From afar, Changle Palace was brightly lit, and several rows of people were kneeling in neat rows outside the palace. Shi Mingyue thought her guess was correct. The palace servants led the two of them into the palace, where Changle Palace was also filled with concubines, princes and princesses kneeling in neat rows.
She and Huo Qiurong were assigned to kneel in the back. The Emperor and Concubine Cen were not in the outer room, but were supposed to be in the inner room tending to the Empress Dowager. Shi Mingyue knelt quietly, head bowed, not looking around. Hearing the soft sobs of those around her, she felt a little embarrassed. She wasn't familiar with the Empress Dowager, so it was difficult for her to feign grief. Beside her, Huo Qiurong seemed to be gathering emotion, her body trembling, and she suddenly let out a heartbroken, suppressed cry.
Shi Mingyue was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but admire her. She had been kneeling for about half an hour, and her knees were already numb, but there was no movement from the inner room. Just as Shi Mingyue was puzzled, someone came out.
It turned out to be Xu Ziling and several imperial physicians, all with serious expressions, clearly helpless against the empress dowager's illness. Huo Qiurong's eyes were complicated when she saw Xu Ziling.
After waiting for a while, the emperor slowly came out accompanied by Concubine Cen. He looked extremely haggard. With Concubine Cen's support, he sat on a chair beside him. He rubbed his temples and said to the people kneeling in front of him, "Lang'er, Jin Yao, Qi Yao, all of you go in and see the Imperial Grandmother."
The Fourth Prince, the Eldest Princess, and the Second Princess who were named all stood up and walked into the inner room. It was obvious that they had been kneeling for too long, and their walking posture was a little stiff.
The others continued to kneel, trying even harder to put on a show before the emperor. Each one looked so tearful, it was truly pitiful. Shi Mingyue tried to think of something sad. If she didn't pretend to cry, and someone saw her without even a tear in her eyes, she would definitely be called cold-blooded and heartless.
She was just brewing her emotions when she suddenly heard the emperor loudly scolding, "How outrageous!"
This sound immediately made everyone look up, and they found that the emperor was quite angry. Following his gaze, they saw a young concubine trembling with fear, her face extremely pale.
"Since you are sleepy, why are you still staying here?" The emperor looked at the concubine with a gloomy look.
The concubine immediately prostrated herself on the ground, her voice trembling as she said, "Your Majesty, I, your concubine, have lost my manners..."
The emperor winked, and the eunuch beside him immediately understood, "Take Concubine Liu out to sober up."
Two eunuchs immediately went over and carried Concubine Liu out. Concubine Liu didn't dare to make a loud noise in the Empress Dowager's bedroom. She kept her mouth shut and let the eunuchs drag her out, because she knew that if she dared to plead again, the Emperor might not let her wake up.
The others were trembling with fear and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to show any sign of tiredness.
Shi Mingyue watched the entire process from the side, sighing deeply. Concubine Liu, yawning in such a solemn occasion, and being caught by the Emperor, was simply unfortunate. Since she was already kneeling here, she naturally had to pay attention to her appearance and demeanor. But she didn't know how the eunuchs would punish her, and Shi Mingyue couldn't help but worry for Concubine Liu.
After the storm was over, the people kneeling below behaved properly. The emperor supported his head with his hands on his seat, his expression showing hidden pain. It was obvious that the torment in his heart was unspeakable.
The bond between parents and children is truly profound. Shi Mingyue looked up at the emperor's expression, and her heart was filled with anxiety. She suddenly thought of the three-month-old child she had a small bond with. She could still feel the heartache of knowing she had lost him, and her eyes instantly turned red.
The feeling of true heartbreak turns into a kind of emptiness, so empty that she doesn't even notice the tears flowing. She just lowers her head silently and misses him silently.
"Father! Grandmother, Grandmother is dead!" Suddenly a mournful voice attracted everyone's attention.
The person who spoke was none other than the Fourth Prince, Fu Qinglang. The moment the Emperor heard this, a deep sorrow flashed across his eyes. He immediately stood up, but after taking a few steps, his vision went dark and he passed out.
The Empress Dowager's funeral was scheduled for three days later. Early that morning, Shi Mingyue had just changed into mourning clothes and was about to enter the palace when she saw Fu Yueli who had hurried back.
After the Empress Dowager passed away, the three princes who were away from home were urgently recalled. Fu Yueli received an order to go to the capital late at night on the second day after arriving in Xinzhou, so he rushed back without stopping.
Shi Mingyue saw that there were stubbles on his chin and he looked quite haggard. She touched his face with heartache and immediately ordered someone to prepare toiletries and mourning clothes.
One day after the funeral, Fu Yueli was about to go to Xinzhou again. Before leaving, Shi Mingyue hugged him for a long time. Because she was reluctant and distressed, she finally said, "Come back soon, I'll wait for you."
Fu Yueli nodded heavily, he would, and kissed her on the lips, "Yes, I will, I will be back soon."
The Emperor, overcome with grief, suspended court for ten days due to the Empress Dowager's death. Monks from the Ningguo Temple were invited to chant sutras for the Empress Dowager's soul, prompting Shi Mingyue to reenter the palace.
The monks from Ningguo Temple chanted scriptures while beating wooden fish at the gate of Changle Palace, and threw the handwritten scriptures into the brazier to burn for the empress dowager.
Shi Mingyue suddenly remembered that she had never done anything for the unborn child with such a poor fate. During lunch break, she did not eat, but asked for paper and pen and wrote three full pages of the mantra for rebirth.
When the ritual ended in the afternoon and the emperor, his concubines, and others left, she stopped a monk and asked him to wait while she burned the three pages of scriptures. The monk stood quietly by, waiting for her to burn the paper.
One, two, three pages of paper with scriptures written on them were ignited by the fire and gradually burned to ashes. When Shi Mingyue was about to burn the last page, a voice interrupted her: "What are you doing here?"
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