Emperor Zhenning didn't know where he got the strength from, but he picked up the teacup and took a sip.
The warm tea seeped into his throat sore, but he didn't feel any pain and even felt a little cool.
He tried to clear his throat and said calmly, "My dear, I didn't ask you to apologize. I was asking you, what do you think of yourself?"
Treat it as what
This question seems to require no answer.
After all, these two people have been living together as "master and slave" for decades.
But what is interesting is that the emperor asked him this question at this time not out of the instinct of a superior to trample on the inferior, but to seek peace of mind.
Seek peace of mind from a slave and be taken care of personally.
The emperor might not understand the real meaning of his question, and He Yixian could not have imagined it either.
The wounds from the stick had not yet healed, and after crawling for so long, his whole body was shaking, and the beads of cold sweat on his forehead had wet the hair under his turban.
During the period when Emperor Zhenning was recuperating, both the servants and the emperor himself wore thin and soft daily clothes. At this time, the charcoal smoke, the burning incense and the steam in the room brought with them a faint fishy smell from human glands, which made He Yixian feel like nausea.
"This old slave... has always considered himself as your Majesty's servant..."
He leaned forward and replied.
"Heh..."
Emperor Zhenning laughed and suddenly changed the subject.
"Oh, my dear... you can't bear to leave me either."
This "I can't bear" was accompanied by a sigh, and He Yixian's bones seemed to be pulled out of his body. He almost collapsed at the emperor's feet. He didn't care that he couldn't show his grief in front of the emperor. He shrugged his shoulders and choked with sobs. His old and rotten joints made a crackling sound as his body moved. His saliva fell to the ground, leaving long sticky threads. He wanted to wipe it with his hands, but he couldn't move at all.
"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."
"Master... Master... Please give me a rope, and I will follow you."
Emperor Zhenning looked down at him and said, "My mausoleum has not yet been sealed. I am worried about taking you down... No matter what, you have to wait for me to ascend to heaven and watch them discuss my posthumous title and discuss..."
He Yixian burst into tears, "I understand... I understand everything."
"I understand..."
Emperor Zhenning said, lifting He Yixian's chin with his foot, "Get up, grind ink for me, I want to read... the decree of establishing a crown prince."
**
A piece of rice paper was spread out on the rosewood imperial desk.
Cinnabar ink, soft brush, Duandi inkstone, and a censer of incense that is so thick that it cannot be dispersed...
The man holding the pen at the desk is a king on his deathbed.
Did he write anything at all, and what did he write
Amid the sound of snow, nothing is known.
The sky outside the palace gradually darkened, and heavy snow was flowing wildly in the howling snow wind.
In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where no one was watching except the master and his slave, the biggest mystery in the history of the Ming Dynasty was obscured by the gradually pressing snow clouds, without a single ray of light.
Li Yu was standing on the platform when he suddenly heard a weak laugh coming from inside the hall.
Then there was the sound of something rolling on the ground. Upon closer listening, it sounded like someone was rolling.
He Yixian started to sing a nursery rhyme with indistinguishable words, but stopped halfway through. The inner hall was silent for a while, with only the lights flickering. Suddenly, a miserable wail came from the door. The snowy wind penetrated the entire porch, and everyone's clothes were blown in one direction. The wooden frames of the doors and windows in the porch were all trembling.
Li Yu looked up beside Li Bingbi and saw He Yixian running out, tumbling and falling on the platform. The people from the Imperial Household Department rushed over to help him up, but saw that his clothes were covered in dust, and his forehead, arms and knees were covered with bruises.
Li Bingbi called him "old ancestor", but he suddenly vomited blood, which frightened several young eunuchs so much that their legs went limp.
He leaned against Li Bingbi's arms and spat out a few words in blood - Master... I can't do it anymore...
The imperial physicians standing nearby were stunned for a moment, then reacted and picked up their official robes and ran into the Yangxin Palace.
**
In Chengqian Palace, Yi Lang was still wrapped in a large blanket, sleeping on the desk.
Yang Wan left He Yu in the room to serve her, and came out alone, holding her cloak, and walked towards the side hall.
On a snowy day, people from the six palaces could only stay inside the palaces. However, because the emperor was seriously ill, all the palaces were closed and no one dared to cause any trouble.
Song Yunqing happened to be off duty that day, so he brought some wool and taught Yang Wan how to do the work together with Concubine Chen.
Yang Wan has been feeling uneasy.
This day was the third day of the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenning. There are several opinions on the time of Emperor Zhenning's death according to historical records. One says it was the fourth day of the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenning, another says it was the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Zhenning, and still another says it was the tenth day of the twelfth month.
The reason for this statement is that after the death of Emperor Zhenning, the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet had a big disagreement on the regulations of the emperor's funeral, which led to different historical books recording the emperor's funeral in different ways. Yang Wan and others became more and more restless as the fifth day of December approached after the end of November.
"What's wrong with you? You moved around three times after sitting for just a short while."
Song Yun gently pushed aside the woolen thread in front of him, poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Yang Wan, "Please sit down."
Lady Chen also put down her work for a while and said to Song Yunqing, "Don't blame Aunt Wan. The eldest prince has not been feeling well these past few days and has been sweating at night."
Song Yunqing heard this and sighed as well, looking down and saying, "It's really too cold this year. I heard from Chen Hua that the coal supply was not enough and the coal collectors had to run more than ten miles outside the city. If this continues, I don't know how many more people in the palace will get sick from the cold than in previous years."
Yang Wan held the tea and asked, "Do you have enough charcoal burning in the Shangyi Bureau?"
Song Yun shook his head slightly. "It's just enough to maintain it. To be honest, I'm not as good as Li Yu. The little money his godfather gave him is better than mine. Don't worry about you and Chen Niangniang laughing at me. I relied on him for support a few days ago. These days I have been thinking that it's a good thing that I listened to Jiang Shangyi and sent him out to worship such a godfather. Otherwise, Chen Hua and I alone would not be able to protect him so well."
Concubine Chen said, "This is not your Majesty's 24 innings, it is clearly the 24 innings of the Imperial Household Department."
After she finished speaking, she felt that she had said something wrong, so she lowered her head and changed her words to cover it up.
"Song Sizan, you let your own brother recognize this slave as his father. Aren't you sad?"
Song Yun chuckled, "You are a rich lady, you don't know the situation of us slaves. We don't like the behavior of the Imperial Household Department. But they are all sonless, and if they have a child to look after their father, they will love him more than their own father. Li Yu has always been a straightforward person, who loves to get into trouble and has suffered a lot of verbal abuse. In the past, he didn't have the care of the factory officials, and when he got into trouble, it was his godfather who saved him."
Lady Chen said, "I think the officials in the factory and the people in the Imperial Household Department are different."
Yang Wan did not respond, and Song Yunqing also fell silent.
The wind made the doors and windows rattle, and the three people subconsciously moved towards the charcoal brazier.
As Yang Wan stretched out her hand, she heard the sound of the palace door being pushed open.
Concubine Chen asked suspiciously, "Wasn't the palace gate closed? How come it was opened without any notification..."
Yang Wan stood up and said, "I'll go out and take a look."
Yang Wan walked out of the side hall, passed through the wall, and saw that the person coming through the door was Li Bingbi from the Imperial Household Department.
When he saw Yang Wan coming out, he stopped talking to the eunuch at the door and walked straight towards Yang Wan and said, "Go and ask His Highness to come out to the Yangxin Palace."
Yang Wan stopped and asked, "Your Majesty, is he not feeling well?"
Li Bingbi said, "I can't speak any more. I'm afraid something big will happen today. The Queen has already gone there with the Second Prince."
As he was talking, Song Yunqing and Concubine Chen followed him out. Concubine Chen ignored the etiquette and grabbed Li Bingbi's sleeve and said, "When has your Majesty been ill? Didn't you say the other day that you were in a better mood?"
"Madam Chen, this is the diagnosis made by the imperial doctors. How dare I speak nonsense? You should also change your clothes quickly and come with me."
After hearing this, Concubine Chen suddenly stumbled backwards and fell limply to the ground.
Song Yunqing quickly squatted down to help her, raised his head and said to Yang Wan, "Don't worry about this, go and ask His Highness to change clothes, I'll ask someone to serve Madam Chen."
Yang Wan turned around and went to the study.
Yi Lang had been awakened by the noise outside, and was walking towards the door with his bare feet on the ground.
Yang Wan quickly squatted down, wrapped him up, and said to He Yu, "Bring your Highness's clothes, shoes and hats here."
Yi Lang looked at Yang Wan and said, "My aunt asked me to go somewhere."
Yang Wan took a breath, tried to make her voice calmer, looked at Yi Lang seriously and said, "Go to Yangxin Palace."
Yi Lang was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes turned red.
"Your Highness, listen to me..."
"I know."
Yi Lang interrupted Yang Wan and raised his hand to wipe his eyes, "I won't cry now. It's not the time for me to cry yet."
"yes… "
Yang Wan held Yi Lang's cold hand and said, "Your Highness understands."
"Aunt..."
Yi Lang's voice trembled a little, "What will happen to me if my father dies?"
After saying this, although he tried his best to control his emotions, he still couldn't help but grit his teeth and his face turned pale.
Yang Wan hurriedly hugged him in her arms.
"It's okay, Your Highness will live well."
"Aunt... I really want my father to stay on the throne longer so that I can grow up a little more."
As he spoke, he started crying, and his tears soaked Yang Wan's shoulders.
"Aunt knows, Your Highness, don't cry."
Yi Lang hugged Yang Wan's neck and sobbed, "I have to grow up a little bit, then I can protect my aunt and mother, and save my uncle and the factory officials."
After hearing this, Yang Wan felt a sore nose.
Although the child in her arms could not clearly describe her current situation, as well as the situation in the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department, in fact, he really knew everything.
If Zhang Cong's sensitivity to politics came from him back then, it was also brought to him by Huang Ran and others.
As for how to care about human relationships, it was Yang Wan who taught him.
When these two things are combined in him, he becomes heartbreakingly sensible.
"Aunt, don't cry."
"No."
"Don't cry."
As he said this, he raised his sleeves to wipe Yang Wan's tears.
"Aunt, I won't cry anymore. You see, I'm not crying either. I'm really not afraid..."
Yang Wan looked at Yi Lang who was trying hard to hold back tears, and suddenly realized that no matter how the times change, people's fear and vulnerability are always the same. The punishment that Deng Ying feared, the court struggle that Yi Lang feared, and the historical truth that she feared... Each one of them would break one's soul. But people's forbearance easily wrapped up all the fragments, and they continued to move forward seemingly fearlessly.