Chapter 1 — Saving the Emperor One Sugar Cube at a Time

For ten full years, I served within the deep, labyrinthine walls of the imperial palace. I began as a lowly washerwoman in the Laundry Bureau, scrubbing the blood and sweat of others from coarse fabrics, before slowly climbing step by arduous step to become a personal maid in the emperor's own chamber. The position was neither grand nor insignificant, but it held a precarious authority that could easily shatter. Just as I allowed myself a moment of cautious optimism, believing that the bitter days of endless toil were finally behind me, a cataclysmic piece of news struck on the very first day of my new appointment.

The sovereign, the Son of Heaven himself, had suddenly collapsed mid-court. His complexion was not merely pale; it was the ghostly, ashen hue of a corpse, and cold sweat poured incessantly from his forehead. No matter how frantically the attendants cried out his name, there was no flicker of a response. When the imperial physicians had finished taking his pulse one by one, their verdicts were chillingly unanimous: His Majesty’s vital energy and blood were utterly exhausted, and medicines were no longer of any avail. The imperial physicians bowed their heads, resigning themselves to the inevitable.

Yet, deep within the palace laws, an unyielding and cruel edict existed. If the sovereign were to perish, every single close attendant within the hall would be buried alive alongside him to serve him in the netherworld. My mind shattered completely, and despair consumed my soul. Heavens above, if tormenting a clumsy, pitiful girl who had exhausted every ounce of her strength only to remain trapped in perpetual despair could bring You such supreme fulfillment, then consider my plea unsaid.

At that exact, desperate juncture, a myriad of glowing, translucent characters abruptly materialized before my eyes:
【He stays up late every single night reviewing memorials, yet stubbornly refuses to eat properly—this is nothing more than severe hypoglycemia! The lot of them are blind quacks making wild guesses!】
【I am laughing myself to death; the first emperor in history to die from low blood sugar.】
【He can still be saved! Stop butchering him with useless treatments!】

He could still be saved? In the very next second, I threw myself flat against the cold stone floor, my voice trembling violently as I cried out:

“Dowager Empress! His Majesty… he can still be saved!”

1

The cavernous expanses of the Dragon Yan Hall were dreadfully, suffocatingly quiet. Crown Prince Xiao Chuanyu whipped around, his gaze dark and venomous as it locked onto my trembling form, his voice harsh with authority:

“What lowly, insignificant palace maid crawled out from the dirt, daring to speak presumptuously of the imperial dragon’s body here!”

“Someone, drag this rebellious and insolent wretch outside and beat her to death with heavy cudgels!”

Empress Meng Yuannrou immediately chimed in, her tone dripping with venom:

“Why have you not moved yet? His Majesty is on the brink of death; how can we allow such a blind and reckless servant to disturb the sacred person!”

Two Imperial Guards stepped forward, seizing my shoulders in a ruthless grip from left and right before dragging me relentlessly toward the exit. My knees slammed brutally against the golden bricks, the bones nearly shattering beneath the impact, yet I bit down hard upon my lower lip, refusing to utter a single plea for mercy. Having lingered on the precipice of death within these shadowed halls for a decade, I understood better than anyone that begging for pity would only hasten my demise.

“Wait.”

Up upon the elevated dais, the Dowager Empress, who had been slowly rolling her prayer beads between her fingers, finally lifted her heavy eyelids and spoke to stay their hands:

“The Emperor has not yet drawn his last breath. What are you all rushing for?”

“Imperial Grandmother!”

The Crown Prince called out in frantic desperation, clearly unwilling to let the matter drop, but the Dowager Empress silenced him with a cold gesture.

“I said, try one more time.”

Her piercing gaze swept across every face in the hall.

“Summon Wu Xuezhu into the palace immediately. As long as there remains a single thread of hope, I will never give up.”

Before even half an incense stick could burn down, the foremost miraculous physician of the capital, Wu Xuezhu, hurried into the great hall with her medical box in hand. Clad in the unadorned white garments of a healer, her movements were swift and practiced.

“This humble subject pays her respects…”

“Spare the courtesies, go and examine the Emperor!” the Dowager Empress urged impatiently.

Wu Xuezhu strode rapidly to the imperial bed, placing her fingertips gently upon the sovereign's wrist. Xiao Qiyuan lay motionless, his eyes firmly shut, his complexion bloodless, and his breathing so faint it seemed ready to extinguish at any moment. The commanding aura of absolute life and death that usually surrounded him was entirely gone.

The collective breathing of everyone in the hall grew tense and shallow. After a agonizingly long moment, Wu Xuezhu withdrew her hand, a grave expression settling over her features as she slowly shook her head.

“Dowager Empress.”

She sank gracefully to the floor, her voice laden with sorrow and helplessness:

“His Majesty has been invaded by a vicious cold toxin deep within his marrow. At present, his vital energies are completely depleted, and all five major pulses are on the verge of collapsing. He stands upon the absolute precipice of life and death!”

The Dowager Empress’s frail body swayed, her fingers tightening their grip upon the back of her chair until her knuckles turned white:

“Is there no other way to save him?”

Wu Xuezhu’s gaze turned resolute:

“There is only one path left! We must immediately administer a potent, drastic medicine to forcefully consolidate his primordial essence and tether his soul to his body!”

“This method is fraught with unimaginable peril, but if we do not attempt it, His Majesty will certainly not survive the night.”

The Dowager Empress drew a sharp, deep breath, virtually grinding her teeth as she issued the imperial decree:

“Administer the medicine! I grant you permission to attempt it with a free hand. Should any mishap occur, I alone shall bear the responsibility!”

The hall plunged into frantic motion once more. Obeying the command, Wu Xuezhu bowed her head, flipped open her medical box, and swiftly set to work preparing the draught. Kneeling in a secluded corner, I watched closely. I clearly caught the fleeting moment when Wu Xuezhu lowered her hand after feigning her pulse-taking. The corners of her eyes lifted slightly in a hidden smirk, and she exchanged a rapid, conspiratorial glance with the Crown Prince.

A heavy ringing filled my ears, and I felt as though I had plunged into a frozen abyss. Wu Xuezhu had never come here to save anyone; she was an agent of the Crown Prince! The "potent medicine to consolidate primordial essence" of which they spoke was nothing more than an overt plot to join hands and send the emperor to his death right beneath the Dowager Empress's nose, allowing the Crown Prince to seize the throne immediately!

Not far away, Wu Xuezhu had already taken up her brush, dashing down the characters for the first lethal ingredient. The grand game was set, and the executioner's blade was descending. I squeezed my sleeves so tightly that my fingernails bit deep into my palms, forcing myself to remain coldly rational.

2

Wu Xuezhu wielded her brush with ferocious speed, handing the prescription to a eunuch before the ink upon the paper had even dried:

“The situation is critical! Boil it swiftly over high heat, and ensure it is brought up within the span of a single incense stick!”

The braziers within the hall roared with intense flames. Within a short while, a bowl of pitch-black, steaming medicine was brought before the imperial bed. A eunuch forcefully pried open Xiao Qiyuan’s jaw, brutally pouring the scalding concoction down his throat.

The moment the medicine hit his stomach, Xiao Qiyuan’s chest—which had been rising and falling with only the faintest whispers of breath—heaved violently. The lips that had lacked any trace of color rapidly curdled into a deadly, purplish-blue hue that was visible to the naked eye. Even the hands that had hung limply beside him instantly locked rigid. The imperial physician responsible for monitoring his pulse was so terrified that he collapsed backward onto the floor:

“Your… Your Majesty’s limbs are freezing, and his pulse… his pulse is scattering!”

【Good heavens! This is not curing a disease; this is blatant murder!】
【Does this quack understand anything at all? The Emperor is clearly suffering from severe hypoglycemic shock!】
【His body is already weakened to this extreme degree, and yet she dares to administer massive doses of raw aconite and dried ginger?】
【Treating hypoglycemia with such violently heating drugs is nothing short of forcefully wringing out his last drop of life force. This is undeniably intentional regicide!】

Hypoglycemia? Though I did not fully comprehend the strange term, the four words "intentional regicide" echoed loudly in my mind! Looking back at the dying emperor upon the bed, the thread of reason in my brain snapped completely. The moment the emperor died, the Crown Prince’s blade would undoubtedly sever my head first!

“You cannot give him any more!”

Drawing upon a surge of adrenaline I never knew I possessed, I suddenly wrenched myself free from the distracted imperial guard behind me, lunging forward with a piercing shriek:

“The prescription is flawed! This medicine will murder His Majesty!”

Everyone in the hall was startled into momentary stillness by my sudden outburst. A flicker of panic flashed across the depths of Wu Xuezhu’s eyes, but she quickly recovered her composure:

“Where did this madwoman crawl from?”

“I am employing traditional herbal methods to dispel the cold and reinforce the root. How can a lowly, ignorant palace maid be permitted to interfere!”

The head physician of the Imperial Medical Academy quickly echoed her sentiment:

“Miraculous Physician Wu’s prescription is profoundly ingenious, perfectly suited to treat His Majesty’s cold toxins. Impudent wretch, cease your wild ravings!”

With both the renowned capital physician and the head of the imperial medical establishment speaking in unison, not a single person in the hall spared me another glance. Empress Meng Yuannrou’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, seizing the opportunity to sternly press the charge:

“Rebellion! This vile servant repeatedly disturbs the sacred proceedings; she must be an assassin with malicious intent!”

“Guards! Bind her tightly and gag her mouth!”

Several sturdy palace matrons lunged forward, binding my hands and feet with coarse hemp ropes. Instantly, a filthy rag was shoved into my mouth, choking off any further sound.

“Mmm… mmm!”

I struggled with all my might, but pinned against the freezing stone floor, I was utterly helpless. The Dowager Empress no longer had the capacity to care whether I lived or died. She gripped Wu Xuezhu’s sleeve, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

“Why has it come to this? Why is the Emperor’s complexion even worse than before!”

Wu Xuezhu promptly dropped to her knees, feigning a look of utter terror:

“Dowager Empress, the cold venom within His Majesty’s body is far too deep, and it has suffered a violent backlash! Ordinary medicinal powers can no longer suppress it!”

“We must forcibly lock down his final breath!”

“Dowager Empress, I beg you to immediately permit this subject to add three qian of raw aconite and five qian of processed pinellia, and brew another bowl!”

“If we do not administer this heavy dose immediately, His Majesty will draw his final breath right now!”

The moment those words left her lips, the entire assembly erupted in chaos.

【She has gone mad! Raw aconite combined with processed pinellia! Highly toxic herbs paired with violently heating drugs—drink this bowl and not even immortals could save him; the imperial household might as well prepare the funeral!】
【Stop her! The moment that second bowl of medicine is poured down, the Emperor will undoubtedly die within three minutes!】

Xiao Chuanyu stepped forward, projecting an air of absolute righteousness:

“Imperial Grandmother, Physician Wu is the supreme miracle worker of our era, decisive in her administration of medicine. We must not hesitate at a moment like this!”

“Guards, why haven't you brewed the medicine according to the physician’s prescription yet? If you delay, watch your heads!”

The eunuchs in the hall scrambled frantically toward the door to brew the lethal draught.

【Brew what?! Brew that and the Emperor will actually die!】
【I am dying of anxiety! Hypoglycemic shock requires raw aconite for what? Quickly shove a lump of sugar into his mouth!】
【A single piece of sugar can save his life! Just one piece of sugar!】

3

Sugar! I could not speak, and thus I rolled and writhed frantically upon the stone floor. The ropes binding my hands behind my back rubbed against my skin until blood seeped through, and the guttural sounds of muffled cries tore from my throat. My forehead slammed repeatedly against the blue bricks, leaving a glaring, bloody smear in its wake.

Exasperated by the commotion I caused, Xiao Chuanyu barked:

“This wretched maid is nearing her death yet still dares to disturb the sacred presence! Are the imperial guards dead? Drag her outside at once and beat her to death with heavy cudgels!”

Two armored guards stepped forward, gripping my shoulders from either side to hoist me away.

“Wait.”

The Dowager Empress, who had been staring fixedly at the emperor’s complexion, finally spoke:

“Remove the gag from her mouth.”

“I want to hear what she is trying so desperately to say as she flails about like this.”

“Imperial Grandmother! A lowly servant like this—”

Xiao Chuanyu anxiously attempted to intervene.

“Remove it,” the Dowager Empress repeated coldly.

The rag was yanked away forcefully. Beneath the murderous glare of the Crown Prince, I screamed until my voice cracked:

“Sugar! Give His Majesty a piece of sugar! There is no need for medicine, just a single piece of sugar can save his life!”

The cavernous Dragon Yan Hall plunged into an eerie silence. Following that, a wave of incredulous, mocking laughter erupted unanimously from the imperial physicians. Wu Xuezhu chuckled as well, her tone dripping with severe rebuke:

“Truly absurd to the extreme! At present, cold pathogens are rampaging through His Majesty’s body and his vital energy is nearly exhausted. The absolute worst things for him are sweet and greasy substances!”

“Sweets stagnate the vital energy, obstruct the stomach, and generate phlegm. At a time like this, you ask for him to consume sugar—you are clearly attempting to sever the final thread of vitality remaining in his heart!”

“Speak! By whose instigation are you attempting to openly assassinate the sovereign?”

With such a monstrous accusation leveled against me, the atmosphere in the grand hall plummeted to freezing temperatures. The final glimmer of hope in the Dowager Empress’s eyes dissolved into utter disappointment. She turned her head away in deep disgust.