"Greetings, Your Highness!" A'Luo greeted Hongli with a bow.

"Where is the concubine?" Hongli glanced around the room but didn't see Xueying.

“Consort, she… she’s asleep. Ever since she learned of the late Empress’s passing, she seems to have been terrified and hasn’t spoken a word. I’ve never seen her like this before,” A’Luo said, tears streaming down her face.

"I'll go take a look," Hongli said, and then stepped inside.

He walked to the bedside and saw Xueying lying with her back to him, her shoulders twitching.

“Your aunt is gone. Perhaps it’s a relief for her!” Hongli said, looking at Xueying.

Upon hearing Hongli's voice, Xueying pressed her handkerchief to her eyes, sat up, and looked at Hongli, saying, "Your Highness, I used to stay with my aunt and was taken care of by her. Although she has passed away, I was unable to see her one last time, which is truly heartbreaking."

Hongli turned and sat on the edge of her bed, pulling Xueying into his arms. He said, "Your aunt was not favored by Father Emperor in this life, and she did too many things that disappointed him, which led to her being imprisoned. Xueying, you have been married to me for a long time, can you tell the difference?"

"Of course I can tell the difference. Many years ago, I separated from my aunt and stopped following her. But she is still my aunt. Although I do not approve of her actions, the bond of blood cannot be severed," Xueying said to Hongli.

“I know you’re sad, but the person is already gone,” Hongli said.

"Your Highness, what kind of rites should be used for my aunt's funeral?" Xueying asked, sobbing.

“Your aunt is still the Empress, and Father has not deposed her. Therefore, her burial will still be conducted with the rites due to an Empress,” Hongli said.

Hearing this, Xueying felt a little better. After all, her Ulanara family had always taken pride in her aunt. Now that she was finally gone, without the Empress's funeral, the Ulanara clan would have been even more ridiculed.

"Your Highness, I want to see my aunt!" Xueying said. "When she was alive, I was unable to properly fulfill my filial duties. I want to see her one last time."

Hongli did not agree, because Ulanara's appearance was not good after death. She had actually committed suicide and was so thin that she was just skin and bones.

"Your Highness, is it really not possible to see her one last time? I know my aunt did many wrong things, but she is already dead, and all her sins can be put to rest. I am only going to see her one last time as her niece," Xueying pleaded.

Hongli looked at her and finally nodded. Xueying called A'luo to help her change into a dark-colored dress, and then left Chonghua Palace with Hongli.

Ulanara's remains are kept at Jingren Palace.

Xueying hadn't set foot here for several years. When the gates of Jingren Palace were opened, Xueying was still startled by the dilapidated scene before her. Was this still the Jingren Palace she remembered? It was practically no different from a cold palace.

Xueying finally saw Ulanara for the last time, and her shock was even greater. Her once graceful, elegant and beautiful aunt had become a withered old woman, but she was only fifty years old and should not have aged so much.

The victor is king, the loser is villain—a timeless truth. The once high and mighty empress is now an old woman abandoned by her husband, dying silently in the deep palace.