Chapter 469: A person’s fate is determined by heaven
Inside the Zichen Hall.
Wen Li'er was lying on her side on the dragon bed at this moment, facing the direction of the palace door.
In order to be able to see His Majesty's return as soon as possible, she had already ordered people to fold up and move aside the screen separating the inner and outer rooms.
She opened her eyes wide, not wanting to sleep at all, and just waited stubbornly.
The fetus in the belly seemed to sense the mother's anxiety and occasionally kicked gently.
Finally, the palace door was gently pushed open, and the figure that she was extremely worried about walked in with the night wind.
Wen Li'er immediately propped herself up and sat up: "Your Majesty, you are back."
Seeing that she was still awake, Yan Shixu frowned slightly, strode to the bedside, stretched out his hand to embrace her in his arms, his tone filled with heartache and reproach:
"It's so late and you're still not sleeping? If you tire yourself out and give birth to a little fool, I'll show you how I'll punish you."
Beneath the words of blame lies the concern that cannot be concealed.
Wen Li'er buried her head deeply in his broad chest and rubbed it.
"Of course not. Your Majesty is extremely intelligent, wise and powerful. Even if the child I give birth to is not very smart, he will be as well-behaved and cute as Miaomiao."
Seeing that she was still in the mood to joke, Yan Shixu softened his tense jawline a little and gently pinched her cheek.
"Can't sleep?"
Wen Li'er raised her head. In the candlelight, her eyes were clear and bright, filled with undisguised concern.
"I am worried about Your Majesty."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"I'm worried that Your Majesty will blame yourself, feel guilty... and take the blame for the Empress Dowager's illness on yourself. That's why I can't sleep."
Yan Shixu's body stiffened slightly, and the pain surging deep in his eyes almost overflowed.
He suddenly leaned down and buried his exhausted face deeply in Wen Li'er's warm and fragrant neck.
The voice came muffled, with a hint of fragility:
"I... just thought, if... if Yan Shishu had been dealt with later, the Imperial Grandmother... might have lived a few more years..."
Wen Li'er felt the wetness on her neck and felt distressed.
She hugged him tightly, and gently stroked his haggard cheek with one hand, her voice soft but firm:
"That is not the case, Your Majesty."
"What's wrong with you punishing Princess Taiping? She committed an unforgivable crime! How can you convince the public if you don't punish her?"
"The root cause of the Empress Dowager's illness wasn't Your Majesty's execution of her, but the actions of Princess Taiping...they dealt her a heavy blow."
"Even if Your Majesty... postponed the execution, given the Empress Dowager's love and disappointment for Princess Taiping, she... probably wouldn't be able to hold out."
She leaned back slightly, held his face in her hands, and said seriously, word by word:
"Your Majesty, please don't dwell on this. In my heart, Your Majesty is the most wise, brave, and upright man in the world! A person's fate is determined by heaven and cannot be forced by human power."
"Your Majesty, please do not impose this false accusation on me. I will be heartbroken."
Her words were like warm spring water, slowly flowing into Yan Shixu's heavy heart.
He subconsciously rubbed her soft hair with his chin, his voice still a little difficult:
"But I...will soon be without a Royal Grandmother..."
The emperor, who was in his thirties, had now shed all his dignity and looked as fragile as a child who was about to lose the protection of his loved ones.
Wen Li'er's heart tightened instantly.
She opened her arms and hugged his broad back tighter, patting him gently as if coaxing a child, her voice so gentle that it could make water drip out.
"But Your Majesty still has me. I also have several children, a mother, other brothers and sisters, and close friends..."
"Your Majesty is not alone. I, along with my grandmother, will love and protect you doubly."
She loosened her arms slightly and looked up at him with burning eyes.
"The Imperial Grandmother is old. She will eventually leave Your Majesty. This is a fact that no one can change."
"But Your Majesty, we still have three months."
"These three months are precious time God has given Your Majesty to be at the Empress Dowager's bedside and to properly see her off on her final journey. This is the time we can seize now."
"So, Your Majesty, let's cherish these three months and do our best to ensure that the Empress Dowager passes away peacefully and without regrets, okay?"
Yan Shixu looked deeply into her bright eyes, his Adam's apple rolling.
Finally, he hugged her back tightly, buried his face in her shoulder, and said muffledly: "...Okay. Listen to Li'er."
"Then your majesty, please come up and rest."
Wen Li'er felt a little relieved and pushed him gently.
"Only after a good rest can you have the energy to take good care of the Empress Dowager and manage state affairs."
Yan Shixu obediently let her help him take off his outer robe and lie down on the bed.
Wen Li'er carefully covered him with a quilt, snuggled into his arms, and found the most comfortable position.
Then, she began to hum a folk song in a very soft and gentle voice, just as she would when lulling children to sleep.
"The moon is bright, the wind is calm, and the leaves are covering the window lattices..."
"The chirping of crickets is like the sound of musical strings..."
The melodious and graceful song, with its tenderness and temptation, lingered softly in the empty hall, lingering and gentle as water.
The previous heaviness and sadness were gradually wiped away in this familiar warmth and fragrance.
Yan Shixu's tense nerves finally relaxed slowly, his heavy eyelids closed, and his breathing gradually became even and long.
I felt him completely relax and fall into a deep sleep.
Wen Li'er then curled up her lips into a faint smile, snuggled up to him, and soon fell asleep.
In the huge Zichen Hall, the only sounds left were the occasional crackling of candlelight and the two people's intertwined and steady breathing.
…
Over the next month, royal family members took turns entering the palace to tend to the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace.
Yan Shixu handed over most of the state affairs to Prince Lin, Prince Cheng, and Prince Qian.
He would set aside half of his time every day to personally stay by the Empress Dowager's bedside.
The Empress Dowager woke up several times on the first day, and was awake for about four or five hours in total.
However, as the days passed, her time awake became visibly shorter and her time asleep became longer.
The already weak vitality is dissipating irreversibly.
As for Xiaoxiao, Xiongxiong, Prince Lang and Prince Liang, who were wandering around the world, upon receiving the news that the Grand Empress Dowager/Grandmother was critically ill, they immediately gave up their original plan to go to Xitong Pass and quickly changed course back to Beijing.
At the same time, King Wu, who was far away at the border, received a letter from a carrier pigeon and was struck by lightning.
This powerful general Wang staggered and almost fell down.
He selected two hundred of his most elite personal soldiers overnight and set off with a small group.
They rode at full speed all the way, rushing towards the capital city day and night.
Halfway through his gallop, he "robbed" the four people led by Prince Lang who were also galloping on the official road.
In order to speed up, Prince Lang and Prince Liang took Xiaoxiao and Xiongxiong to ride together.
Considering that they were still too young, Prince Lang and Prince Liang did not travel at the fastest speed.
But King Wu was different.
He was extremely anxious and shouted, "You've come out to make a living in the martial arts world, but you can't even stand this little bump, what's the point of making a living!"
Without any room for negotiation, he directly "lifted" the two little ones from the horses of Prince Lang and Prince Liang.
One on the left and one on the right, they were tied firmly to the back of his warhorse with specially made wide cloth belts, just like tying up military supplies.
"Hang it firmly! I won't pick it up if it falls!"
Then, he squeezed the horse's belly hard, and the warhorse neighed loudly and rushed out like an arrow, its speed more than twice as fast as before!
It was really a fast speed, with billowing dust all the way.
…
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