The imperial edict stated that the deceased Consort Jiayu, formerly Consort Jing, should be posthumously named Empress, and would be buried with the Emperor in the imperial mausoleum after His Majesty's death.
The emperor's low, hoarse voice rang out, "I once promised to marry her, but fate has forced me to break my promise. Now I only wish to be married to her after my death."
Ning Yuxi didn't know how to react for a moment, and the emperor didn't mean to let her make a decision immediately. He said, "I haven't eaten for a long time, and I'm suddenly a little hungry. I also want to try the soup you made the other day."
Ning Yuxi looked at the emperor's gentle and smiling eyes, as if they were just chatting casually between an ordinary couple, and for some reason, her nose felt a little sore.
Ning Yuxi smiled back, "I'll make it for you right away."
The soup was just an ordinary tonic soup. Ning Yuxi had made it several times and was very skilled at it. She finished it in less than half an hour.
When it was brought to the bedroom, Ning Yuxi was about to call the emperor who had fallen asleep again, but she saw the person lying on the bed with a calm face, his chest seemed to be at no movement, and his breathing was almost inaudible.
Ning Yuxi's heart trembled, and the sour feeling in her nose became even stronger.
Ning Yuxi closed her eyes, put down the soup, slowly moved to the bed, and quietly looked at the person who seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, the tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. Ning Yuxi was startled. Before she could retract the emotions in her eyes, she bumped into the emperor.
Seeing that she was a little confused, the emperor curled his lips and said, "How can I bear to leave before I have even had your soup?"
The words were followed by a series of coughs. Ning Yuxi hurried forward to help him calm down. The emperor took her hand and said, suppressing his discomfort, "Don't be sad if I am gone. After Cheng Zhao succeeds to the throne, you will be the most noble woman in the world and you can sleep in every day."
Ning Yuxi couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the emperor laughed too. After a pause, he said in a low voice, "My mother is old. If it were me... she wouldn't be able to bear it. She needs Xi'er to comfort her."
"As you should, Your Majesty, rest assured."
"Hmm." After a pause, the emperor continued, "Qianmiao Mountain in Qizhou is said to be the most spiritual place in Dajin. The Wanfo Temple on the mountain is very popular.
After I leave, in addition to enshrining the spirit tablets in the mausoleum, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Fengxian Hall in the palace, I also plan to build a spirit hall in the Wanfo Temple to enshrine the spirit tablets."
Ning Yuxi didn't know why the emperor suddenly said all this to her. The Ministry of Rites would handle those matters.
The emperor saw Ning Yuxi's confusion and smiled slightly. "I know you have always wanted to go outside the palace. If you feel bored after I am gone, you can go to the Wanfo Temple to burn incense for me. It is not a bad idea to stay there for a few months."
Ning Yuxi stared at the emperor blankly, tears rolling down her eyes.
The palace rules were strict, and even if she became the empress dowager, she could not leave the palace at will. But if she left under the pretext of paying tribute to the late emperor, who would dare to say anything?
Whether he was sincere or did it to get her to agree to posthumously confer the title of empress on Concubine Jing, she didn't want to think about it. After all, she was the beneficiary, and she had never had any thoughts about the position of empress from the beginning to the end.
As the sky gradually darkened, the emperor fell into a deep sleep and never woke up again.
On the night of December 12, the 19th year of the Yongli reign of the Great Jin Dynasty, Emperor Yongli Gu Qilan passed away at the age of 41.
When the emperor dies, the whole world mourns.
The emperor's funeral was grand and solemn.
The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so Crown Prince Cheng Zhao succeeded to the throne on December 20th, changed the reign title to Jinghe, honored the empress dowager as Grand Empress Dowager, and his biological mother, Concubine Yi, as Empress Dowager.
With the funeral of the late emperor and the coronation ceremony, this year passed in a hurry. On the first day of February in the first year of Jinghe, the period of rest of the late emperor's coffin was over and it was to be buried in the imperial mausoleum.
A few days earlier, Ning Yuxi stamped her seal as the Empress Dowager with the Emperor's imperial edict to posthumously confer the title of Empress on Concubine Jing and issued it.
Although the court officials had some complaints about this, this was an order from the Empress Dowager, and since the Empress Dowager herself agreed, it would be redundant for them to say anything more.
The matter was settled, and on the first day of February, the emperor and empress's coffins were buried together in the imperial mausoleum.
After a lonely life in the deep palace and ups and downs for half her life, she finally became the final winner.
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