Aunt Cuiyu's dishes were served and someone really showed up.
The person who came at this time was Prince An. He didn't even say hello and sat down next to Princess Danqing.
"Didn't the prince go to the palace?" Princess Danqing asked with a smile.
"We're back. The old lady wasn't feeling well, so we left soon." Prince An said.
"Second brother, coming to my mother-in-law's house is just like going back to your own home. Aren't you ashamed?" Murong Jie asked.
Prince An glanced at him calmly and said, "Eat your food. The wind is strong, so you can talk nonsense without worrying about your tongue."
Zi'an looked at his mother and saw that she was smiling more and more. He couldn't help but smile too. It seemed that she also wanted Prince An to be with her tonight.
The New Year's Eve dinner passed with laughter and chatter. Prince An seemed to have never eaten in the palace before. He ate with relish and was in a very good mood.
After dinner, he said he wanted County Lady Danqing to paint a picture for him and took her to the yard.
The charcoal fire was burning brightly, the room was warm, and the guests arrived one after another.
Around the hour of Hai, Hu Huanxi, Xiao Tuo and his wife, Zhuangzhuang, Rouyao and others all arrived.
We haven't been together much recently, so it's so lively tonight.
Zi'an really likes these days when the house is full of friends and everyone is laughing and talking about love and romance together. It makes people feel that the years are quiet and infinitely beautiful.
A few days after the New Year, it was similar to how Zi'an celebrates the New Year in modern times, with people visiting each other's homes to pay New Year's greetings and so on.
However, Murong Jie was unwilling to go to pay New Year's greetings, nor did he like others to come to pay New Year's greetings. To him, the New Year was a once-a-year vacation, which was very precious.
Although it hasn’t been long since I last took a vacation, and I took several days off when I got married, but who doesn’t long for a peaceful life
The New Year passed in the midst of all the fun.
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Murong Jie was unwilling to get up in the morning and was kicked off the bed by Zi'an. He had no choice but to go to work, uh, court with two panda eyes.
When the new term begins after a holiday, the same problem is almost unavoidable every year: there are just too many things to do.
Murong Jie didn't come back until midnight. He collapsed on the bed as soon as he entered the room, "I am so tired."
Zi'an came up with some hot tea and said with a smile, "Are you tired? Come, drink some hot tea first to drive away the cold."
Murong Jie sat up, took the tea, drank two sips, and breathed out, "It's very cold today. It looks like it's going to snow. Don't run around after it snows. It's not good for your health."
"Well, there's nowhere to go. King Liang is much better now. He will be fine after doing rehabilitation slowly." Zi'an said.
"Well, how is the emperor's condition?" Murong Jie asked.
"Not very well." Zi'an shook his head. "I haven't been very energetic for a few days since the New Year. I have some edema. The swelling doesn't go down even after taking medicine. Now I can only rely on acupuncture."
"Do you have anything else to tell you about your mother-in-law?"
"I didn't say that."
"If he asks again, you should be careful when answering. I don't know what he is thinking. Also, ask the Third Prince about his homework. I asked him about it a few years ago, and the teacher said he was rather naughty and disobedient. Perhaps you can talk to Concubine Mei."
"Yeah, okay." Zi'an replied.
After the New Year, bad news came one after another. Zi'an had been immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of the New Year, but suddenly a bunch of things happened and she was overwhelmed.
The first bad thing was the news that the Northern Desert had invaded. An army of 3,000 men from the Northern Desert entered a small town on the border of the Great Wall, burning, killing, and looting, causing more than a hundred casualties.
This is Beimo's usual method. When dealing with Daliang Kingdom before, they also secretly sent people to break through the border. However, Beimo is very cunning. They will shoot and run away and will not continue to commit serious crimes. After things calm down, they will shoot again. This is the act of robbers.
Murong Jie was furious and summoned ministers to discuss the matter overnight. He did not dare to let the emperor know about this matter, fearing that he would get anxious and angry and affect the condition.
The second bad news was that the Empress Dowager's health suddenly deteriorated. Zi'an could not find out the cause of the illness. She lost weight every day, could not eat, and her face turned pale.
The third piece of bad news was that the taxes that the Southern Kingdom paid to the imperial court at the end of the year were robbed. The news was not reported back to the capital until after the Chinese New Year.
Every year, the imperial court sent people to various places to transport taxes. But this time, all the people sent by the imperial court died, and all the taxes were looted. This was the tax revenue of the Southern Kingdom for one year.
"Investigate, investigate, investigate!" Murong Jie gave several orders in a row and became very angry.
Just after sending people down, they received news from Ji County that all the stored grain in Ji County had been looted.
The grain stored in Ji County was to be supplied to the border soldiers and was supposed to be transported there after the New Year. However, unexpectedly, it was robbed before it was transported.
Moreover, the warehouse where the cotton clothes were stored was also burned down.
Although the government of Ji County immediately began to raise food, it still took time, which meant that the soldiers on the border would face a food shortage crisis.
The weather is cold now and there is a shortage of cotton-padded clothes. These cotton-padded clothes were made before the New Year and were to be sent over with food and fodder. Now, they are all gone. How can we make so many cotton-padded clothes in such a short time
If the Northern Desert invades again, war will be imminent. Without rations, will the soldiers starve
Murong Jie ordered the prefectures and counties near Ji County to help raise food, and even purchased the people's stored grain at high prices, which meant another huge expense.
Murong Jie was very busy, and Zi'an was also busy. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were both very ill, so she had no time to leave the palace and had to stay with the Empress Dowager every night.
The Empress Dowager was unable to find out the cause of her illness and continued to lose weight.
Zi'an vaguely felt that the Great Zhou was about to fall into a new round of crisis.
Murong Jie naturally sensed this, so even if King Nan Huai wanted to stay in the capital to get married, he would not allow it and ordered him to set off for the Southern Kingdom immediately.
But one day before Prince Nan Huai was about to set off, the Queen Mother suddenly vomited blood, a pile of black blood. Zi'an happened to be in Xiwei Palace at the time. When he arrived, the Queen Mother was already dying.
Zi'an inserted the needle, and the Empress Dowager barely woke up, but she was already dying. She held Zi'an's hand and said to him with all her strength, "Your Highness, the Concubine Dowager!"
I hate these words to the core.
Zi'an's heart skipped a beat and she looked at the black blood on the ground. There seemed to be some worms wriggling in the black blood. She knew that the Empress Dowager was poisoned by a Gu. No wonder the cause of the disease had never been found.
But when was the Empress Dowager poisoned? Sun Fang'er had never been to the palace except for a few months ago when she said she wanted to treat the Emperor. How did she poison him
Zi'an was so angry that his teeth were itching. During the New Year, they let down their guard, but the enemy did not. The enemy had been waiting for them to let down their guard.
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the Empress Dowager passed away!
Just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, something happened to the Empress Dowager. This was a big blow to the royal family and the emperor as well.
When the Empress Dowager passed away, there was no one around her except Zi'an, Eunuch Sun, and the palace maids who served her personally. It can be said that she had no children to see her off.
When the noble concubine heard the news, she stumbled into the palace, laid on the body of the empress dowager, and cried heart-wrenchingly.
The funeral arrangements were handled by Concubine Mei and Concubine Yi, and all the palaces were filled with sorrow.
(End of this chapter)