It was night when I received the news.
Sending a message to disturb the emperor at this time shows that the situation is already serious.
Zong Cong didn't delay, and immediately ordered to return to the palace, not only him, but all of them. In fact, if you think about it, if something happens to the Empress Dowager, these people should be by her side.
In the Palace of Compassion and Ning, Empress Chen was lying on the edge of the Empress Dowager's bed and weeping softly, Linglong stood aside with a sad face.
The Empress Dowager lay peacefully on the windbed, her expression very relaxed, and said: "Look at you, the Ai family didn't feel anything, but you were all crying."
"Empress Dowager, it's all me..."
The Empress Dowager patted Empress Chen's bun, "It has nothing to do with you. Ai's family is getting old. Last time, I felt that time would not be much longer. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken those little girls into the palace. I thought It’s a hand that can help you, but I never thought it would be self-defeating.”
Empress Chen raised her head, her face was covered with tears, she was really sad, she thought that the Empress Dowager's body was gradually getting better, but she never expected that it would turn into a flash of light.
From yesterday to today, she has been in a daze. She is ashamed of her despicable thoughts. The empress dowager is obviously like this. She still uses this to make a fuss, and she feels a kind of panic. If the empress dowager dies, she will What should I do, there is still a place for her to stand in this palace
Besides, for such a long time of company, no matter what kind of intentions were reported at the beginning, there is a real feeling in it, so she couldn't accept it.
The empress dowager is also like this, otherwise she, who has always been smart, made a foolish move, because she felt that her time was not long, so she simply relied on her status to be confused for a while.
"It's rare to live at seventy, and Ai's family is almost seventy. I'm not worried about Linglong and you. In fact, you're smart, but you're too smart. In this world, women You don’t have to be so smart, the smarter a woman is, the more tired she will be.”
This passage was said intermittently by the Empress Dowager, and she really didn't have enough energy to say a few words for a while. It was entirely because the imperial doctors were afraid that the Empress Dowager would pass away at this time. They all have to be hung down, so I used ginseng soup to hang them.
The empress dowager was actually not very well yesterday, but she kept telling the truth to the outside, saying that she didn't want a group of people to see her off, she didn't like this kind of scene. Seeing that the situation was really wrong at this moment, the imperial physician begged Linglong to pass the news to Ningshou Palace and Xiyuan.
"...Don't be so strong in the future. As the saying goes, a crying child has milk. You are good and bad. Who can know your suffering? You are too like Aijia. You have been so strong for a lifetime, and when you are old Only then did I realize that I am actually the least intelligent. Men don’t like women like this either. They like women who cry and become squeamish. Aijia, Fu’s, and you all eat too much of this kind of woman. bitter… "
After receiving the news, Empress Dowager Fu came in a hurry. As soon as she stepped into the dormitory, she heard these words, and her tears didn't fall down.
"The Empress Dowager."
"You're here? The Ai family didn't want you to know, did Linglong tell you secretly because of disobedience?"
Looking at the empress dowager's old cheeks and holding her skinny hand, Empress Dowager Fu couldn't help but shed tears.
"Look, I just don't want to see you cry for me. I've been dignified and virtuous all my life, but it's rare that I'm about to die. If I want to be self-willed for a while, you won't tolerate me..."
"Take it easy, as long as the Empress Dowager is well, you can take it no matter what."
"Don't comfort me, my own body knows..."
By the time the Forbidden City arrived, it was almost Haishi, and one could feel a sense of tension as soon as one entered the palace gate.
Zong Cong went straight to the Palace of Compassion and Ning, his pace was very fast, and Pan'er struggled to follow.
In the end, it was almost he who pulled her away.
She knew that he was very anxious. The reason for going to Xiyuan this time was that the Empress Dowager brought a few noble girls into the palace. If it happened, the Empress Dowager would disappear.
This crime, even if Zong Cong is the king of a country, I'm afraid it will be uncomfortable for a while, and maybe it will remain in the history books in the future.
So Pan'er tensed up and followed him, and Fu Lu and the others walked very fast, almost trotting.
From a distance, the Compassionate Palace was brightly lit.
There was no crying, which was a relief to everyone.
Before entering the palace, Zong Cong said quickly and lowly to Pan'er: "Find a place to rest your feet first, take a breath, wait for Concubine Hu Shu and the others to come, and then come in together, I will go in first."
Soon after his figure disappeared into the curtain, Pan'er stood still and stepped back, Cattail stood beside her silently.
"Grandmother."
"You're here too?" The Empress Dowager didn't have the strength to raise her hand anymore, she just moved her fingers, but her face was smiling.
"Grandmother, I..."
"Okay, son, let's not talk about anything else. The emperor's grandmother is very pleased that you can come to see her off. It's also because the emperor's grandmother is self-willed. She forgot that you are the emperor and what happened before. If it is really silent, you will disappear. I'm sure I'll be criticized by others. It's good to be here, or Linglong handles things properly, unlike Aijia who is always confused... "
"The imperial grandmother is not confused at all, it is my fault, I shouldn't be angry with the imperial grandmother..."
Zong Cong knelt in front of the couch, tightly holding the Empress Dowager's hand.
He and the Empress Dowager are actually not very close, but he has not forgotten that when he and his mother were in trouble when they were young, the Empress Dowager helped them many times.
So Zong Cong blamed himself very much at this time, no matter what, he shouldn't think that this is another moth made by the Chen family, so he should be angry with the Empress Dowager.
"It's the emperor's grandmother who was confused and did something stupid... In fact, the emperor's grandmother understands. It's just that she loves Chen's family as much as she loved herself back then..."
The Empress Dowager had a smile on her face, but her eyes were very hazy, as if she was looking through something.
Empress Chen cried bitterly, she also knew that she had lost her composure, so she hurriedly turned around and avoided it.
More and more people received the news and gathered in the Forbidden City. The whole Forbidden City was trembling slightly, as if the whole city was mourning for it.
As soon as Princess Changshun stepped into the Cining Gate, she heard bursts of crying from inside, her legs softened immediately, she fell to the ground, and said sadly: "Mother..."
The Forbidden City was covered with a layer of white overnight.
All the colorful things were put away or covered with a white cloth.
The Empress Dowager passed away, His Majesty mourned, and ordered that the court be held for ten days, and the whole country be mourned for twenty-seven days. The people in Beijing will pick off their crowns and tassels and wear plain onyx. They are not allowed to marry within one month, not to be slaughtered, and not allowed to be slaughtered for one hundred days. have fun.
Since the day of the great funeral, the bells of temples and temples in Beijing have been ringing 30,000 times, and all officials and wives above the fifth rank in Beijing have come to the Forbidden City to cry.
This set of funeral regulations seems to be extremely cumbersome and troublesome, but no one dares to question it, and even walking on the street, no one dares to show an unnecessary smile. If one breaks the taboo at this time, it will be the end of accompanying the Empress Dowager to drive west.
It stands to reason that, as an emperor, Zong Cong does not have to abide by some rules so strictly.
He did it all.
The emperor is like this, the ministers below and the concubines in the palace naturally dare not ignore it and can only accompany it. During this period, how many frail people fainted due to the inability to support themselves, so I won’t go into details.
And at this moment, something broke out, Concubine Su Gui was pregnant.
Pan'er fainted when she was crying. She was really not feeling well these few days. She thought it was because of her mood, and the whole Forbidden City was mourning for the Empress Dowager. It was too conspicuous for her to be called an imperial doctor at this time. I just endured it, but who knows it has.
After receiving the news, Zong Cong hurried over.
He wore a sackcloth over his black dragon robe, Qingjun's face was sunken a lot, and the beard on his face was not trimmed, making him look extraordinarily haggard.
"Why didn't you say you were unwell?"
"Actually, I don't feel any discomfort, that is, I have no appetite these days. Don't just blame me, you have to pay attention to your body, and don't be too harsh on yourself."
Although the Empress Dowager said that she didn't blame Zong Cong, she blamed herself very much in her heart. Anyway, Pan'er saw his actions in the past two days, and it seemed as if she was punishing herself with strict and cumbersome rules.
... "Although this is an old-fashioned saying, many people have said it, but I still want to say that if I fall, I will fall, but you can't toss yourself down."
Zong Cong grabbed her hand tightly and said in a tight voice, "You can't fall down either."
His nervous expression pleased Pan'er, and made her smile a little, "I'm just making an analogy, you and I can't fall down, so it's okay?"
He finally showed a relieved expression, and then tiredness floated between his brows.
Pan'er looked at the sky outside, and said: "How about you just sleep here and talk, just treat it as being with me, I'm tired too, these days I get up early and sleep late."
Zong Cong hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
He called someone in to help him change his clothes, wiped his hands and face casually, then lifted the quilt and got on the couch. Pan'er had already vacated a seat for him, and the two of them lay side by side on the couch, feeling genuinely relaxed.
The body is comfortable, but the spirit is still tense, so after all, I don't feel sleepy yet.
"I was still talking about asking you to give birth to a little prince, but I didn't expect it to come so soon."
Pan'er didn't want to tell him that she had been secretly taking medicine prepared by Imperial Physician Dong before, so she didn't get pregnant in the past few years. It's not that she is doing something behind his back, but that if such a question is raised, it must be too thorough. For example, the children are too young, how can she have the heart to have another one, such as Empress Chen's eldest prince, the situation in the court and so on.
But obviously this way of thinking may be difficult for him to understand, and he might misunderstand something, so it's better not to know. But Pan'er guessed that he must know it well, otherwise, as for those few days, she told her every day that she wanted her to have a little prince, but she actually stopped taking the medicine before that.
It was also with Zongqian moving to Nansan, Jingren Palace was too quiet, she felt it was time to have another child.
"Go to sleep, I'll call you when it's time to sleep."
Zong Cong lay down, but his tray didn't move, which caused his position to be lower, but she was on top. But Pan'er was not ambiguous, and took his head into his arms.
He moved a bit, turned his face to her side, and muttered in a low voice: "You treat me like your ancestor."
But sleeping like this is quite comfortable, no wonder that kid Zong Qian always wants to sleep with his mother. Zong Cong simply did not move, plunged into her soft embrace, sniffed the faint fragrance, and fell asleep.
For more than a month, the Forbidden City was in a downturn, even though the death of the empress dowager had already passed.
The Empress Dowager in the Palace of Mental Cultivation is also a bit bad, and I don't know if the death of the Empress Dowager stimulated him, or what? I fainted once in the middle, but my condition got worse.
In the past, after careful recuperation by the imperial physicians, the Supreme Emperor could move his hands and feet. Although he still couldn't sit up, he was able to lift the medicine bowl and throw things at people. Now it's good to go back to the beginning.
It's not as good as before, because people have no energy and are usually quite irritable, but now that they are calm, the servants below are scared.
The imperial doctor reported the matter to Zong Cong, and said it conservatively, saying that the Supreme Emperor had only half a year left. Zong Cong went over to take a look, and reckoned that it was only about two months.
It seemed that the Forbidden City was about to hold another large-scale funeral. Here he told Pan Er in private, but for the noble concubine and Xu Xian, the sky was undoubtedly falling.
As long as the Supreme Emperor does not die, even if they are concubines, they are not old people. But if the Supreme Emperor dies, with the momentum in the palace now, they have only one end, that is, living in the cramped palace like those concubines, living day after day, year after year, and even a bright The days when I dare not wear my own clothes.
Since the new emperor came to the throne, it's not that the noble concubine hasn't done things in private.
But not to mention that King Qi was so oppressed outside the palace that he couldn't hold his head up, and Empress Dowager Fu didn't let her go in the palace. It's not about dealing with her, it's just that the invisible things around her are suppressing her to be as wanton as before.
Even the servants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are only making mistakes. As long as she is restless, she will either be short of this today, or short of that tomorrow. If she settles down, she will immediately return to the past.
This is trying to tell her to tell her to be more honest.
Can the noble concubine...be honest
Indeed.
But what can she do
People have to bow their heads under the eaves.
So she could only stay bored in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, fighting with Concubine Xu Xian, because if she didn't fight, she really had nothing to do.
But no matter what, the Taishanghuang is still getting worse every day, and there are only a few days left.