The Empress coughed, covering her mouth, and pointed to the gift box on the Eight Immortals table, instructing Dong Han to put it away in the storeroom.
"They were all sent by the First Prince and the Seventh Prince. I am not fortunate enough to receive them now, but at least they are a token of their goodwill, and I cannot let them go to waste."
Dong Han casually offered a few words of flattery, "With Her Majesty here, it is a blessing for the princes."
The Empress smiled slightly. "Blessed?" Not necessarily.
On the way back to the palace after the eastern tour, the atmosphere in the group became visibly oppressive as time went on.
The Empress's long-awaited Consort Jia finally met her end one morning.
When the palace servants came to deliver the message, the Empress was drinking medicine and vomiting blood.
Upon hearing the good news of Consort Jia's death, the Empress immediately vomited up all the blood that had accumulated in her chest.
Although it terrified Dong Han, at least his chest felt better and he felt a bit more energetic.
"My health is not good, so the funeral arrangements for Consort Jia will be temporarily handled by Consort Chun."
As for Consort Xian, who spends all day copying Buddhist scriptures, let her continue with her work.
The Empress tacitly ignored Consort Xian, and Consort Xian was not saddened by it.
The Empress Dowager, however, took the opportunity to send Consort Hui over to help as well.
Unfortunately, Consort Hui did not understand the Empress Dowager's good intentions. She felt that it was beneath her dignity to have a concubine of lower birth manage the funeral rites, so she simply dumped all the work on Consort Chun and went there to simply go to work, clock in and out, and avoid being idle.
Consort Chun was happy to be busy. Although managing the funeral was mentally and physically exhausting, she was the one who had to deal with it, and she gained a sense of satisfaction.
As a result, Yongrong also benefited from the title, making him look more respectable when he went out.
The mother and son realized this was the benefit of power, and after some discussion, they became even more attentive to the Empress.
This made Yonghuang, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, very jealous. Yonghuang felt that his previous performance was not obvious enough, so he followed suit and ran towards the Empress.
Before the Empress could react, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but break down in her defenses.
Not only did he give Yonghuang a good scolding, but he also complained that Yonghuang was an ingrate.
Knowing full well that he and the Empress don't get along, he still gets close to her. Is he trying to drive her crazy?
Yonghuang: ...Don't put it so harshly. He just wanted to do both things at once. After all, who doesn't want to leave themselves an escape route?
The unpleasant parting between the Empress Dowager and Yonghuang deepened the conflict between them.
It's not that the conflict is so great that there's nothing left to say, but if this conflict continues, all the hard-won affection between them as grandparents and grandchildren will be worn away.
But who cares? The Empress would love for the Empress Dowager and Yonghuang to develop a rift.
The others were just watching the show, not caring about any feelings.
Besides, it's not them who are being worn down; they can walk their own paths.
Only the three Yonghu brothers seemed so out of place among this group of people.
They were simple-minded yet surprisingly resourceful. The Eastern Tour had gone on for most of the way without affecting them. Anyone who saw them would say that fools are lucky.
stupid?
Yonghu shook his head, his simple face displaying a profound expression. They weren't stupid; they were strictly following their mother's advice, prioritizing their own personal safety.
"Third brother, but it hasn't been bad for the eldest brother and seventh brother to be close to the Empress Dowager."
"Look, how's Consort Chun's reputation lately? I heard that Father Emperor intends to promote her to Imperial Noble Consort."
Yonghong spoke in what he thought was a cautious tone, but in reality, his voice was so loud that all three of them could hear him clearly.
Yongkun nodded in agreement, "Seventh Brother walks with great confidence now. He even argued with his eldest brother just two days ago."
Fortunately, they realized something was wrong and ran away in time, avoiding a confrontation with the seventh brother.
Otherwise, it's not that they're afraid of the other side, but there's no need to fight, especially since their mother isn't around, and they don't seem as confident as the other side.
After listening, Yonghu reached out and patted Yonghong and Yongkun on the head.
"Don't be fooled by his current good life; it's all an illusion."
"It's not easy to take advantage of the Empress Dowager, and Consort Chun is only a concubine. With the Empress Dowager and Consort Xian above her, do you really think Consort Chun can become an Imperial Noble Consort?"
What are you thinking? If Consort Chun had the ability, she wouldn't have sent Yongrong to be raised by Consort Xian (although this was a coincidence).
"You two just wait and see, it's highly likely that Consort Chun and Seventh Brother will end up with nothing."
Yonghu had a strange confidence in this regard, and he couldn't explain why. Anyway, he felt that he was right, including his older brother, who was sure to suffer the consequences.
Yonghong and Yongkun: ...
The two men exchanged a glance, both thinking that their third brother was a bit eccentric, not only speaking in a lot of breath but also always making them guess.
Tsk tsk, boring~
The three brothers made a bet about Consort Chun and her son. There were no stakes involved; the bet was simply to prove which of the three was the smartest.
In the end, Yonghu was the winner. Just a few days ago, Consort Chun and her son were enjoying the praise from everyone, but they were suddenly met with a stern rebuke from the Emperor.
The Empress closed her eyes on the ninth day after Consort Jia's death.
He didn't get to see the Emperor one last time, or even his youngest daughter; he just fell asleep and never opened his eyes again.
As the mother of the nation, the impact of the Empress's death was far greater than that of Consort Jia.
The Emperor could not allow the Empress's funeral to be conducted in such a simple manner on the way, so he could only speed things up and bring the person and coffin back to the Forbidden City.
On their way back, Consort Chun and her son inadvertently offended the Emperor, causing him to lose his temper.
No one knew why the Emperor was angry; even Yonghu and the other two were clueless.
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