Chapter 25: Buddhist Hall
The rain was drizzling down and the sound of bells could be heard from a distant temple.
Sun Wei opened his eyes and found that he had fallen asleep and had not finished copying the scriptures.
She had been thinking all night about whether the things that happened in her previous life would really happen again. She was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night.
Fortunately, it finally came true.
She sat up, rubbed her temples, and then pricked her palms hard with her nails.
The feeling of pain confirmed that she was not still dreaming.
This was her illness. Ever since she woke up from the chaos of her past life two months ago, perhaps because the two lives overlapped, she would sometimes become confused. Especially when she woke up, she couldn't figure out where she was and when, and she would speak incoherently.
This is the current Prince Yuzhang's Palace, and we must not be confused anymore.
She warned herself.
In her previous life, Sun Wei put considerable effort into becoming the Princess of Yuzhang. She was interested in knowing everything about the princes, nobles, officials, and even the imperial palace: what went on, who was involved, who was involved, and what secrets each held. Only through this could she grasp the preferences and taboos of everyone, skillfully navigate the world, and endear herself to everyone.
Her efforts were not without reward. From the empress dowager to the servants in the palace, no one failed to praise her.
Of course, looking at it now, it's nothing more than a mirage.
Sun Wei felt that her greatest strength was her good memory. She hadn't forgotten a single thing from her past life.
For example, the fire in the East Palace in the early morning.
She stood up, stretched, and then walked to the rain curtain, took a deep breath of the moist rain air to wake herself up.
Just now, she dreamed about what happened before her death in her previous life.
Memories are like a spring gushing out from under the water, rising up little by little and turning into bubbles.
When he thinks back on the world engulfed by fire and Sima Jun lying on the ground, his heart still aches like a knife.
At that time, Sima Jun was still thinking about her future before he died.
He himself has no future.
Fortunately, everything started over again, and she still had a chance to let both of them live well.
——
There was a fire in the East Palace, and the palace was in chaos.
The most anxious person was none other than the Queen Mother.
Just as Prince Yuzhang lost his life in Cangwu, the Eastern Palace lost an entire palace overnight. Each and every one of these events was an ominous sign.
She had just recovered from her sickbed, but lay back down again the next day.
The emperor got the news and reluctantly came down from the Xiuxian platform to take a look. He left a red elixir behind and hurried back while she was still asleep.
When the Queen Mother woke up and learned about this, she was so angry that she stomped the elixir to pieces.
The eldest princess came to the palace to serve medicine and happened to see this scene. Her heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down.
The Queen Mother is in good spirits and is fine.
She took the medicine soup from the palace maid and blew on it carefully.
"Why are the Queen Mother and His Majesty so angry? He is the Queen Mother's biological son. If this gets out, people in the court and the country will say that there is discord between mother and son."
The Queen Mother sighed heavily, "It's a good thing I'm still here. If I were gone, who would worry about the Crown Prince? His Majesty only cares about the gods. As long as the Crown Prince can still take care of his affairs, he won't ask any more questions."
The princess tasted the medicine to see if it was hot or cold and said, "Your Majesty is just like that. Speaking of which, where's the Empress? Why isn't she by my mother's side?"
The Queen Mother felt upset.
"What could she do? She was just a shallow-minded woman. She had no idea what to do when things went wrong and could only cry. I felt bad watching her, so I sent her away."
The eldest princess nodded and agreed, "In this palace, only the Queen Mother can take charge."
Empress Dong was born into a family of minor officials in Wu County. When she first entered the palace, she was just a maid. Once, while serving the emperor, she was favored by him and later gave birth to the emperor's eldest son.
Everyone had originally assumed that, while the position of Empress remained vacant, it was reserved for a prominent member of the aristocratic family. Although Dong had given birth to the Emperor's eldest son, her family background was insufficient, and her title of Imperial Concubine was all she needed. However, the Emperor unexpectedly insisted on naming her Empress, which caused quite a stir back then.
The Empress Dowager felt unlucky whenever she mentioned this matter, and she had never been kind to Dong over the years.
"I thought that even if she was completely useless, she at least gave birth to the prince. Even if she didn't have any merit, she still worked hard. But you can see that this queen is only capable of that. If the emperor wants to go to cultivate, she can't stop him at all. The title of queen is meaningless. There is no one in this palace who can be trusted, so it's better not to mention her."
The eldest princess brought the medicine to the empress dowager's mouth and said, "Why is there no one reliable? Isn't there still the Shangshu Pushe?"
Shangshu Pushe Wang Han was the nephew of the empress dowager and the eldest princess's son-in-law.
The dynasty did not have a prime minister, and the power to preside over the court was currently in the hands of the Shangshu Pushe. With the support of the Queen Mother and the eldest princess, Wang Han became a leading official.
Speaking of Wang Han, the Queen Mother's expression relaxed a little.
She lowered her head and took a sip of the medicine. "You're right. Fortunately, we have Bo Ya. He's worked diligently and tirelessly for the Sima family's rule over the years. By the way, I heard he took his subjects to the Eastern Palace. Any news? Is the Crown Prince frightened?"
"Does your Majesty still think the Crown Prince is a three-year-old child?" the Princess consoled her. "The report came back saying that the Crown Prince was dispatching people to put out the fire while conferring with the Minister of State, showing no signs of panic at all. They also said that Ziheng, having received the news, entered the palace before dawn and remained by the Crown Prince's side the entire time."
"That's very good." The Queen Mother finally smiled slightly. "With the blessing of our ancestors and the assistance of Ziheng, the Crown Prince will have a smoother future."
As they were speaking, the eunuch reported that the crown prince and Sima Jun had arrived.
A look of joy appeared between the empress dowager's brows.
After the greetings, the eldest princess came forward warmly and said, "The Queen Mother heard about the situation in the Eastern Palace and has been fretting about it all morning. She also ordered the palace maids to burn incense and pray before the gods, and asked people to keep an eye on the Crown Prince, fearing that he would be burned. I said that the Queen Mother was worrying too much. There are so many people in the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince is not a three-year-old child who can't be touched by a spark. The Queen Mother refused to listen and even accused me of not loving my nephew. Now the Queen Mother has seen that the Crown Prince is safe and sound, and she should finally be relieved!"
These words were said with a mixture of smile and anger, which made the Queen Mother laugh as well.
She beckoned the two of them forward, took a closer look, and a look of relief crossed her face, but then it darkened.
"It's just a palace, so let it burn. You are the crown prince, your life is tied to the country, how could you not hide but stay in the East Palace? I sent people to summon you again and again, but you just made excuses. Don't do this again in the future." She said to the prince.
The prince smiled apologetically and said, "Grandson knows."
The Queen Mother looked at Sima Jun again and said, "I guess you also came into the palace early this morning to accompany the Crown Prince in his mischief."
Sima Jun said gently, "Relieving the Crown Prince's worries is my grandson's responsibility."
The Queen Mother stroked his hand and ordered him to take a seat.
As they were talking, the eldest princess served the soup to the empress dowager, who took two sips and seemed to recall something. She asked Sima Jun, "Has Consort Lu arrived at the mansion yet?"
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