Chapter 101 Daxing’s Ancestor Passed Away
It's said that people have feelings before they die, and Xiaozhuang felt a sense of impending death. Lying in bed, scenes from the past flooded her mind, some happy, some sad, and even those she held deep in her heart. They seemed to awaken, and their hazy features gradually became remarkably clear.
"Grandma." Xuanye sat by the bed, holding Xiaozhuang's hand. "My grandson is here."
Xiaozhuang was actually very tired, so tired that she was too lazy to open her eyes, but she couldn't ignore her grandson.
"Xuanye, it's still dark, isn't it? Why are you here so early to pay your respects to Mama?"
Seeing that Xiaozhuang seemed to be about to get up, Xuanye quickly covered her with the quilt again and said, "It's still early. I just missed you, so I came to see you."
"Did you miss me?" Xiaozhuang took Xuanye's hand, but found that her hand seemed to have no strength. She frowned...
"Yes." Xuanye smiled. "It feels like a long time since we last met. Lately, things have been unsettled in Russia, so I've been visiting the Cining Palace less often. It's my fault."
"The court affairs are very important." Xiaozhuang finally sat up on the bed. "Russia..."
"Don't worry, Mama." Xuanye took the teacup from Xiuyu and handed it to Xiaozhuang. But Xiaozhuang's hand, gripping the cup, was visibly trembling. His heart sank, and he and Xiaozhuang held the cup together, continuing to discuss state affairs. "The Taiping rebels aren't a concern. Since they can't defeat us in a war, they're thinking of sitting down at the negotiation table. I'm going to hand this negotiation opportunity to Soetu. He..." After all, he and Xiaozhuang weren't the only two in the warm room. Xuanye hesitated, then said, "He's an important official at court. While his eloquence may not be as good as Mingzhu's, he still has some impressive presence."
Xiaozhuang nodded, looked at Su Moer and Xiu Yu standing beside her, and suddenly lowered her voice, revealing the dominance of the Empress Dowager: "All of you go out, Xuanye and I have something to talk about."
Su Moer and Xiu Yu both bowed and then left the warm room.
"Ma." Xuanye took the teacup from Xiaozhuang's hand, his expression becoming serious: "You..."
"I'm leaving now." After saying this, Xiaozhuang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Grandson, you've grown up now and don't need Mama's support anymore. Mama, you can go with peace of mind."
Xuanye was already middle-aged, but when he heard Xiaozhuang say this, his eyes still reddened. He knelt down, lowered his head and said, "Madam, your grandson won't let you go. There are still many things I don't understand, and I need Madam to explain them to me one by one."
Xiaozhuang touched Xuanye's head and smiled, "Everyone is destined to die. Xuanye, you are a pitiful child, but you are also a smart and spiritual child. God made you lose your father and mother when you were very young, but he gave you Mama to accompany you for a long time. You should be grateful to God and not resent God's injustice."
"Grandson, I dare not."
"You're a good emperor, a far better emperor than your father and your father. Mama believes that the Qing will flourish under your rule." Empress Xiaozhuang seemed to suddenly regain strength. She sat cross-legged, her eyes bright. "Mama isn't worried about the major events of the past. There's just one thing, something that might not happen for a long time, that worries me."
Xuanye frowned. Now he could only listen carefully to Mama's teachings.
"Crown Prince, you were established very early. It was forced by the situation at that time. With a crown prince, the people of the world would feel that the foundation of the country was stable. However, Xuanye, you are different from your father. You will sit on the throne for a very, very long time. By that time, most of your children will have grown up, and the crown prince will be old too. By then, will the father-son relationship between you and Yinreng still be as deep as it is today? Soetu is not only an important official of the previous dynasty, but also the uncle of the crown prince. Have you ever thought about what kind of child the crown prince will become under Soetu's years of guidance?"
Xuanye had never expected that Xiaozhuang would actually be thinking about things that would happen to him more than ten years from now, or even decades later. He was a little surprised: "Ma, I remember you said that the prince was a good child."
"Yes, he's a good child." Xiaozhuang frowned. "If they were ordinary families, all your children would be great talents! But Xuanye, we are a royal family! There is only one throne under you!" Her expression relaxed a little, and she said, "You are still young, and the prince is still a well-behaved child. You won't care about what Mama thinks, and you may even think that Mama is worrying too much. It doesn't matter. Mama just hopes that if what Mama speculates happens in the future, you will be more at ease. When your father died young, Mama survived it too."
Xuanye didn't know what to say for a moment. He sighed and said, "Don't worry, Mama. No matter what happens in the future, I will hold on until God takes my life."
Xiaozhuang nodded: "As for other things, there is nothing to worry about, Mama." A gentle smile appeared on Xiaozhuang's face.
Xuanye looked at Xiaozhuang and said, "Madam, please talk to your grandson again. Talk about the harem. Tell your grandson not to be the only favorite. Talk about the previous dynasty. Tell your grandson not to be extravagant. Tell your grandson not to build a garden when the people are still hungry..."
The curve of Xiaozhuang's mouth widened a little. "Child, you've always known it clearly. You're just afraid that Mama will suddenly become incapable, right?"
Xiaozhuang extended her hand to Xuanye, who shook it and stood up to sit down beside her.
"My grandson, you were only this tall when I brought you to the Cining Palace to be raised." Xiaozhuang compared Xuanye's height to when he was four or five years old. "Now, you are taller than Mama."
Xuanye smiled embarrassedly.
Xiaozhuang couldn't help but sigh again: "At that time, your mother was gone, and Mama also thought that if she had not raised you in the Cining Palace, but let you grow up with Concubine Tong, you would have fewer regrets."
"It is my blessing that I can grow up by your side. Mother... is my life." Xuanye murmured, "Madam, what should I do so that you can stay by my side forever? No matter what you say, I will do it." His tears just flowed down his cheeks like beads with broken strings.
Xiaozhuang wiped the tears from Xuanye's face with her own hands and said with a smile: "How old are you? Why are you still talking like a child? Nowadays, Yinqi and the others don't cry like that anymore!"
"In front of Mama, my grandson will always be a crying child." Xuanye really wanted to hug his Mama again, but he had grown up and could no longer be held in Mama's arms and act like a spoiled child like when he was a child.
Empress Xiaozhuang slowly turned the beads of red sandalwood in her hand, one by one. "Grandson, remember, Mama is simply waiting for you in heaven. In a few decades, we'll be able to meet again. By then, Mama will still hold you in her arms and let you act like a spoiled child in her arms..."
Xuanye watched as the Empress Dowager beside him slowly closed her eyes and stopped moving her Buddhist beads. The beads seemed to understand human nature, and the string suddenly broke, sending the small-leaf red sandalwood beads scattering to the ground.
"Mammy..." Xuanye called softly, stood up and knelt in front of the bed, followed by a roar that resounded through the sky: "Mammy, have a safe journey!"
When the servants guarding outside the door heard the mournful cry, they immediately fell to their knees.
Su Moer clutched the handkerchief tightly in her hand, her face pale. Supported by Xiu Yu, she walked into the warm room, walked up to Xiaozhuang, and whispered, "Princess, are you leaving just like that? Don't you even want to say one last word to me, or explain anything to me? Princess, you were taken away by the old Khan, weren't you?" Su Moer helped Xiaozhuang lie down on the bed, turned around, walked to the wardrobe, took out the luxurious clothes, and continued, "I know that even though you've been the Grand Empress Dowager for so many years, your favorite outfit is still the Mongolian clothes. I'll change them for you right away. Your Majesty, can you allow me to change your clothes for you?"
Xuanye clenched his hands into fists. He stood up and ordered Xiu Yu: "You stay with Nanny Su, I'm going to Fengxian Hall." After leaving the warm room, Xuanye almost escaped from the Cining Palace and ran towards Fengxian Hall like a madman, as if this would reduce the pain in his heart.
Xiu Yu and Su Moer helped Empress Xiaozhuang put on the gorgeous dress. Su Moer said, "Our princess is the most beautiful woman on the Khorchin grassland. No one can surpass her. I will put makeup on her later so that she can look beautiful when she meets the old Khan."
"Madam, Yu'er is with you." Xiu Yu knew what Xuanye meant. On the one hand, he wanted her to fulfill her filial duty, and on the other hand, he was afraid that Su Mo'er would be upset for a while...
"I actually really thought about following Gege if she was gone," Su Moer said slowly, "but our Gege has given me some tasks, so I can't go with her. I... I've followed Gege for so many years, I can't let her down."
Seeing that Su Moer had already changed Xiaozhuang's clothes, Xiu Yu went to the dressing table to get rouge and powder: "Madam is right, let's make sure the old ancestor appears respectable when meeting the old Khan."
"good."
***
In Fengxian Hall, Xuanye knelt alone in front of Shunzhi's portrait, still crying: "Father, Mama is gone, she passed away suddenly! Your son went to Xiling to beg you, why didn't you agree to help your son this time! Mama is gone, who should your son go to if he has difficulties in the future? You have all become portraits in Fengxian Hall, throwing all the troubles and difficulties on me. Do you really live comfortably in heaven! Give Mama back, give Mama back to me! Father, please, your son begs you..." Xuanye kowtowed again and again until his forehead was broken, but he didn't get any response.
Liang Jiugong waited outside the door, not knowing what to do. It wasn't until dawn, when he saw Xiu Yu coming from the direction of the Cining Palace, that he finally calmed down a little.
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