"Empress Mother, how are you?"

"fourteen……"

Upon hearing his mother call him the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen composed himself and lowered his voice:

"Your Majesty, it is I."

At this moment, the Empress Dowager seemed to have recovered somewhat. Upon hearing that it wasn't her youngest son's voice, her voice turned cold.

"You've come to see if I'm dead or not?"

"May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

"Hmph, stop pretending. To be honest, you hate me, don't you?"

"Your Majesty is overthinking it."

Yinzhen clenched his fists repeatedly. He hadn't expected that even at this point, his mother still disliked him so much.

“Your Majesty, I have sent the Fourteenth Prince to guard the late Emperor’s tomb. You can rest assured.”

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager was filled with rage, but she was utterly powerless to do so.

"He's your brother! You knew he'd led troops for years, yet you sent him to guard the tomb. You've ruined his future!"

Yinzhen didn't want to hear any of this. After kowtowing to the Empress Dowager, he got up.

"Fourth brother!"

Yinzhen froze, and a pleading voice came from behind him:

"Could I possibly see the Fourteenth Prince one more time...?"

The sorrow in that voice was the first time Yinzhen had ever heard it.

“Empress Mother, your son could have had a house full of children.”

After speaking, Yinzhen lifted his leg and left Ning Shou Palace.

Not long after leaving Ning Shou Palace, Yinzhen met someone he hadn't expected in Yangxin Hall.

"The master wants to see the Empress Dowager!"

"Outrageous! Do you know that returning to the capital without my decree is a grave crime!"

The person who defied the imperial decree and insisted on returning to the capital was the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen.

"My master says he wants to see the Empress Dowager!"

"Yinti, I'll spare you out of consideration for your brotherhood. Don't be stubborn and ask for trouble!"

Yinzhen completely disregarded Yinzhen's threats:

"If Your Majesty wishes to kill, then simply do so!"

"you!"

Even though the two were arguing fiercely, Yinzhen still did not allow Yinti to see the Empress Dowager one last time.

At this point, the Empress Dowager's health was beyond the help of medicine, and she passed away three days later.

That same evening, Consort Nian's youngest son, Fupei, also passed away.

For three consecutive days, Yinzhen locked himself in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and refused to see anyone.

Consort Nian also fainted shortly after her youngest son passed away.

After waking up, he refused to say a word.

"Your Majesty, please think of a solution! My lady is not only refusing to eat or drink, but now she won't even take her medicine! She hasn't finished her postpartum confinement yet, and her body can't take it like this!"

Qingyan knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to the Empress, but the Empress had no choice.

Before this, Gao Wuyong had also come; she was worried about the Emperor's seclusion.

"Qingyan, you go back first. I will find a way to comfort your mistress. Guards!"

"Go quickly and invite Consort Qi, Consort Xi, and Consort Yu."

"Yes, sir!"

When the three people rushed anxiously to the Queen, she was also taking her medicine.

Her health has been poor since last year, and she has been drinking herbal medicine.

After the emperor ascended the throne, she was busy organizing and managing the vast harem. In addition, she had to attend to the ailing Empress Dowager and handle the funeral arrangements. She was indeed somewhat overwhelmed.

"My three sisters, do you have any ideas about the Emperor and Sister Nian?"

"Your Majesty, we concubines have gone to see Consort Guo Nian. She is sometimes awake and sometimes asleep. When she is awake, her eyes are blank, and she seems not to hear anything on Fu Hui Road."

"What should we do?"

The people present have all experienced the loss of a child and know the pain involved.

Comforting words are useless.

"Your Majesty, how is the Emperor doing?"

Geng Youran suddenly asked.

"It's still the same. Longkodo and several other ministers are kneeling outside the door, but it's still no use."

Upon hearing this, she thought about it carefully:

"Your Majesty, let the children go."

"You mean Hongshi and the others?"

Geng Youran nodded:

"Now their Emperor is exhausted, both physically and mentally, and is heartbroken. They should be with him at this time. As for Consort Nian, I will try to find a way to get her to eat something. But the rest may only be possible for His Majesty to come in person."

The Queen nodded, her head aching.

"Then let's do it your way. Consort Qi and Consort Xi will help me with the affairs of the inner palace, and Consort Nian will be in your care."

"yes."

Afterwards, the Empress personally sent someone to inform the three princes, Hongshi, Hongli, and Hongzhou, and summoned them to Kunning Palace.

"You must already know about your Emperor's affairs. From now on, you will kneel at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation until your Emperor is willing to come out. Do you understand?"

"yes!"

On the other side, Geng Youran took Qianxue to Yukun Palace. Yukun Palace also had its own small kitchen, but it didn't have as many things as Geng Youran's.

"Qingyan, take this soup in and feed it to the Imperial Concubine through the gap in her mouth. Feed her as much as you can."

Qingyan frowned and said:

"Your Highness, is this alright?"

"Whether it works or not, we have to try. Also, let the wet nurse bring Fu Hui to live in the side room. The Imperial Concubine loves her son dearly, so she might be able to eat something for Fu Hui's sake."

In the current situation, we can't worry about whether the solution is effective or not; it's good enough that we have a solution at all.

Qingyan couldn't think of a better solution for the time being, so she had no choice but to do as Geng Youran said.

After leaving the Empress's residence, Yinzhen's three sons went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Seeing Gao Wuyong standing outside looking worried, they immediately knelt down at the door.

"What are you doing, brothers? This is unacceptable!"

Gao Wuyong quickly stepped forward to help him up.

“No need for Eunuch Gao to trouble yourself. If Father Emperor keeps the door closed for a day, his sons will kneel at the door for a day until Father Emperor is willing to see us.”

Gao Wuyong felt that he was going through the most difficult time of his career.

Coincidentally, it rained heavily that night. Hongshi, Hongli, and Hongzhou refused the umbrellas offered to them by the servants and did not eat a single bite of the snacks. They just knelt at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Are the three of them still kneeling at the door?"

"Your Majesty, the three princes are indeed still kneeling. Your Majesty, I beg you, please allow them to eat something out of consideration for their filial piety."

Yinzhen sighed, his eyes bloodshot.

"Gao Wuyong, do you think I've committed too many killings, which is why they've all left me?"

Gao Wuyong looked at his master with a face full of heartache, but dared not say anything.

"Go, have someone boil some ginger soup, then invite the three princes downstairs, let them change their clothes, drink some ginger soup, and then send someone to escort them back to their princely residences."

Then, Yinzhen picked up the ginseng soup on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"Yes, sir!"

Gao Wuyong was overjoyed and scrambled towards the door.