Emperor Hui laughed heartily, then suddenly burst into tears.
"Just as I thought... How did you manage to deceive everyone?"
"His Majesty burned the first incense stick that day, accompanied by all the civil and military officials, including myself. At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), when I heard that there was no more movement in the scripture hall, I prepared to send His Majesty a fox fur coat. I saw His Majesty resting at his desk, while Master Yuan Zhen had passed away peacefully in his seat."
"I saw the prophecy on the table..."
Xie Anfeng saw the prophecy, quickly memorized it, and immediately withdrew, concealing all traces of his presence.
He went back and had a private talk with the clan elders.
With such a great opportunity right in front of them, who wouldn't be tempted?
When Xu Zhiyan was due to give birth, Xie Anfeng had someone fabricate a fake medical record in advance. At that time, Consort Xi had just suffered a miscarriage and took her anger out on Xu Zhiyan, so Xu Zhiyan simply stopped going to the palace to participate in various activities.
Therefore, Xie Zhaozhao was kept in the dark while she was still in her mother's womb.
As the secret agent had predicted, Xu Zhiyan's body was kept warm with ice until July 15th, when it was announced that the child had been born and Xu Zhiyan had died in childbirth.
Emperor Hui finally learned all the secrets and chuckled, "The Xie family are indeed all old foxes."
He schemed his whole life, but he never schemed against the Xie family.
Xie Anfeng said calmly, "No matter how much the Xie family schemes, they can't outdo the heavens. How can a lucky star be created by human effort?"
"It seems that Xie girl is a lucky star destined by heaven, one of the twin dragons."
"The abbot said at the time that fortune and misfortune are interdependent, and that there is a lucky star and a calamity star. It seems that the Guan family woman whom I carefully selected is a scourge."
Guan Yingying was in charge of the household. The entire Guan family was beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, and the whole family was exiled.
She was in the Gu family, and Gu Boyu's entire family suffered terrible fates, with all the women in the family losing their chastity.
Being the crown prince's woman caused him to lose his empire and fall from grace.
She possessed Princess Yu Rong's body, and not only was her entire maternal clan wiped out, but the Zhou family's empire also changed hands.
Emperor Hui grew increasingly resentful, and almost blurted out, "Take her..."
Alas, we cannot kill him.
"I remember now, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Doesn't this mean that, Xie girl, wherever you are, she is there too? When she is strong, you are weak, and when she is weak, you are strong?"
Xie Zhaozhao smiled faintly: "Now that you mention it, I think there's some truth to it."
Emperor Hui murmured, "Posthumously confer the title of Empress Dowager Yunfei, Empress Dowager Renxiao...to be buried with me."
Xie Zhaozhao listened without interfering.
Zhou Shaoyu's expression was indifferent: "Father, I will certainly comply with the matter of posthumously conferring titles upon Mother."
Joint burial? What would be buried together?
Back then, when Consort Yun was in the Cold Palace, a great fire destroyed her body, leaving no trace. What's the point of burying her with anyone else, except for a cenotaph?
Emperor Hui's eyes were unfocused. Suddenly, he started gesturing wildly and repeatedly scolding, "Xie, what are you doing here?"
"Wei, you traitor! I couldn't even subdue you with the Soul-Suppressing Nails?"
"Consort Yun, my beloved consort, don't cry. I have no choice in this. Please don't go..." He reached out and grabbed, trying his best to reach out.
He fell headfirst to the ground, and Zhou Shaoyu immediately pulled him up.
Fluid was flowing from beneath him; he was already dead.
Emperor Hui of the Great Gan Dynasty died after reigning for thirty-four years.
Emperor Hui's funeral was conducted in accordance with procedure. Xie Zhaozhao was not a petty person; since the person was already dead, many things should be done according to the rules.
After Emperor Hui's death, the court posthumously honored Consort Yun as Empress Dowager Renxiao Shengmu and Xie Chunxi as Empress Dowager Zhenlie Mufei.
Consort Yun's cenotaph was not moved, and only her memorial tablet was buried with Emperor Hui.
Xie Chunxi was not buried with Emperor Hui. Xie Zhaozhao did not want her aunt to be buried with someone she disliked after her death, so she repaired the tomb on the original site of the burial site and erected a blank stele.
*
In the twelfth month of the first year of the Yulong era, in Lizhou.
Xujia Village.
The New Year is approaching, and the dusty village is bustling with activity.
It had just snowed heavily, and the children were having a snowball fight in the snowdrifts.
A sharp-eyed child pointed at the village entrance and exclaimed, "Wow, a big horse-drawn carriage!"
Two carriages, one of which was particularly luxurious, were accompanied by more than a dozen generals on tall horses, each wearing silver armor and looking very imposing.
The children were both curious and amazed, and when they heard the shout, everyone came out to see what was going on.
Who is this? Who are they looking for?
"Go and report to the village head immediately."
While people were discussing this, someone had already placed a dismounting stool in front of the carriage, and the people inside got off.
He recognized the man in the ordinary carriage; wasn't this the county magistrate?
A man stepped out of the luxurious carriage, dressed in a fur coat and with his hair tied up in a jade crown, looking very imposing.
Where did this official come from?
County Magistrate Ying Wenlong, upon seeing the village head, smiled and said, "Village Head Xu, why aren't you welcoming General Zhongyong?"
The village head was a little confused: "Lord Ying, is this from our village?"
“Why not? This is Lord Xu, Xu Tiezhu’s brother Xu Li,” Lord Ying said. “He has been away from home for more than ten years. Now he has come back to pay respects to his ancestors.”
The village head didn't know Xu Li, but he knew Xu Tiezhu, who was a villager from this village.
Upon hearing Lord Ying's words, Xu Li stepped forward and bowed to the village head: "Third Uncle Xu, I am Xu Pang."
"Oh my, it's you!" The village head slapped his thigh. "Little Fatty, what happened to you?"
Xu Pang used to be as round as a ball, with a pale face. Now he's lean and strong.
Standing in the freezing wind, Lord Ying hissed and said to the village head, "Stop talking in the street, let's go home!"
The village head had a headache. He knew Tie Zhu's house well; it was poor, dilapidated, and dirty. During the New Year, if you were unlucky enough to walk in, you'd be greeted by two piles of excrement.
The village head said warmly, "Come sit at my house first. I'll go and call Tiezhu over. When my brother arrives, he'll have to tidy up the house."
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