Everyone thought they could get through this year.
But Shu Zhongjing had quite a few enemies.
When it was Hua Jieyu's turn to serve the emperor, she brought a bowl of soup.
It was a bowl of cold soup; His Majesty came in with a volatile temper.
The guards have all tasted it, and there's nothing wrong with it.
In fact, there was no problem.
Consort Hua gently fed His Majesty the drink. Even though His Majesty was in such a state, he still felt comforted to have a young concubine serving him with tears in her eyes.
So I drank it without hesitation.
What's there to hesitate about?
Hua Jieyu's son is not even a year old yet, how could she possibly have malicious intentions?
Wasn't she most afraid of His Majesty dying?
That's what everyone thinks.
If she hadn't fed His Majesty the cold soup and then secretly slipped two ginseng pills from her sleeve into his hands...
Shu Zhongjing swallowed it before realizing something was wrong; he had been told by the imperial physician that he shouldn't take ginseng at this time...
But it was too late. He was now completely weak, and it was no use thinking about it. He couldn't speak, and Hua Jieyu was holding him, so he couldn't break free at all.
By the time her father-in-law realized something was wrong, she could no longer vomit.
Consort Hua smiled and stood up: "Your Majesty probably doesn't remember the Sun family, whom you caused to be executed. I am a descendant of the Sun family. I changed my surname to Kong and entered the palace to seek revenge. I feel uneasy if I don't see Your Majesty off on your journey."
"Hua Jieyu, have you gone mad? Don't you want to live anymore? You don't even want the Seventeenth Prince's life?" Eunuch Xiang roared.
“I feel disgusted with myself for having served him in this life. What was the point of living? As for the seventeenth prince, whatever. Keep him if you want, send him to his death if you don’t. He’s the son of my enemy, I don’t care.”
As she spoke, she took out a dagger from her bosom.
He stabbed himself right in the heart.
"Even as I die today, I curse you to never be reincarnated, and to suffer eternally in the underworld!"
She was so resolute and fierce that even Grandpa Xiang was startled.
When the guards rushed in, Consort Hua was already dead.
His Majesty also fainted.
When Shu Chengfeng entered the palace, Consort Hua had already been carried back and had died.
His Majesty is still unconscious, and his condition is very bad.
The imperial physician said, "Your Majesty's poison is extremely cold, so you can't take any strong tonics now. You should have a bowl of cold soup first, and then take some ginseng pills... I'm afraid... the medicine hasn't taken effect yet, but it will probably take effect soon."
By the time the imperial physician arrived, it was too late to induce vomiting.
Sure enough, after less than a quarter of an hour, the person on the dragon bed struggled to get up.
His whole body was twisting as if he was in excruciating pain.
The veins on his neck and forehead were bulging, and he had completely lost his former demeanor and poise.
Shu Chengfeng frowned: "Tell me the truth, what other options do you have?"
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. There is no way to deal with this now." Imperial Physician Weng led the others in kneeling down.
“Since there’s no other way, let’s… try to make His Majesty feel less uncomfortable,” Shu Chengfeng said.
Imperial Physician Weng hurriedly agreed, and several imperial physicians together pressed down on His Majesty to administer acupuncture.
At least they managed to stabilize the situation and things weren't so chaotic anymore.
At this point, Shu Zhongjing was breathing less and exhaling more.
His pupils were unfocused, and he was not lucid, so he obviously couldn't say any last words.
"By imperial decree, His Majesty is seriously ill. All princes, members of the imperial family, and civil and military officials are hereby ordered to enter the palace. General Xu and Shangguan Ba are hereby ordered to immediately seal off the capital and close all nine gates. The palace is under martial law; only those who wish to enter are permitted, and no one is allowed to leave for the time being."
Someone answered and went to relay the message.
This news spread quickly, and everyone knew that His Majesty was dying.
With many doubts in his mind, he dared not waste any time and hurriedly went to the palace.
Those officials of low rank who couldn't get in were all kept out of the public eye.
When the news reached the Crown Prince's residence, Yan Nangui asked in bewilderment, "Isn't this a bit too fast?"
"This servant does not know, but I heard that Consort Hua also died of illness..."
Yan Nangui frowned and shook his head: "Never mind, it's none of our business."
Soon, the princes and members of the imperial family all entered the palace.
However, only the Third Prince is currently outside the palace. The other princes are still young and live in the palace.
The Crown Princess must also hurry.
Before leaving, he only instructed everyone to stay indoors for the next few days.
It must be said that the hasty decision made by Miss Huo earlier actually benefited her; otherwise, once His Majesty passed away, it would have taken three years to arrive.
That would be a waste of precious youth.
All the civil and military officials in the palace were present, but Shu Zhongjing was unable to say anything and was barely clinging to life.
Having met with the senior ministers, any doubts they might have had were dispelled by the sight of His Majesty's crooked mouth...
Anyway, this departure is quite undignified.
In the harem, Consort Zhen and other concubines will certainly be present today.
Empress Dowager Jiang also arrived.
They were just waiting for the emperor to breathe his last.
Everyone remained seated, some kneeling, some sitting. It was midday, and no one was thinking of eating.
The princes and princesses knelt in the outer room; some of them were still very young and unaware of what was about to happen.
Everyone was so solemn that even the children dared not speak or act spoiled.
They behave themselves when held by their own wet nurses.
The older children already know what's going to happen, and they feel both confused and upset.
The concubines were all filled with apprehension at this moment, especially Consort Zhen.
She has no idea how she got through the past year.
Before he could even turn things around, His Majesty was already finished.
There's also Cao Jieyu.
She knelt behind, filled with regret and fear.
She hadn't seen His Majesty for a long time, and the Empress wouldn't allow her to attend to him while he was ill...
She entered the palace to escape the suffering that awaited her after marrying the crown prince, but now the emperor is about to die.
Regardless of what anyone thought, Shu Zhongjing's lifespan had come to an end.
On the afternoon of the last day of September that year, this... not-so-famous emperor passed away.
In the end, he couldn't say anything more; all his love, hate, and grudges were gone.
Shu Chengfeng ultimately failed to cry. He was naturally upset, but he couldn't bring himself to cry.
He simply knelt down and kowtowed deeply.
Outside, someone called out to the eunuch, "His Majesty has passed away."
Everyone began to weep, but how many of those cries were for His Majesty?
Despite the large number of people in the Beichen Palace and the fact that a fire had been lit, Rong Ning still felt cold.
A bone-chilling cold.
She suddenly remembered that her father had passed away here.
The emperor looked at her brother and said to him, "As emperor, you must know how to govern diligently and care for your people. I don't have many demands of you. I only ask that you be a good emperor."
But now, His Majesty has passed away without leaving a single word.
Rong Ning was still in a daze when she saw the Third Prince lead the way in crying, "With Father Emperor gone, Your Highness the Crown Prince should ascend the throne immediately. A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Only with you can we help Father Emperor make arrangements."
Instantly, many people echoed this sentiment.
Rong Ning didn't speak, nor did she get up.
She thought, "The Ye family mother and son... have finally straightened their backs."
From now on, it will be a completely different world, right?
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