"Sister Huairou...is pregnant?" Yuan Yao glanced at Jiang Chengyan.
"Hmm, so, do you want to go and keep her company?" Jiang Chengyan asked.
Yuan Yao remained silent.
I'm afraid it's not just Feng Xun who wants to come and pick her up.
It's Feng Nanqi who wants to see her, isn't it?
Should she... rush over to see him one last time?
However, her father's health was not yet fully recovered. After the late emperor's funeral, she should return to Nanxi Town to be with her father.
Chu is in turmoil, and Yun Chan is going back to seek revenge, but she's worried about her...
Yuan Yao was in a real headache.
She knelt upright, her gaze fixed on the coffin placed in the mourning hall: "Let me think about this matter some more."
She had to send a message to ask her father...
Jiang Chengyan knelt for a moment, glanced around out of the corner of his eye, and asked, "I heard that you vomited a lot of blood that day at the palace?"
Are you feeling any better today?
Yuan Yao pursed her lips: "Let it be."
Jiang Chengyan frowned and immediately said to the palace servants around him, "What are you all standing there for? Bring the sedan chair and send the princess back to Qianhua Palace!"
Upon hearing this, the palace servants sprang into action.
Yuan Yao covered her mouth with her sleeve, coughed several times forcefully, and deliberately showed off the sleeve stained with specks of blood: "Your Majesty, I'm fine..."
Jiang Chengyan interrupted her: "You've coughed up blood, how can you say you're alright? You don't need to kneel here before the funeral."
If your father and son are watching from heaven, they will surely know of your filial piety.
Be good, let's go back to Qianhua Palace.
Yuan Yao: "..."
Actually, she felt she could kneel down one more time.
However, since Jiang Chengyan meant well, she would appreciate it.
Yuan Yao covered her mouth, coughing as she spoke haltingly, "Yao'er... thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty..."
Jiang Chengyan waved his hand: "Go back quickly."
So, with the help of Jing'er and Aruo, Yuan Yao boarded the sedan chair and returned to Qianhua Palace.
Two days later, the late emperor's funeral was held.
The "Nine Thousand Years Old" was also buried with the late emperor.
Before dawn, the palace gates were wide open, and the sounds of chanting, bells, drums, and horns resounded throughout every corner of the palace.
Yuan Yao, dressed in mourning clothes, followed behind Jiang Chengyan, carrying the coffin.
Civil and military officials, as well as the people of the city, all knelt down to see him off.
The procession that saw them off was so long that it stretched for dozens of miles.
The air was filled with the scent of paper money, and the air was thick with the smell of incense and burning paper money.
Imperial guards cleared the way, and the soul-guiding banners fluttered in the cold wind.
Along the way, people knelt and worshipped from afar.
The wind was filled with the sounds of chanting and mournful weeping...
Yuan Yao was pale and weak, and was supported by Aruo and Jing'er as she walked, while she held the memorial tablet in her hands.
After walking a short distance, the master of ceremonies would make them kneel again.
They finally arrived at the imperial mausoleum between midnight and noon.
The area at the foot of the mountain where the imperial tombs are located is teeming with people.
The wind carries only the sound of weeping.
The new emperor led the officials in charge of ceremonies to the imperial mausoleum to pay their respects, while most of the others remained at the foot of the mountain.
Yuan Yao held the memorial tablet and knelt in the procession.
Seeing her pale face, Jing'er and Aruo were so distressed they almost cried.
Aruo whispered, "Princess, if you can't hold on, why don't you rest for a while?"
Yuan Yao shook her head.
With tears in her eyes, she knelt with exceptional seriousness.
After today, she will no longer need to perform.
So, no matter what, we have to get through today.
"Yao'er." A voice came from behind.
Yuan Yao knelt on the cold ground and turned to look.
Then, Prince An, Jiang Chengye, dressed in mourning clothes, slowly walked towards her: "Yao'er, I heard that your condition has worsened these past two days."
It's cold today, is your body able to handle it?
The dead are gone, the living remain...
Take good care of yourself, otherwise, if His Majesty is watching from heaven, he will be heartbroken.
After his fall from grace, the former Crown Prince recovered and his demeanor became much gentler.
The concern on their faces was exceptionally genuine.
Yuan Yao bowed to Prince An and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I can still manage."
Prince An looked up at the verdant mountains where the imperial mausoleum was located and sighed: "Yao'er, the Emperor is gone, but the people of Great Qi will remember him."
We... will all remember him.
Yuan Yao shed two lines of tears: "Mmm!"
Prince An raised his hand, wanting to wipe away the tears on her face, but then he thought that the girl in front of him was no longer the little dumpling she used to be.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Prince An took out a clean white silk handkerchief and handed it to Yuan Yao: "Wipe your tears. Soon it will be time to send Father Emperor and His Highness to the imperial mausoleum."
This is the last time they'll see each other; don't let them leave with regret and worry.
Yuan Yao accepted the silk handkerchief: "Thank you, Your Highness Prince An..."
Prince An smiled faintly: "From now on, call me cousin. Calling me Your Highness is too formal."
Aunt Liuyue is gone, and Father is gone too. From now on, we'll have to rely on ourselves to maintain our family ties.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao's eyes welled up with tears.
When the late emperor was alive, he was the link between her and Huairou, Huaiyao, Jiang Chengyan, Jiang Chengye, and Xie Zhi.
Now that the late emperor is gone, this bond has been broken.
With loved ones still alive, the only thing holding them together in the future will be that thin bloodline and themselves...
It's really sad to think about.
Yuan Yao raised her eyes and her gaze fell on a tall figure dressed in mourning clothes, kneeling quietly before the emperor's coffin.
Prince An followed her gaze.
His expression was complicated as he slowly said, "I heard that Xie Zhi has already obtained a military order to escort the Emperor to the imperial mausoleum and then lead his troops away from the capital."
"Yao'er, is there really no possibility for you and him in this life?"
Yuan Yao: "..."
She took a deep breath and looked at Prince An: "Cousin Prince An, why is everyone asking about Xie Zhi and me?"
Prince An countered, "Yao'er, why do you think everyone is asking about you and Xie Zhi, instead of you and others?"
Yuan Yao was completely stunned.
yes.
Why?
Why do you keep asking her that?
She was very sad too.
She and Xie Zhi could have been best friends and closest family, but how did things end up like this?
The more people ask, the more sadness I feel.
My chest is churning with hot blood.
"puff……"
This was the first time Yuan Yao had coughed up blood in front of everyone.
The dark red blood stained the white paper money scattered all over the ground.
"Yao'er!"
"Princess!"
"Princess..."
The palace servants were in chaos. Jing'er burst into tears on the spot. The officials craned their necks to look in this direction and saw the blood. Many of them turned red with emotion.
The tall figure kneeling beside the coffin, his hands clenched into fists, lifted his robes, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, stood up and said, "Where is the imperial physician? Summon the imperial physician immediately!"
Yuan Yao leaned against Aruo's chest, and Jing'er fed her water to rinse the blood from her mouth.
The imperial physician came running, panting heavily, and knelt on the ground: "Princess, may this old minister take a look at you?"
Yuan Yao shook her head.
She looked at Prince An, whose face was full of worry and guilt, and comforted him, "The imperial physician said earlier that I was troubled by something in my heart..."
Therefore, Cousin Prince An need not worry too much, nor should he blame himself.
Prince An looked at her for a moment, then sighed deeply.
At this moment, the official in charge of ceremonies announced that the time had come to escort the coffin into the imperial mausoleum.
All civil and military officials, as well as the ladies of the court, knelt at the foot of the mountain and performed the kowtow ceremony.
The coffin was lifted.
The final performance has begun!
Yuan Yao took out a red pill that she had prepared beforehand and put it in her mouth.
Holding the memorial tablet, she prostrated herself on the ground and wept bitterly: "Yao'er bids farewell to her imperial uncle, and to her father..."
When she cried, the palace servants also started to cry.
For a moment, the sound of weeping shook the heavens.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com