Chapter 80 The Death of the Tenth Elder: A Salted Fish's Death Knell

Emperor Kangxi traveled to the northern frontier almost every year, spending nearly half of his time on the grasslands.

However, Kangxi's trip to the border regions was not merely for summer retreat; his main purpose was to strengthen ties with the various Mongol tribes and to appease and win them over.

The Abahai tribe did not have as close a connection with the Qing Dynasty as the Khorchin tribe. However, after the Grand Noble Consort Namuzhong led her people to submit to the Manchu Qing, the Abahai tribe also submitted to the Qing and remained peaceful and law-abiding for many years without ever rebelling.

Every year when Emperor Kangxi went hunting beyond the Great Wall, Prince Abahai would also come to pay his respects to him. Although Prince Abahai's rank was not high, his tribe was powerful and its geographical location was advantageous. Every year, Emperor Kangxi would bestow many gifts upon Abahai to appease the tribe.

Yin'e planned to accompany Emperor Kangxi to the grasslands after he grew a little older, to meet Prince Abahai. If possible, before Kangxi formally arranged their marriage, he also wanted to meet the woman Kangxi had chosen for him.

Of course, Yin'e didn't ask the other party whether they were willing or happy. Kangxi would definitely give Abahai a hint before the marriage, and both parties would reach a tacit understanding. To put it another way, even if Kangxi didn't give a hint in advance, could the other party say that they were unwilling after he asked?

Yin'e eventually compromised. Since he couldn't make his own decisions about his marriage from beginning to end, and it was always arranged by Kangxi, and the marriage was an inescapable and unavoidable union, he might as well choose a marriage partner who would be more beneficial to him and could help him more.

His freedom was limited from the beginning. Since he couldn't choose freely according to his own wishes, he should choose the one that would help him the most—there had to be some benefit, otherwise he wouldn't lose the sesame seeds and not the watermelon.

Moreover, even if it was Consort Gui who first proposed the marriage alliance with the Mongols, it would still be in Kangxi's interest. Even if Consort Gui and Yin'e wanted to back out, Kangxi would likely not give them the chance.

Yin'e wanted to go beyond the Great Wall to meet Prince Abahai and his future marriage partner.

The intention wasn't to ask them how they viewed the marriage, but to assure them that he would treat it seriously and earnestly. He wouldn't view it merely as a transaction of interests, nor would he use them and then discard them.

This marriage alliance was first proposed by Consort Gui and Yin'e, with the Abahai tribe being the passive party. Regardless of the Abahai tribe's attitude towards this marriage alliance, ultimately it was Consort Gui and Yin'e who dragged them into it because of their own selfish desires.

In that case, they should adopt the correct attitude.

Since the marriage alliance could not be stopped, they should at least take it seriously. Regardless of how much compensation they could give to the Abahai tribe, they couldn't let the Abahai tribe regret it in the end and feel that the marriage alliance was a failure, nor could they let the noblewoman Abahai, who had come to the capital for her marriage, feel as lonely and melancholy as the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

Yin'e had made up his mind to go to the borderlands, and his mood calmed down a bit.

He was certain that he could accompany Kangxi to the borderlands. This was not out of Yin'e's confidence, but because Kangxi would take his princes with him every year when he went hunting in the borderlands, to show his sons to the Mongol tribes and let them know that the Manchu Qing dynasty had successors.

This year, for example, Emperor Kangxi took all the princes who were ranked higher in the imperial order to the border regions, including the Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Eighth Prince.

Yin'e felt that this was related to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager had been unwell in the first half of the year. Although she hadn't reached the point of being bedridden in the second half of the year, she was unable to go hunting with Emperor Kangxi in June.

Without the Empress Dowager, who served as a vital link to Mongolia and a pillar of stability in Mongolia, Kangxi had to find other ways to compensate. He sent all the princes over the age of six who had been vaccinated against smallpox to Mongolia so that the various Mongolian tribes could see and experience it, thus suppressing Mongolia's ambitions.

If the older brothers could go to the frontier, there was no reason why Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, who were six years old and had been vaccinated against smallpox, couldn't go—even if Kangxi really didn't intend to take Yin'e with him, he could simply go to the Qianqing Palace and make a scene, pestering Kangxi to change his mind.

As the saying goes, "He who has no desires is invincible." Yin'e had no intention of participating in the struggle for the throne, so there was no need for him to maintain the image of a perfect prince in front of Emperor Kangxi.

Yin'e felt that it was perfectly fine for him to act recklessly; in fact, Kangxi might even be pleased with his audacity.

Nestled in the Consort's arms, Yin'e blinked, then suddenly smiled and said, "But this is just a plan for now. In a few years, I might not even remember it."

Yin'e is still considering asking Abahai's tribe if they are willing, and he insists on treating this marriage alliance well.

But things are unpredictable. Perhaps in a few years, he will become completely different and will think that Abahai's opinions are insignificant and will not care at all whether Abahai's attitude is supportive or opposed, happy or sad.

She closed her eyes briefly and hugged Yin'e tightly.

She didn't know whether Yin'e's display of gentleness was a good thing or a bad thing in the royal family, but at this moment, she wanted to protect everything about Yin'e.

Yin'e was held tightly by his mother. He blinked, not feeling his eyes stinging or burning.

He didn't want to cry, and he didn't feel much sadness or grief; his eyes and heart were just dry.

The Imperial Concubine took a deep breath, her clear voice slightly tinged with sobs, yet her tone was firm: "Yin'e, don't be afraid, your mother is here! Just do what you want to do, and your mother will protect you."

As the twelfth lunar month approached, the weather grew increasingly cold, and the Empress Dowager fell seriously ill, her condition worsening to the point of being critically ill multiple times.

Emperor Kangxi stayed by the Cining Palace day and night, personally serving her medicine and soup.

He moved all his political affairs to the Cining Palace, staying by his grandmother's side when she was awake and handling state affairs as soon as she fell asleep. He worked day and night without stopping, and within a few days he became much more haggard and thinner.

The grandson's filial piety and meticulous care could not save the Empress Dowager's health. She grew increasingly weak, spending longer periods in a daze and shorter periods of wakefulness each day.

The imperial physicians were at a loss. Faced with Kangxi's anger and anxiety, they had no other recourse but to apologize. The Empress Dowager was truly beyond medical help; the physicians searched through countless medical books and pharmacopoeias but could find no way to save her.

The imperial physicians were at a loss as to how to cure the Empress Dowager's illness, and in his grief, Emperor Kangxi placed his hopes on divine protection.

He personally led princes and ministers on foot from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven, where they performed rituals and prayed to Heaven for the Empress Dowager's protection. He also expressed his wish to Heaven to exchange his own lifespan for the Empress Dowager's, thus extending her lifespan.

Unfortunately, all of Kangxi's efforts were in vain, and placing his hopes on gods, Buddhas, ghosts, and monsters could not save the Empress Dowager's life.

On the 25th day of the 12th month of the 26th year of the Kangxi reign, the Empress Dowager passed away in Cining Palace at the age of 75.

After the death of the Empress Dowager, Emperor Kangxi disregarded the traditional imperial mourning custom of observing mourning for days instead of months, insisting on observing a twenty-seven-month mourning period for her. He also cut off his own braid after her death to show his grief and filial piety.

From the latter half of the 26th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Empress Dowager was bedridden. Although no one in the palace dared to say anything ominous, everyone knew that the Empress Dowager's life was nearing its end.

Over the past six months, the concubines in the palace and the princes and nobles outside the palace had already prepared their mourning clothes.

When the Empress Dowager passed away, the funeral bells tolled throughout the Forbidden City, and the entire capital was draped in white mourning clothes. More than half of the city's residents changed into white linen mourning clothes to observe mourning for the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager passed away at midnight, and Yin'e, who was already asleep, was awakened by the sound of the death knell.

Upon waking, amidst the increasingly heavy and continuous tolling of the funeral bells, Yin'e was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Empress Dowager had passed away, and his Ukuma Mama of this life had left him forever.

With a creak, the door to Yin'e's bedroom opened, and the Imperial Concubine, dressed in white mourning clothes and with tears streaming down her face, walked in. Beside her, Lan Zhi, also dressed in mourning clothes, carried a tray with a white linen mourning garment that fit a child's size on it.

"Yin'e, the Empress Dowager has passed away. We are going to Cining Palace..." The Consort began to sob, unable to speak coherently. Her body trembled and tears streamed down her face for a while before she finally managed to finish her sentence, "We are going to Cining Palace to see her off on her final journey."

Yin'e responded blankly. His wet nurse, Granny Wang, lifted him from the bed, dressed him in thick clothes, put on a fur coat, and then put on the white linen mourning clothes brought by the Imperial Concubine.

Blinded and at the mercy of his wet nurse, Yin'e was taken to the side of the Imperial Concubine by Granny Wang.

Taking the Consort's hand in his own, feeling her hand trembling from crying, Yin'e blinked his dry eyes, held her hand tightly, and looked up to comfort her, saying, "Mother, didn't you say that as long as we still remember Ukuma, she will always be with us?"

“Grandma Ukuma didn’t go anywhere. She just went home to find the family she missed.”

In the dead of night during the coldest days of the twelfth lunar month, the outside world was pitch black and the cold was bone-chilling.

But today, the Forbidden City is brightly lit. In the six palaces of the east and west, the Yuqing Palace on the outer south road, the five palaces of the outer east road, and the three palaces of the outer west road, concubines, princes, and princesses dressed in white mourning clothes lead their palace servants out into the dark night to head to the Cining Palace.

Consort Gui led Yin'e out of Yongshou Palace. Without waiting for Consort Yi, Ninth Prince, and Yin'an in Yikun Palace, Consort Gui, who was in a hurry to go to Cining Palace to bid farewell to the Empress Dowager, gave up the safer carriage on the winter night and hurriedly walked out of the Western Six Palaces to Cining Palace.

When we arrived at Cining Palace, the entire palace was filled with the sound of mournful weeping.

Everyone in the hall wept bitterly. The Emperor and Empress Dowager were deeply grieved and wept uncontrollably. The Empress Dowager was heartbroken by the passing of the Grand Empress Dowager and wept beside her body, unable to rise from her feet.

Soon, all the masters and concubines of the palace gathered at Cining Palace to bid farewell to the Empress Dowager. Everyone in the hall was dressed in mourning clothes and wept uncontrollably, making it difficult to distinguish who was sincere and who was not.

One night passed, and the next morning at dawn, princes, nobles, and civil and military officials outside the palace entered the palace in mourning clothes to mourn the Empress Dowager.

Yin'e followed the Imperial Concubine out of Cining Palace and suddenly realized that it had snowed in the capital at some point.

Large snowflakes fluttered down, covering the red walls and green tiles of the palace in a blanket of white.

Looking around, the entire palace was a vast expanse of white. Snowflakes danced in the air and fell to the ground, as if bidding farewell to the Empress Dowager.