse the Emperor’s suspicion or distrust.
As Wen Jingmei retreated to the doorway, he suddenly heard a voice from within the bed curtains.
“Brother, if you truly wish to devote yourself wholeheartedly to spiritual cultivation, I will grant you that.”
Wen Yanran had long planned to bring those inevitably caught in the turbulence of the late Great Zhou onto her metaphorical pirate ship, adding bricks and tiles to her cause of playing the tyrannical ruler. Yet at this moment, she could not help but consider their futures as well.
Though it was daytime, lamps and candles still burned within the hall.
The Tianfu Palace was located extremely close to the Taiqi Palace, and the Emperor often visited during her leisure time. As the State Preceptor, Wen Jingmei was quite familiar with the Sovereign. Though young, she was a resolute, unyielding, and fearsome ruler. Yet today, he realized that while her intimidating side was genuine, so too were her usual displays of concern. The words she had just spoken, allowing him to withdraw from the turbulent currents of power, also came from the heart.
The State Preceptor, dressed in court robes embroidered with crane patterns, bowed slightly. “This matter is but my duty. Your Majesty need not concern yourself over it.”
Wen Yanran smiled faintly. “Those who are ill tend to be sentimental. Brother, consider it carefully. Once I recover, such an opportunity may not come again.”
Wen Jingmei finally let out a sigh. “My fortune is meager, unfit to bear too many blessings.”
After his words fell, no further sound came from within the bed curtains. Wen Jingmei waited a moment longer, then withdrew quietly to the outer chamber.
Since the Sovereign fell ill, the Chief Imperial Physician had been staying within the palace day and night, spending most of his time stationed at the Western Yong Palace, ready to check the Emperor’s pulse at any moment. This time, the Emperor’s symptoms had come on fiercely and urgently. It was only after three days that they slowly began to improve.
The Chief Imperial Physician himself felt deeply alarmed. Had the Emperor not grown much healthier since ascending the throne, this bout of wind-heat could well have turned into a severe illness. Through these days of examination, he had no doubt that the Emperor’s sudden collapse was due to excessive diligence – attending to every matter, large or small. Even a robust adult could easily wear down their lifespan with such habits, let alone a young person.
Fortunately, however, while the Emperor carried the weight of the world in her heart, her mindset remained consistently calm and composed. Even as several commanderies in the east rebelled at once and the war reached a stalemate, she showed no signs of panic or unease. Her frequent dreams at night were merely due to exhaustion. By now, the Chief Imperial Physician had come to understand that the Emperor seemed quite fond of reviewing the day’s affairs before falling asleep. He could not help but think to himself that, given her work habits, frequent dreaming was only natural. At least, while she pondered much, she was not anxious.
What the Chief Imperial Physician did not understand was that ordinary people worry because they do not know whether the future will bring good or ill. Wen Yanran, however, knew all too clearly that the Great Zhou’s mandate did not have many years left; at most, it would last another decade or so before collapsing completely. Thus, her emotions remained exceptionally stable.
While the Emperor was rather distractedly recuperating, Yuan Yanshi and Song Wenshu, who had not returned home for several days, were also engaged in a private conversation.
As senior ministers who had served three reigns, they both had reason to suspect that all the diligence and love for the people that had been lost among the Great Zhou’s imperial family over the past few generations had now converged upon this new emperor alone.
Song Wenshu, as the chief official of the Censorate, was quicker than others to notice the continuous expansion of the City Bureau’s authority. He also observed that since ascending the throne, the Emperor had increasingly relied on inner court officials. Under different circumstances, he would have felt compelled to offer some advice, if not to sway the Emperor’s will, then at least to express appropriate concern. Yet now, he held a different thought – if the Sovereign did not begin to share some of the burden with those around her, she might not live to an advanced age. Should the unthinkable happen one day, even if the Tianfu Palace could select a successor, there would never again be such a wise and capable ruler.
Today, the soreness in Wen Yanran’s throat had mostly subsided, and her forehead was no longer feverish. She thus instructed her close ministers to select and present the most urgent matters.
Chi Yi knew it would be difficult to dissuade the Emperor, so she could only attend to her personally, serving a cup of pear juice to soothe her throat.
Lying on the couch and leaning against soft cushions to read the memorials, Wen Yanran sighed inwardly – why didn’t the system come with any additional features to enhance her constitution? Otherwise, as someone aiming to be a tyrannical ruler, she might end up working herself to death before she could even add various debuffs to the already precarious Great Zhou dynasty. Wouldn’t that be a ridiculous legacy?
Cai Qu asked, “Would Your Majesty truly not like to lie down a bit longer?”
Wen Yanran shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll likely recover in three to five days.”
She spoke with full confidence. Long before ordering the memorials to be brought over, Wen Yanran had checked the game panel, where a line of text read: “Special Status: [Wind-Heat (Recovering)].”
In the original version of Monarch’s Conquest, players would occasionally trigger unexpected illness events. Some even shared screenshots of certain frustrating side quests – for instance, starting a game and, before even ascending the throne, dying of illness due to excessive excitement leading to a sleepless night.
During her illness, the authority value on her panel had also changed:
[Prestige (Central Region): 8020 (Professional Bonus)]
Some time ago, Wen Yanran had already raised her prestige in the central region to 90. According to strategy guides shared in the comment section, once prestige reached 90, further increases became extremely difficult. Yet recently, it had suddenly dropped by 10 points, undoubtedly because news of her illness had spread rapidly throughout the capital.
“If Ah-Luo is not too busy with his duties, have him come here.”
