Chapter 1114: Grand Finale: Return of an Old Friend (22)
Empress Xian De was walking in the night. The wind blew, and the wine she had drunk seemed to be forced to spill out. The brief feeling of dizziness disappeared in an instant, and she became distressingly sober again.
She held onto the railing by the pond and sighed tiredly.
She knew that what she had said today was indeed out of spite. However, she was also extremely afraid of how long Emperor Yongle would have left to live. She wanted to avoid the outcome, refusing to see or hear, stubbornly blocking her ears. However, Emperor Yongle always took the initiative to bring it up, forcing her to face things she didn't want to face.
Even soil still has some earthiness, let alone a person.
Aunt Tao said, "My Lady, it's cold outside, you should go back first."
Empress Xian De shook her head. She wore a string of Buddhist beads on her wrist, which she had obtained from the temple for Emperor Yongle. Every night she would recite the beads and copy Buddhist scriptures, praying that God would have mercy on the world and allow miracles to happen.
Each bead of the Buddhist beads was polished to a bright, smooth finish. It was clear that Empress Xian De had worn them for years. She glanced at the moon in the sky. It was bright and round. It wouldn't be long before the war would be a full year. The waxing and waning of the moon in a year always had a happy ending. She was about to be honored for her achievements, but lately, she had been losing her composure and acting inappropriately.
She felt a certain disgust towards herself and turned around, wanting to move forward. Suddenly, she heard a "crackling" sound. She looked down and saw that the string of Buddhist beads in her hand had broken at some point. The beads scattered from the broken string and fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
Why did the Buddhist beads break for no reason?
"Aunt Tao..." Empress Xian De murmured, feeling a sudden surge of unease in her heart. It was as if her heart was being gripped tightly, and for a moment she felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Your Highness!" Aunt Tao was startled and hurried to support her. Empress Xian De waved her hand, squatted down in a panic, and said, "Quick, help me pick it up..."
As Aunt Tao squatted down, she saw the young eunuch who had been following Eunuch Deng hurried over, his face terrified, and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor is not feeling well. Please go and see him!"
Empress Xian De had just picked up a fallen Buddhist bead. Upon hearing this, her grip loosened and the bead spun along the ground until it fell into the pond. It didn't even make a splash on the water's surface and sank into the water with a "pop", never to be seen again.
…
In the Yangxin Palace, all the eunuchs and palace maids outside were kneeling in the whole room.
Eunuch Deng stood in a corner of the room with his head hung, looking very sad.
When Empress Xian De went in, Gao Zhan had just come out. When he saw her, he shook his head.
Empress Xian De stumbled and was lucky to hold Aunt Tao's hand so that she didn't fall down.
After a while, she said, "You all go down."
Emperor Yongle, who was sitting on the couch, also waved his hand.
Everyone in the room retreated.
Empress Xian De stepped forward.
She walked very slowly, as if resisting an ending she didn't want to believe. But she had no choice but to move forward. When she reached the couch, she half-knelt in front of it and looked at the person on it.
Emperor Yongle also looked at her for a long while, then smiled and said, "Well, before I leave, I finally got to drink the snow wine you brewed."
"Behavior..." Empress Xian De looked at him with tears in her eyes.
She called him "Xingzhi," the Yongle Emperor's courtesy name, not "Your Majesty." That was when she was still a young girl. Empress Xiao liked her and told her Xie Chi's courtesy name. Empress Xiande liked Xie Chi's courtesy name very much and thought he was a very upright person.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
