Time passes silently.
Eunuch Wen had already cried and was guarding Empress Dowager Pei with swollen eyes.
"...Huyang thanked me and said she would always wait for me..."
Empress Dowager Pei smiled broadly, looking extremely kind, if one ignored her frail, haggard, and slightly swollen complexion.
"I also saw the late emperor. He extended his hand and said he was coming to take me."
"Your Majesty..."
Eunuch Wen suppressed his tears.
The eyes of the two brothers Liu Zhao and Liu Yi were already red, and they remained silent.
Gu Jiu shook his head at Liu Zhao, time was running out.
Empress Dowager Pei said to Liu Zhao, "Let him leave the palace and retire."
The "he" here naturally refers to Eunuch Wen.
Liu Zhao hummed, but fearing that Empress Dowager Pei might be worried, he added, "I agree."
Eunuch Wen was stunned at first, then overwhelmed with grief, he knelt on the ground and said, "This old servant kowtows to the Queen Mother."
Bang, bang, bang...
After three loud bangs, his forehead was red, swollen and broken.
He never expected that before her death, Empress Dowager Pei was still concerned about his safety.
He cried silently, and his tears kept flowing out like a faucet that couldn't be turned off.
He kept wiping his tears, and soon both handkerchiefs were soaked.
Can only be replaced with sleeves.
Soon, the sleeves seemed to be fished out of the water.
Empress Dowager Pei smiled and said, "I have no regrets anymore, so please stop looking so sad."
Liu Zhao finally asked, "Is it worth it? For Huyang, is it worth it?"
Queen Mother Pei smiled and said, "When you are alive, you must have some ideas."
"But……"
"I am willing!" Empress Dowager Pei interrupted Liu Zhao, "I am willing to give everything for her."
Liu Zhao said in a muffled voice: "Xiangguo Temple has decided to cremate the hopeless body."
"It doesn't matter!" Empress Dowager Pei didn't care.
Liu Zhao added, "Wuwang left a will, wanting to build a tomb for himself as a layman, right here in Beimang Mountain."
When Empress Dowager Pei heard this, she was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.
"It turns out he's not really heartless. It turns out he has a heart too!"
"You are not allowed to build a cenotaph for him. This is my last request. I will never let him have a complete cenotaph."
Liu Zhao agreed to this matter.
Queen Mother Pei's eyes shone brightly. She stretched out her hand in the air and asked excitedly, "Are you here to pick me up? I'm coming right over!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Empress Dowager Pei took her last breath and her hands slowly dropped.
"Mother!"
"Empress Dowager!"
Woo woo woo…
The entire Weiyang Palace was filled with suppressed sobbing.
When the Queen Mother passed away, the funeral bells rang in the palace and the whole capital could hear them.
Civil and military officials, as well as royal relatives, hung white lanterns at their doorsteps and changed into plain clothes as soon as they heard the bell.
He also warned his children at home to behave themselves during the period of national mourning.
Don't forget that more than ten years ago, after Empress Dowager Xiao passed away, Emperor Chengzong Wende went on a killing spree, killing tens of thousands of people in one go.
Although there were reasons for that, no one could guarantee that Emperor Jingming Liu Zhao would not take advantage of the Queen Mother's death to pick up the butcher knife and purge the court.
In short, if someone committed a crime, they might be let off lightly under normal circumstances, but during a period of national mourning, it could be used as an excuse to cause trouble and overthrow an entire family.
The Shaofu acted quickly. While the burial was still taking place in the Weiyang Palace, the mourning hall in the Liangyi Hall was already half-decorated.
Liu Yi cried so much that he fainted, and Gu Jiu sent someone to send Liu Yi back to the palace.
Liu Zhao stood beside Empress Dowager Pei, his eyes stinging.
Gu Jiu forcibly pulled him away and said, "Come back to visit after the burial."
Liu Zhao's eyes were red. "Am I unfilial? I dare not say that I am a filial son, nor do I dare to admit that I am unfilial. Since I was a child, her favorite scolding was "unfilial son". I have heard it so many times that my ears are callused that I no longer care. But now that she is gone, I suddenly realize that I am truly unfilial. In all these years, I have not properly fulfilled my filial duties in front of her."
Gu Jiu advised him, "What is filial piety? Submitting to everything is foolish filial piety. You are the grandson of the emperor, the prince, the emperor. You cannot obey everything. Otherwise, the Great Zhou would have been in turmoil long ago, and the country might have changed its name. You don't have to be too demanding. Nothing in the world is perfect. You need to be open-minded."
Liu Zhao looked up at the sky and said, "I'm tired!"
"I'll have someone take you back to Xingqing Palace."
Gu Jiu knew very well that what Liu Zhao needed now was some quiet time alone, rather than nagging and persuading him.
So she didn't go to Xingqing Palace.
Liu Zhao locked himself in Xingqing Palace and did not allow anyone to disturb him.
For a whole day and night, I didn't eat a single grain of rice and was lost in thought in the darkness.
The palace maids were worried about something happening, so they frequently went to Chang'an Palace to ask Queen Gu Jiu to come forward and mediate.
Gu Jiu said: "Your Majesty does not need persuasion now."
He needs time to be alone and figure things out on his own.
However, it is definitely not okay to go without food or water for a long time.
Gu Jiu calculated the time and came to Xingqing Palace.
With a crisp creaking sound, the door of the hall opened from the outside.
A ray of sunlight shone through the crack in the door onto the ground. In the bright light, the dust flew happily.
Gu Jiu walked into the hall carrying a food box.
Immediately afterwards, the door of the hall was closed from the outside again.
It took her a moment to adjust to the light in the hall.
He was sitting on the steps, with a scraggly beard and a haggard look, as if he had lost his soul and didn't know what day it was.
She walked over and wiped his cheek with a hot, wet towel.
"Wipe off the sweat and feel more comfortable."
Liu Zhao had raised his hand to refuse, but finally slowly put it down.
He wiped his cheeks and then his fingers.
Wipe each of your ten fingers one by one, being extremely careful and cautious.
Afterwards, she opened the lunch box and took out some light and nutritious meals, as well as a large bowl of vegetarian soup.
She told him, "The mourning hall has been set up, and the court officials and ladies of honor have already entered the palace. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of the Imperial Household are taking care of Queen Mother's funeral. Everything is in perfect order, so you don't have to worry. I specially asked the kitchen to make a bowl of vegetarian soup. It's just a few green leaves, a little salt, and some chopped green onions. Take a sip, and if it tastes good, drink the rest."
She stood in front of him with the bowl of soup, and when he didn't move, she asked, "Would you like some?"
Liu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the bowl of soup.
After not taking any food or water for a long time, a bowl of vegetarian soup is like a delicious delicacy that makes people feel very satisfied.
Liu Zhao did not make things difficult for himself, nor was he pretentious.
I drank all the vegetarian soup in one breath and my stomach was almost full.
Gu Jiu sat down next to him and didn't force him to eat.
She held his hand and said, "Don't blame yourself!"
"How do you know I'm blaming myself?"
"We've been married for so many years, how could I not know?"
"Am I a complete jerk? Unfilial and unfraternal?"
"Is this how you see yourself?" Gu Jiu asked back.
Liu Zhao's face was gloomy. "I am not a good person."
Gu Jiu said seriously, "There are no purely good people or purely bad people in the world. Most people are somewhere in between. And you, as an emperor, are certainly not a good person, but you are also not a bad person. A good person cannot be an emperor, and a purely bad person cannot be an emperor either."
"I am unfilial."
Gu Jiu nodded. "According to worldly standards, you are indeed unfilial, but you are not an unfilial son. You are an emperor, and the way of filial piety must give way to the way of hegemony."
"I feel I owe her too much."
"What do you mean by owing something? You don't owe anyone anything. You're just obsessed with your mother's passing."
"No, I do owe her something."
Gu Jiu frowned and waited for his next words, but nothing came.
She tightened her grip and held his hand. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the laws of nature. No one can stop them. One day, we too will lie in bed and say goodbye to our children."
Liu Zhao held her hand with his backhand, very firmly, "I will walk ahead of you."
"You are walking in front of me, do you mean to let me be the queen mother?"
"Don't you want to?"
"Being a queen mother sounds glorious, but it's so boring. Lonely and lonely..."
Liu Zhao suddenly hugged her and said, "I can't bear to let you go in front."
Gu Jiu patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely walk behind you. Generally speaking, women live longer than men."
The atmosphere was so touching and full of emotions, but Gu Jiu seriously analyzed who has a longer lifespan, women or men. The good atmosphere was like a bubble being popped, which was so unpleasant.
Liu Zhao was dissatisfied and stared at her.
Gu Jiu raised his hand and poked his forehead, "Don't think too much. When that day really comes, no matter who goes first, the living must live well."
"I can't bear to leave you alone."
"That's true! If I became the Queen Mother, I definitely couldn't remarry. But if you were a widower, you could expand your harem and appoint another queen."
"Nonsense! You're deliberately trying to piss me off. If I die of rage, you can remarry. You're dreaming!"
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, pinching his earlobe, "Are you feeling better?"
"I'm so angry at you, how can I be okay?"
Liu Zhao was full of energy and seemed to have recovered his spirit.
Gu Jiu smiled, but no words of comfort were of any use when dealing with Liu Zhao.
The only way is to stimulate him and arouse his fighting spirit.
Liu Zhao roared a few words and suddenly felt hungry.
Regardless of whether the food is cold or not, just pick up the chopsticks and start eating.
"It's too plain! The portion isn't big enough, I can't even feel full. Are you torturing me?"
"During the mourning period, of course, you can only eat vegetarian food. As for the portion size, if you're not full, I'll have someone send in a food box."
"Send it quickly, at least add some oil."
"Know!"
Liu Zhao had a good appetite and ate until he was seven-tenths full in one breath.
He still wants to eat.
Gu Jiu took away the chopsticks and didn't allow him to eat.
"You've been hungry all day, so how can you overeat? You're not young anymore, you should know how to take care of yourself."
Liu Zhao complained secretly a few words, but it was okay, as long as he was only 70% full.
He regained his spirit and began to appear in public to handle state affairs and funeral arrangements.
Everyone in Xingqing Palace and the court breathed a sigh of relief.
If the emperor is safe, the Zhou Dynasty will be safe.
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