Chapter 408 Yi Xiu 86
Everyone expected Concubine Hua to die. She had been seriously ill for years, and it was a rare sight that she had managed to survive until now.
But the emperor was obviously unwilling to accept this fact. He rushed over and only saw the haggard Concubine Hua. He didn't even notice the empress standing beside her and Concubine Wan, who rarely went out.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
The two of them slowly stood up and saluted. The Emperor sat beside Concubine Hua's bed and called out, then quickly grasped Concubine Hua's outstretched right hand: "Your Majesty, I am unlucky. I am afraid I will not be able to accompany Your Majesty until the end of my life."
"Don't say such things. I will definitely order the imperial physician to heal you."
Even the emperor himself didn't believe such feeble words. Concubine Hua couldn't help but smile, "How can anyone decide matters of life and death? I beg Your Majesty, after I die, please don't blame the imperial physician who treated me. Don't waste time on funeral arrangements. Otherwise, even after I die, I won't be able to rest in peace!"
The man felt sad after hearing her words, but looking at her earnest eyes, he nodded and agreed.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help."
Those few words seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Lying in bed, Nian Xiwen could feel her life gradually fading away. Turning her head, she saw the emperor had white hair on his temples and wrinkles around his eyes, looking much older.
Although she had been hiding in Jingren Palace, she was not completely unaware of what was happening outside. The Nian family was on the verge of collapse, but fortunately, she would not see that day.
Thinking of what Concubine Wan had just told her, Nian Xiwen turned her head to look at the queen next to the emperor.
"Wanpin, let's go out and wait."
Yixiu waved to her and they both slowly retreated.
The sun was shining brightly outside, and Zhen Huan, whose skin was particularly pale, subconsciously narrowed her eyes and hid backward.
Yixiu asked someone to set up chairs for the two of them in the corridor, and the two of them silently looked at the flowers and trees in front of Jingren Palace.
"The Jingren Palace is the only one in the palace where the ground is the warmest, and these flowers bloom particularly well." Yixiu picked up the tea and started chatting.
Zhen Huan also smiled and said, "Although the flowers here at the Imperial Concubine's place bloomed earlier, the flowers at your place, the Empress's, bloom more abundantly, and each season has its own beauty."
"After two years of silence, you've become more methodical in your speech." Yixiu turned to look at her, "But I have a word of advice for you. Since you've already waited two years, why not wait a few more days? The person is gone, but the living still have to live on."
"Your Majesty is right. I think so too. But everyone has their own way of living. I feel more at ease these past two years."
Zhen Huan flicked the rosary in her hand. Ever since Mei Zhuang and the child left her, the pain of not being able to avenge them immediately forced Zhen Huan to rely on Buddhist scriptures to relieve her pain. It was not until today when she heard that Concubine Hua had passed away that she rushed over.
"That's true. I'm the one meddling in other people's business."
"Thank you, Queen, for your help."
They both picked up the tea, and everything was said without words.
"The Imperial Concubine has passed away."
The sad crying sounds gradually spread everywhere. Yixiu and Zhen Huan stood in the corridor, but just sighed softly.
The funeral of Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu was so grand that the emperor stopped attending court for seven days and then fell ill.
But Yixiu knew that his illness was caused by both the death of the Imperial Concubine and Zhen Huan's exposure of Zhen Fei's crimes, which triggered the damage that had accumulated in his body over the years.
As for whether those elixirs and spices played any role, the imperial doctors were unable to diagnose it.
After all, the emperor's temper has obviously become much worse due to his illness, and facing his aging body every day has made him more and more dependent on the short-lived vitality given by the elixir.
Yixiu simply handed over the subsequent funeral ceremonies of Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu to Imperial Noble Consort Yu and Imperial Noble Consort Zhen, and arranged the order for them to take turns attending to the illness under her leadership.
Naturally, after the emperor woke up, he had to continue to manage affairs despite his sick body. Although he had an excellent and well-known eldest son, Prince Duan was still young. How could he handle these military and political affairs?
Except for a few brainless idiots who jumped around a bit, everyone else in the government and the country wisely kept their mouths shut.
Fortunately, God protected the Qing Dynasty, and the emperor finally survived. However, his health was much worse than before. In order to recuperate his body and mind, after the New Year, he simply lived in the more beautiful environment of the Old Summer Palace and worked all year round.
Empress Yixiu also went with him, but she caught an illness during the bad season, so she asked Nian Shilan, who had been promoted to noble concubine, to take care of the harem.
Yixiu lay in bed until August. The Nian family collapsed and Nian Shilan was demoted to a concubine.
However, the emperor did not want to execute Nian Shilan for the sake of Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu. Instead, he allowed her to continue to enjoy the treatment of a noble lady, which was better than her situation in her previous life.
"Did Wanpin go to see Nian and agree?"
Yixiu, standing on the bridge, gathered her cloak. Jianqiu beside her nodded, "They've already gone. I'm afraid they'll be here by now."
"Do you think the Emperor will go see Nian for one last time?"
"I don't know."
"I think so. Today is the first anniversary of the reign of Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu. Concubine Wan is truly thorough in her work."
Yixiu praised sincerely and walked slowly towards Qingliang Palace with Jianqiu. Along the way, they met many young concubines who were strolling in the garden in groups of three or four.
She chatted with these girls with great interest for a while and happened to meet Concubine Wan.
"I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen. Is Her Majesty feeling better? I see that Her Majesty looks much better."
Zhen Huan stepped forward as she spoke, and Yi Xiu smiled and said, "Thanks to you, I've been feeling much better these past few days. I've got nothing better to do, so I decided to go out for a walk. Are you done with your work today?"
"Yes, everything is ready."
The two of them seemed to be chatting casually, and just talked about family matters for a few minutes before going back to their homes. No one would think that the emperor's sudden illness had anything to do with them.
This epidemic was different from other diseases. Many timid concubines were very worried, fearing that the queen would ask them to take care of her when she was sick.
Fortunately, the queen had ordered that only a few high-ranking concubines take turns to take care of the sick outside, and the rest of the young concubines could only stay in their rooms and were not allowed to go out at will.
The empress personally went to the emperor to ask for his health and give him medicine, taking care of his health without taking off her clothes.
God helps those who work hard. Under the close care of the empress, the emperor finally woke up after being in a coma for two days and one night.
The emperor struggled to open his heavy eyes, and the first thing he saw through his cloudy eyes was the haggard queen.
"Empress Yi..."
When Yixiu heard the call, she quickly poured a cup of warm water and helped the emperor drink it.
After a while, the imperial physicians headed by Zhang Mi came in one after another. Doctor Wen, who had the best medical skills, led the other imperial physicians to diagnose the emperor, and they all had solemn expressions on their faces.
Obviously, the emperor's condition is not optimistic.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
