Chapter 2020 National Mourning
Because the Empress Dowager passed away, not only the Chongwen Academy but also the Imperial College was temporarily closed. The Emperor then issued an edict that the people should observe mourning for three months and not hold banquets or weddings during that period.
Officials observe mourning for six months and are not allowed to marry or have banquets for six months;
The royal family members were treated the same as officials, but the royal children had to observe mourning for twenty-seven months, just like the emperor.
Originally, married women should have been excluded, but because of the Empress Dowager's last words, the Emperor also knew that she wanted Princess Yunfeng to take this opportunity to recuperate, so he did not add this rule.
If there is no addition, then the rule that a married woman does not have to observe filial piety is just a customary rule, and whether it is followed or not depends on each person's feelings.
Nanny Dou, who knew the inside story, hinted to Princess Yunfeng, "Princess Mingda and Princess Changyu both have to observe 27 months of mourning. Your Majesty has always loved the princesses. Would you like to observe 27 months of mourning?"
Princess Yunfeng said with red and swollen eyes, "Of course I have to observe the full mourning period. Why is Madam asking me this?"
Madam Dou comforted her, saying, "I was worried that you and the Prince would become estranged, but you and the Prince have a deep relationship, so that shouldn't happen. I was mistaken."
Yun Feng wiped her tears and said, "If they can defend it, I can defend it too. Even if he orders me not to, I will still defend it."
Hearing these somewhat resentful words, Nanny Dou was startled and quickly said, "Your Majesty is overjoyed that the princess is so filial, so why would he stop her?"
Yunfeng didn't say anything.
Nanny Dou could only sigh. Before her death, the Queen Mother gave Nanny Dou to Princess Yunfeng. Her original intention was to let her take care of Princess Yunfeng and advise her well, but now it seems that this task is a bit difficult.
She originally wanted to live a life of luxury with Princess Yunfeng.
After Princess Yunfeng cried in private, she turned around and cried in front of the empress dowager's spirit.
The emperor allowed the empress dowager's body to remain for forty-nine days before he personally carried the coffin to the imperial mausoleum for burial. After returning, the royal family began to observe mourning.
Because of this funeral, many people in the capital fell ill. Of course, most of them were sick due to fatigue and did not need the help of imperial physicians. However, Manbao heard from Zheng Gu that Jishidiang had been going out for medical consultations frequently recently, and Doctor Ding and his colleagues had earned a lot of money from medical fees.
Manbao just listened to it. At that time, she was thinking about the "Qing Nang Jing" in her hand. There were several pages of damaged words at the beginning of this medical book, so she had to take it to the Hanlin Academy to ask someone to help repair it. Some of the words were really sloppy, and she had to ask for help even if she didn't recognize them.
But the people in the Hanlin Academy were also busy, and Manbao didn't have much face in the Hanlin Academy. She ran around for half a month but to no avail. Finally, Bai Shan took her to ask Kong Jijiu for help, and then Kong Jijiu took the two of them to find Zhang Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy. He was responsible for checking historical books and recording books. He was knowledgeable and upright. Apart from being too busy, he had no other shortcomings.
But with Kong Jijiu's intervention, Zhang Hanlin agreed to help. However, he only had a superficial understanding of medical books, so he could repair it first, but Zhou Man's cooperation would be needed for the subsequent proofreading.
Manbao was more than happy to do so, but unfortunately Zhang Hanlin didn't have much time and Manbao was also busy. The two of them compared their schedules and finally found a time to come to the school team.
So Manbao became even busier.
Bai Shan is also busy. He has decided to try to take the imperial examination with Bai Dalang next year, so his studies will be very heavy. Not only Mr. Zhuang, but even Kong Jijiu has deliberately increased the difficulty of his courses.
Therefore, the homework of Bai Shan, Feng Zongping, Yi Ziyang and others who intended to take the imperial examination next year was separated from that of others.
Bai Shan pulled Bai Erlang along. At first he could still keep up, but later it became difficult for him and he wanted to give up. In fact, he didn't mind taking the same class as Zhao Liulang and the others.
But Bai Shan said: "We are brothers, and we agreed to share happiness and difficulties together."
Bai Erlang was about to cry, "It's hard for me, but not for you. I have to stay up late to do the same homework, and you can still go and look up information for Manbao. It's so unfair."
Yin Huo, who couldn't bear to work too hard, smiled when he heard this. He took the same classes as them, but he never had any homework. The teachers rarely tested him because they knew he would not take the exams and would not even become an official in the future. Therefore, he was the one who could least understand Bai Erlang's pain.
Seeing him smile, Bai Erlang felt even more powerless. He lay down on the table and felt sad for a long time. Finally, he got up and continued to do his homework.
Although Bai Shan and Man Bao didn't say it out loud, he vaguely knew that they might have to go out to study in the next one or two years, so it would be good to take an exam before going, no matter whether they passed or not.
If it works out, you can go abroad to study and then take the examinations of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, and then you can be selected as an official; if it doesn't work out, you will have the experience and will have a better idea of what to do before going abroad to study, and you will have some focus.
He also wanted to go out and study with them.
Because they were busy, they were surprised to find that time had passed so quickly when the first snow fell in the capital. Then the palace gave them a ten-day holiday in advance.
The students were somewhat happy, but some were also worried. Zhao Liulang couldn't help but secretly ask Manbao, "The two ten-day holidays were not held at the right time. I heard that His Majesty also missed two major court sessions and even postponed the minor court sessions three times. Zhou Man, is His Majesty ill?"
Manbao said, "If you are sick, wouldn't it be better for you to go back and ask your father? Or turn left and ask your cousin."
Zhao Liulang: "...If my father could tell me, would I still ask you?"
Not to mention the prince, he didn't even dare to ask whether it was okay.
Manbao said, "If your father didn't tell you, I certainly won't tell you."
Zhao Liulang actually thought it made sense, but he also figured out something. His Majesty must be in poor health, otherwise Zhou Man would definitely say that the emperor was in good health. Why bother talking to him about this?
Zhao Liulang felt very upset and turned around and left.
Manbao was stunned and couldn't help but find Bai Shan and ask, "When did Zhao Liulang become so affectionate towards His Majesty?"
"What do you mean by profound?" Bai Erlang said, "He is sad that he cannot go to Pingkangfang."
Manbao: ...
Bai Shan laughed and said, "You forgot that he borrowed one thousand taels from us on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Didn't he take the money when he came to pick up my eldest cousin to go to the flower viewing banquet on the 16th?"
Manbao:...She really forgot. Who made the Empress Dowager seriously ill on the night of the Sixteenth?
Bai Shan said, "He took the money, and then there was a national mourning. He wouldn't dare go to Pingkangfang even if he had ten guts. It's still a national mourning, but the control outside is not as strict. Although no one dares to have a feast openly, Pingkangfang is doing a lot of business. He must have had some plans."
Manbao: "He's really brave. He wants to guard for not three months, but six months!"
Really, he is quite courageous.
Bai Shan smiled and said, "He's probably just reluctant to part with the Ten Beauties of Jiangnan. By the way, is His Majesty really ill?"
"No," Man Bao did not hide the truth from his own people, saying, "But it can be considered an illness. It's because the Queen is ill, and the Queen Mother passed away. He is not in a good mood, but it's okay. Everyone feels down sometimes. He should be better after a while."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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