Epilogue of Chapter 1003
Zhao Kingdom, Renshou Palace.
Empress Dowager Zhuang has not had a good appetite these past few days. Eunuch Qin has been having the imperial kitchen prepare different dishes for her, but she can't eat more than a few bites.
Eunuch Qin secretly sent a letter to Bishui Hutong, but Empress Dowager Zhuang stopped him.
Empress Dowager Zhuang glared at him.
Eunuch Qin sighed, knowing that she didn't want the younger generation to see her sick, but it pained him to see her like this.
"Empress Dowager, His Majesty has arrived," a palace maid announced from outside the bedchamber.
Seeing that Empress Dowager Zhuang looked unwell, Eunuch Qin whispered, "Should I go and tell His Majesty that you have gone to rest?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky, suppressed her fatigue, and said, "He must have something important to discuss with us at this hour."
"yes."
Eunuch Qin went to invite His Majesty in.
The emperor stepped into the room, glanced at Empress Dowager Zhuang who was sitting upright in her official hat chair, and asked with concern, "Is Your Majesty feeling any better?"
This son may be a bit foolish, but his concern for the Empress Dowager is genuine.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, unusually, didn't roll her eyes. She said indifferently, "I'm fine now. It's you all making a fuss over nothing. Speak, what do you want with me so late?"
The emperor sat down next to his mother and said helplessly, "To be honest, I do have something to discuss with you, Mother."
"The matter of establishing an heir?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked pointedly.
The crown prince has been deposed for two years, and calls for establishing a successor are growing louder in the court. If no successor is established soon, a factional struggle for the throne may break out.
The emperor acquiesced.
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at him and asked, "What are your plans?"
The Emperor said, "I believe that Prince Rui is capable of shouldering great responsibilities." He paused here, then added, "However, Prince Rui has become much more restrained in the past two years."
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked out into the boundless night: "Little Qi-eight, almost nineteen. A-heng would have already become the top scholar at his age."
"Yes," the Emperor sighed. "I am torn between Prince Rui and Xiao Qi, and I would like to hear my mother's opinion."
Empress Dowager Zhuang said calmly, "I have no objection. You are the emperor, and whoever you choose to establish will remain the Qin family's empire."
"Mother!" The Emperor disliked that she separated herself from him so clearly, making it seem as if she wasn't part of the family.
Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted: "What? I've toiled for the Zhao Kingdom's royal family my whole life, and now you won't even let me have a couple of days of peace?"
The Emperor frowned: "What are you saying, Mother? You are destined to live to be a hundred years old!"
"Alright, alright, I can't stand that." Empress Dowager Zhuang waved her hand, opened the candied fruit jar on the table, which contained the candied fruit that Jiao Jiao had made for her. She was to eat three pieces a day, and she had been saving them for five days.
She took out a candied fruit, stared at it, and said, "I'll only ask you one question: if Prince Rui ascends the throne, will Xiao Qi be convinced?"
"This..." the emperor hesitated.
Empress Dowager Zhuang continued, "If he is dissatisfied and rebels, can Prince Rui withstand it?"
A look of dejection crossed the emperor's face: "It's definitely not going to hold out."
It's true that Prince Rui has the Luo State Duke's Mansion behind him, but Qin Chuyu has the entire Xuanping Marquis's Mansion behind him. Princess Xinyang's relationship with Xiao Ji has improved, so she will also help him.
He also had his sworn brother Xuanyuan Xi and Xu Zhouzhou, the youngest son of the Minister of War.
The emperor hasn't even taken Xiao Heng's connections into account.
Another very important point is that Xiao Qi is the legitimate daughter of the Empress.
The answer is self-evident.
This position isn't something you can simply choose not to fight for. Even if Xiao Qi herself doesn't covet the throne, how could Empress Xiao be content with that? And how could the ministers who wanted to contribute to the rise of the new emperor let it go so easily?
Empress Dowager Zhuang said earnestly, "To be an emperor, one doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest, but one must be the most suitable and the one who can make the country most stable."
Only by allowing Qin Chuyu to ascend the throne would the other princes dare not covet it, since none of them had the confidence to successfully rebel against Xiao Ji.
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at him and said, "Besides, Xiao Qi isn't as bad as you think. Don't underestimate him."
The brat who grew up with Jingkong would have been ruined long ago if he didn't have some skills.
The emperor pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand."
After the emperor left, Empress Dowager Zhuang couldn't bear to eat the candied fruit and put it back in the jar.
Eunuch Qin stepped forward and poured her a glass of warm water. Seeing that she seemed absent-minded, he couldn't help but ask, "Now that the matter of choosing an heir has been resolved, is there anything else on your mind?"
To everyone's surprise, Empress Dowager Zhuang gave him a deep look and abruptly said, "You've grown old."
Eunuch Qin was taken aback, then laughed and said, "This old servant is not a monster, how could I not be old?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang pursed her lips, as if to say that she was getting old too.
She swallowed her words and asked, "You and I entered the palace in the same year, didn't we?"
Eunuch Qin laughed and said, "Yes, but in the first few years, this old servant was not fortunate enough to serve by your side."
Empress Dowager Zhuang sighed, "You haven't taken in any godsons or anything? If I were to pass away, your pond full of little turtles wouldn't be able to truly take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days."
Suddenly, Eunuch Qin choked up: "Why have you been talking such nonsense lately?"
I am but a lowly eunuch, not worth your attention.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was not one to wallow in melancholy; she remained calm and asked, "How long has Xiao Shun been in Youzhou? Shouldn't he be returning to the capital by now?"
Eunuch Qin wiped away his tears and said, "Judging by the days, it's time to go back."
Empress Dowager Zhuang wanted to say something more, but hesitated and stopped herself.
...
Gu Xiaoshun went to Youzhou before the New Year. He got married three years ago. His wife was the daughter of a scholarly family chosen for him by his aunt. She lived in the capital and her ancestral home was in Youzhou. He went there for two reasons: first, to accompany his wife back to her hometown to pay respects to her ancestors; and second, to be entrusted by the Ministry of Works to go to Youzhou to help build a royal garden.
He took his wife to Qingquan Village.
He had long since severed ties with the Gu family, so he wasn't there to visit them, but rather to pay respects at the graves of his third uncle and aunt.
But as soon as he entered the village, he ran into his own mother, Liu.
Liu was fetching water at the village entrance. She looked much older, with a lot of gray hair in her forties. A dirty little girl was squatting next to her.
The little girl picked up something randomly from the ground and put it in her mouth. When she noticed, she immediately slapped the little girl's hand: "You put everything in your mouth! You'll eat yourself to death!"
The little girl started crying loudly, whether from pain or fright!
"All you do is eat and cry! What else can you do!" Liu cursed a few times, and the little girl cried even harder. Liu got so angry that she hit her several times.
Gu Xiaoshun couldn't help but recall that he had also spent his childhood being beaten and scolded by Liu.
Because he was mischievous and stubborn, Liu was particularly harsh with him.
If the child misbehaves, he will be given a few slaps, but he won't hold a grudge against Liu for it.
He felt disheartened by Liu because she never truly cared for him as her son.
Liu only valued Gu Ershun, who was smarter and better at pleasing people than him.
"Husband, what's wrong?" asked his wife, Chen Yun.
"It's nothing, let's go." Gu Xiaoshun helped his wife down from the carriage.
Liu spotted him immediately.
"Oh! Is that Xiao Shun?" Aunt Zhao, who had just come over carrying a basin of clothes, saw him and recognized him. Aunt Zhao was very surprised, "Oh my goodness! I almost didn't recognize him!"
Gu Xiaoshun has changed so much.
When he left the village, he was just a thirteen or fourteen-year-old hooligan who didn't even walk properly. Now, he is dressed in a brocade robe, with delicate features and a handsome and dashing appearance, clearly the young master of a noble family.
The woman beside him, wearing a veil, was elegant and graceful, and appeared to be the daughter of a wealthy family.
The villagers gathered around to watch.
Liu stared blankly at Gu Xiaoshun, and the bucket in her hand fell into the well with a thud.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
This man, who is even more noble than the county magistrate's son, is really her good-for-nothing son?
"Cough cough cough!" The accompanying guards were sent by the prefect, who was worried that Master Gu might encounter some misfortune on the road and wanted to protect the safety of the couple with utmost care.
He cleared his throat and said politely to the villagers, "Please don't push. Master Gu is back to pay respects at his family's graves. Please make way for him."
"What did you call him?" Liu asked as she walked over.
The guard didn't recognize her, assuming she was just an ordinary villager, and patiently explained, "Master Gu! Master Gu is a favorite of the imperial court! He's here in Youzhou on imperial orders to build his mansion!"
The imperial court... by imperial decree...
Liu nearly fainted.
If she had known Gu Xiaoshun would turn out so well, she shouldn't have sold him for twenty taels in the first place!
It should sell for two hundred taels... no, two thousand taels!
Wait, what is she selling?
Once he became an official, she became the official's mother!
That's right, she's the mother of an official...
She finally got her revenge...
"You brat, you finally know how to come back! You went to the capital and then ignored me and your father! You have no conscience!"
As she spoke, she lunged at Gu Xiaoshun.
But Gu Xiaoshun is no longer the submissive youngest son who used to be with her. She herself severed their mother-son relationship!
Gu Xiaoshun took a step back.
She missed her target.
The guard didn't know whether what Liu said was true or false, but he saw Master Gu's attitude very clearly, so he immediately blocked Liu's way.
Before long, Gu Changlu also arrived after hearing the news.
He saw Gu Xiaoshun as he was now and was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
The petty hoodlum whom the Gu family looked down upon most has transformed into a favorite of the imperial court.
He tried to speak to Gu Xiaoshun, but was also stopped by the accompanying guards.
"Daughter-in-law! Daughter-in-law! I am your father-in-law!" Seeing that Gu Xiaoshun refused to acknowledge him as her father, he hurriedly turned to Chen Yun for help.
Women are soft-hearted; as long as she pleads for him, Xiao Shun will definitely listen!
Chen Yun didn't turn around at all.
The Gu family has had a tough time these past few years. Old Master Gu passed away, leaving behind a mess, and the eldest and second branches of the family split up.
Gu Dashun's path to the imperial examinations was not smooth. When the news of Xiao Liulang becoming the top scholar reached the village, he was devastated and his performance in the examinations was worse than ever after. His family incurred a large debt to support his studies.
Although he later married the daughter of a rice merchant, his father-in-law's family stopped supporting him because he kept failing the exams.
He had no choice but to become a primary school teacher in the town. He was arrogant and impatient with his students. After being dismissed several times, no private schools wanted to hire him anymore.
The second wife had once dreamed of having Gu Ershun take the imperial examination, and she spent all twenty taels of silver she got from selling Gu Xiaoshun on Gu Ershun, only to have it all go down the drain.
"Xiao Shun! We're your own parents! You can't treat us like this! Is there no justice in this world?!"
"Aren't you afraid we'll take you to the authorities! A charge of filial impiety... let's see if you can still hold office!"
"Have you no laws? He's my son! My own son!"
Gu Xiaoshun pretended not to hear.
The villagers know the truth; everyone in the surrounding area knows that the second wife sold Xiao Shun. Tell me, where else would a child who has been sold come back to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days?
How utterly shameless!
Gu Xiaoshun didn't stay in the village long. He and his wife swept the graves of his third uncle and aunt, offered incense, and kowtowed on behalf of Gu Jiao, Xiao Heng, and Jingkong.
In fact, Gu Jiao's room always had the ancestral tablets of the third branch of the Gu family. They would worship them every year on the anniversary of their death, Qingming Festival, and New Year's Day. If she was away on a military campaign, Xiao Heng would also buy incense, candles, and paper money to worship her.
...
Gu Xiaoshun returned to Beijing in April.
As they approached the capital, Chen Yun suddenly fainted, and Gu Xiaoshun immediately sent someone to the capital to deliver the message.
Gu Changqing happened to be in Bishui Hutong: "I'll take you there."
Gu Jiao: "Okay."
The two went to the post station outside the south gate of the capital. Gu Jiao took Chen Yun's pulse, then smiled and said to Gu Xiaoshun, "Xiao Yun is pregnant. She got heatstroke because it was too stuffy in the carriage. She'll be fine after a rest."
Gu Xiaoshun was dumbfounded: "I...I...I'm going to be a father?"
This is their first child after three years of marriage.
The joy in his heart was beyond words.
When Chen Yun woke up and learned that she was pregnant, she was so excited that she almost cried.
After three years of marriage without children, she was filled with despair. Although no one in her family pressured her, she always hoped to have a child for her husband.
The group boarded the carriage.
Gu Changqing rode alone beside the carriage, silently protecting his younger sister inside, as well as his and his sister's family.
It was an ordinary afternoon, and even the weather in late spring was as monotonous as ever.
This was destined to be an ordinary day.
Suddenly, however, the carriage curtain was lifted.
Gu Changqing turned to look at his sister who had lifted the curtain and asked, "Is something the matter?"
Gu Jiao looked at him in the sunlight and smiled gently: "Brother."
Gu Changqing was struck to the core; the afternoon sunlight shone directly into his heart.
...
Meanwhile, the Enke exam for this year has also been completed.
When Zhuang Yuheng was exiled, he was actually stripped of his academic titles, but the emperor did not say that he was not allowed to take the imperial examinations again; he simply never appeared in the examination hall.
That's why Empress Dowager Zhuang understood that he himself didn't want to return to the capital.
But this year, he came to the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital and won first place in the palace examination in March.
He became the first of the three top scholars in the history of Zhao Kingdom to walk through the main gate of the palace and parade through the streets on horseback twice.
He went to Renshou Palace, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed deeply to Empress Dowager Zhuang. With his eyes lowered and tears streaming down his face, he said, "Aunt..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at Zhuang Yuheng, who was over thirty and emaciated, and beckoned him to come forward.
Zhuang Yuheng suppressed a sob and crawled up on his knees.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, clutching her handkerchief, punched him in the shoulder.
She pounded the fist again and again, her eyes reddening, her throat throbbing with pain: "You've only just come back...you've only just come back..."
...
In May, Xiao Heng handled a serious bribery case that implicated most of the Hanlin Academy.
While it is said that water that is too clear has no fish, everything must be done in moderation. The fact that more than half of the officials in the Hanlin Academy were involved is an extremely frightening thing.
When all the investigation results came out, Xiao Heng never expected that the mastermind behind it all would be the current Hanlin Academy scholar.
In the prison cell.
The Hanlin Academy scholar confessed to his crimes without reservation.
He accepted bribes, manipulated the examination for junior scholars, admitted low-scoring scholars to the Hanlin Academy, and fabricated qualifications and achievements for them in order to enter the Six Ministries.
In the interrogation room, Xiao Heng, dressed in a purple official robe, sat in a chair, looking at the Hanlin Academy scholar opposite him with a complicated expression: "Why?"
Ning Zhiyuan smiled bitterly: "Liu Lang, not everyone is born on a cloud. For someone like me, a nobody from a poor family, I don't know how much effort it takes to climb up step by step. I'm not afraid of hardship, but sometimes, hardship is useless. I know you want to say that you got to where you are today on your own merits. I admit that. No matter how the world misunderstands you, I always firmly believe that you relied on your own talent. But Liu Lang, I don't have your talent."
“I developed ambitions that did not match my abilities.”
"I...failed to stay true to myself."
Xiao Heng walked calmly out of the Ministry of Justice prison.
Many years ago, in a duty room in the Hanlin Academy, Ning Zhiyuan patted him on the shoulder and said with great ambition, "Don't look down on me because of my humble origins, lack of background and connections. I sometimes dream that one day I might climb up to the top... I don't need to climb too high, being a fifth-rank Hanlin Academician is my dream in this life!"
He clenched his fists, as if trying to force out all the contempt he had suffered along the way: "I'm thinking, when I have that day, when I take charge of the Hanlin Academy, I will never appoint people based on money, never appoint people based on relatives, never appoint people based on connections, never appoint people based on obedience, and never appoint people based on trouble!"
A thunderclap flashed, and the sky seemed to be torn open, with torrential rain pouring down.
He stared intently at the boundless rain, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
After a while, his eyes regained their firmness.
He opened his umbrella and walked resolutely into the rain.
...
Empress Dowager Zhuang's health has been fluctuating this year, sometimes better and sometimes worse.
She couldn't eat the candied fruit and small jujubes that Gu Jiao and the old priest had made for her.
I've accumulated a lot of them all at once.
Xuanyuan Xi sat at the head of her bed and said softly, "Grandma, please eat the candied fruit. Eat as much as you like. I won't tell Jiaojiao."
Empress Dowager Zhuang smiled and asked, "Where is my little granddaughter-in-law?"
Xuanyuan Xi's ears turned slightly red.
Empress Dowager Zhuang scoffed, "Just like your brother-in-law! Don't be like him! He's been married for so many years before he finally got to eat her!"
Xuanyuan Xi thought to himself, "I would never do that."
...
In August, Gu Jiao brought Xue Ningxiang and Gouwa from the countryside.
Gouwa is a year and a half younger than Jingkong, and he's fourteen this year—a handsome young man.
Empress Dowager Zhuang lay on the soft phoenix bed, gazing at the figure walking towards her in the light and shadow, and weakly asked, "Is that Xiangxiang?"
Xue Ningxiang knelt down with a thud, grasped her aunt's hand, and choked out, "It's me, Aunt, it's me..."
"Where is Gouwa?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked.
Gouwa stood right next to Xue Ningxiang, but her eyesight had deteriorated.
Xue Ningxiang's heart was breaking. She pulled her son over and said, "Gouwa! Quickly kowtow to the Empress Dowager!"
Gouwa knelt down and kowtowed three times to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
"Why are you kowtowing so much? You'll hurt the child." Empress Dowager Zhuang took out a piece of sesame candy that she had secretly kept under her pillow and handed it to him. "Gouwa, have some."
When Gouwa was little, his favorite food was sesame candy.
Xue Ningxiang covered her mouth and cried uncontrollably.
...
Gu Jiao moved into Renshou Palace with her three children.
"Don't be so noisy," Empress Dowager Zhuang would occasionally say to the three children. "Your Uncle Jingkong was so noisy when he was little."
The three little ones aren't quiet; they're just very quiet in front of her.
Even Xiao Yan, that little gossip, wisely suppressed her true nature and primal power.
Xiao Heng, Xuan Yuanxi, Gu Xiaoshun, Gu Yan, and Gu Xiaobao also visited her in the palace every day, and Gu Changqing and Gu Chengfeng also came over frequently.
It is worth mentioning that Gu Changqing and Yuan Baolin had a daughter, but Gu Changqing still believes that he is fulfilling his agreement.
Yuan Baolin told him, "A woman needs a son to rely on in order to live a peaceful life in her later years."
The single-minded Gu Changqing then began to fulfill his agreement to give Yuan Baolin a son.
Gu Jiao was truly shocked when she learned of this; she never expected Gu Changqing to be so stubborn.
She asked Yuan Baolin, "What if you have a son? How will you get him into bed?"
Yuan Baolin raised her chin and said, "Then I'll tell him that having only one son is too lonely. If something happens in the future, he won't have any brothers to support him. Look at you, you have five brothers!"
Gu Jiao silently gave a thumbs up.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was surrounded by people asking after her well-being, and she grumbled, "You're always coming and going, don't you have any important business to attend to?"
The old chief priest also came.
However, he always stayed there quietly without saying a word. Since Empress Dowager Zhuang was blind, she naturally did not know that he had come.
In the twelfth lunar month, Empress Dowager Zhuang's memory began to deteriorate, and she often called the wrong people.
He would call out "Jingkong" to Xiao Xuan, "Gu Yan" to Gu Xiaobao, and ask Gu Jiao where Xiao Shun had gone and whether Liu Lang had gone to the prefectural city for the exam again.
Listening to the snow outside the window, she said, "It's getting cold. Has Liulang brought enough clothes? The examination hall in Youzhou is cold, unlike the capital."
“I’ve brought enough,” Gu Jiao said. “Don’t worry, Auntie. Xiao Shun has gone to the academy for class.”
The aunt tugged at the silver note in her hand and touched Gu Jiao's hand: "Give it to him for me. He had a falling out with the Gu family and went to live at the academy. He's always hungry."
Gu Jiao accepted the silver note: "Okay, I'll go to town and get it for him later. Would you like some candied fruit? You can have as many as you want today..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Gu Jiao quietly lay down beside her, pulled her arms away, and gently buried her head in her arms.
...
On New Year's Eve, Xuanyuan Xi celebrated his sixteenth birthday, and Xiao Heng also turned thirty.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was in good spirits. She got up and ate six candied fruits in one go, which made Eunuch Qin very happy.
The birthday banquet was originally to be held at Renshou Palace, but Empress Dowager Zhuang wanted to play cards, so the family returned to Bishui Hutong instead.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, Aunt Liu, Granny Zhou, and Aunt Lu sat down at a table.
Ever since her great-aunt's eyesight deteriorated, Gu Jiao turned the leaf tiles into mahjong tiles, so that she could feel them by hand.
The old priest stood behind his aunt, obediently serving her tea and also handing over his personal savings.
Empress Dowager Zhuang raised an eyebrow and snorted, "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you lose less!"
The neighbors actually intended to give her some water, but they found it was completely unnecessary. Even in her current state, the old lady still dominates the entire Bishui Hutong.
The neighbors lost terribly.
Yao was making pastries in the kitchen when Princess Xinyang went to learn the craft from her.
Gu Xiaobao and Xiao Yi, two older kids, led a few younger kids to set off firecrackers in the alley.
Xuanyuan Xi didn't join in the fun. He moved a chair and sat behind Empress Dowager Zhuang, gently resting his delicate chin on her shoulder.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said with a look of disgust, "What's wrong? Why are you all sticky?"
“Yeah, it’s all sticky and gooey, little kid, get out of here.” Gu Yan came over and pushed Xuan Yuanxi aside, then leaned on her aunt’s shoulder.
Empress Dowager Zhuang exploded: "You're twenty-seven! What kind of talk is this! You haven't even found a wife! Xiao Shun's son is old enough to run errands!"
Little Shunbao, still in the womb: "...???"
Gu Yan clung to her and said, "Then you should talk to my mother and ask her to let me marry Yu Ya'er."
Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, "You're just talking nonsense."
These things depend on fate; how can everyone have their own way? At first, she only hoped he would survive, and he did, so she had nothing to complain about.
She shoved the tiles in front of her and shouted, "Self-draw! Win!"
...
In the afternoon, Empress Dowager Zhuang took a nap in her small room.
Xuanyuan Xi also lay down to keep his great-aunt company: "When I was little, didn't you especially want to sleep with me? You always dragged me to your room."
Empress Dowager Zhuang said coldly, "That's because I want a great-grandson!"
Xuanyuan Xi said, "I don't care, you just like me."
Empress Dowager Zhuang: ...Such a shameless person.
Xiao Ji, and that shy little monk of mine!
Xuanyuan Xi had only meant to tease his great-aunt, but he ended up falling asleep himself. When he woke up, it was already dark, and he called out to his great-aunt who was beside him.
His aunt didn't react, and he was so frightened that his face changed drastically: "Aunt!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang spoke calmly: "What's all the noise about? Did you think I was gone?"
Xuanyuan Xi hurriedly said, "That's not what I meant!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang said lazily, "Don't worry, today is New Year's Eve, I won't leave on New Year's Eve."
I won't turn your and Ah Heng's birthdays into my death anniversary. How sad would that be for you?
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family from Bishui Hutong went to the palace to pay their respects to her.
She took Gu Jiao's hand and asked Gu Jiao to take good care of Eunuch Qin.
...
Empress Dowager Zhuang passed away on the third day of the first lunar month.
She had been in good spirits for the past few days, and her memory was no longer confused, so everyone thought she was getting better. No one expected that she would fall asleep and never wake up again.
She passed away peacefully in her sleep.
She left no last words, but according to Eunuch Qin, she had taken out her collection of poems from before her marriage the night before.
Empress Dowager Zhuang held immense power for decades, and people only remember her ruthless and domineering methods, forgetting that she was once a gentle and refined young lady with a wealth of knowledge and natural elegance.
She dedicated her life to the Zhao Kingdom. She had countless opportunities to leave the royal family and live a carefree life outside.
But she didn't do that.
It was for the sake of the country and its people, and also so that the children would not be disgraced because of her.
The palace was a cage, imprisoning her for her entire life.
When the Empress Dowager passed away, according to ancestral custom, she should be buried in the imperial mausoleum, alongside the late emperor.
Xiao Heng submitted a memorial requesting that a separate mausoleum be built for Empress Dowager Zhuang.
It is not in the name of Empress Dowager Zhuang, but in the name of Zhuang Jinse.
She was imprisoned while alive, but she must be given freedom after death.
On the day the mausoleum was completed, Gu Jiao, Xiao Heng, Jing Kong, Gu Yan, Gu Xiaoshun, Gu Xiaobao, Gu Changqing, and Zhuang Yuheng came to help carry the coffin for their great-aunt.
My great-aunt did not leave any children in this world.
But they were all my great-aunt's children.
...
If there is an afterlife, I hope you will never again enter the royal family.
It seems like everyone's comments are asking for a spin-off of The Godfather and the First Aid Kit, so I'll try to write one.
Update times are uncertain.
(End of this chapter)
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