After burning a round of paper money, they and the women from other mansions went to the side hall to see the queen.
The old empress dowager's funeral was handled by the queen, the mistress of the harem.
The queen's eyelids twitched when she saw Jiang Changning, who was dressed in plain clothes and as pure as a chrysanthemum in autumn.
The emperor has been thinking about Jiang Changning. If he sees Jiang Changning dressed like this, he would be like a turtle and would not let go.
"The weather is hot, so you all must take care of yourselves," the queen politely advised.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." The noble ladies bowed one after another.
"It's been fourteen days since the coffin was laid aside. It's really hard work for everyone to come to the palace to mourn every day. Although the dead are the most important, we can't just respect the dead and let the living suffer. I will ask the Empress Dowager to let everyone take turns to come to the palace to mourn. This way, it won't be so hard for everyone."
The queen came up with this idea on the spur of the moment: fourteen days of mourning was too long and difficult to guard against.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to reduce the number of times Princess Jin goes to the palace so that the Emperor cannot find an opportunity.
All the noble ladies were delighted when they heard this. If this were true, it would certainly be a good thing.
Everyone doesn't have much affection for the old empress dowager, and many have never even seen her. Going into the palace to mourn is a matter of etiquette, otherwise, who would be willing to come
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration." Princess De spoke first.
Others followed suit, "Thank you, Madam, for your consideration."
The empress went to Fushou Palace first, while the women from various mansions went to the mourning hall to cry.
Jiang Changning, the Crown Princess of Prince De, and the Crown Princess of Prince Changshan gathered around a brazier and threw paper into it.
"Do you think the Queen Mother will agree?" Prince De's wife asked in a low voice.
"You will agree, right? The weather is so hot, do you really want to let a few people die of the heat? It would be better if every family has white clothes?" said the Crown Prince's Consort of Changshan Prince.
In the palace, only the women from the Prince's Palace, Duke's Palace and Princess's Palace live in this palace.
Although the smell is a bit unpleasant, it is not exposed to the sun after all.
For those who kneel under the outer porch, it is really hard to endure it, because the eaves above are too high and the sunlight is limited.
You have to know that most of the officials' wives kneeling there are not young anymore, and several of them are over 60 years old.
If one or two of them died on their knees, people would say that the royal family was dishonest.
Half an hour later, the queen came back, "The queen mother agreed. Tomorrow, we will invite the wives of the Qing Palace, Jiujiang Palace, Yongyi Palace, and the third-rank officials to come."
Officials below the third rank and their families were not qualified to enter the palace to mourn.
So, although crying at the funeral is tiring, it is also an honor.
The queen made arrangements for the people who would cry for the deceased one by one.
The palaces that entered the palace to mourn along with the Prince of Jin's Palace were the Prince of Changshan's Palace, the Duke of Xinjian's Palace, the Duke of Sui's Palace, and the Marquis of Xinwu's Palace.
The Queen's arrangements were also painstaking. Both the Princess of Changshan and the wife of Marquis Xinwu were from military families. They were upright and strong-willed. The Emperor would never dare to take the Princess of Jin away in front of them.
Princess Jiashan is the emperor's aunt, and the emperor has always been afraid of her.
The Suiguo Mansion is her maiden home. She can privately ask her mother and sister-in-law to stay with Princess Jin and not let her be alone.
The ladies in other mansions are also mostly loyal and honest people.
The Queen was on high alert, but the Emperor still managed to meet Jiang Changning.
That day, the emperor, who had come to pay tribute to the old concubine the day before, came again.
He saw Jiang Changning kneeling in front of the brazier burning paper money. She was wearing a moon-white satin palace dress, with her hair tied up in a low bun and silver jewelry on her bun.
The whole person looks very cool and elegant, just like the fairy Chang'e coming down from the Moon Palace.
The emperor involuntarily took two steps in the direction of Jiang Changning. Eunuch Yu stepped forward timidly to stop him, "Your Majesty, the Grand Princess Jiashan is lighting incense for you."
This reminder brought the lust-blinded emperor back to his senses. He glanced at Jiang Changning reluctantly and walked towards the coffin.
As soon as the emperor arrived at the mourning hall, someone immediately reported to the queen.
But the queen had to do it, she couldn't let the emperor do anything wrong.
A concubine grandmother, when she was alive, the emperor didn't seem to care much about her and was filial to her. Is it necessary to pay tribute to her in front of her coffin for two consecutive days after her death
It was extremely obvious who the emperor was targeting.
When a king takes his minister's wife, it is a sign of the country's destruction.
The previous dynasty served as a lesson for them, and the Helian clan was able to establish their country because of it.
Is it because of this that we gain a country, and is it also because of this that we lose it
The queen hurried over and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the situation in the mourning hall.
Jiang Changning was burning paper on the right side of the coffin, while the emperor was talking to Princess Jiashan on the left side.
"The Empress has also come to pay her respects." Princess Jiashan showed a hint of doubt in her eyes. Why did this couple care about and value Concubine Xiang so much
"Aunt Jiashan." The queen called affectionately.
The queen burned incense, offered wine, and called out, "Your Majesty."
As a king of a country, he cannot just stand before the spirit of his step-grandmother who neither raised him nor assisted him.
The emperor left with the empress, and a lady from some unknown family praised him, "Your Majesty and the Empress are truly benevolent and filial."
Kind and filial
Jiang Changning sneered. Are you joking
She didn't know whether others noticed it or not, but she noticed that the emperor seemed to be walking towards her.
She didn't want to be so sensitive, but the fact was that the emperor still had evil intentions towards her.
Being targeted by a lustful king is a headache.
Fortunately, the queen noticed something and made corresponding arrangements. She only needed to go to the palace to cry once more and then she could send the old concubine off for funeral.
But being "remembered" all the time is like a thorn in the back and a thorn in the throat. We have to find a way to make the emperor powerless.
"Oh no, Mrs. Luo fainted." Zeng Zhaofu exclaimed.
Mrs. Luo was nearly sixty years old and frail. She was still wearing the second-rank imperial robes. She burned paper and cried for the dead, and she fainted from the heat.
"We can't let her lie here." Jiang Changning went over to help.
"Her lips are all white. Is she sick or has she got heat stroke?" Zeng Zhaofu stretched out his hand to pinch her lips.
"Come here, call the imperial physician." Princess Jiashan instructed them, "Hurry and help Madam Luo to the side hall."
"Princess Jin, let me help you." said the Crown Prince's wife of Prince Changshan.
"Okay." Jiang Changning also knew that his strength was limited, so he stepped aside.
Several people helped Madam Luo into the side hall and let her lie down on the couch.
Mrs. Luo was in a very bad condition. Her eyes were closed, her lips were pale, but her cheeks were unusually red.
"Don't crowd around here, spread out and let some air come in." Jiang Changning said as he unbuttoned Mrs. Luo's collar.
"Princess Jin is right. Everyone, disperse. Madam Luo is probably suffering from heatstroke." Princess Jiashan was afraid that others would think Jiang Changning was young and would not listen to her, so she quickly spoke up to help.
Some people dispersed and the windows were opened, but the weather was too hot and there was no wind, so the house was still stuffy.
"Go and bring in an ice basin." The Princess Dowager of Prince Jin pointed at the palace maid.
An ice basin was brought in and placed next to Madam Luo. The palace maid then fanned Madam Luo with air in the ice basin, and the area around Madam Luo finally felt a little cooler.
Zeng Zhaofu helped Mrs. Luo rub the acupoints on her temples, the back of her neck and other places. After a while, Mrs. Luo's lips showed some color and her face was not as red as before.
(End of this chapter)