Chapter 300: Empress's Death
On the seventh day of the sixth month in the fifth year of Qiyuan, at midnight,
Queen Wang Xihua died in Kunning Palace at the age of twenty-three.
When the news of the Queen's death reached Lin'an, everyone who heard it was shocked.
Xiao Jingheng was even more grief-stricken, and immediately issued an edict to end the southern tour and ordered the imperial carriage to rush back to Kyoto day and night.
After such a long journey, even the softest couch in the sedan would still be uncomfortable.
Xiao Jingheng was concerned about Song Zhao's pregnancy, so he wanted her to take some time off and escort her back to the palace under the escort of his personal guards.
But Song Zhao was obsessed with the death of the Queen Mother and could not afford to be negligent at all. He insisted on returning to the palace with Xiao Jingheng.
In this way, Xiao Jingheng fulfilled her loyalty and allowed her to ride in the imperial chariot with him, just to protect her from suffering fewer setbacks.
Along the way, Xiao Jingheng didn't say much.
He sometimes looked out the window, sometimes his eyes turned red. The invisible low pressure condensed in the car, making Song Zhao feel extremely heavy and depressed.
From the day when the Queen was in Suzhou, she used the power of the civil and military officials to put pressure on Xiao Jingheng, defying Xiao Jingheng's will and forcibly bringing Jinghe back to the palace, to Xiao Jingheng's special instructions for Huipin to "take good care" of the Queen after returning to the palace, Song Zhao actually understood:
The Queen's life has probably come to an end.
Song Zhao had seen how Xiao Jingheng dealt with the Ning family and Prince Rui with both defense and war, so the death of the Queen did not shock her at all. Instead, she felt it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Because this is something that the emperor Xiao Jingheng can do without blinking an eye.
As the saying goes, living with the emperor is like living with a tiger. How could he tolerate a queen who could not give birth to a legitimate son, was full of calculations and scheming, was jealous of the favorite concubine, plotted to murder the royal heir, and even dared to disobey him?
But Song Zhao and the Queen are two completely different people.
She was always obedient and considerate to Jamel Xiao.
After the Queen passed away, Song Zhao took charge of the six palaces and arranged all matters for the women in the harem very well.
She is more calm and composed than when she first entered the palace, and she does things flawlessly.
Xiao Jingheng saw all of this.
Song Zhao had been ignorant since entering the palace, but now he can manage all the affairs of the six palaces with ease.
For Xiao Jingheng, these are the results of his cultivation.
In Xiao Jingheng's heart, this sense of accomplishment has gradually become on par with Song Zhaoshi's rare beauty, becoming another irreplaceable good thing for her.
Today, Xiao Jingheng is still wearing the yellow robe, but Song Zhao has already changed into a plain cloth shirt, a white silk hairpin, and a plain dress.
During this journey, Xiao Jingheng hardly closed his eyes.
There were dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot under his eyes. Although he was handsome, he looked decadent.
Song Zhao looked at him with eyes full of heartache, put his palm on the back of his hand, and choked up to persuade him:
"Your Majesty, please don't be too sad. You must take care of yourself and get some sleep. There are still many things that need your attention after you return to the palace. What if your holy body collapses?"
Xiao Jingheng looked at the sparkling water in her eyes, and finally couldn't help but shed tears.
He reached out to wipe away Song Zhao's tears and sighed softly.
"Although I have many complaints about the Queen's actions over the years, she is my legitimate wife after all. Now that she has passed away suddenly, I am deeply saddened and it is hard to believe."
As he said this, he took Song Zhao's hand and interlocked their fingers.
Perhaps because there was an ice jar in the sedan, Song Zhao held Xiao Jingheng's hand and felt that his fingers were as cold as jade.
"I will always be with the emperor."
Her words were sincere and heartfelt. Xiao Jingheng looked at her steadily, feeling a little relieved.
"I originally wanted to let you and the Imperial Concubine take care of the Queen's funeral. But the Imperial Concubine is in mourning, and you are pregnant, so it's hard for you to work hard. So I thought, let Concubine Ying, Concubine Yao, and Concubine Yun take care of it first, and you can rest well and take care of yourself and the dragon fetus."
What Xiao Jingheng said was not that he wanted to take away Song Zhao's power to assist in managing the six palaces, but that he really cared about her.
After all, the Queen's funeral is a national mourning. There are many rules to follow when conducting a national mourning. It is so busy that you may not be able to sleep for four or five days.
Kneeling, bowing, and crying bitterly,
It is harmful to both the body and mind, and it is really not suitable for pregnant women to appear in such occasions.
Song Zhao had been at odds with the queen for a long time. After her death, Song Zhao was happy and at ease.
Now that Xiao Jingheng has promised her not to take charge of the funeral, Song Zhao is naturally delighted that she doesn't have to shed hypocritical tears in front of a dead person's tablet.
But in front of Xiao Jingheng, she still showed a miserable look, choking with tears and saying:
"Everything will be arranged by the emperor. However, on the day when the coffin of the empress is taken out of the palace to be buried, I will have to see her off. I have to fulfill my duty as a concubine and also send the empress off for the last time. I have no regrets in my heart..."
Xiao Jingheng agreed because he thought she was kind-hearted.
The emperor entered the capital at 11:00 a.m. on June 9th and returned to the palace at 3:30 p.m.
After returning to the palace, everyone started to get busy, and Xiao Jingheng couldn't stop for a moment.
The spirit was sent to the throne in the palace, expressing the utmost grief.
Because the Empress passed away in the summer, it was not convenient for her to keep her body for long.
Therefore, on an auspicious day of June 11, Xiao Jingheng, together with the female members of the harem and the ladies of the court, personally escorted the coffin of the late empress to the imperial mausoleum for burial.
To express grief, the court was suspended for five days, and the people wore mourning clothes for thirty-six days. Weddings and music ceremonies were suspended. People got up in the morning and returned home at night, all knelt and kowtowed in front of the emperor's tomb, mourning for the mother of the nation. The whole country was in grief.
The death of the queen at this time meant that in the following three years, no concubines would be promoted in the harem, and no new people would be selected to enter the palace.
The baby in Song Zhao's belly has not yet landed.
Then, whether it was the position of noble concubine promised to her by Xiao Jingheng, or the position of imperial noble concubine promised to Ning Wanshuang, they had to be put on hold for the time being.
However, there is also someone who took advantage of the opportunity, and that is Concubine Yao, who is regarded as a "lucky star" by Xiao Jingheng.
As early as in Lin'an, Xiao Jingheng issued an edict to enthrone her as a concubine. Although there was no enthronement ceremony, the imperial edict had been issued, and she was already the legitimate Concubine Yao.
During the Queen's funeral, Ning Wanshuang stayed in Yonghe Palace to accompany her two children except for showing up on the first day. She was unwilling to move even a step because of the hot weather.
Even on the day she appeared, she remained indifferent to the Queen's coffin and did not shed a single tear.
At that time, so many court officials and ladies were watching, and her behavior was bound to be criticized.
Perhaps because of this incident, after returning to the palace, Xiao Jingheng never went to see her even once.
Everyone in the palace was talking about how Ning Wanshuang had completely lost Xiao Jingheng's favor this time.
On the other hand, Concubine Ying, Concubine Yun and Concubine Yao behaved extremely dignified and serious during the Queen's funeral. They arranged everything properly and no one could find any fault with them.
After all, the Empress passed away, the harem was without a master, and the Imperial Concubine fell out of favor.
Then the future queen must be chosen from among the four concubines Ying, Yun, Yao, and Yi.
She is only one step away from becoming the most noble woman in the world. Who wouldn't have wrong thoughts?
Except for Song Zhao's mother's family, the mothers' families of the remaining three concubines also began to rush around, stirring up trouble in the former court and the harem, setting off a new round of turmoil, which was:
——The dispute over the position of Empress Dowager.
[I have obsessive compulsive disorder and I have to make it to 300 chapters, so I will update once today, but I will update four more chapters tomorrow! ]
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