Extra Chapter 8: Jade Lady: Like a Sharpener
Yu Niang's name is like an unknown grass, humble but tenacious.
She was originally a maidservant of a young lady from an official family. Her biggest wish was to wait until she was old enough, and then her master would show mercy and let her go, so that she could be her own master and live her own life.
As for the name "Yu Niang", which carries a hint of affection, it is just a reward given by the master on a whim and should not be taken seriously.
Who would have thought that the wind of fate would blow towards her, a little grass, without any warning.
The emperor took a casual glance at her and welcomed this insignificant person into the palace, and even promoted her to the rank of imperial concubine. Even she herself felt dazed, as if she was walking on clouds with a bottomless abyss under her feet, and every step was frightening.
She never dared to think about how much sincerity there was in the emperor's favor. To her, love was the least valuable and most unreliable decoration in her years in the deep palace.
She didn't believe that the emperor would truly love a woman who was born a maid. Even if he did, that little bit of love would be nothing in the face of imperial power and the passage of time. She just did her duty as Concubine Yu, neither fighting nor competing, neither humble nor arrogant, just like she had been a maid in the past.
Strangely enough, the more indifferent she was, the more stable the emperor's favor became.
Until she gave birth to Ning Lingyi.
Embracing that soft life, she felt something different in her heart. She was no longer just living for herself; her life had a heavier anchor and a brighter light.
She had not read much about the great principles of "a mother must be strong", but she knew that she wanted her daughter to live well in this cannibalistic place, and to live as a human being.
She became the strangest woman in the palace.
Other concubines taught their daughters how to please their father, how to win favor, and how to seek benefits.
She did the opposite.
She asked someone to secretly bring in ordinary rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, and beans from outside the palace. Under her daughter's curious gaze, she picked up a grain of wheat and said, "Yier, look, this is the foundation of the people's survival."
Xiao Lingyi opened her eyes wide: "Is it more important than the snacks in the imperial kitchen?"
Yu Niang smiled gently: "Desserts can only make one person sweet, but this wheat can feed thousands and thousands of people."
She told her interesting stories about the streets and alleys, letting her know that there was another vibrant world outside the palace walls.
She even used the simplest words to tell her what is right, what is wrong, what is good and what is evil.
"Yier, remember, whether you are a princess or a commoner, you must be able to distinguish right from wrong."
She didn't want her daughter to only remember that she was a princess. She wanted her to first know that she was "Ning Lingyi".
Thus, in this magnificent cage, a princess was raised who knew the five grains, could distinguish right from wrong, and had a broad mind.
The emperor's preference for the mother and daughter may have originated from this.
Among countless flattering, calculating and empty faces, this mother and daughter seem so real. Concubine Yu never explains, she just quietly nourishes her daughter's heart.
She originally thought that her daughter would be like most princesses in history, choosing a husband, getting married, and leaving only a few records in history books.
She never imagined that one day, her Lingyi would step on flames and bones to establish a new dynasty and become the emperor who ruled the world.
That day, Ning Lingyi actually proposed to enthrone her as emperor.
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Yu was stunned at first, then slowly shook her head.
"Silly child," she stroked her daughter's hand gently, "I am the late emperor's concubine, and my status was long ago determined. This action is against etiquette and will only bring you countless criticisms and unnecessary trouble. You are just beginning to establish your political power, so you must not do this."
"But mother," Ning Lingyi said anxiously, "if it weren't for your teachings back then, how could I be where I am today?"
Queen Mother Yu reached out and gently stroked her daughter's face.
"What good does empty fame in history books do me?" She smiled faintly. "You already rule the world, and you've even made Lingyao the Crown Princess. Women across the land will naturally look to you sisters as role models, realizing there's more to the future than just one path. That's more valuable than any honorific title."
Ning Lingyi didn't want to do that, she wanted to give her mother the best of everything.
She looked at the emotions surging in her daughter's eyes, and finally softened her voice and spoke the words from the bottom of her heart: "Yier, you have to understand that having you is the happiest thing in my life."
She was still the same Yu Niang, never lost in the honors of a noble concubine or empress dowager. She knew that in this world, whether as a slave or a concubine, the most important thing was to be herself.
The greatest success in her life was not her position or honor, but her daughter - a truly upright person.
In the years that followed, she watched her daughter speak with great authority in the court, and also saw the fatigue in her brow as she reviewed memorials late at night.
Sometimes, when Ning Lingyi was reviewing memorials late into the night, he would come to Xuehan Palace like he did when he was a child and gently lean on his mother's shoulder: "Mother, being an emperor is so tiring."
Queen Mother Yu would stroke her hair gently and say, "Rest if you are tired. Mother is here."
She was proud of her, but also felt sorry for her.
She loved her Yier as always, from the baby babbling in her arms to the empress who ruled the world, until the end of her life.
In the twenty-fifth year of Taichu, Ning Lingyi passed away.
Fifty-two years old is too young for an emperor, especially a founding monarch like her.
The Empress Dowager Yu, who was in her seventies, was dressed in plain white and sitting in the Xuehan Palace.
She looked at her daughter's peaceful face lying on the couch. She had more white hair than herself. She sat there in a daze, as if her whole body was drained away.
Her thoughts drifted, and she suddenly remembered the ten years of war many years ago, which her daughters never told her in detail.
Yes, those horses drinking from the icy rivers, those blades licking blood, had already silently cut off her daughter's lifespan. It was they who took her Lingyi away from her.
But in the blink of an eye, more vivid memories came flooding back.
Over the years, although her daughter has become an emperor, she is still her daughter.
She remembered a time when Ning Lingyi and Ling Yao had argued over political views and angrily came to her for judgment: "Mother, tell me, isn't Ling Yao too stubborn?"
She just advised gently: "Sisters, please speak properly."
Thinking of this, she even felt that there was probably no happier mother in the world than her. Her daughter would always be her daughter.
But this time, my daughter did not leave the palace or tour the world, she left this world, truly and truly gone.
Empress Dowager Yu couldn't tell what she was thinking. She just felt like something was blocking her chest, so heavy that she couldn't even shed tears. There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. Perhaps this is what it was like.
Ning Lingyi was buried with great ceremony, and the Crown Princess Ning Lingyao succeeded to the throne as the new emperor. Lingyao was filial and came to Xuehan Palace to pay her respects almost every day, fearing that she would have an accident due to grief.
"Mother, are you feeling better today?" Ning Lingyao always asked softly.
Empress Dowager Yu always waved her hand: "Lingyao, you should go and take care of the affairs of state. You don't have to come to see me every day. I'm fine, really."
She spent a year like this "very well", reading peacefully, worshiping Buddha, and watching the flowers bloom and fall in the yard.
Until the eve of her daughter's death.
That night, she slept very soundly.
In the dream, time went back, the sunlight outside Xuehan Palace was dazzlingly bright, and a small figure in a pink palace dress rushed in from outside like a butterfly. Her hair was a little loose, and her little face was rosy. It was Ning Lingyi, who was a few years old.
"Mom!" The little girl threw herself on her knees, looking up at her. "I miss you!"
Queen Mother Yu sat in the palace, watching her daughter run in and throw herself into her arms. She reached out her hand, gently hugged the little person in her arms, and replied softly, "My Yi'er, mother misses you too."
"Then mommy, can you accompany me to fly a kite?" The little girl held her hand, her eyes sparkling.
"Okay," she heard herself say, "Mom will go with you right away."
The morning light from outside the window came in, illuminating the empty palace, and also illuminating the faint smile of relief on the corner of the old man's lips on the couch.
*
The Jade Saint Empress Dowager was the Emperor's biological mother. Upon the Emperor's death, the Empress Dowager mourned deeply but remained silent. The following year, on the eve of the Emperor's death, she passed away in Xuehan Palace, her face as lifeless and her expression peaceful. The new Emperor ordered Yao to honor her as "the Mother of Virtuous Virtue" and to bury her in the Imperial Mausoleum with the rites accorded to the Mother of the Nation, to remain by the Emperor's side forever.
The historian said: The dragon was raised in the deep palace, and she was the model mother of the world. She was with him through life and death, and her honor was boundless.
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