Xu Lejin and Consort Que lowered their eyes slightly, looking at their toes.
After a long time
Consort Que raised her eyes, glanced cautiously at Xu Lejin, and carefully asked, "Consort Yu, is the Empress Dowager's condition not good? Is it...?"
The words "a final burst of energy before death" were on the tip of Consort Que's tongue, but she swallowed them back down.
Nodding slightly, Xu Lejin lowered her voice and said, "The Empress Dowager is indeed not well now. I only hope that the Emperor can finish his business in the court as soon as possible and come to Cining Palace to see the Empress Dowager one last time."
After speaking, Xu Lejin looked towards the direction of the Qianqing Palace and the former court.
A moment later
Xu Lejin looked at Consort Que with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "Outside the palace, has my sister sent someone to convey a message to Princess Guren Shuhui, requesting her to come to the palace?"
Consort Que nodded slightly.
"Reporting to Sister, I have already sent someone to invite them."
Princess Gulun Shuhui, the eldest daughter of the Empress Dowager, was the only one of her three sons and daughters still alive.
As early as when the Empress Dowager was seriously ill and bedridden, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict summoning Princess Guren Shuhui from the Balin tribe to the capital.
Yesterday, Princess Guren Shuhui happened to leave the palace.
In the bedchamber
The Empress Dowager looked at Consort Wan and Consort Ning with deep emotion and said in a deep voice, "Consort Wan and Consort Ning, you are both daughters of the Prince of Khorchin. Now you are both raising princes and princesses. You should support each other even more in the future."
"Before you, although there were Consort Hui and Noble Consort Xuanyi, they were both unfortunate enough not to give birth to princes or princesses, nor did they raise them,"
"you,"
With a soft sigh, the Empress Dowager looked at Consort Wan with a complicated expression.
“Consort Wan, I know you are troubled by the fact that you raised a princess, while Consort Ning raised a prince.”
"You are raising the Twenty-Third Princess, and Consort Ning is raising the Sixth Prince; there is an Emperor's intention in this."
Consort Ning lowered her head slightly and remained silent.
Consort Wan opened her mouth, then spoke in a deep voice, "Empress Dowager, I have never understood why I, a Consort, and my sister Consort Ning, are raising a princess instead of a prince."
"Besides the Sixth Prince, who was raised by Consort Ning, and the Eighth Prince, who was raised by Consort Duan, there was also the Seventh Prince, who was born to Consort Qi."
"Consort Qi was born a palace maid and had no right to raise the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince was raised in the Prince's Residence."
She glanced quickly at the Empress Dowager, her eyes darting around.
A moment later, Consort Wan knelt down respectfully and said in a sincere tone, "Your Majesty, I wish to raise the Seventh Prince born to Consort Qi. I beg Your Majesty to do me a favor and for the sake of our Khorchin by speaking to the Emperor."
"Foolish!"
The Empress Dowager's expression darkened, and she rebuked sharply, "Do you still not understand the Emperor's intentions?"
"The Emperor's permission for you to raise the Twenty-Third Princess is already an immense favor, yet you are still not satisfied and have the audacity to want to raise the Seventh Prince as well."
"Your Majesty, I..."
Consort Wan raised her head and looked at the Empress Dowager. The words that were on the tip of her tongue were swallowed down under the Empress Dowager's sharp gaze, and she lowered her head awkwardly.
A flash of hatred crossed his eyes.
"His Majesty has arrived! Princess Guren Shuhui, Prince Yu, Prince Gong, and Prince Chun have also arrived!"
Inside the Cining Palace, the sharp voice of a young eunuch rang out.
Emperor Kangxi, Prince Yu, and others wore solemn expressions.
Consort Wan and Consort Ning also came out of the main hall, and Princess Gulun Shuhui was invited into the inner hall by Sumalagu.
"Atu,"
"Empress Huang's mother!"
Princess Shuhui and the Empress Dowager gaze at each other affectionately.
The Empress Dowager, lost in memories of the past, said sadly, "Atu, in my life, I gave birth to one son and three daughters, but now you are the only one still alive."
"My mother experienced the pain of losing her son and daughter three times, and the pain of an old woman sending off a young one."
Upon hearing this, Princess Shuhui was on the verge of tears, her face streaked with glistening tears. She choked out, "Empress Mother, Empress Mother, you will be safe and sound, you will live a long and healthy life. Atu, Atu..."
"Atu still wants to continue to serve his mother, the Empress Dowager, with filial piety..."
With loving eyes, the Empress Dowager said softly, "Silly child, no one can live to be a hundred years old. I have lived through the reigns of four emperors: Taizu, Taizong, Fulin, and myself. I am now over seventy."
Everything in the world has a cycle; with the birth of new life, there is naturally the passing away of life.
After a pause, the Empress Dowager sighed softly.
"Atu, I am sorry for you. During your father's reign, I was the lowest-ranking concubine in the imperial harem and could not prevent you from marrying far away to Mongolia. Your elder sister Yatu, your younger sister Shuzhe..."
"Even you, you've been married twice. Your mother is so sorry."
After saying this, the Empress Dowager burst into tears, feeling only sorrow in her heart.
Princess Shuhui was stunned for a moment, looking at the Empress Dowager, opening her mouth but not knowing what to say.
She may have resented it in the past, but now that she's a grandmother, she has long since let go of everything.
Manchu-Mongol intermarriage was an old custom. Although she married into Mongolia twice, overall, she was happy throughout her life.
Both of her husbands treated her fairly well.
Compared to her sister Yatu, who died six years ago after marrying into the Khorchin tribe, and her sister Shuzhe, who died in childbirth just three years after marrying into the Jarut tribe, she was already very happy.
After quickly considering it in her mind for a moment, Princess Shuhui spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I received a letter from my husband a few days ago. In the letter, he mentioned my grandson, Urgun."
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