Chapter 194: Night in the Capital (3)

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Although Princess Changli forced herself to leave the city as a princess, she still had some responsibilities to him as the general guarding the city. This responsibility could be big or small, depending on the mood of Emperor Chongzhen. But it was obvious that seeing that the Ming Dynasty was about to perish, Emperor Chongzhen's mood could not be good. What was surprising was that Emperor Chongzhen's mood had long been beyond description. At this time, all the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have disappeared.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was too stubborn, was ultimately unable to save the Ming Empire from its decline. A stubborn person like him would never be willing to compromise like Liu Adou and Song Huizong. When a person no longer cares about his own life and death, he will be able to look at many things in a more open-minded way. All the joy, anger, happiness, anger, sorrow and joy will become empty. However, this emptiness is not the emptiness of the four elements, but the closure of one's own mind.

"Your Majesty, why are you here?" Queen Zhou looked at Emperor Chongzhen in surprise. It had been a long time since she saw Emperor Chongzhen in her palace. Sometimes, Queen Zhou even suspected that Emperor Chongzhen had forgotten the existence of her, the queen, and that there was a woman in the palace who was thinking about him.

"Yufeng, don't you welcome me?" Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the empress calmly. All the things that had happened between husband and wife over the years came to mind again in this glance. Over the years, everything the empress of the Ming Dynasty did was good in every aspect. Although Emperor Chongzhen favored Concubine Tian more, he respected his empress very much. Respect for a person does not necessarily mean love, but respect for a person is far more rare than love for a person.

"Your Majesty, seeing what you said, how could I not welcome you? Your Majesty, you haven't come here for such a long time. Can't I ask you a question?" Queen Zhou knew that Emperor Chongzhen must be in a bad mood at this time, but for such a national affair, as a woman who never interfered in state affairs, she was powerless to help Emperor Chongzhen.

"Is that so? I have indeed neglected you over the years. Now that it has come to this, it is too late even if I want to make amends. Yufeng, we have been husband and wife for a long time. I... really feel sorry for you..." Emperor Chongzhen looked at the empress who was now in her middle age. Although her appearance was still beautiful, and even had a more mature charm than when they were married, the traces of time had left marks on her face after all, reminding people of these ruthless years, which had crushed so many things and people into the dust of time. Perhaps, he, his empress, and Concubine Tian would soon turn into the dust of history under the pressure of time.

Emperor Chongzhen was thinking like this, and he reached out and gently stroked Empress Zhou's face with his fingers. Her face was still as delicate and smooth as before, and her beauty was still as pure and elegant as before. But how long could this look last? Perhaps, when the city was broken, this look would no longer exist. Perhaps, when the city was broken, her beauty would become another man's trophy, a beauty and plaything in another man's arms. Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes twitched a few times, and a pain rose from his closed heart again. There were some things, some people, that Emperor Chongzhen could not give up.

"Your Majesty..." Queen Zhou smiled slightly, but that smile, like the air around it, was filled with a sad mood and a tragic determination. The determination revealed in that smile made Emperor Chongzhen's heart twitch. People say that the emperor is the most ruthless, but at this moment, Emperor Chongzhen's heart was filled with a sad emotion.

"I know, I know your feelings... Tonight, let me accompany you all night." Emperor Chongzhen smiled. Years of hard work had turned his appearance into that of an old man. That smile gave people a feeling of vicissitudes of life, as if the decline of the Ming Dynasty was written on his face, and it seemed like the last scene when the Ming Empire was about to end.

Empress Zhou did not want to cry. She was a woman who was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. At this moment, she did not want to let her tears flow. She did not want to add more pain to Emperor Chongzhen's heart. Several candles illuminated the hall. If it was in other days, Empress Zhou would not be willing to use several candles at the same time for lighting. But today, she lit all the candles that she was reluctant to use in other days. The night outside was very beautiful, and the candlelight in the hall was also very beautiful. Even the eunuchs and palace maids standing in the corner felt that there was a sense of brightness now than in other days. But this brightness was false, just like the smiles of Empress Zhou and Emperor Chongzhen. There was no joy in their smiles, only sadness and helplessness.

Elsewhere in the palace, Consort Gongshu Tian Xiuying stood in a daze in front of the steps of the main hall, staring at the beautiful stars in the sky. She didn't know how long it had been since she had looked at the stars in the sky, nor did she know how many opportunities she had left to look at the stars in the sky. She stood there not to wait for the man who was with her. She looked at the stars in the sky, but was thinking about the past, the things that happened long, long ago, the things that she had almost forgotten.

Perhaps, Brother Tang would let her go because of the past relationship between the Tang and Tian families, Concubine Tian thought bitterly in her heart, who could have imagined that the silly Brother Tang back then would become the one to replace the Ming Dynasty? Who could have imagined that the man she had abandoned back then would one day become a victor and make her her trophy? Things are unpredictable. When a dynasty collapsed, imperial concubines like them would become the victor's possessions.

Perhaps, when the city was broken, she would become the spoils of the Tang family brother. Even if the Tang family brother was willing to let her go, her father and brother who were only thinking about glory and wealth would give her to the Tang family brother for their own glory and wealth. Concubine Tian smiled at the stars in the sky, and her smile was a little miserable. In the Ming Dynasty, she was at least a concubine, but in the hands of the Tang family brother, she could only be destined to be a plaything. Oh, human being.

No one can guarantee what his tomorrow will be like, no one can guarantee that his life will not go from heaven to hell, and no one can guarantee that a silly boy will one day become the ruler of a country. Concubine Tian reached out and touched her face. Due to good maintenance, her face was still so smooth and delicate in her thirties, and there was not even a trace of wrinkles. Her figure was still so curvy and still attracted men's attention. Concubine Tian believed that with her appearance, she could still make many men infatuated, and she was still an extremely rare gift in a man's bed.

But what can this one thing do? Once the Ming Dynasty is gone, she will no longer be the high and mighty Concubine Gongshu. Even if her brother from the Tang family is still as obsessed with her as he was in the past, it is impossible for him to make a concubine of the previous dynasty the concubine in his harem. Without her, on the day the city is broken, this one thing will be gone, and the one thing that belongs to her will disappear into thin air.

"Your Majesty, it's late at night..." The maidservant who served Concubine Tian looked at the tears sliding down Concubine Tian's face, and her heart ached. She was sad for the fate that Concubine Tian would face, and also worried about her own fate. Although she was just a maidservant, she was beautiful. When the Ming Dynasty was about to perish, her fate would not be any better than that of Concubine Tian. They would all be the spoils of the victor.

"Ying'er, it's late at night, but how many chances will we have to stand under such a night sky and look at the stars in the future? Perhaps, Ying'er still has a chance. You are still a virgin and have never had a man. Perhaps, you still have a chance to make a man fall in love with you, and have a chance to stand on the steps and look at these beautiful stars in the sky." Concubine Tian turned her head and looked at the palace maid who was serving her. This little girl who was only ten years old made Concubine Tian feel a little jealous. At the age of ten, she still had the opportunity and time to start over, but she didn't have any chance at all.

"Your Majesty... I will serve you forever in this life." Although the maid was not very old, she had been in the palace for several years and had the ability to read people's expressions. She could see a hint of jealousy on Concubine Tian's face, so she felt a little panicked. Although the Ming Dynasty was not facing the moment of destruction, at this time Concubine Tian was still the Concubine Gongshu of the Ming Dynasty. It was not easy to deal with a small maid like her.

"Really? Even if you have this intention, I'm afraid you don't have the chance. Do you think that on the day the city is broken, we can guarantee that we will not become their possessions? In a war, especially a war that will destroy a country, the most pitiful will be us women..." Concubine Tian smiled sarcastically. After all, she, Tian Xiuying, was also a person who was well-versed in poetry and books. She knew something about some things in the dynasties. It was precisely because of this knowledge that she was even more afraid of that fate.

The palace maid did not dare to respond to Concubine Tian's words. She had good intentions, but she almost brought disaster upon herself. How could she dare to say anything else? At this time, she also understood the truth that disaster comes from the mouth.

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