With Yinzuo's company, the Empress Dowager was in a very good mood even though she was drinking bitter medicine. However, when she fell asleep, Yinzuo always heard her calling someone's name.
At this time, Concubine De just walked in with Kangxi.
Kangxi patted his son's shoulder and said, "Xiao Liu, since the Empress Dowager has fallen asleep, you should go out and rest for a while. Let your mother accompany you to eat something. I will watch over you here."
Yinzuo nodded, stood up and followed his mother out.
Not long after Yinzuo left, the Empress Dowager woke up.
"Why is the Emperor here again? Didn't he tell you to take a rest?" The Empress Dowager seemed to be in good spirits.
"Take a break, take a break. Your grandson wants to accompany you more. Ma'am, do you still think your grandson is annoying?" Kangxi chatted with the Empress Dowager as he did when he was a child.
"You are already thirty years old, why are you still acting like a kid? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by me?"
"This is not the only time I've made a fool of myself in front of Mama."
"Yes, when you were little, you were naughty! You loved to make trouble, didn't study hard with your teachers, and even chased me to ask where your mother, Emperor Armageni, and the others had gone?"
Having said this, both the grandfather and grandson fell silent.
"I know my own body condition well. It's time for me to go. Xuanye, don't be too sad. Everyone will die one day. I'm already seventy-five years old this year, which is longer than most people in this world. I've experienced countless things in my life. It's not in vain that I came to this world.
You granted amnesty to the world for my sake, went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices in person, and even said that you were willing to shorten your own life in exchange for my longevity. I know all this. You are a filial and good child, and even a good emperor, better than Fulin!
The coffin of Emperor Taizong Wen has been in state for a long time, so it cannot be moved lightly. I am also thinking about Fulin and you, and I don’t want to be too far away, so after I die, I will choose an auspicious place to bury you near the Xiaoling Mausoleum. "
On the other side, Concubine De took Yinzuo to the next room, where some food was placed on the table. Although it was light, it was obvious that it was prepared according to Yinzuo's taste.
"Mother cares about me the most and knows that I like to eat these." Yinzuo said with a smile as he looked at the dishes in front of him.
"Eat quickly. You must be tired from taking care of the Grand Empress Dowager. Mother saw that the Grand Empress Dowager was very happy and in high spirits."
Yinzuo was indeed extremely hungry. He stuffed food into his mouth in big mouthfuls and even choked accidentally.
Defei quickly poured him a glass of water, watched him drink it and patted his back gently.
"You are still so careless. I don't know when mother will be able to trust you completely."
"I will be my mother's child all my life, so she will naturally always care about me~" When Yinzuo said this, his smile suddenly stopped.
"Mother, is Fulin the name of the Emperor Shengzu?"
Concubine De was so frightened that she covered his mouth with her hand and looked around. Fortunately, there was no one else there except Aunt Qing who was serving her.
"Why are you asking this? How can you address the late emperor by name? If your royal father knew about this, he would definitely punish you severely!"
Yinzuo took his mother's hand away, sighed and said, "After Ukuma fell asleep just now, she kept repeating this name. It seems that she misses her son very much."
De Fei took her handkerchief from her lapel, covered her mouth and whispered, "After ten months of pregnancy and one day of childbirth, you took great pains to raise your child for more than twenty years, but in the end, mother and child are separated and you have to send your son away with your old age. Which mother wouldn't be heartbroken? But you must remember not to mention the late emperor in front of your father."
"I understand." Yinzuo nodded thoughtfully and agreed.
"The Empress Dowager has passed away!" A report suddenly came from the bedroom. Yinzuo stood up suddenly and smashed the food bowl in front of him.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Defei nervously checked Yinzuo's whole body.
Yinzuo held onto his mother's arms and explained softly, "Mother, I'm fine. Please go in quickly. I'll go find my brother, the crown prince."
Concubine De nodded and said, "Okay! Then you should be careful!"
Yinzuo ran outside and grabbed a passing eunuch and asked, "Where is the prince?"
"He's outside!" The eunuch was shocked.
Yinzuo finally found the prince at the gate of Cining Palace. As soon as he saw the prince, he pulled him in.
As he ran, he said, "Brother Prince, please come in with me. Ukuma Ma has passed away."
Coincidentally, snowflakes began to fall from the sky at this time, as if God was also feeling sad for such a legendary figure throughout his life.
The palace was hung with white cloth, everyone changed into plain white linen clothes, and the entire Forbidden City was filled with wailing.
It was also the first time that Yinzuo saw the emperor crying in public. As the saying goes, men don't shed tears easily, but they do when they are sad. However, such a decisive and majestic emperor was crying like an ordinary grandson who lost his grandmother.
"Bring the dagger. I want to cut my braid and mourn for the Empress Dowager." Kangxi's voice was hoarse due to his inner grief.
Liang Jiugong knelt down quickly.
"Your Majesty! You are the Son of Heaven! Your dragon body is so noble! You can't do this!"
The Empress Dowager tried to persuade him, "Emperor, the Grand Empress Dowager has already ordered that if she becomes seriously ill, you must not cut your braids!"
The Imperial Noble Consort also led all the concubines to kneel down.
"Your Majesty, even if you are sad for the Empress Dowager, you cannot ignore yourself! Please think twice!"
The Crown Prince also knelt down with the other princes and princesses.
The royal family, led by Prince Yu and Prince Gong, also tried their best to stop it.
"According to the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's queue is not cut after his death! Your Majesty!"
However, Kangxi did not listen. Instead, he insisted on going into the bedroom to find a pair of scissors, cut off a piece of his braid, and placed it on the Empress Dowager's spirit table. In addition, he insisted on mourning for the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace. He refused to eat or drink for several days, and finally vomited blood and fainted. Everyone was in chaos.
After waking up, he completely ignored what his ministers had said in their memorials that "funerals within the year should not be announced", and placed the coffin of the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace. It was not until the eleventh day of the first lunar month of the following year that it was moved to the funeral palace outside Chaoyang Gate. When the palace was moved, he insisted on walking there personally.
Yinzuo, who was following behind, saw clearly that after more than two months of taking care of Kangxi and mourning, Kangxi had lost a lot of weight. He was in a daze and looked out of his body, and the grief in his eyes was still strong.
For Huang's father, Ukumama is not only his mama, but also a special and important character that is a combination of his parents. She is the guide of his entire life.
Kangxi was deeply immersed in the grief over the death of the Grand Empress Dowager and was unable to extricate himself. A palace maid serving in the imperial court wanted to take the opportunity to curry favor with him and pretended to mention the Grand Empress Dowager in order to comfort Kangxi.
Kangxi was furious and ordered his men to drag him out and beat him to death on the spot.
From then on, the Grand Empress Dowager became a taboo in the harem. No one was allowed to mention her on their own initiative, lest the emperor be sad. Even the emperor himself was unwilling to pass by the Cining Palace where the Grand Empress Dowager lived during her lifetime, and was even unwilling to enter and exit from the Longzong Gate, which was opposite the Cining Palace.
Even if everyone wanted to comfort him, they did not dare to speak casually until the fifth day of the second month. On this day, Kangxi suddenly asked Liang Jiugong: "Is today the fifth day of the second month?"
"That's right!" Liang Jiugong replied quickly.
"It's Xiaoliu's birthday, right?"
Kangxi did not wait for Liang Jiugong to speak, and said to himself: "It is also the day when Emperor Shizu passed away. Isn't it a coincidence?"
Liang Jiugong was worried about the Sixth Prince, fearing that the Emperor would be unhappy and vent his anger on the innocent Sixth Prince.
"It does seem like a coincidence, but the late emperor passed away many years before the Sixth Prince was born, so there may not be any connection between the two." Liang Jiugong could only do his best to say this on behalf of the Sixth Prince, and he was afraid that he could not do anything more.
"Yes, before the Empress Dowager passed away, she said that Xiaoliu's personality was most similar to that of the late emperor, and asked me not to restrict him."
Liang Jiugong's heart beat very fast when he suddenly learned of such secrets, but he was also certain that the Sixth Prince would be fine and would be honored and favored continuously in the future!
"Since he is still in mourning for the Empress Dowager, it is not a good idea to make it public. Hold a birthday party for him. Call him to my bedroom in the evening and find the key to the flower garden that the Empress Dowager loved most when she was alive.
Xiaoliu, like the Grand Empress Dowager, is a person who loves to take care of flowers and plants. I still remember that Xiaoliu gave the Grand Empress Dowager a pot of daylilies a few years ago. Daylilies are used to praise mothers. They are destined to be together, so it is no wonder that the Grand Empress Dowager favors him. "
"Hmm!"
Due to the death of the Empress Dowager, the atmosphere in the palace was very depressing and no one dared to make a mistake, let alone in the study room inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity. After school, everyone was not laughing and joking as freely as usual, which made the Emperor unhappy.
Unexpectedly, before everyone left, Liang Jiugong, the emperor's personal steward, walked in.
"Greetings to the prince and all the brothers."
The prince smiled and said, "Why is Chief Steward Liang here now? What does the Emperor want?"
"In reply to the Crown Prince, the Emperor invites the Sixth Prince to come over. Please come with me."
The prince turned his head and glanced at Yinzuo behind him, and found that the little guy was also at a loss and didn't know the reason.
"Butler Liang, why did the Emperor suddenly want to look for Xiaoliu? What's the matter? Butler Liang, please reveal a little so that I can have an idea." The prince asked in a low voice.
Liang Jiugong simply said: "Please rest assured, Prince, this is a good thing."
I won’t say any more.
This sentence was not deliberately lowered, and almost everyone heard it. Yinzhen held Yinzuo's hand tightly. Not long ago, palace maids and ministers had met with accidents, either losing their lives or being demoted. The emperor was in a state of uncertainty, so how could he be at ease?
"Brother, I'm fine. Today is my birthday. Maybe the emperor wants to celebrate for me." Yinzuo smiled and comforted his brother.
Yinzhen was thinking: How can it be that simple? Even in previous years, the emperor only gave some gifts and never called anyone to him. Moreover, at this critical moment, it was not a good thing to show up in front of the emperor. If you were not careful, you might be punished and reprimanded.
"Manager Liang, did the Emperor only summon Xiaoliu?" Yinzhen couldn't help but confirm it again.
"I dare not speak nonsense. Please follow me quickly, Sixth Prince, and don't delay." Liang Jiugong replied with a slight bow.
"Okay, I'll go with you, Manager Liang, right away." Yinzuo let go of his brother's hand and took the initiative to step forward.
Everyone stared at his back nervously, as if he was not going to the emperor's bedroom, but rather to the execution ground.
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Sending off Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang
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