In early February of the fifty-fifth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Honghui was suddenly able to stand up on his own and speak fluently.
But nobody was happy, because everyone understood that this was just a last gasp before death.
Honghui looked at his father and mother in the room, as well as his two younger brothers who, although not born of the same mother, respected and were friendly to him, and smiled gently.
He first said to Fourth Master, "Father, after your son passes away, don't be sad, and don't overwork yourself."
Fourth Master turned his head away, responded with a soft "hmm," and his eyes were wet with tears.
Honghui turned to Hongxuan and Hongjing and said, "Remember what you promised your elder brother."
Hongxuan and Hongjing had tears welling up in their eyes, but not wanting their elder brother Honghui to leave in peace, they quickly nodded.
Finally, Honghui glanced at his mother, Ulanara, and said to his father, "Father, please let your son speak with your mother alone."
Fourth Master said nothing and took the lead, walking out first. Hongxuan and Hongjing followed, and the servants in the room also left.
"Mother, please don't be sad, okay? Your son hopes you will live a good life from now on."
The Fourth Princess Consort, who had been silently shedding tears, couldn't help but hug Honghui and cry her heart out.
“Mother, please don’t be like this. Your son is gone, but his child is not yet born. The imperial physician said it should be a prince. Once he is born, he will lose his father. This child will require your care.”
"Hui'er, sob, don't go, sob." The Fujin cried hard, but she couldn't hear what Honghui was saying.
Honghui hugged his fourth wife and patted her back, saying, "Mother, I beg you, please promise me that you will take care of yourself and take good care of him for me, okay? Otherwise, I won't be at peace when I'm gone."
Actually, with his father, his fourth and fifth brothers, and his child's birth mother around, they would help take care of him. So, even if he were to leave, he wouldn't feel at ease. It's still his mother who has always cared for him so much!
Fourth Princess Consort, not wanting Honghui to leave in peace, quickly agreed, "Alright, alright, Mother promises you."
"Then, Mother, please grant your son one more request, okay?"
"Tell me, and I'll grant you anything you ask."
Honghui said, “Mother, Fourth Brother disdains the position of heir apparent. Father probably wanted to give it to Fourth Brother, but he wouldn’t want it either. In the future, it can be given to the child. But if Father has that possibility, the heir to that position can only be Fourth Brother. Please don’t let the child compete with Fourth Brother.”
Fourth Princess Consort was stunned; she hadn't expected Honghui to say these things to her.
Even more unexpectedly, Honghui actually begged her not to fight for Hongxuan's sake.
She couldn't help but step out of Honghui's embrace, looking at him in disbelief.
Honghui seemed to see through his mother's thoughts and said, "Fourth brother is good to me, and I do want to be good to him too. But more than anything, I want you to be good to me, Mother. Mother, if you want my children to fight for that position, then you will have to deal with Father and Fourth Brother, and neither of them are people you can handle. Mother, I just want you to be well."
The Fujin was still unwilling to give up on securing that position for Honghui, or for Honghui's child. After all, since her rebirth, she had always been prepared for Honghui to take that position.
Honghui sighed and said, "Mother, how many people have you seen ascend to that position by skipping their sons? Even if they have, they can't hold onto that position for long, like Zhu Yunwen."
The princess remained silent.
Honghui didn't try to persuade him further, but instead started talking about the dream he had during his illness.
“Mother, recently, while I was in a daze, I had a lot of dreams. In my dreams, Father and Mother were there. Father was just as strict with me as Mother. But I could tell that they both loved me very much.”
Upon hearing this, the princess trembled.
Immersed in his memories, Honghui was unaware and continued, "In my dream, someone sabotaged my life, and I died young. Then, I saw you, Mother, weeping silently every night when you couldn't sleep. Every year on the anniversary of my death, Father would personally copy a Buddhist scripture for me and offer it before the Buddha."
"It's like a past life. Although I only lived a few more years in this life because of my limited lifespan, I still feel very happy. Father and Mother, you are still very good to me. Moreover, I have two more lovely and good younger brothers."
"If there is an afterlife, I would still want to be your son, even if I still die young."
The princess couldn't hold back any longer and hugged Honghui tightly, bursting into tears again.
Honghui also hugged his wife, hugging her tightly, until his hands suddenly fell limp.
The princess suddenly realized that Honghui had really gone.
Inside the room, the wife's crying suddenly became louder.
After Honghui passed away, his wife remained silent, and his funeral was handled by the Fourth Prince along with his three sons.
In Taoyuan, Jiaming, standing by the window, looked at the gloomy weather, sighed, turned around, and went to the study.
He picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and began copying the scriptures. These scriptures were being copied for his deceased eldest son, Honghui.
She had met the eldest prince, Honghui, several times, but mostly heard about him from his two sons.
Such a gentle and kind child, gone just like that. She felt sorry for him, but there was nothing she could do.
She neither believed nor disbelieved the concept of past and present lives.
If this scripture can make this child's next life better, then she will do her part for her two children, and at the same time, it represents her goodwill.
She also hopes that the child will be healthy in his next life.
After copying scriptures all morning, Jiaming took a nap and then began to handle matters at the manor.
At this time, Jiaming's belly was already very big, almost eight months along, but because of the Fujin's dazed and confused state, she was still in charge of the household.
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