The Banished Immortal of the Cold Palace: His Majesty’s Young Master Yun Has Fallen Asleep Again - Chapter 1

In the winter of the thirty-seventh year of Yong’an, the weight of the accumulated snow collapsed a corner of the eaves of Qian’an Palace. The old Emperor had been bedridden for three months and, in the end, could not survive the harsh winter.

Inside Qian’an Palace, princes, dukes, ministers, princesses, concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids knelt across the floor. A cacophony of sobbing and cries of grief filled the air in a chaotic mess. Tears, whether genuine or performative, hung on everyone’s faces as they wailed, “Your Majesty!”

Inside the imperial bedchamber, the old Emperor’s hand remained stiffly frozen in mid-air, as if reaching for that cold cup of immortality elixir. Crown Prince Yan Linyuan knelt at the head of the princes, his head bowed, seemingly consumed by grief over the passing of the man he called Imperial Father.

As the old Emperor’s personal eunuch let out the sharp, piercing cry, “The Emperor has passed!” the decree-bearing eunuchs outside the palace began to sprint. They strained their voices, shouting with all their might: “The Emperor has passed! The Emperor has passed! The Emperor has passed!”

The funeral bells, representing national mourning, were struck.

The deep, heavy, and lingering tolling of the bells struck the hearts of the people, slowly diffusing through the air. It sounded like a sob rising from deep underground, mingling with the cries of the palace attendants, all announcing the fall of a monarch.

After a brief period of chaos, the mourners in Qian’an Palace ceased their weeping. All eyes converged on the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Prince Duan, the ministers entrusted with the late Emperor’s final mandates, who had already stood up.

Grand Secretary Lin Xiuxing held the mourning box with both hands. With a solemn expression and under the gaze of the crowd, he opened the box and retrieved the succession edict written in the late Emperor’s own hand.

“By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

I have reigned for thirty-seven years, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk to bring peace to the people. Now, my health is failing and medicine has proven futile; I fear I can no longer bear the weight of the state. Mindful that a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day, nor the people without a master for a moment, I hereby follow ancestral tradition to select a worthy successor.

The eldest son, Yan Linyuan, is of steadfast and brilliant character, possessing a great sense of propriety. In years past, he followed me to pacify the Northern Borders and protect our territory. During his time in his fief, he oversaw water conservancy projects that benefited the local populace. He is truly a pillar of the state and the hope of the people. I hereby appoint Yan Linyuan as the Crown Prince. Upon my passing, he shall ascend the throne and change the era name to Jinghe.

Let this be proclaimed to all under heaven, that everyone may know.”

As the voice faded, Yan Linyuan performed the ritual of three prostrations and nine kowtows. He rose and accepted the edict, declaring, “I shall surely follow the late Emperor’s entrustment to protect the mountains and rivers and bring peace to the people!”

“We, your subjects, obey the late Emperor’s testament. We congratulate the New Emperor on his accession! Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live!”

With the late Emperor’s testament proclaimed to the world, Yan Linyuan officially became the new Emperor. Twenty-seven days later, the enthronement ceremony began. During the Sacrifice to Heaven, Yan Linyuan followed the prescribed rituals.

Among the ministers waiting below the altar, several individuals wearing moon-white cross-collared robes saw that the ceremony was nearing its end and began exchanging glances. When Yan Linyuan finished the rituals, he descended the altar and slowly walked away. Watching his departing figure, those individuals grew increasingly anxious, their eyes darting back and forth even more frequently.

However, until Yan Linyuan had completely disappeared from sight, not one of them made a move. Once the Emperor was entirely out of view, one old man spoke with an anxious face: “Speak up! Why did none of you report to the Emperor?”

Another old man was equally frantic: “You say it! Why did you not speak?”

The others were full of woe: “What are we to do? The Minglun Lord is still in the Inner Palace! The late Emperor has been gone for over a month and all the concubines have moved out. Why has the Minglun Lord not come out yet?”

The old man widened his eyes: “What if the Minglun Lord has already left the palace? We have never been to the Wheel-Governing Department and have not seen him in person. Perhaps we did not recognize him?”

A youth of about fifteen years old pinched his fingers in a divining gesture: “But Master, I have calculated that the Minglun Lord is definitely still in the palace.”

The old man stroked his beard and also performed a divination: “This old man calculates that the Minglun Lord is outside the palace! You child have only learned the basics; your calculations are inaccurate. Do not talk nonsense.”

The new Emperor’s personality was unlike the late Emperor’s; he was unpredictable and handled matters with a certain ruthlessness. If he found out that the Bureau of Astronomy had lost the upcoming Heavenly Master, a Minglun Lord from the Wheel-Governing Department, and that they were asking him for the person, their heads might not stay on their shoulders.

So, My Lord, it is not that we are not looking for you. It is just that the Old Heavenly Master loves his position and wants to keep it for a while longer. Please just consider it an act of respecting your elders and let him have his way.

The old men present looked at one another, confirmed their shared thoughts, and tacitly worked together to fool the young disciple. The few children who had just come down from the mountain were so misled they could not tell north from south, following their masters back to the Bureau of Astronomy. On the way, the old men walked ahead of their disciples, whispering secretly.

Old Man 1: “What do we do? The Lord really seems to be in the palace!” Old Man 2: “I do not know!” Old Man 3: “Should we go back and find the Emperor?” Old Man 1: “I think we would lose our heads.” Old Man 3: “Then what?” Old Man 2: “I do not know!” Old Man 1: “What if we sneak into the Inner Palace and steal the Lord out?” Old Man 3: “The Inner Palace is so huge, where would we even start stealing?” Old Man 2: “I do not know!”

Forget it, they would plan this thoroughly. But why would the Lord run into the palace? Specifically the Inner Palace? It was truly strange.

While Heavenly Masters were technically forbidden from marrying, though no one knew why the previous Emperor made that rule, it was usually ignored if done in secret. Although every generation of Heavenly Masters seemed to despise the Emperor and the Royal Family, they were still under the Emperor’s jurisdiction.

Could this Minglun Lord hate the Emperor so much that he ran into the harem to cause trouble for the concubines? Old Man 1’s pupils dilated in shock. Old Man 3 was even more horrified. The late Emperor was dead, and the Lord still was not coming back. Was he planning to move on to stealing the new Emperor’s people too?

The two grew increasingly terrified. Would their entire Bureau of Astronomy be executed by the Emperor?

“Please, no! My Lord! Think of the group of old, weak, and sick people at the Bureau! My Lord! Please come back!”

Old Man 2: “What are they talking about? I do not know!”

After Yan Linyuan issued the accession edict, he announced a general amnesty and bestowed rewards upon the officials to show his grace. Simultaneously, he formally invested the Empress and the members of his former household.

When Yan Linyuan was Crown Prince, his marriage had been arranged early by the late Emperor. During his time as the Master of the East Palace, whether appointed by the late Emperor, the Empress, or the Empress Dowager, his household had become crowded with wives and concubines for various reasons.

However, as the Crown Prince was constantly away at war, Yan Linyuan was not even sure what his own Crown Princess looked like. Later, when the late Emperor fell ill, he returned to the capital to take over government affairs and had even less energy to manage his harem.

Now, following protocol, he invested the Empress and the former members of the East Palace before immersing himself entirely in state affairs. He never inquired about the matters of the Inner Palace again.