Chapter 851 Smiles at Parting
December is getting colder.
The snowstorm never stopped, and the palace servants in the courtyard kept sweeping the snow.
Cheng Wanwan calculated the time; tomorrow would be the last day of the eighty-one days, the day she had been waiting for for so long—the day of the funeral.
During those eighty-odd days, she made all the necessary preparations, hoping for nothing to go wrong.
"Madam Sui seems to be living a very carefree life."
A cold voice came from the doorway.
Cheng Wanwan put down her teacup, stood up, and curtsied: "Greetings, Your Majesty. Someone, bring Your Majesty a cup of tea to warm you up."
Granny Qi quickly served a cup of hot tea and placed it on the table.
"Lady Sui must have heard about the 350,000-strong army of the Great Yu Kingdom pressing on our borders," the Western Rong King said coldly. "I never expected that Lady Sui could get the Great Yu Kingdom to send so many soldiers to rescue her. I really underestimated her."
Seven days ago, the army of the Great Yu Kingdom pressed on the border, and everyone in the Western Rong Kingdom felt insecure.
Fortunately, he had already dispatched 100,000 troops from the south a month ago. Now, the Western Rong are fighting against the Great Yu's 350,000 troops with 300,000.
The Western Rong were cavalry, and skilled horsemen at that. Each of them could fight against at least three, so the Western Rong had a high chance of winning.
He still asked, "Lady Sui, which country do you think will win?"
“I’m just a woman; I can’t influence the course of the war,” Cheng Wanwan said, raising her eyes. “If the Western Rong Kingdom wins, my life won’t change at all. But if the Great Yu Kingdom wins, will the King hand me over? I doubt it. The King would rather hand over a corpse than let me return to the Great Yu Kingdom to research rice-producing varieties, wouldn’t he?”
“Indeed,” the Western Rong King readily admitted. “I visited the experimental fields, and the rice is growing very well. It is indeed a high-yield rice variety, just as you said. If you return to the Great Yu Kingdom and sow the rice seeds on the most fertile land, the yield per acre will only be even more terrifying. Rather than sending you back to benefit the people of the Great Yu Kingdom, it would be better to…”
He paused, then smiled. "Madam Sui, there's no need to worry. I want you to live well."
"Whether I live or die doesn't mean much to me." Cheng Wanwan looked at the coffin. "I just want my son to be buried in a grand manner. After he's buried, I'll have no more goals in life."
There was a deathly aura in her eyes.
The King of Xirong didn't care. He had already asked, and at most half a month later, the rice in the experimental field would ripen. Ten mu of land could produce five thousand jin of rice seeds, and this high-yield rice could be promoted throughout all the lands of Xirong. Whether Lady Sui lived or died was no longer so important...
Of course, it would be better if Mrs. Sui were alive, because there are still some problems encountered in rice cultivation that need her to solve.
"Once the Western Rong achieves a great victory, we will bring Lady Sui's other three sons here as well, grant them official titles and ranks, and make your family the most powerful and noble family in the Western Rong Kingdom," the Western Rong King said. "Tomorrow is the funeral of Grand Master Dongzan. The entire court will be on holiday to bid farewell to Grand Master Dongzan. Lady Sui, please rest early."
Cheng Wanwan watched the Western Rong King leave.
That night, she took sleeping pills and barely managed to fall asleep, mainly because she was afraid that she wouldn't have the energy to keep up the next day and would hold everyone back.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Cheng Wanwan was woken up by Gu Bing.
She wore plain white clothes, with no hairpins or ornaments in her hair, and stood in the courtyard with a numb expression.
The Ministry of Rites of the Western Rong Kingdom carried the coffin to the square in front of the main hall. All the civil and military officials stood in the wind and snow, listening to the national teacher chanting scriptures.
These officials had never even seen what the person in the coffin looked like, but that didn't stop them from feigning grief and silently mourning...
The King of the Western Rong stood at the highest point and proclaimed in a loud voice, "...Amitabha, may you be reborn in the Pure Land...May the Eastern General have a safe journey..."
Countless coins were scattered into the sky, falling together with the heavy snow.
The palace servants moved all the fireworks and firecrackers to the edge of the square, and at a command, they were all lit.
However, the fireworks and firecrackers did not react at all.
"Perhaps the weather is too cold," Princess Taiping said. "Please, Lady Sui, do not harbor any resentment towards the Western Rong because of this."
Cheng Wanwan lowered her head and said, "It's already a blessing for my son to have so many people see him off. How could I dare to ask for more..."
The King of the Western Rong nodded, about to speak.
Suddenly, a servant from the Queen's palace rushed in: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Princess has awakened!"
Princess Taiping looked on incredulously: "You mean, Xin'er is awake?"
Cheng Wanwan was also surprised.
When she went to the Queen's palace, she secretly used modern medical equipment to examine Princess Xin'er. The little princess would never wake up in her lifetime, how could this be...?
"Your Majesty, Xin'er has finally woken up." Princess Taiping suddenly burst into tears, grabbing the arm of the Western Rong King. "You are Xin'er's most beloved father. She must want the first person she sees when she opens her eyes to be her father. Your Majesty, please come with me!"
The King of Xirong frowned.
Cheng Wanwan said, "It is already a great honor that Your Majesty has come all the way to see my son off. The Princess is more important. Your Majesty, please go there quickly."
The poor little princess slept for almost ten years before waking up. She definitely needs her father and mother by her side. Moreover, she doesn't need the Western Rong King here. After the Western Rong King leaves, it will be easier for them to rebel and escape...
The King of Xirong thought of the little princess from many years ago, and a trace of softness appeared on his cold face.
Over the years, he has never visited Xin'er, which is indeed a dereliction of duty on his part as a father.
Next, with the Western Rong and the Great Yu Kingdom at war, he will be even busier and have even less time in the palace. It's time to go and take a look.
The King of Xirong gave a few instructions to his trusted confidants, and then walked with Princess Taiping toward the inner palace.
Princess Taiping slowly turned her head to look at Cheng Wanwan and mouthed, "I wish you all the best."
After she finished speaking, she smiled, a smile that made Cheng Wanwan inexplicably uneasy...
She didn't know why she felt flustered. Perhaps it was because she might never see Princess Taiping again, or perhaps it was because she was about to undertake an important task and was too nervous...
The departure of the Western Rong king and queen did not affect the progress of the funeral.
The Ministry of Rites continued the process, and after a series of tedious rituals, the coffin was finally lifted and carried out of the palace.
Upon arriving outside the palace, King Qin and He Xiao led their men to join the funeral procession... This was a special favor granted by the King of the Western Rong, and of course, people were also sent to monitor it.
It was still snowing, and many people outside were watching the spectacle.
The common people only knew that the person in the coffin was Dongzan Dafu, but no one knew what contributions this first-rank official had made to the Western Rong.
The streets were bustling with people discussing the coffin.
Just then, Cheng Wanwan reached into her sleeve and took out a firework signal flare. Just as she was about to launch the flare into the sky, a commotion came from the direction of the palace gate.
"Something terrible has happened! The palace is on fire!"
"All soldiers, proceed to the palace to extinguish the fire! The burial is to be suspended!"
"Quickly, fetch water to put out the fire!"
"..."
The people in the streets were in chaos, and the procession of ministers who came to the funeral was also in disarray, with each person showing fear on their face.
Cheng Wanwan quickly turned around and looked at the Xirong Palace, where a raging fire was burning, with black smoke shooting straight into the sky. That palace was clearly the main hall where Princess Taiping was located...
Her heart skipped a beat!
Princess Taiping's smile just now was her final farewell!
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