Chapter 65: Peaceful days after the main text is finished
Recalling his instructions, Lu Suizhu was still worried.
The Empress Dowager was on the verge of death. The imperial doctors stayed on duty all night and said there was no way to save her. They all withdrew this morning.
Now the news of the emperor's failing health could no longer be concealed.
Tihuo reluctantly fed the empress dowager the medicine. Lu Suizhu, holding the medicine bowl beside him, was horrified and vomited two out of three spoonfuls of medicine. The two looked at each other, feeling sad.
The Queen Mother preferred quietness after her illness, so they were the only two left in the palace.
The person on the phoenix bed moved his eyes with difficulty. Tihuo understood what the empress dowager meant. He squatted down, tears rolling down his eyes, and knelt on the ground, holding the empress dowager's cold hand tightly.
"I... have drafted an imperial edict but haven't yet... stamped it with the phoenix seal. The Crown Prince's temperament... is sinister and he is not fit to be an emperor... The phoenix seal is... in a drawer made of yellow pear wood... Let me... stamp it..." Before she could finish the last word, the empress dowager's hand fell heavily.
The medicine in the bowl spilled out, and Lu Suizhu broke out in cold sweat on his back.
Tihuo tremblingly sniffed the empress dowager's breath, then fell to the ground.
When their eyes met, Lu Suizhu had already walked quickly to the pearwood drawer that the empress dowager mentioned and took out the imperial edict written yesterday. The handwriting was messy, and the ink became lighter and lighter as he wrote further. It was obvious that it was written by a seriously ill person who had been thinking over and over again.
Just as she reached for the Phoenix Seal, Tihuo grabbed her wrist. Sweat beads formed on his neck. "Think carefully! Once this seal is affixed, the imperial decree becomes reality! Your Majesty... we don't know how long you can hold out. If you can't leave even a single word behind, this imperial decree could sway the world. While the Crown Prince may have a weaker foundation, he's still the legitimate heir. If he ascends the throne, we'll be offending the future Emperor!"
The bitter taste of medicine seemed to seep into her throat, and every word was bitter. Lu Suizhu's hands were trembling. "The imperial decree will be leaked sooner or later. As close associates of the Empress Dowager, we can't escape responsibility even if we do nothing. Why not give it a try? You are my only good friend in the palace, and I will never harm you."
At this point, Tihuo stopped trying to stop him and watched Lu Suizhu place the Phoenix Seal down steadily.
He kowtowed heavily before the Empress Dowager's remains, crying out in grief, "The Empress Dowager—passed away—"
People outside the palace filed in, kneeling in a black mass that filled the entire area.
The long toll of the funeral bell shook the nine palace walls.
A tear slid down the emperor's eye while he lay on the dragon bed. Imperial Concubine Jiang, who was attending to him at his side, pretended to be sad, wiped her tears with a shark's shark handkerchief, and sobbed with her shoulders shaking.
"Send... Pei Zhiji..." The emperor said these words with great difficulty, and the eunuch had to lean over to hear them clearly.
Pei Zhiji was waiting outside the hall for orders, and immediately went in when he heard the call.
Concubines were not allowed to interfere in government affairs, and Concubine Jiang had no choice but to leave in disappointment, pinching her palms and looking at Pei Zhiji with a complicated expression as he passed by her.
The emperor's lips were purple and his eye sockets were sunken. Just as Liu Sanyuan said, Qiang Xu's life had come to an end. No matter how unwilling he was, he could not fight against heaven for his life.
The yellow curtain swayed up and down with the emperor's vigorous movements. Pei Zhiji leaned over to listen, his ear pressed against the emperor's lips as he moved with difficulty.
"Crown Prince... the legitimate heir of the state... obey the imperial edict... do not... do not allow Concubine Jiang... and other relatives to interfere in government affairs..."
Pei Zhiji raised his eyebrows slightly, responded with words of loyalty and dedication, calmly put the imperial edict into his arms, and then took his leave.
Outside the palace, Imperial Concubine Jiang waited anxiously, her hands clasped together, pacing restlessly. Seeing Pei Zhiji coming out, she stopped him and asked anxiously, "What did His Majesty say to you?"
"It was nothing more than verbal instructions for the Crown Prince to deal with various trivial matters after he ascended the throne. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
"Stop!" Concubine Jiang was extremely anxious and called out to him from the spot.
Pei Zhiji stopped and asked, "What else do you want, Your Majesty?"
"If Xiao Mao succeeds to the throne, how can your Pei family have a good end?" Concubine Jiang took two steps towards him.
"Can Her Majesty promise me any benefits?" Pei Zhiji ignored the shouting behind her and suddenly curled his lips when he turned his back to Concubine Jiang.
He still hadn't forgotten Jiang Ying's previous attempt to assassinate him. She had to pay the price for her stupid actions.
As soon as he got out of the crowd, Pei Zhiji took out the bright yellow imperial edict and threw it into the fire, which instantly turned into ashes.
In this huge wave, he must have the least amount of blood splashed on his body.
The Empress Dowager's decree spread quickly, but the Emperor was already confused and unable to manage affairs, and did not issue a single word when he was sober.
It was the final moment, Xiao Mao looked up at the sky all night long.
Pei Zhiji's few words had disturbed Concubine Jiang's mind. She looked at the fake imperial edict that had been prepared long ago, and knew that she had to let her son ascend to that position, otherwise the whole family would be doomed.
My father has made all the arrangements. All the guards in the palace are theirs. Even if Xiao Mao launches a coup, they are strong enough to fight back.
At night, the weapons clashed, the cold light was like a rainbow, and the blood stained the palace gate. The two sides fought fiercely and it was difficult to determine the winner.
Upon hearing the news, military generals rushed into the palace to quell the rebellion, while the civil officials stayed at home all night, unable to sleep and feeling uneasy.
Concubine Jiang stood before the emperor's bedside, "Your Majesty, are you really going to pass the throne to the prince?" Even though he couldn't move, the emperor knew it clearly in his mind. He raised his hand with great effort, but the words "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics" were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.
"Your Majesty, you are forcing my mother and me to die!" Concubine Jiang was filled with hatred and grabbed the poison and tried to force it into the emperor's mouth.
At the critical moment, a sharp arrow flew through the air and hit Concubine Jiang in the heart from behind. She opened her mouth, her red lips imprinted on the emperor's quilt, and she fell forward, her head facing the emperor's trembling stiff chin, and blood instantly soaked the emperor's chest.
In the chaos, no one paid attention to the origins of these men in black, but the emperor recognized at a glance that they were not from the palace. As an emperor, the thing he feared most was that aristocratic families kept assassins.
How could Pei Zhiji not know what the emperor was thinking? This man used the emperor's hand to kill the aristocratic family just to fill his own pitiful suspicion. Now he should understand that he trusted the wrong person and raised a tiger that would eventually become a disaster.
"I am late in coming to your rescue, Your Majesty, and I beg your forgiveness."
The emperor was so angry that his face turned purple and the veins in his neck bulged: "Traitor...minister...you...are rebelling!"
"If her name is not right and her words are not in order, how can she be called a traitor?" Pei Zhiji ordered his men to block the news of Concubine Jiang's death, and no one inside or outside the palace knew about it.
The moonlight is clear and beautiful. I wonder how long the blood in the palace will continue to flow tonight.
Lu Suizhu was waiting anxiously in Pei's house, looking out from time to time. Suddenly, a man in a cloak came in from the corner door with a cold breath, and handed a swaddling cloth to her with the cry of a baby.
The little body was so soft that she almost didn't dare to touch it. Lu Suizhu took it carefully.
Under the cloak is Hua Wu’s younger brother, Song Xian.
The child cried heart-wrenchingly as soon as he was separated from his mother. Lu Suizhu held him tightly in her arms, gently pressed her cheek against him, and comforted him in a low voice.
"Sister Suizhu, Concubine Lin was frightened and gave birth prematurely. She has passed away."
Her fingertips caressed the baby's warm face. Lu Suizhu's heart tightened when she heard Song Xian's words. She asked anxiously, "Where's Lord Pei? Is he okay?"
"My Lord is fine. I have specifically told you not to worry. My Lord has ordered that you and the little prince be escorted out of the capital for a while."
Without further ado, as soon as the carriage left Pei Mansion, the heavy funeral bells once again shook the night sky, ringing three times in a row.
The emperor passed away.
The carriage sped through the streets of Shangjing, initially unhindered. However, when it reached the dense forest west of the city, a group of pursuing soldiers came and attacked. The carriage was shaking violently, and outside the carriage, there were sounds of metal clashing and fighting.
Lu Suizhu tightly protected the crying baby in her arms. The curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted up, and a long knife stabbed straight in. At the critical moment, Suo Ye pulled the assassin out of the carriage.
However, the pursuers were numerous, and Suo Ye was hit hard on the back, staggering and spitting out blood.
"Suo Ye!" Lu Suizhu reached out to grab him.
"Ma'am, please leave."
Seeing that they were outnumbered, Pei Zhiji finally arrived with his elite troops. In an instant, all the pursuers were killed. He got into the carriage, and Lu Suizhu immediately grabbed his arm: "Suo Ye is injured!"
"I brought Sun Liangxu with me, and he's already receiving treatment." Pei Zhiji glanced at the two of them, one big and one small, and his tense expression finally relaxed. "I'm glad you're all okay... This little one was crying so hard."
The little prince continued to wail, causing Pei Zhiji to frown. "I didn't expect the Crown Prince's staff to be so cunning and sly, targeting Concubine Lin's child so early on."
"How's things going in the palace?"
"The chaos ended faster than expected." Pei Zhiji omitted the details of Concubine Jiang's death at his hands, saying, "Concubine Jiang was killed by the Imperial Guards' arrows while attempting to poison His Majesty. The Crown Prince's troops were defeated by Uncle Jiang and he was captured alive. When Uncle Jiang heard the news of Concubine Jiang's death and saw that the Sixth Prince had lost his mind due to excessive shock... All the traitors have been executed."
He downplayed it and picked himself clean.
Lu Suizhu lowered her head and stared at the baby in her arms: "So this child... is the future new emperor?"
"Madam." Pei Zhiji held her tightly in his arms, his light blue stubble gently rubbing against her hair. His voice was filled with relief after exhaustion. "We don't have to be afraid anymore. The Pei family doesn't have to rely on others. After tonight, we will live in peace."
The carriage rolled over the dusty and coarse-stoned road and slowly drove back to Shangjing City.
When the dust settled, Xiao Mao was imprisoned and Concubine Jiang had passed away, and the two forces that had dominated the court collapsed.
Pei Zhiji became the head of the civil officials, and only the little prince born to Lin Guiren, as the undisputed royal orthodoxy, successfully ascended the throne.
Pei Zhiji was conferred the title of Duke and the new Imperial Tutor. Xu Ruogu jokingly said, "Since Lord Pei's every word carries great weight these days, why not confer the title of Prince upon himself?"
"That's not my ambition." Pei Zhiji smiled calmly. "But Lord Xu has been promoted to the first rank. I'm afraid he'll be very busy in the future."
"Hehe, it's my honor to be busy!" Xu Ruogu's face was flushed. He was really grateful that he had a sharp eye and followed the right Lord Pei. Otherwise, he might not even know where the grave is today.
In one night, the situation changed and the former crown prince became a prisoner. Xiao Mao schemed and fought with Concubine Jiang for half his life, but he never expected that in the end, the throne that was within his grasp would be snatched away by a baby in swaddling clothes and whose baby teeth had not yet grown.
That day, there were slight footsteps coming from the prison corridor. Xiao Mao looked up and saw that it was Pei Lanyi.
"Where's Lanying?" She said coldly through the iron bars, "I'm here to take her home."
Xiao Mao slowly stood up, his eyes icy cold, his tone calm and still: "He's dead. I... strangled him to death with my own hands."
Pei Lanyi was extremely disappointed. She turned around and tried to leave, but her wrist was suddenly pulled back by a force. Xiao Mao kissed her lips roughly, almost biting them, as if he wanted to leave an indelible mark on her.
Just when she thought she was going to be bitten to death, he suddenly loosened his hand. There was still her blood on his lips. Xiao Mao slowly sat back in the shadows with his back to her.
"When the child was gone, was it... painful?"
This was the first time he faced this directly.
Unfortunately, Pei Lanyi no longer needed his answer.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was March of the following year. Qingfeng House was full of flowers. Lu Suizhu even bought the yard next door, making the place seem even more spacious.
Shen Guyan was a frequent visitor here, and was sitting opposite Lu Suizhu on a stone bench in the courtyard.
"The palace was completed at the end of last month and has become the new emperor's prayer palace. No one mentions the insane Sixth Prince anymore. I've also been promoted in the Ministry of Works and received a commendation." Talking about his recent situation, he spoke in a relaxed tone, "My parents have also come to Shangjing from Yunshui and will live with me in Shangjing from now on. My father has been a hard worker all his life and can't stand idleness, so it's a good opportunity for him to take over my carpentry shop."
Although his words were indifferent, Lu Suizhu keenly noticed the lingering sadness in his eyes. She hesitated and didn't know how to speak, but Shen Guyan understood and took the initiative to speak.
"Miss Jiang is already engaged to Pei Ren."
Lu Suizhu was slightly surprised, but she thought that Pei Ren was already seventeen years old.
She was unaware of this and subconsciously looked up, only to see Pei Zhiji had come into the yard at some point and was watching them quietly.
After sending Shen Guyan away, Pei Zhiji walked over and asked, "What did you talk about with him just now?" Lu Suizhu raised the corner of her lips slightly, "I can't tell you that."
Pei Zhiji pretended to be dissatisfied and refused to give her the steamed buns and fruits in his hand. Today they were going to visit the graves of Master Li and Madam Li.
The little yellow dog gathered at their feet, eagerly sticking out its tongue and playing with them.
Just at this moment, Lin Yan's clear voice came from the kitchen: "The meal is ready - come and eat!"
(End of text)
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