He sat alone in Chaoyang Hall, silently ignoring anyone.
Amu knelt outside the hall for a long time, but was not summoned by him.
His Majesty ordered Chaoyang to be buried in Yuling.
It was his own mausoleum. Everything was built according to the emperor's ritual system. Because the project was huge, it has not been completed yet, but now he wants to bury his most beloved little daughter. There was an uproar between the court and the opposition, and there were endless disputes. In the end, His Majesty only removed Weng Zhong from the mausoleum, and shortened the Shinto by a few feet as a gesture to calm the public.
On the tenth day of the cessation of Chaoyang, and the 100th day of national mourning, His Majesty used all the methods allowed or not allowed by the ritual system to pay homage to the Chaoyang. In fact, the real withdrawal from the dynasty was far more than ten days, because after that, His Majesty didn't pay much attention to the dynasty.
The memorials of hundreds of officials were piled up under the Zhongshumen, and Taifu couldn't help sighing at Amu. Amu entered the palace several times, but was not summoned by His Majesty. I know that Amu is very worried, so I can only comfort him: "Just wait until Your Majesty has been sad for a while."
It's just that everyone in the palace knows that His Majesty's sadness will never pass. He was like a completely different person, no longer interested in anyone or anything. If he was a cold and ambitious emperor before, now he is just a cold-hearted, mourning father.
His Majesty's body was also deteriorating day by day. For a period of time, he was very ill, and at one point he sent for a special envoy from Xiliang.
Xiliang is the most peculiar vassal state under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Dynasty. All other vassal states sent their princes to Shangjing, nominally to learn the etiquette of the Central Plains, but in essence to be protons. But only Xiliang has no protons. Not only does he have no protons, but the lord of Xiliang is very arrogant and rude, and often does not come to pay tribute.
The strange thing is that His Majesty treats Xiliang with blue eyes. Four expeditions to the Western Regions, pacified all nations, but only one Xiliang was left.
I once vaguely heard the old man in the palace mumble, saying that it might be because of Empress Mingde.
Amu and I both know that Empress Mingde is a big taboo and must not be mentioned.
Empress Mingde was her Majesty's original wife when she was in the Eastern Palace. Unfortunately, her life was short-lived, and she died of illness as early as the twelfth year of Yuanqing, before Her Majesty succeeded to the throne. His Majesty did not seem to have much affection for the prince who died early. It was not until the ninth year of Qinhe, under the repeated reminders of the Ministry of Rites, that he reluctantly issued the edict and posthumously named her Empress Mingde. Twenty years later, this posthumous title was a hasty affair, because Empress Mingde was buried in Dingling, and His Majesty did not issue an edict to rebuild the mausoleum in accordance with the empress' ritual system, nor did he issue an edict that he would wait ten thousand years for him to be chased after him. The queen of Feng was buried with Yuling.
Before and after chasing the empress, His Majesty never once went to pay homage to the original wife who passed away prematurely.
According to legends in the palace, His Majesty did not like the original spouse very much, and it was probably because of his marriage that he was forced to canonize the woman of Fanbang as the crown princess, which has always been regarded as a shame of the royal family. Therefore, there are only a few strokes in the history books, but more than a dozen words explain the life of this Empress Mingde.
Amu firmly remembered that this was a taboo, because Princess Chaoyang got a Hu robe from nowhere, and wore it proudly to meet His Majesty. As a result, His Majesty was furious, furious for the first time in the world, and ordered all the people around Chaoyang to be caned to death. Chaoyang was so frightened that he cried so hard that he was so frightened that he had been ill for ten days. And His Majesty was naturally remorseful and stayed by her side until she recovered.
Chen Guifei was deposed because of this, and it is said that she instigated the princess to wear Hu clothes.
When I accompanied Amu to visit Chaoyang, the old nanny told us secretly that His Majesty most taboo someone to look like Empress Mingde.
Amu was so daring, he actually asked his nanny, "So, does Ahuang look like Empress Mingde?"
Chaoyang's baby name is Phoenix, and Amu calls her Ahuang.
The mother-in-law shook her head with a blank face and said, "It's not like that at all. How can Empress Mingde be as beautiful as a princess."
I also think it is impossible to resemble each other. What good looks can a Fanbang woman have
The nanny added, "Empress Mingde has a fair complexion and a small stature. Although she has some cleverness, she is not as beautiful as a woman in the Central Plains." She suddenly sighed when she said this, "It's almost thirty years in a flash. Well, I didn’t expect…”
She didn't say what she didn't expect, I looked at Amu, he seemed to be thinking about something quietly.
That was the first time His Majesty lost his temper at Chaoyang, and it was also the last time.
Amu once said that in the world, the only one truly beloved by His Majesty is the rising sun.
Deep down in my heart, I silently agreed.
But Chaoyang died.
Since Chaoyang's death, His Majesty has become more and more tired of government affairs, and his body has also deteriorated day by day. It seems that he is tired of life itself while he is tired of political affairs. He no longer hunts or revels, usually alone in the temple, neither drinking nor indulging in women's lust, yet his body continues to decline day by day.
Chaoyang seems to have taken away all the vitality in his life. Not only was his hair white, but his heart was dead. I have never seen a person who can be so sad like this. Amu and I are also very sad about the death of Chaoyang, but it seems that it is still not as good as His Majesty.
Father personally entered the palace to persuade His Majesty. His father's health has also been bad. Years of battle left him with countless internal injuries. He has been ill and can't get out of bed, but he insisted on entering the palace.
The family couldn't resist him, so they had to use a light chariot to carry him into the palace. Many of the palace servants in the palace were screened out, and only I served him and knelt down before His Majesty. Feeling his whole body shaking, I couldn't let go of the hands that were holding my father. I knew that if I let go, he would fall down at any time. I also knew that I should avoid it, but my father was so weak that I couldn't avoid it at all. After all, His Majesty treated his father differently. He personally stretched out his hand and wanted to help him up.
Father panted slightly, he held His Majesty's hand, just like I usually hold Amu's hand. He said, "Goro, she is dead."
My father's voice was trembling, and his words were so soft that I could barely hear them. But His Majesty's whole person seemed to be stunned. I looked at His Majesty's gray temples and cloudy eyes, and he was shaking slightly while holding his father's hand. When did His Majesty become such a dejected old man
Father took another breath and said, "Thirty years ago, she died."
There seemed to be tears in his father's eyes. He said, "Goro, wake up, she is already dead."
I have never seen His Majesty look like that. He has always treated his father warmly and pleasantly, but at this moment it is almost hideous, and even the muscles on his face are distorted. He grabbed his father's shirt, and I saw the blue veins on the back of His Majesty's hand. His voice was almost hoarse because of his ferocity: "You are talking nonsense!"
My father was so shaken that he couldn't breathe, and I didn't even dare to let out the air. There was only the sound of his father's breathing in the hall, one after another, like a broken bellows. His Majesty's voice softened, and he even smiled: "A Zhao, you know that she is going back to Xiliang. She has deceived us all, even a shrewd person like you has been deceived by her. already."
The father coughed and panted, and whispered: "Your Majesty..." His eyes were sad and hopeless, and his voice was the same, "Princess Chaoyang is not her daughter, and the princess does not look like her at all. I know that the princess is from the virtuous concubine Li, and the crown princess has been dead for thirty years... I went to see her more than ten years ago, and the grass on her grave is already overgrown..."
That was the first time I saw His Majesty shed tears. The big tears poured out silently and rolled onto the robes of his chest. The robe on his chest was embroidered with fine patterns, and the bright teardrop was on the dragon's head, as if it were falling. Father hugged His Majesty's knees, as if to persuade, as if to comfort, and even more as if to pity. His Majesty, like a child, finally cried out loudly.