After his two sons had left, Shunzhi stood alone, staring blankly out the window, lost in thought.
He thought he had a long future ahead of him, but reality was harsh; his time was running out.
Recalling his two sons' usual behavior, their personalities and ways of handling things, and finally thinking about the power they represented, Shunzhi closed his eyes and sighed, as if he had made a decision.
On this day, Emperor Shunzhi convened his court officials for a long discussion before finally making a momentous decision.
But the matter was not over yet. He forced himself to stay awake and sent Wang Dehai to the Cining Palace to see the Empress Dowager.
Upon hearing the news that her son had summoned the ministers to the palace for a meeting today, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang knew that her son was preparing to establish an heir apparent.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang couldn't understand why she, still young, had to endure the pain of outliving her child.
Taking a deep breath, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, supported by Sumalagu, boarded the sedan chair bound for the Qianqing Palace.
Upon arriving at the destination, since Empress Xiaozhuang had never had smallpox, she stood outside the door and did not go in. The mother and son then communicated through the door.
Having gone through so much, and perhaps at the end of his life, Shunzhi finally stopped being hostile to his mother, and the two could speak calmly to each other.
He first pointed out the mistakes he had made over the years. Shunzhi spoke sincerely, clearly acknowledging how wrong his actions had been in previous years.
These were the words that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had longed to hear, but now, in this situation, she hoped that her son would not change.
She would rather her son remain rebellious and defiant than see him lying weakly in bed.
The Empress Dowager, respected by both the former and current emperors, shed tears of sorrow for her son.
Through the door, Shunzhi was unaware that his mother was already in tears. After calming himself down, he told Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang his idea of making the third prince, Xuan Ye, the heir apparent.
Upon hearing the words, the image of discovering Consort Tong's hands and feet a few days earlier flashed through her mind. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang disregarded her grief and immediately denied it.
Shunzhi was puzzled; he didn't know why his mother would object.
Everyone has witnessed the personalities of Fuquan and Xuan Ye. As they themselves said, Fuquan was weak and gentle, suitable to be a wise prince and assist the emperor in governing the country.
Xuan Ye was intelligent and eager to learn. Even at a young age, he exuded a powerful aura, and all the servants around him were in awe of him.
With these two children, Fuquan becoming a prince and Xuan Ye becoming the emperor, this was the best arrangement.
With this in mind, Shunzhi also shared his thoughts with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
Having ruled from behind the curtain for many years, helping her young son govern the country, and navigating between Dorgon and numerous ministers, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was no fool; she knew and understood what her son was thinking.
However, Consort Tong might be the mastermind behind her son's death. Before the evidence is conclusive, she cannot allow Consort Tong's son, the Third Prince, to become emperor, otherwise she will feel uneasy.
With Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's intervention, Shunzhi's plan was thwarted, and he could only put it aside for the time being and try to persuade her again later.
Yunyi learned about the events at the Qianqing Palace and knew that it was Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang who had intervened. She also understood Xiaozhuang's concerns. That night, she changed her clothes and went to the Cining Palace.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was genuinely surprised. Meng Guqing had left the capital two years earlier and returned to her maternal home in Khorchin, Mongolia.
She had personally sent her niece out, but she never expected to see Meng Guqing at Cining Palace.
After the initial surprise came a deep sense of apprehension. It was fine to return to the capital from Mongolia and to enter the palace.
But Cining Palace was his stronghold, which he had managed for many years. It was already as solid as an iron barrel. How did Meng Guqing manage to get in without alerting his own people?
Seeing the apprehension in Xiaozhuang's eyes, Yunyi smiled somewhat ironically. As expected of an old fox, she wasn't surprised, only apprehensive because of the power behind her.
However, she didn't want to beat around the bush. She came here tonight to have something to say, not to reminisce.
"What? You mean... Xuan Ye is your child?"
She suddenly stood up, and a rare expression of surprise, disbelief, and disorientation appeared on Empress Xiaozhuang's face.
She pointed at Yunyi, her trembling fingers conveying the turmoil in her heart.
It took her a long while to calm down and sit back in her seat: "Since Xuan Ye is your child, then who is Bao Zhu?"
Several possibilities flashed through Empress Xiaozhuang's mind. She loved Baozhu as her own granddaughter and felt sorry that Baozhu could not become a princess. When she passed away, she gave this "granddaughter" many things.
Among them were several of her own belongings, which Baozhu could use to seek help from the royal family if she encountered difficulties in the future.
Now that Meng Guqing says that Xuan Ye is her child, what is Baozhu's identity? Could it be that Meng Guqing adopted a commoner's child?
As if aware of her doubts, Yunyi smiled and explained, "Aunt, there's no need to worry. Baozhu is actually Consort Tong's child, and she is of royal blood."
Upon hearing this answer, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang visibly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the child wasn't from an ordinary family, it would be reasonable for her to leave her things to the child.
After asking these questions, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang could guess what had happened. It was nothing more than the two people exchanging children. Meng Guqing needed his daughter to return to Khorchin, and Consort Tong needed her son for protection.
The behavior of Yunyi staying in the palace over the years was also explained by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's own imagination.
It is natural for a mother and child to be so close. Meng Guqing couldn't bear to part with her child, so she returned after leaving and disguised herself as a nanny to stay at the prince's residence to take care of her son. This is perfectly normal.
This solved a difficult problem. Originally, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang strongly opposed her son choosing the Third Prince Xuan Ye as his successor, but now that she learned that the Third Prince was born to her niece and had Mongolian blood, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was happy.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
