Chapter 388: Guarding the Vigil
After hearing this, everyone's faces turned gloomy again.
No matter how you look at it, they will have to live a hard life under the control of others from now on.
At this time, someone muttered in a low voice, "If you ask me, the one who suffered the most is Concubine Jin. She has completely offended Concubine Zhao."
"That being said, the Jin family is extremely powerful, with a deep family background, and with General Jin Zhi in charge of the court, I don't think Concubine Zhao will dare to touch her easily in the short term!"
Everyone fell silent again.
Yes, they don’t have as profound a foundation as Concubine Jin.
In the entire harem, only Jin Weige can compete with Bai Wutong for a long time.
If it were any other concubine, they would have been unable to withstand it and were defeated long ago.
Just like Wen Chuyun before, and Wen Chuyun’s sister, it was all the same.
The many concubines stopped talking, all with sad and worried looks on their faces.
After a long time, someone finally spoke up, "The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is approaching. Will everything be settled after this year's end?"
"Who can say for sure? I hope there will never be a conclusion."
The concubines exchanged a few brief words and then dispersed.
In a blink of an eye, it was Zhang Chengyan's seventh day.
According to the palace rules, on the seventh day, the concubines had to go to the mourning hall to keep vigil.
Wang Decai and others had already arranged the mourning hall early, but Zhang Chengyan's body was not placed in it.
Many concubines knelt on the cushions on the ground, crying and burning paper money.
As the concubine with the highest rank, Bai Wutong naturally knelt in the first place.
But she soon noticed something strange. These papers were not the usual yellow or white, but had a gray tone.
If you look closely, you can see a lot of black impurities mixed in it.
Looking at the paper money again, the square hole in the middle is crooked and irregular in shape.
She picked up two pieces of paper money and compared them, and found that not only were the two pieces of paper money obviously different in size, but even the shape and size of the gap in the middle were very different.
This is a heavily guarded and strictly hierarchical imperial palace, and all matters have always been carried out according to the highest standards. How could such shoddy and unpresentable paper money appear?
This kind of mistake really shouldn't happen.
Could it be that because Zhang Chengyan pretended to have passed away, there were special requirements and normal paper money could not be burned?
But the other concubines did not notice these details at all. They were completely immersed in grief.
It was the middle of winter, and the weather was freezing cold. However, the blazing fire in the mourning hall made them feel much warmer.
In this way, the concubines cried and burned paper all night long.
The sky gradually brightened, and the faint dawn light quietly penetrated into the mourning hall.
Wang Decai came slowly, not hurriedly or slowly, and bowed to Bai Wutong and said, "Empress Zhao, you must be tired after keeping vigil all night. Go back to the palace and rest first."
When everyone heard this, they immediately raised their heads, their faces filled with confusion.
Why just let her rest?
What about them?
Bai Wutong frowned slightly, with a hint of confusion in her eyes, "Eunuch Wang, all the sisters are in the mourning hall, why did you let me go back first?"
Wang Decai bowed quickly, his tone becoming more respectful, "Empress Zhao, you still have to raise the prince, so you must take extra care. I'm afraid that keeping vigil for such a long time will hurt you."
"No, I won't leave." Bai Wutong said firmly, "I want to stay here and burn more paper money for the emperor. I hope that in the underworld, the emperor can have no worries about money and enjoy all the beauty of the world just like he did in his lifetime."
Wang Decai secretly sighed in his heart, it turned out that Concubine Zhao loved the emperor the most.
Looking at the other concubines, some have dull eyes, some have numb expressions. In comparison, Bai Wutong's deep affection is obvious.
In the end, she stayed and burned paper with other concubines.
It was not until the sunlight completely illuminated the mourning hall that they dragged their tired bodies and dispersed one after another.
From that day on, for the next three days, they would come to the mourning hall every day to keep vigil.
This was undoubtedly a test for these concubines who lived a life of luxury and were afraid of getting tired even when walking.
Only after enduring these three days can they take a short rest.
But once the wake is over, there are many things waiting to be done, and everyone has to work hard, especially the concubines who have never had to do housework, they are expected to suffer.
Bai Wutong took a short rest, and as soon as night fell, she went to the mourning hall again. She didn't need Wang Decai to remind her at all, and arrived earlier than other concubines.
In the mourning hall, candlelight flickered.
Bai Wutong looked resentful. She walked to the brazier, knelt slowly, twisted the paper money with her fingers, and threw it into the fire one by one, muttering softly, "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly abandon me like this? What should I do in the future?"
Before he could finish his words, tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
"Now that there is no one in the mourning hall, I can finally tell you what's in my heart. I have been in the palace for three years. During these three years, it is you, Your Majesty, who has illuminated my life. You gave me children, made me a concubine, and showed me endless love. But now, you have suddenly left, and my heart seems to be torn apart."
Bai Wutong became more and more excited as she spoke, tears streaming down her face, almost choking. "Your Majesty, the child is still young. I am worried and don't know what to do. What if the child ascends the throne in the future and is too young to take on the responsibilities of an emperor? I know nothing about court affairs. Your Majesty, please send me a dream tonight, at least to let me know what to do to protect the Darong Kingdom and the court you worked so hard for. I cannot watch Darong Kingdom decline..."
Just as Bai Wutong was immersed in grief, hurried footsteps were heard outside the mourning hall.
The young eunuch hurriedly pushed the door open and entered without even bothering to pay his respects. He hurriedly reported, "Empress Zhao, something bad has happened. Something has happened in Lanxin Pavilion. Please go and take a look!"
When the emperor got into trouble this time, almost all the concubines in the palace were implicated, except these two Turkic beauties, who stayed out of the matter because of their special status and coming from a foreign country.
Bai Wutong was startled when he heard this, and quickly raised his hand to wipe away his tears. He gathered his strength and resumed his demeanor of presiding over the affairs of the harem, "Tell me quickly, what happened to them?"
The young eunuch panted, "Your Majesty, those two Turkic beauties and Concubine Jin are fighting!"
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