Chapter 210 The Queen Mother Passes Away
The next morning, the originally peaceful palace was suddenly broken by a loud noise.
"My queen, my queen."
Songzhi quietly came into the room and saw Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan sleeping soundly. She didn't want to disturb them, but when she thought of the news just coming from Shoukang Palace, she had to wake up the two ladies.
"Songzhi, what's wrong? What happened?"
Zhen Huan, who had already woken up, opened her eyes after hearing Song Zhi's voice. Looking at her anxious look, she suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Empress Xi, word just came from Shoukang Palace that the Empress Dowager is in poor health..."
Even if Songzhi didn't say the next words, Zhen Huan knew what she meant. She quickly woke up Nian Shilan who was sleeping beside her.
"Sister Hua, get up quickly, something happened."
Nian Shilan was completely awakened by her shout, and she was also in disbelief after hearing the news.
Yesterday, Chen Meizhuang went to see the Queen Mother. Didn't she tell them that her health wasn't that bad? How come after just one night, she suddenly...
"Quick, pack up and let's go to Shoukang Palace."
At this time, the emperor had already arrived early in the Empress Dowager's bedroom in Shoukang Palace.
He rushed over as soon as he received the news. Seeing the empress dowager's appearance, he quickly drove everyone out of the palace. Now, only the mother and son were left in the bedroom.
The empress dowager's body became increasingly weak, and when the emperor arrived, she didn't even realize that the person in front of her was the emperor.
"You betrayed me, you betrayed me."
"Why do you betray me, why..."
As soon as the emperor entered the empress dowager's bedroom, he heard the unconscious empress dowager mumbling, "You promised me that you would pick me up after the selection..."
He hurried forward, held the Queen Mother's hand, and sat in front of her bed. He saw that she was mumbling to herself and even started talking nonsense.
"Empress Mother, it's me, I'm the fourth child."
The emperor's blood felt frozen at that moment. He had never imagined that the Empress Dowager would still be thinking of her childhood sweetheart, Longkodo, in her final moments. He could hardly contain his urge to roar at this humiliating mother.
"Old Four, where is Old Fourteen? Where is he?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"The Empress Dowager knows that her health is about to fail. Can you please let her see the Fourteenth Prince?"
The Emperor did not agree to the Empress Dowager's dying request. He said sullenly, "Your son is not like the Fourteenth Prince, who was raised by you personally. Your son has been raised by Empress Xiaoyiren since he was a child. He has little time to accompany you. Please let your son accompany you at this time."
Although the emperor held his mother's hand as if to comfort her, this action made the empress dowager so angry that she burst into tears.
"You just won't let Fourteenth Brother go, right? Just think of it as the Empress Dowager begging you to let your brother go."
The Queen Mother knew that she didn't have much time left, and she just hoped that in the remaining time she had, she could ask for grace for her other sons so that they could live a smoother life for the rest of their lives.
But even though the Queen Mother pleaded with the Emperor like this, he still firmly refused. The Queen Mother was extremely disappointed with his attitude.
"Emperor, you have imprisoned your royal family, and have caused fratricide among your brothers. You have even refused to spare your own brother. You will end up being a person who has no relatives to recognize, and whose flesh and blood will be torn apart."
The Queen Mother seemed to have used all her strength to stand up and roared out these words, then she fell to the bed exhausted, her eyes fixed on the top of the bed curtain. In the dim light, she seemed to see the person she had been thinking about waving at her not far away.
It seemed that the emperor was completely angered by the empress dowager's words, and his attitude changed drastically at this moment.
"They forced me to do it. I am extremely filial. There is really no need to say some things to you. I am also very grateful to the Empress Dowager for dealing with Longkodo on my behalf."
The emperor's heartbreaking words were like a heavy blow to the head, and the empress dowager burst into tears. She remembered that she was the one who sent her beloved away with her own hands, and her heart felt as if it was torn apart.
Seeing the Empress Dowager's expression at this moment, the Emperor felt better.
He will never forget that on such a stormy night, he quietly hid behind the curtain and saw Longkodo hugging the Empress Dowager tightly. At that time, he wanted to rush up and kill that man ruthlessly.
How could they do this? Huang Ama is the emperor, and he is also the emperor now! How could they treat the emperor like this?
The emperor had always been well aware of what was going on between the empress dowager and Longkodo, but he had kept silent. Finally, many years later, the emperor found a suitable opportunity and forced the empress dowager to kill Longkodo with her own hands. In this way, the emperor felt that he had given an explanation to his royal father.
I don’t know if it was the emperor’s last words that irritated the empress dowager, but her already extremely weak body became even more vulnerable at this moment.
The Queen Mother did not say anything more to the Emperor. She just gently closed her eyes, two lines of tears fell from the corners of her eyes, and she no longer breathed.
It was not until this moment that the emperor realized that the mother whom he loved and hated had really left him and he would never see her again.
He stood up and knelt before the Queen Mother's couch, humming the ballad softly:
"Empress Mother, you've never coaxed your son like this before. Could you sing for him just once, please? Please? Empress Mother, could you coax your son just once, please?"
The emperor's thoughts seemed to drift back to his childhood. At that time, he would never have imagined that his relationship with his mother would reach such a point many years later.
It wasn't until the Empress Dowager passed away that the Emperor finally cried out his true feelings over her body: "You used me as a pawn to protect the glory of the Wuya clan. Have you ever treated me as your son?"
When the emperor held up the empress dowager's gradually cooling body, the mother and son, who had been suspicious of each other all their lives, finally failed to resolve their suspicions about each other.
Outside the bedroom, all the concubines were kept out, including the empress who was under house arrest by the emperor, and was now kneeling outside the empress dowager's bedroom.
After learning the news of the Queen Mother's death, the Queen's body completely collapsed on the ground. At this time, she truly realized that the Queen Mother, whom she had never truly respected, was gone, and her only protection was gone.
The other concubines also covered their faces and sobbed quietly the moment the emperor walked out of the room. However, the emperor didn't seem to care too much about how many of them were sobbing sincerely. At this moment, he was like a confused child, who could never find the lost mother's love again.
No matter how shallow the mother-son relationship between the emperor and the empress dowager was before, at this moment, the pain in the emperor's heart was real. He let Su Peisheng support his body and stood there quietly, his eyes looking up at the sky. No one knew what he was reminiscing about at this time.
When the Empress Dowager passed away, the entire palace had to observe mourning. Even though Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan had not fully recovered, they still stayed by the Empress Dowager's side despite their sick bodies.
As for the Emperor, he has lost a lot of weight since the Empress Dowager passed away. No matter how Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan persuaded him to have a good rest, he still decided to keep vigil in person. Others could only stay by his side closely to prevent him from being too busy and fainting.
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