No one dared to remind the emperor standing in the cold wind, so they could only let him stand there, as if he was a tree growing at the gate of the palace, facing the wind and snow.
It was not until dark that Concubine Xu hurried out of the palace. It was the eunuch beside the emperor who called her.
Concubine Xu stayed in Changyi Palace today, but she was very unhappy.
Because she had been serving the emperor before, she had never been to keep vigil for the queen. In the harem, no one would offend a favorite concubine for a deceased queen.
Today she also had selfish motives. She wanted to stand by the emperor's side, as the emperor's favorite concubine, and stand in front of the dead queen.
But unexpectedly, the Crown Prince and Princess Jiaoyang would say it bluntly. Even though the Crown Prince had been alienated by the Emperor and even though the Emperor and Princess Jiaoyang were not on good terms, the Emperor still listened to their advice and kept himself in Changyi Palace.
She was very unhappy that day, but she still had to obey orders and wait for the emperor's arrival in Changyi Palace.
After waiting for a long time, the eunuch beside the emperor came to call him and said that the emperor was standing at the city gate and would not come back.
She hurried over and saw the emperor standing there, lonely and desolate, looking quietly into the distance.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, let's go back." Concubine Xu advised softly, and as she spoke her hand had already gently stroked Su Jing's arm.
Su Jing looked back at the smiling woman in front of him, and suddenly felt disgusted, especially her eyebrows. In his dazed eyes, they turned into sharp needles, piercing his heart.
He tried hard to hold on to his shaky body and said in a trembling voice, "I am thinking about something here, you go back first."
"I will accompany you."
"My words are the imperial decree."
After saying this, Su Jing raised his arm, broke free from Concubine Xu's hand, and continued to look slowly into the distance.
Concubine Xu knew that the emperor had made up his mind, so she quickly leaned over to receive the emperor's order. After paying her respects, she slowly stood up and walked towards the palace.
Tears fell down her cheeks, she felt extremely wronged. She had been trying her best to be a favorite concubine, but the emperor treated her...
She felt no love, and she didn't dare to think about having a future with the emperor, or rather, she still didn't understand the emperor.
She knew that the emperor had weaknesses, but they were not hers. She longed for the emperor's love, but the emperor only favored her. She knew that this favor was unique in the palace, but she was always unwilling to accept it.
People say that she is smart and insightful, but now, she is still trapped in this love and still cannot be freed.
Even though she felt unwilling and resentful in her heart, after returning to Changyi Palace, she still ordered the palace maids to light the palace lanterns and wait for the emperor to return.
Even if the emperor was indifferent to him, he would still come to his Changyi Palace at night.
However, this time, Concubine Xu miscalculated.
That night, the emperor finally returned to the palace and went to the imperial study. Not long after, he walked out of the imperial study in plain clothes. No one followed him, but the lights in the imperial study were on all night long.
The emperor came back when it was almost dawn. The eunuch who helped him change his clothes found that the sleeves of the emperor's clothes were wet, and his eyes were very red and swollen, perhaps because of staying up late.
But the emperor was the emperor after all, and after resting for less than an hour, he recovered to his original wise and mighty appearance.
No one knew that the Fengyang Palace, which had become extremely deserted after the queen's funeral, welcomed its other owner late at night. He lay on the bed where he and the queen had shared countless times, crying like a child who had lost everything.
No one knew that he cried so hard that he vomited blood.
When it was almost dawn, the eunuch in charge of cleaning sealed off Fengyang Palace according to the rules.
Fengyang Palace was completely silent, waiting for its new owner.
(End of this chapter)