Chapter 104 Thanks to those who shared life and death.
The urgent report was sent to the palace, and the whole story was clearly explained—Empress Dowager Shu, who had long resided in Futai Mountain, passed away suddenly in a dream on a summer afternoon.
When Empress Dowager Shu was in the palace, she was often "bedridden," but she was full of energy on Mount Futai, and would even climb the mountain to look into the distance from time to time.
She passed away suddenly, but she didn't suffer much.
No pain, no disaster, no illness, no ailment.
Even though Empress Dowager Shu was driven out of the palace in a very embarrassing manner due to her defeat in the power struggle.
However, to the outside world, Empress Dowager Shu had abandoned the glory of the palace and lived a life of seclusion on Mount Futai, full of honor in praying for the country. Therefore, when she suddenly heard the news of his death, Emperor Xuanpei shed tears in front of his ministers in the court. Afterwards, he disregarded everything else and personally went to Mount Futai.
With the passing of Empress Dowager Shu, all the flower-viewing banquets and engagement ceremonies in the palace and among the common people came to nothing.
During the three-month period of national mourning, all music, banquets, and celebrations were prohibited throughout the land, and weddings were forbidden in the common people, in order to show their grief for the Empress Dowager.
Starting with two imperial concubines, they removed their elaborate jewelry, wore plain clothes, and began to eat vegetarian food and copy scriptures every day to show their grief for the Empress Dowager.
Among all the concubines, the two sisters from the Shu family cried the most.
Not only were they sobbing uncontrollably, but their wailing and sobbing were so loud that they even fainted one after another in front of everyone.
Seeing the two sisters in such a state, the Consort Xian, who was crying her heart out, disregarded all decorum. She bit her lip hard, coughed up blood, and then staggered to the ground, unable to stand up.
The other princes and princesses were also deeply grieved, their eyes swollen from crying. All the princes who had gone to their fiefdoms rushed back to the capital. Even Prince Rui, who had been demoted to a commoner, followed the former crown prince back to the capital for the funeral.
When Empress Dowager Shu was alive, she enjoyed the feeling of everyone kneeling and respecting her. After leaving the palace, she never enjoyed this kind of prestige again, but her funeral was held in a very grand manner.
Summer is already unbearably hot, and after the funeral, even Ah Zhu had lost a lot of weight.
Emperor Xuanpei looked unusually tired.
After all, he had been traveling around outside the capital several times in the past two years, and Empress Dowager Shu had passed away suddenly. At this age, it was inevitable that he would be saddened to see his old friend die of old age.
Emperor Xuanpei had a poor appetite, so Azhu prepared his dinner himself. Seeing that Emperor Xuanpei had eaten a little, Eunuch Chen's complexion improved considerably.
After dinner was cleared away, Eunuch Chen led the palace servants out. A-Zhu washed her hands, took out a cow horn comb from her sleeve, leaned against the couch, and slowly combed Emperor Xuanpei's hair.
After a long period of silent companionship, Emperor Xuanpei opened his eyes, holding Azhu's hand. He looked at Azhu and reached out to touch the hair at her temple.
His eyes, when Azhu looked at him, were still bright, even retaining a touch of pure innocence.
A-Zhu put down the comb, grasped Emperor Xuanpei's hand, and said softly, "Would it be alright if I stayed with Your Majesty in Hanyuan Palace tonight?"
Emperor Xuanpei nodded, and with a slight exertion of his hand, Azhu instinctively nestled into his arms. "Thump thump thump," her chest pounded powerfully.
"A-Zhu, about Chen'er's marriage..."
Emperor Xuanpei began to speak, and Azhu gently patted his chest, saying softly, "Your Majesty, you are currently taking Chen'er along to give him some experience."
"Chen'er only regrets that even if she sets aside all her time for peaceful sleep at night, it still feels insufficient..."
"He is still far from ready. Now is the time for him to study and gain experience. Besides, the Empress Dowager is only... There is no need to rush the marriage."
Ah Zhu has suffered far too much from being too eager for quick success and instant benefits in the past.
Azhu didn't want to arouse Emperor Xuanpei's suspicion at this time.
Now she just wants to take things one step at a time.
She repeatedly told herself that she couldn't rush, not even a little bit.
Reaching this point today is even more so.
We are not afraid of being slow; what we fear most is being reckless.
Having patiently appeased the emperor for so many years, what's one more time?
Hearing A-Zhu's words, Emperor Xuanpei smiled and ruffled her hair, teasingly asking, "Don't you want to see the little imperial grandson as soon as possible?"
Upon hearing this, A-Zhu sighed and looked at Emperor Xuanpei with a worried expression: "I can't worry about this matter. It's Jiahe's matter that's giving me a real headache."
Seeing that A-Zhu was genuinely worried, Emperor Xuanpei straightened his expression and thought for a moment before asking, "But who did Jiahe fight with this time?"
"Did you win or lose?"
A-Zhu gazed at Emperor Xuanpei with a deep, unsettling look.
Over the years, Jiahe not only followed Yin Mingchen to ride horses and shoot arrows, but later he even followed him to practice martial arts and swordplay.
How could Emperor Xuanpei not know about this?
Not only do they know it, they probably strongly agree with it.
She had only a mediocre skill set but loved to show off. People in the palace or the capital were wary of the Seventh Princess's status, so how could they dare to actually fight her?
Now, things have gotten really bad. Being able to "rule the world" in the palace or even the capital is no longer enough for this daughter; she wants to go out and show off her power all over the world.
Emperor Xuanpei couldn't help but kiss Azhu's cheek. Seeing that Azhu's expression was even more resentful, Emperor Xuanpei coughed twice and subconsciously tried to excuse himself.
"Our daughter is so well-behaved and adorable. You know, she just whined and begged me, even though it was just some trivial matter..."
Emperor Xuanpei always felt regretful for not meeting Azhu sooner and for the hardships she had endured over the years.
Imagine there's a beautifully sculpted little girl named "A-Zhu" blinking her big, dark eyes and pleading pitifully. How could Emperor Xuanpei possibly refuse?
Seeing that A-Zhu still didn't respond, Emperor Xuanpei blinked and changed the subject: "She is my daughter, a princess of the Great Yuan Dynasty. Who in this world would dare to bully her?"
"She doesn't get bullied; she thinks about bullying others instead."
Upon hearing Azhu recount Jiahe's "ambitions" stemming from his interests, Emperor Xuanpei couldn't help but laugh.
Emperor Xuanpei smiled, which made Azhu, who was holding her breath, relax a little. Azhu buried her head in Emperor Xuanpei's arms and coughed twice to suppress her laughter.
"I understand."
Emperor Xuanpei smiled and patted Azhu on the back.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
Emperor Xuanpei comforted Azhu and said a few more words.
“Officials who are sent to serve in other provinces will return to the capital every five years to report on their duties. During this period, imperial envoys will visit each province and prefecture. Isn’t this the very job that Jiahe was talking about?”
"However, your concerns are valid, and this task should not be treated as a joke."
"I will inquire about this matter with Jiahe."
"Your Majesty, I am relieved to hear that you say so."
Emperor Xuanpei gently stroked Azhu's long hair. In this somewhat empty yet majestic hall, his embrace was warm, soft, and exceptionally real.
"A-Zhu, I..."
Ah Zhu waited patiently for a while, but did not hear Emperor Xuanpei continue.
That's quite unusual.
She looked up at Emperor Xuanpei, a smile still in her eyes, and leaned closer to ask with a smile, "Your Majesty, is there something good you want to tell me?"
Emperor Xuanpei lowered his eyes to look at Azhu, who was so close to him, and placed his hand on the side of Azhu's face, slowly stroking her eyebrows and eyes.
"A-Zhu, the position of Empress is now vacant. You... are you willing to..."
A-Zhu was stunned when he heard Emperor Xuanpei's words.
After a long silence, Emperor Xuanpei tightened his grip on Azhu, but he said nothing more, only silently watching her.
A-Zhu rubbed her eyes first, then quickly shook her head. She then looked at Emperor Xuanpei, her voice still a little unsteady when she spoke.
"Your Majesty, what did you just say? I... I might have been a little... absent-minded these past few days, and I didn't hear you clearly..."
This time, Emperor Xuanpei had a smile on his face. He cupped Azhu's face in his hands, looked directly into her eyes, and asked clearly, "Azhu, would you like to be my empress?"
It wasn't a dream; it's real.
In a daze, A-Zhu recalled the scene when she first entered the palace. Fearing that she might be carrying some kind of insect, her head was shaved. She was wearing an ill-fitting gray-blue palace dress and kneeling in the courtyard listening to the nanny's reprimand.
What was A-Zhu thinking at that time?
She was wondering when she could get a decent meal.
Later, A-Zhu became increasingly greedy and ambitious. She was not content with being a palace maid; she wanted to be a female official and be as powerful as the head maid in the inner palace.
"Your Majesty."
With tears in her eyes, A-Zhu looked at Emperor Xuanpei and slowly smiled.
"When I first entered the palace, I thought the head maid was extremely powerful."
"Actually, back then, I just wanted to be a head maid in the inner palace."
"Until I met His Majesty..."
A-Zhu placed her palm on the back of Emperor Xuanpei's hand.
"His Majesty has never let me suffer any more grievances. In this palace, His Majesty is also willing to put in the effort to make me happy every day."
"No one in this world will ever treat me as well as you do."
"No one will ever go to such lengths to take care of the concubines again."
"To live in the same quilt, to die in the same grave."
"I couldn't ask for it more than this."
Emperor Xuanpei kissed the tears rolling down Azhu's face, pressed his forehead against Azhu's, and said with a soft laugh, "We shall share the same bed in life and the same grave in death. This is how it should be between you and me."
With tears in her eyes, A-Zhu smiled and repeated, "It is only right that Your Majesty and I should do so."
"I had the Imperial Astronomical Bureau examine the day, and the most auspicious day is the transition from summer to autumn next year."
"You will accompany me to the Hall of Supreme Harmony then..."
As she listened to Emperor Xuanpei's plan, Azhu nodded continuously until the very end, when she finally said, "The Guanju Palace was personally named by His Majesty and bestowed upon the concubines to live in."
"I've gotten used to living in Guanju Palace all these years, Your Majesty. May I continue to live in Guanju Palace from now on, instead of going to Kunning Palace?"
Under Azhu's pleading, expectant, and nervous gaze, Emperor Xuanpei smiled and nodded.
"It's alright, we can stay at Guanju Palace."
......
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