Chapter 846 The Empress Dowager Passed Away
The ringing of the palace bells woke up those who were sleeping at night. With the passing of the Empress Dowager, everyone, whether in the mansions of the powerful or the homes of the common people, hurriedly took down all the bright colors in their homes, hung white lanterns in front of the doors, changed into plain robes, cancelled all banquets and entertainments, and hung white banners in the palace overnight.
A mourning hall was set up in the palace, and the empress stopped attending court and wore mourning clothes.
The royal family and some high-ranking court officials and ladies in the capital were all required to enter the palace to keep vigil and mourn for the Grand Empress Dowager.
When King Hui changed into linen mourning clothes and entered the palace, he was traveling with King Ji, Prince Cheng and others. He paid attention to the people coming in and out of the palace gate, and watched the officials and their wives all heading towards the mourning hall.
King Hui asked tentatively, "Why did the Empress Dowager pass away so suddenly?"
Prince Ji had not stepped into the palace for a long time since he was scolded by the Queen last time. Unexpectedly, when he entered the palace again, the Grand Empress Dowager had passed away. The Grand Empress Dowager was an extremely kind elder. Although she favored Xie Tianzhao and his son, she also loved other princes and grandsons very much. Prince Ji was also taken care of by the Grand Empress Dowager when he was young.
His ancestor passed away suddenly, and he felt a little depressed. When he heard King Hui's question, his voice was low.
"It wasn't sudden. The Grand Empress Dowager had been ill for a long time. She survived all those years ago solely through a strong will. When she reluctantly appeared on the day Your Majesty ascended the throne to clear His Majesty's name, she was already exhausted. It's extremely difficult for her to survive until now."
"That's because you don't know what's going on in the palace!"
Prince Cheng rolled his eyes in disdain, then glanced around and said in a low voice:
"I heard that the Empress Dowager died of anger."
The eyes of the surrounding princes and dukes widened, and Prince Hui's heart skipped a beat: "Angry to death?"
Prince Cheng nodded. "Indeed, the Grand Empress Dowager is on her last legs, but thanks to Lady Qin's protection, she's still able to survive for a while. But I heard someone let her know last night that Your Majesty had been trapped in Southern Qi for days and couldn't be rescued."
"You all know how much she loved Your Majesty. She couldn't handle the sudden news. She collapsed in anxiety and passed away soon after. The Empress was furious and had all the servants in Shoukang Palace executed or arrested. Even several people from the Imperial Hospital were arrested."
The expressions of the people around him changed when they heard this.
"No wonder. The city suddenly went into curfew a while ago, and the people from the Imperial Patrol broke into the Imperial Hospital, causing quite a commotion. When we came in, we heard that many palace servants had died. Just a while ago, when they were setting up the mourning hall, two officials from the Ministry of Rites were even attacked."
"Is this true?"
"How could it be fake? After His Majesty left for the expedition, the Empress has been guarding Shoukang Palace so tightly that even for us, requesting an audience is extremely difficult. She's obviously worried that news from outside might reach the Grand Empress Dowager's ears. But even with such strict security, someone still alarmed the Grand Empress Dowager. The Empress must be furious."
"That's right. Then we have to be careful when we go in later to avoid any bad luck."
In the past, these people would not have taken the Queen seriously at all, but after what happened last time, no one dared to underestimate the Queen anymore.
Although the aristocratic families forced the empress to give in step by step during this period and the people spread the empress's bad reputation, the empress still held power in the court. At present, she was holding back her anger because of the death of the Grand Empress Dowager. Provoking her at this time would be pure stupidity and would be courting death.
King Hui listened to the people around him whispering about what happened last night, and his eyes changed.
So that's why he was wondering why the Empress Dowager suddenly disappeared. It turned out to be because Xiao Yan was trapped, and the news came at such a coincidence. He originally thought that God was helping him, but now it seems like someone has done something wrong.
He thought of Liang Guangyi, who was full of dominance last night, and Feng Qiuli, who forced him to write a letter to leave a handle. He remembered that when the bell rang in the palace, both of them were extremely calm, and Liang Guangyi had a calmness from beginning to end, as if he was sure of victory.
Could it be they who did it?
King Hui frowned and suddenly became wary of Liang Guangyi and the others.
Yesterday, the news from Munan Pass was transmitted back to the capital and delivered to the aristocratic families. It took less than two hours for him to go find Liang Guangyi and the others. By that time, Liang Guangyi and the others had actually guessed that Cen Guang had been bribed by him, and even concluded that he would definitely seek "cooperation" with them.
They even expected that he would give in, and were certain that he would agree to their conditions. They prepared for the affairs in the palace early on, using the death of the Empress Dowager as an opportunity to force him to abdicate.
Such cunning, such scheming...
Liang Guangyi is indeed an old fox who has been around for thousands of years. He is so smart and powerful that people are afraid of him.
"Uncle Hui Wang, what are you doing standing there?"
Prince Cheng and his companions walked for a while and found that Prince Hui was standing there in a daze, and several of them turned around to look at him.
Prince Ji's gaze fell on Prince Hui's ever-changing face, and he became suspicious: "Uncle Hui, what is he thinking about? Why is he so lost in thought?"
King Hui quickly collected his thoughts and caught up with her: "Nothing, I just didn't expect the Grand Empress Dowager to pass away like this. There are fewer and fewer elderly people in the palace."
Everyone fell silent after hearing this. Isn't it true? Once the Grand Empress Dowager passed away, the position of Empress Dowager was left vacant. Except for the Concubine Zhao Gui who occasionally walked around, and the deposed emperor who was imprisoned in the cold palace and whose life or death was unknown, there were almost no "old people" in the palace as before.
A new emperor appoints new ministers, and the same is true for these royal relatives. Although Xiao Yan still keeps them, who knows what the future will be like?
Their relationship is already distant, and their bloodline has become weaker from generation to generation. Sooner or later, they will become "old people" who will die.
The group immediately lost interest in chatting and just walked towards the palace in silence. When they arrived at the mourning hall, it was still dark outside, while the hall was brightly lit.
Many court officials had already arrived at the door. The queen was kneeling at the innermost part. The coffin in the middle of the hall was closed, and the air was filled with the fragrance of incense and candles.
When King Hui and his royal relatives arrived, they walked straight past the ministers and entered.
"Her Majesty the Queen."
Several people bowed to the queen, and then she said, "Stand up."
When King Hui stood up, he looked up and saw that the queen seemed to have been crying. Her face was pale and bloodless, her eyes were red, and even her voice was hoarse when she spoke.
Tang Ning wiped the coffin with a handkerchief and said, "Before the Grand Empress Dowager passed away, she was still talking about Your Majesty. She was not at peace when she closed her eyes. Since the uncles and great-uncle brothers are here, please join me in keeping vigil for the Grand Empress Dowager and also send her off on her behalf on behalf of Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, your words are too sincere. This is our duty."
Prince Ji muttered something, but after seeing Tang Ning's frail figure, he couldn't help but comfort her: "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences and don't hurt yourself."
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