Chapter 135

"Your Majesty, please allow the Empress's body to be interred in the Imperial Mausoleum as soon as possible, to comfort her spirit in heaven!"

According to custom, seven days have passed since the Empress's death, and this should be the day of her burial, but His Majesty has not even announced the Empress's funeral.

If Shen Zheng had known that Song Xuan would do this, he would have burned down the palace that day, even at the risk of being discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Song Xuan looked at the person lying on the bed with their eyes closed and curled the corners of his lips: "Prime Minister Zheng, you are Qing Nian's father. Do you really want to watch Qing Nian sleep forever in the ground? Isn't she your most beloved daughter?"

For seven whole days, he stayed by his bedside, his heart torn apart by self-blame, and regret threatening to overwhelm him like a tidal wave.

He didn't want to struggle, much less break free.

He cannot accept Qingnian's death, and he will never hold a funeral for her!

Hearing Song Xuan's mad words, Shen Zheng felt a pang of panic. He lowered his head even further and continued, "Your Majesty, it is precisely because the Empress is my beloved daughter that I wish her to pass away peacefully."

Spring has arrived. If Your Majesty continues to keep the Empress alive, her body may not be preserved...

To put it bluntly, the corpse would stink, but that's nothing compared to that.

He was afraid that if the corpse rotted, the human skin mask on the body would fall off, and Song Xuan would notice something amiss, which would bring a great disaster to the entire Shen Mansion!

Upon hearing this, Song Xuan's expression remained unchanged. He simply said in a deep voice, "As an outsider, your entry into the harem is already a great disrespect. The Empress is my wife, and I have my own plans. I need not trouble Prime Minister Shen with these matters."

Shen Zheng came to persuade him to bury Qing Nian several times. Although he put on a loving father's demeanor, he could clearly see the anxiety in his eyes.

Shen Zheng felt even more panicked. Since the Empress's death, the new Emperor's temperament had changed drastically. Although he wanted to persuade him, he dared not say anything more.

He could only tremble and say, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Having said that, he left the palace, secretly planning to gather some court officials to put pressure on Song Xuan to hasten the funeral and bury the body as soon as possible.

After Shen Zheng left, the bedchamber returned to silence. Song Xuan continued to stare at the person on the bed, the dimly lit bedchamber seeming to engulf him.

He closed his eyes and called out, "Xiao Xiazi."

Xia Zi, who was guarding outside the hall, quickly stepped forward. His face was full of worry as he asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

He had followed His Majesty for over ten years, and seeing His Majesty in such pain filled him with a deep sense of unease.

Song Xuan calmly instructed, "Have someone bring ice bricks and place them in the bedroom."

He wanted Qingnian to be with him forever; Qingnian would always be his wife...

Xia Zi's heart trembled, but he didn't show it on his face. He responded softly and carefully withdrew from the bedchamber.

On that day, the East Palace's sleeping quarters were filled with ice bricks, making the entire room appear as if it were frozen.

Spring was gradually arriving outside the palace, but inside the East Palace's sleeping quarters, everything remained frozen.

When the palace servants saw that Song Xuan not only did not announce the death of his father, but even froze his bedchamber, they secretly spread rumors that the new emperor seemed to have gone mad.

But these were just speculations among the palace servants, and they didn't even reach Xia Zi's ears.

However, the news that Song Xuan had ordered the freezing of his bedchamber had reached the previous dynasty, which was still inappropriate.

That night, Shen Zheng gathered the court officials, who knelt outside the Imperial Study and demanded to see Song Xuan.

When Song Xuan heard the news, he was painting in the East Palace's sleeping quarters. The white scroll was unfurled, and the woman's beautiful and elegant appearance leaped off the paper.