After leaving Changchun Palace, Bai Susu couldn't help feeling depressed. Two days later, she woke up from a nightmare. Before she could react, she was wrapped in a warm and familiar embrace.
Emperor Xuan Jing frowned. Seeing Bai Susu's panicked expression and her eyes like a frightened deer, he couldn't help but feel worried. He stroked her back and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Bai Susu hummed softly and snuggled into his chest. She didn't know why she dreamed of the Queen. The last time she saw her, although she was skinny and pale, she wasn't as scary as in the dream.
In the dream, the queen's lips were purple and her eyes were black, which was very scary.
The room was lit with the finest silver charcoal, which lasted all night long and was as warm as spring. Emperor Xuan Jing pulled up the quilt, covered Bai Susu tightly, and asked her in a gentle voice what she dreamed about.
Bai Susu didn't want to say that she dreamed of the queen, so she shook her head, smiled and said she had forgotten.
Emperor Xuan Jing looked at her eyes for a long time and didn't ask any more questions.
Just as the two were about to fall asleep, Wang Fuhai's slightly panicked voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, something's wrong with the Empress of Changchun Palace."
Bai Susu's heart suddenly tightened, and when she looked at Emperor Xuan Jing, her expression also darkened.
"Your Majesty..." On a night like this, the news from Changchun Palace that Wang Fuhai brought was unlikely to be good news.
Emperor Xuan Jing helped her lie down and said, "Go to sleep. I'll go check on her."
Even if Bai Susu wanted to go, Emperor Xuan Jing probably wouldn't let her go, so she nodded obediently.
Emperor Xuan Jing pulled the bed curtains and called for help. Bai Susu could only see the crowds outside through the curtains.
A quarter of an hour later, there was no sound outside. Bai Susu lay on the soft and warm bed, but she was not sleepy at all.
She felt vaguely uneasy, and while she was half asleep and half awake, the death knell rang in the palace.
The queen passed away.
_
Bai Susu was wearing pajamas and leaning against the head of the bed, drinking pregnancy-maintaining medicine.
Although the emperor went to Changchun Palace in the middle of the night, he did not forget Bai Susu's nightmare late at night. Doctor Su was already waiting there almost at dawn.
After taking her pulse, he adjusted the prescription for prenatal care, added a few tranquilizing herbs, and then took his leave.
After finishing a bowl of medicine, Bai Susu pursed her lips with her handkerchief and said, "Put all the brightly colored clothes in the box and find some plain ones."
Nanchun responded in a low voice and retreated with the medicine bowl.
Bai Susu looked at the icicles hanging from the eaves outside. It snowed heavily this morning, so you can imagine how cold it was outside.
The queen's death on such a cold snowy day added a touch of sadness to the scene.
When the empress passed away, all civil and military officials had to wear plain clothes to pay their respects, and Emperor Xuan Jing naturally had to take charge of the overall situation.
Although she didn't know whether Emperor Xuan Jing would have time to come to Yanfu Palace, Bai Susu still asked Nanchun to prepare ginger soup.
Emperor Xuan Jing did come to Yanfu Palace, but not in the evening, but in the afternoon. It was as if he suddenly took some time off to come and see Bai Susu, causing chaos in Yanfu Palace.
As soon as he entered the house, he brought snowflakes from outside with him. Bai Susu watched as the snowflakes on his dragon cloak turned into water droplets as soon as he entered the house and dripped onto the carpet below.
"Your Majesty." Bai Susu wanted to come forward to serve, but she heard Emperor Xuan Jing's gentle voice: "Don't come over, I'm cold."
Emperor Xuan Jing was helped to take off his cloak by Wang Fuhai, and then he warmed himself in front of the octagonal white copper incense burner at the entrance. Only after the cold air dissipated did he enter the inner room.
Bai Susu wore a qiuxiang-colored brocade palace dress with her hair tied up in a low bun. She wore no pearls or jade, only a silver hairpin inserted diagonally, which made her little face look even paler.
Emperor Xuan Jing took her to the couch by the window, observed her expression, and asked, "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
This was referring to the nightmare she had woken up from the previous night. Bai Susu felt a warm feeling in her heart and shook her head. With concern on her face, she said, "I'm fine. Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
As he said this, he winked at Nanchun. She saw that Emperor Xuan Jing had obviously stayed up all night. Not only did he look haggard, but his cheeks were also flushed, and he was obviously cold.
"I have asked the kitchen to prepare ginger soup. Your Majesty, please drink a bowl to dispel the cold." Emperor Xuan Jing was touched by her thoughtfulness. His Su Su was always so considerate.
He gathered her hand in his, took the bowl of ginger soup and drank it all in one gulp. The spicy taste in his mouth had not faded yet, so he said, "You should take good care of yourself in the palace. It's too cold outside, don't go out."
Bai Susu was stunned. Did Emperor Xuan Jing mean that she didn't have to keep vigil for the Queen?
This is against the rules. However, seeing Emperor Xuan Jing's haggard appearance, she knew he was worried about her health, so she nodded obediently.
Bai Susu wiped Emperor Xuan Jing's face with a warm handkerchief, and asked the kitchen to serve a bowl of hot chicken soup with wontons. Emperor Xuan Jing ate his fill, and then left like the wind.
He was very busy in the next few days. After the queen passed away, the burial and funeral were urgent matters.
_
Changchun Palace
Concubine Hui knelt in the mourning hall. Although she had knee pads wrapped around her knees and two hot water bottles stuffed in her mouth, she still felt a chill on her back, and the coldness penetrated into her bones.
The queen finally died, but she couldn't feel happy at all.
Thinking of Bai Susu, I felt even more jealous.
How many exceptions has the Emperor made for her? When the Empress passes away, it's customary for the concubines to stand vigil. They're freezing here, and the one from Yeonbok Palace hasn't even shown up.
The question is, is about taking care of the baby in the palace? The emperor is too cautious!
Emperor Xuan Jing's favor for Bai Susu became a knife stabbing into Concubine Hui's heart.
Looking at the queen's tablet, Concubine Hui suddenly thought, it would be nice if the name on it was Bai Susu.
She had succeeded once, so why couldn't she succeed again?
Bai Susu's favor is her biggest obstacle. If she dies...
Concubine Hui's heart suddenly became hot again. No one suspected the Queen's death, which meant that the medicine was really a good thing. Even the imperial doctors in the palace couldn't detect it, yet it could kill people without anyone noticing.
If it were used on Bai Susu...
_
The Queen's death required the palace to wear plain clothes for 21 days. The Lin family was heartbroken upon hearing the Queen's tragic news, and they even heard that Mrs. Lin had fallen ill on her bed.
To appease her, the emperor promoted Lin Yuling to concubine and gave her the title of "Duan".
It was not a good thing for the throne of queen to remain vacant, so the ministers in the palace made petitions one after another, asking the emperor to appoint a new queen.
However, they were all rejected by Emperor Xuan Jing. Because the Imperial Concubine was pregnant, all palace affairs were managed by Concubine Hui, assisted by Concubine Duan.
When the Queen was alive, she and Concubine Hui were at odds with each other. It's easy to imagine that Lin Yuling and Concubine Hui didn't get along well either. These two people managing the palace affairs together actually served as a check and balance.
Bai Susu's pregnant belly was already slightly bulging. Emperor Xuan Jing didn't dare to touch her belly at first, but as he watched the child grow up little by little, he could no longer suppress the throbbing in his heart and measured it with his hands every day.
"He's growing so fast." You know, Bai Susu is slim and her waist is even thinner. In the first three months, her belly was flat and soft, and there was no trace of the baby at all. Emperor Xuan Jing was secretly worried about this.
But now, there is already a clear curve.
Bai Susu sat on Emperor Xuan Jing's lap, letting his big hands caress her abdomen. She smiled and said, "He will grow faster later. Children grow fast when they are exposed to the wind."
Emperor Xuan Jing was amused by Bai Susu's matter-of-fact words. No matter what happened outside, having his beloved woman and her child in Yanfu Palace was enough to make him feel at ease.
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