Chapter 185 Collapse
The Crown Prince always had this ability; with just a few words, he could win people's hearts. Even though he stood there as still as a mountain, his words swept through everyone's hearts like a hurricane. Even Yinzhen, whose heart was over fifty years old, couldn't help but beat several times faster.
"The Crown Prince is wise, the Emperor is sagacious, and Heaven blesses the Qing Dynasty!"
Someone in the crowd shouted this first, and then a whole bunch of people knelt down and shouted along. Hongzhao didn't see it, but the voice sounded so familiar... like his maternal grandfather. He was always good at setting the pace.
Yinzhen's face, which had been expressionless since morning, was now furrowed, but not with worry; rather, he was smiling.
He clapped his hands heavily and laughed loudly—"Good! Then this matter is settled. It is better to do this sooner rather than later. As for who will fight and how Prince Yi will fight, go back and think about it, and draft a plan and submit it to me."
After saying that, he walked down the steps himself, and in two or three steps he was in front of Hongzhao. He grabbed his arm, looked up and walked out with a smile, leaving behind a group of ministers looking at each other in bewilderment, and Prince Yi following behind with a helpless shake of his head.
Xia Zi waited outside with a joyful expression. As soon as the Emperor came out, she rushed forward to announce the good news: "Your Majesty, the Third Prince's wife has given birth to a little princess!"
"Really, does the Empress Dowager know?" Before Yinzhen could speak, Hongzhao was the first to jump out from behind his father, his eyes full of curiosity.
Xiazi bowed and nodded to him—"It was Her Majesty the Empress who sent someone to report this. However, when Eunuch Hong arrived, Your Majesty had just gone to court with the Crown Prince. This servant thought it was a good thing and should let Your Majesty know as soon as possible, so I waited here."
"Good, very good." Although she was a little princess, she was his first grandchild. In addition, he was in a good mood today, so he was even more generous. "Su Peisheng, go and send rewards to Hongshi and his wife. Make sure the packages are generous."
"Has the Empress Dowager sent someone to deliver the message?" Yinzhen fiddled with the white jade thumb ring on his hand, thought for a moment and said, "Let's put the matter of naming this child aside for now, and wait until after the full moon to let the Empress Dowager choose the name. Half of the name Hongjin was chosen by the Empress Dowager, and she will surely be happy to see the little princess now."
Hearing his father say this, Hongzhao involuntarily shuddered. If it were convenient to stop him at this moment, Hongzhao would say, "Father, don't make promises lightly, not even for others. It's really frightening to hear."
Hongzhao's intuition was correct; this rule almost never fails. The little princess still didn't get to see the Empress Dowager give her a name.
Just three days after the birth of the little princess, the Empress Dowager also reached her deathbed.
Inside the Shou Kang Palace.
Disliking the group of women chattering and crying in the palace, Yinzhen coldly chased them all out, leaving only himself in the palace, quietly watching his mother, the Empress Dowager, struggling to breathe on the bed.
The imperial physician had just said that the Empress Dowager was holding on as if she were waiting for something, and Yinzhen sat by the bed and watched her silently.
What are you waiting for...? Isn't it obvious?
"Where is the Fourteenth Prince? Why... why haven't I seen the Fourteenth Prince yet?" A tear rolled down her aged face. The Fourteenth Prince had received the Emperor's decree to stay in the capital, so he wouldn't be absent from her side today.
Yinzhen did not answer her, but pulled the corner of the quilt up and said softly in a low voice, "At times like this, let your son stay with you."
"Your brother... is also my own son. Please let me see him." Perhaps because he had been ill for a long time, his mind had become confused. Yinzhen did not stop the fourteenth prince from entering the palace. In fact, he spent almost the entire day in Yongshou Palace. It was just that the Empress Dowager was in a daze and could not see him.
Now that the palace gates are locked, he, as an outsider, naturally cannot linger in the inner palace. The Emperor is indeed not magnanimous enough to allow him to stay overnight. He has been an outsider between this mother and son his entire life. Now, in these final moments, he only wants to speak with his mother, the Empress Dowager, alone.
The Empress Dowager was unable to see the fourteenth prince because of this, but she felt that the emperor was targeting her and preventing her from seeing her son one last time.
Yinzhen had no intention of defending himself. When people are not in their right mind, they can always reveal their truest thoughts. Even in the end, his mother still felt that he had mistreated his brothers and was unfilial to his mother, so he took advantage of his anger and admitted his mistake.
"Regarding the matter between Your Majesty and Longkodo, I have remained silent and have genuinely cared for Chun Yuan. Even though Yi Xiu committed such a serious crime, I still spared her face. Furthermore, Qing Ying and Shu Shen have entered the palace one after another since then. I have been extremely filial. There are some things Your Majesty really doesn't need to say."
Every word Yinzhen uttered struck a chord with the Empress Dowager. She kept her eyes closed, refusing to look at the person in front of her, tears streaming down her face, soon soaking one side of her pillow.
Looking at her pale face and sorrowful expression, Yinzhen felt a mix of emotions, as if something was stuck in his throat and his eyes stung, forcing him to look away.
"The fourteenth prince... the fourteenth prince..."
On his deathbed, it is now difficult to discern whether his whispers were unconscious or a plea to the emperor.
Yinzhen heard those two sentences clearly, but he then brought up another matter.
"My mother has been somewhat delirious these past few days and probably doesn't know yet that Hongshi's wife has given birth to a little princess. I'm going to be an imperial grandfather soon. Mother, please give this child a name."
The only response he received was a soft call, just as it had been before, interspersed with many faint whispers.
Yinzhen stood up, threw off his robe, and knelt down in front of the Empress Dowager's bed—"Hongshi and Hongkai are both your own grandsons, just like I and the Fourteenth Prince are both your own sons."
With the last of her strength, the Empress Dowager slowly, little by little, turned her head to face the wall under Yinzhen's watchful gaze.
Yinzhen paused noticeably at this moment. Not only him, but even Hongzhao, who was watching the monitor, couldn't help but freeze.
Yes, a surveillance camera.
Such a good thing can't be used only once, so it can be recycled and reused. It's the best choice to put it on the emperor.
"Go to sleep, grow up quickly, grow up and draw the bow," you've never sung this lullaby to me.
Yinzhen closed his eyes, as if recalling something, or perhaps suppressing some emotion.
"Could you sing it for me... Empress Mother?"
Hongzhao gently wiped away the tears that had unknowingly streamed down his face. After a moment's thought, he turned off the monitor. He suddenly couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Both he and the Emperor in the picture knew that this nursery rhyme, which Yinzhen had secretly heard as a child, was destined never to be sung by him.
Hearing the bells ringing outside, Hongzhao silently closed his eyes.
The Empress Dowager has passed away.
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