**Chapter 15: The Purple River Flows East**

The morning light in the Palace of Heavenly Purity made the urgent report from Nanjing seem even more glaring. Zhu Youjian's fingers trembled slightly as the words on the paper seemed to burn his eyes: *"...Three days ago, the Yangtze's waters began changing color—now deep purple. Fishermen report strange lights, some claiming the 'Violet Moon Immortal' has appeared..."*

"Him again." Xu Qing set down the system scanner. "The Sovereign's consciousness wasn't destroyed—it migrated through the water system to the Yangtze."

Zhu Meichuo, bandaging her father's wounded hand, looked up sharply. "The Yangtze connects half the Ming... If the contamination spreads..."

She didn't finish, but all understood the implications. Zhu Youjian's expression darkened. "Issue an edict: immediately cease drawing water from the Yangtze. Riverine prefectures must investigate any abnormalities."

Surprisingly, Grand Secretary Chen Yan objected: "Your Majesty, this may incite unrest. Millions depend on the Yangtze—we cannot simply cut it off!"

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Zhu Youjian asked coldly. "Let that demon poison our people?"

Chen Yan kowtowed. "This old servant dares suggest these phenomena may be Heaven's wrath against the Academy's 'sorceries.' Perhaps suspending those unnatural crafts and conducting Buddhist-Taoist rites..."

"Absurd!" Zhu Cilang interrupted before his father stopped him.

"Grand Secretary," Zhu Youjian said pointedly, "does your diabetes medicine still work?"

Chen Yan flushed. "...It does."

"Then enough." Zhu Youjian stood. "Technology is neither good nor evil—only its application matters. Henceforth, the Academy will establish a Water Bureau dedicated to purification methods."

---

After the assembly, Zhu Youjian summoned Xu Qing and Zhu Meichuo privately. The emperor's hand injury was clearly worse than he'd let on—blood seeped through the bandage.

"Father should rest," Zhu Meichuo fretted.

Zhu Youjian shook his head. "Meichuo, We have questions. Why was your blood more potent than Ours yesterday?"

Zhu Meichuo's hands shook, dropping a silver needle. "This daughter... doesn't know..."

Xu Qing pulled up system data. "The princess's blood showed ten times the normal quantum resonance—even exceeding Your Majesty's."

"That defies reason." Zhu Youjian studied his daughter. "Unless..."

Empress Zhou hurried in unexpectedly. "Your Majesty, this consort must speak privately."

Xu Qing tactfully withdrew, but Zhu Meichuo remained. Through the door, he caught fragments of the empress's tearful confession: *"...Meichuo isn't mine... that palace fire fifteen years ago..."*

When Zhu Meichuo emerged half an hour later, red-eyed and silent, she fled immediately. Zhu Youjian followed, his face unreadable. "Minister Xu, accompany Us to the Academy."

---

The Academy, housed in the former Hall of Martial Valor, now brimmed with activity. A massive sand table dominated the center, depicting the Yangtze basin. Modern instruments mingled with Ming replicas along the walls.

Zhu Cilang was instructing young Hanlin scholars in microscope use when the emperor arrived. All bowed hastily.

"At ease." Zhu Youjian went straight to the sand table. "Solutions?"

Xu Qing pulled up data on his laptop. "Modern water treatment requires complex filtration and chemicals—impossible to replicate quickly. But..." He queued a video. "Activated carbon adsorption is simpler to attempt."

"Activated... carbon?"

"Specially treated charcoal." Xu Qing explained. "With sand filtration, it removes most contaminants."

Tests proved successful—a bucket of purple water poured through the makeshift filter emerged noticeably clearer.

"It works!" Zhu Cilang exclaimed. "But how to scale this?"

"Build filtration stations along the river." Zhu Youjian ordered immediately. "Mobilize charcoal kilns nationwide."

As they planned, Luo Yangxing rushed in. "Your Majesty! The Violet Moon Cult spreads along the Yangtze—thousands strong now!"

Reports described cultists gathering at night to drink the purple water, afterward claiming visions of the "Water Immortal" and exhibiting unnatural strength and aggression.

"The Sovereign is expanding his hosts." Xu Qing grimaced. "The contaminated water is his transmission vector."

Zhu Youjian made decisions swiftly: infiltrators to investigate, Sun Chuantien's troops mobilized discreetly.

When Xu Qing expressed concern about military action, Zhu Youjian rubbed his temples—clearly weakened by blood loss. "Precaution only. Minister Xu... regarding Meichuo's origins..."

The truth emerged: Zhu Meichuo was the sole survivor of a palace coup fifteen years prior, adopted by then-Prince Zhu Youjian after a mysterious "purple fire" from the sky.

"Purple fire?" Xu Qing's breath caught. "Your Majesty, that may have been..."

"A temporal rift." Zhu Youjian smiled bitterly. "We should have realized sooner. Meichuo's birth father... was likely a time traveler."

This explained her blood's unique properties—innate quantum affinity from cross-temporal lineage. "Does the princess know?"

"The empress told her." Zhu Youjian sighed. "She fled the palace and hasn't returned."

---

By nightfall, Zhu Meichuo remained missing. Zhu Youjian waited at the palace gates like any worried father, his plain cloak belying imperial status.

Xu Qing located her via GPS in a western suburb villa. Hearing muffled sobs through the door, he called softly: "Your Highness?"

The crying stopped. When Zhu Meichuo opened the door, her eyes were swollen peaches. "Master Xu... I..."

He offered a handkerchief. "Your father worries."

"I'm not his daughter." Her voice trembled. "Fifteen years of lies..."

"But the love wasn't a lie." Xu Qing said gently. "He knew your true origins yet still risked his life for you. Isn't that deeper than blood?"

Zhu Meichuo froze. The night breeze revealed a peculiar birthmark on her neck—a crescent split by lightning.

Xu Qing's pulse quickened. "This mark..."

"Always had it." She touched it unconsciously. "The empress—no, *she*—called it an auspicious sign."

A surreptitious scan confirmed Xu Qing's suspicion: **[Quantum resonance marker. 98.7% probability: Temporal descendant.]**

On their return, Zhu Meichuo was silent until the palace lights appeared. "Master Xu... if I'm truly from another time... could I vanish someday?"

"Never." Xu Qing said firmly. "You're anchored here now. Your quantum signature is completely stable."

At the gates, Zhu Youjian stood waiting—just a father awaiting his child.

"Father!" Zhu Meichuo collapsed into tears at his feet.

Zhu Youjian raised her, wiping her cheeks. "Silly child, you'll always be Our Meichuo. Blood cannot undo fifteen years as father and daughter."

The scene tightened Xu Qing's throat. As he withdrew, he encountered Zhu Cilang—the crown prince's expression complex. "Elder Sister... she's really not..."

"But she'll always be your sister." Xu Qing clasped his shoulder. "As His Majesty said—fifteen years of love doesn't change."

Zhu Cilang nodded grimly, then whispered: "New reports from Nanjing—the cultists are massing near Yingtian Prefecture. Over ten thousand now!"

---

The next morning's court erupted over Nanjing's emergency petitions. Violet Moon Cultists were besieging government offices demanding access to the contaminated river. Worse yet, some cultists exhibited physical mutations—purple skin markings, inhuman strength, and immunity to pain.

"This is demonic rebellion!" Minister of War Zhang Jinyan declared. "We must crush them militarily!"

Chen Yan again protested: "These are no ordinary rioters but Heaven's warning! Your Majesty must issue a self-condemnation edict and suspend the Academy's—"

"Enough!" Zhu Youjian slammed the throne armrests. "Grand Secretary speaks of divine wrath yet hasn't witnessed the truth firsthand. We shall tour the Yangtze personally!"

The court gasped—no Ming emperor had taken the field since Yongle's era. Xu Qing understood: Zhu Youjian intended to confront the Sovereign directly.

In private council, Sun Chuantien's mobilized fifty thousand troops posed an ethical dilemma: "If these cultists are truly possessed innocents, how should our soldiers proceed?"

"Minimize casualties." Zhu Youjian instructed. "Focus on destroying contamination sources."

Xu Qing proposed a bold plan: "System analysis suggests the Sovereign's consciousness core resides in a specific water body. If we can locate and destroy it..."

"How much 'dragon blood'?" Zhu Youjian cut to the chase.

"At least... five hundred milliliters." Xu Qing hated voicing this lethal volume.

Zhu Cilang paled. "That's fatal!"

"Use mine." Zhu Meichuo stepped forward. "My blood's greater potency means half that volume suffices."

Zhu Youjian refused absolutely—until Zhu Meichuo knelt pleading: "Father! Knowing my origins now, perhaps this special blood is Heaven's will! And two hundred milliliters isn't life-threatening."

After heated debate, Zhu Youjian relented. The plan finalized: in seven days, the emperor would lead the main force while Xu Qing and Zhu Meichuo spearheaded a strike team to eliminate the core.

---

That night as Xu Qing prepared equipment, his system pinged with an encrypted message from Su Yu:

**[Beware the moon in the water.]**

Simultaneously, Zhu Meichuo made a chilling discovery in her chambers. As she washed her hands, the basin water suddenly glowed violet—illuminating her birthmark, which burned as if responding...

She tried to call for help when a familiar voice echoed from the water:

*"Meichuo... my child..."*

The voice of the Sovereign.