Yan Nangui smiled, said nothing, and walked out.
When Granny Fei came in, the Empress Dowager said, "She said she would treat me well."
"Your Majesty... no, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, please believe what you say." What else could they do but believe?
"She's amazing. I've never seen a woman like her. How can she be so capable? Even if the emperor were alive, would she still be like this?" the Empress Dowager asked.
Granny Fei thought for a moment and shook her head: "This old servant doesn't know, but no matter what, she always respected and cared about the late Emperor. So, just believe her." Believe her.
Don't make a fuss.
The Empress Dowager fell silent. At her age, what could she possibly do?
The year turned into the first year of the Jingkang era.
The late emperor's funeral was held on the thirtieth day of the first lunar month.
It starts from the day the coffin returned to Beijing.
Forty-nine days.
On the day of the funeral, Yan Nangui insisted that the princesses accompany him. Even if they were not allowed to enter the imperial mausoleum, they wanted to see him off outside.
She stood at the palace gate with everyone in the harem to see them off.
Watching the white-clad group of people walk away into the distance, Yan Nan returned to the palace.
They entered the Beichen Palace.
Although the new emperor has ascended the throne, nothing in the Beichen Palace has changed.
She looked at everything around her and sat silently in the spot where Shu Chengfeng used to review memorials.
She gently rested her head on the table.
Close your eyes.
The voice of Shu Chengfeng could be heard in my ears. Sometimes he called her Empress, sometimes Tang'er, and sometimes Nan Gui.
When I was young, I was called Tang'er the most.
After she became empress, she called for Nan Gui more often.
When she was addressed as Empress, it was always in front of outsiders.
They discussed politics, joked around, argued, and were often sweet to each other here.
Yuanhua saw tears streaming down her face and wiped her own tears, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't cry. The late Emperor would be heartbroken to see you like this."
“When someone dies, we will always shed tears for them.” Yan Nangui said with her eyes closed.
Yuanhua thought to herself that the Empress refused to cry in front of others, but shed tears alone.
"Actually, I don't feel that I've wronged him that much. It's just that he has taken care of me too much over the past twenty-two years. Although he is an emperor, he is also a soft-hearted person. I pretended to like him very much, and he believed me completely. He's a fool."
“Your Majesty, the late Emperor didn’t know, and if he didn’t know… then it must be true,” Yuanhua said.
“Yes.” Yan Nangui sat up, wiping away her tears. “Not knowing is true. It’s not entirely false either. Someone like me wouldn’t like a man who has another woman and another child. But it’s not that I’m completely without feelings for him. It’s just that I care more about Bao’er.”
“It’s painful because he’s gone. He’ll never be here again. But people are destined to part ways, and I will remember him,” Yan Nangui said.
"It's good that Your Majesty is thinking positively. You must not harm your health, otherwise the late Emperor would be heartbroken," Yuanhua said.
Yan Nangui tapped the box containing the seal with one hand and smiled, "Since I've gone against your wishes, I must return the favor. After the Sixth Prince abdicates, whoever ascends the throne, I will protect the empire for you. Perhaps, we are destined to meet again in another life. I will no longer vie for power, but only for true love. Is that alright?"
The sorrow of geese flying south is always fleeting.
After the late emperor passed away, the new emperor's enthronement ceremony was held soon afterward.
After finishing the business, Yan Nangui met with the Yan family father and son separately.
Yan Lingyun hadn't expected her to go this far, but since things had come to this, she could only follow her heart.
No one expected it, and they certainly didn't expect what would happen next.
The Cheng family was elevated to the rank of Duke.
No matter how ambitious the Cheng family was, they couldn't get the Empress Dowager to cooperate.
The respectful Empress Dowager was none other than the former Consort Mei Hui.
Yan Nangui's posthumous title was Gongmu.
However, in the palace, they didn't usually call her that; they just called her Empress Dowager Yan Nan Gui, and the emperor's birth mother Empress Dowager Cheng.
Because the emperor was too young to choose a consort, Yan Nangui continued to live in Zhaochun Palace, while Empress Dowager Cheng moved to Changshou Palace.
The other imperial concubines all moved to the back.
After seeing off the late emperor, Yunji returned to serve him.
Firstly, he is indeed still young. Secondly, there's the request from Yan Nangui.
Yunji originally thought he was going to retire, so he was naturally happy to be back.
Shu Hengming is a smart man, and this intelligence becomes more and more obvious as he gets older.
Once the mourning period for the late emperor was announced, he openly stated that he was not talented enough and was truly unfit for the throne.
They requested that the Empress Dowager choose another emperor.
By this time, Yan Nangui had been in control of the government for three years, and naturally, he had a group of people supporting him.
That's what His Majesty meant. The Empress Dowager didn't explicitly say anything, so naturally some people echoed her sentiments.
The wild geese returning south do not agree.
For the next year, His Majesty would say it every now and then.
In the Imperial Garden, the Seventh Princess sat with Yan Nangui.
The seventh princess is fifteen years old this year.
"Mother, is Sixth Brother real?"
"Is that what you hope for?" Yan Nangui asked.
"I hope so. Mother, will you change it?" the Seventh Princess asked.
Yan Nangui waved his hand, leaving only Bai Wei by his side. She only dared to stay because she had received a warning from the Empress Dowager.
"My daughter's grown up, she's got more thoughts on her mind now, why don't you just say what you want to say?" Yan Nangui asked.
"No, I've thought about it, but it's a bit too shocking to say." The Seventh Princess snuggled closer.
"What's so shocking about it?" Yan Nangui patted her head. "Having come this far, there's nothing to be afraid of."
“But…” the Seventh Princess sighed, “Then I’ll be frank, it’s too difficult for me to ask you to be the emperor.”
"Why not yourself?" Yan Nangui asked.
"Me? I can't do it... I'm not as capable as you. Even the cabinet admires you." The Seventh Princess said.
"Silly child. You will be eventually." Yan Nangui cupped her face in his hands: "Of course, before that, I will be first."
Only when she breaks through all of this and bears most of the blame and resistance can Bao'er find peace.
"Really?" Bao'er was overjoyed. "Mother, you really will become the emperor? The empress? I dreamed about it the other day. You would be so powerful and beautiful as empress! No one could compare to you."
"This idiot, aren't you getting excited yourself?" Yan Nangui shook his head.
“I can’t do it, I don’t have your domineering presence. To be honest, if you were the empress, Father would see it and definitely like it.” Bao’er pouted, “It’s just that he can’t see it. Then I’ll see it for him. Anyway, I’ll die in a few decades, and I’ll tell him myself then.”
"Aren't you afraid your father will blame you?" Yan Nangui stroked her hair.
“I’m not afraid. If Father is angry, he can hit me. I will always love you two the most,” Bao’er said.
"Okay." Yan Nangui felt grateful for his years in the modern world.
This made her pay great attention to communication between mother and daughter.
Otherwise, if her daughter couldn't understand all the things she had done after Shu Chengfeng's death, she would feel like a failure.
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