Nalan Hongye couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad. She stood alone, gazing at the endless blue waves and the silk flowers like mist. In the far distance is the sound of wind and string instruments from the Yile Palace. Beneath the scene of singing and dancing, there are dots of paleness covered by the rich splendor.
"Let's go to Qingzhi Palace."
In the evening, Xuan Mo left the palace. Aunt Yun and the palace maids brought the meal that had been prepared long ago. Nalan Hongye had a poor appetite and only ate a few bites.
Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps outside the door. The person seemed to be running, panting and shouting, "Your Highness! Your Highness, something's wrong!"
"What happened?" Nalan Hongye raised his eyebrows.
Aunt Yun went out in a hurry to inquire, but before she could open her mouth, the eunuch ran in directly, his face covered with tears. He knelt on the ground and cried loudly, "Your Highness, it's bad! The Emperor just climbed onto the roof of Yile Palace to play and accidentally fell down!" The setting sun's afterglow dyed the palace with a layer of blood. The palace was heavily guarded, with patrols and checkpoints everywhere. The palace gates were all closed, and no one was allowed to come in or out. Most of the important officials in the court had already arrived, and they were kneeling on the ground in a black mass. Those drooped heads raised one after another when she came in, with different looks, blending together with the cold sunset outside the hall. Awe, fear, suspicion, disdain, anger, forbearance, everything was revealed in that quick glance, and then they calmed down and lowered their heads again.
Nalan Hongye was wearing a dark purple satin shirt with gold and silver cloud patterns. Her delicate and elegant stand-up collar was embroidered with large and intricate roses, which made her neck look even more slender and white, and her face look extremely dignified. She walked step by step in the Mo Ji Palace, surrounded by a cold and murderous air. Prince Jinjiang was standing at the forefront of the courtiers. When he saw her, he hurriedly took two steps forward, but was pushed by a young man in a dark blue python robe and nearly fell down.
Xuan Mo's eyes were filled with anxiety. He completely ignored the angry look of King Jinjiang behind him. He rushed forward a few steps, but hesitated to speak.
"How is the emperor?" Nalan Hongye said in a deep voice, his expression very calm, without any sign of weakness or fluctuation.
The inquiring eyes coming from all directions immediately revealed a hint of disappointment. Xuan Mo shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The imperial physician said that there is no hope of saving him. Princess, please go in and take a look."
In an instant, her heart, which had been hanging all the way, suddenly fell, but unfortunately it did not fall far away. Every pair of eyes looked at her with sharp thorns. Nalan Hongye suddenly remembered the night her father passed away many years ago. It was still the Mo Ji Palace, the same court dress and gaze, the same slanting rain, and it was cold all around. Breathing was still difficult, but she still breathed in slowly, and then swallowed, swallowed, swallowing all the emotions one by one into her already aching mind.
She walked slowly past the crowd, the palace maids on both sides lifted the curtains, and she walked into the magnificent bedroom alone.
The golden light stung her eyes, and she pursed her lips as she walked through the heavy curtains. It was so hot in the hall that it was hard to breathe. Her brother was lying on the large dragon bed. His face was pale, but his eyes were surprisingly bright. He lay flat on his back with sunken eye sockets, dark cheeks, chapped lips, and bright red blood on his head.
Her eyes suddenly felt so hot, but Nalan Hongye stopped crying. There were unpredictable looks from all directions. Her hands were trembling slightly. She wanted to reach out, but she didn't know where to touch. She could only call him softly, "Yu'er?"
The emperor heard the voice and slowly turned his head. When he saw her for the first time, he shrank back and was afraid. His voice was so hoarse, but he was still trying to explain: "Imperial sister, I... I haven't finished writing yet..."
His eyes were hot and he almost cried. Nalan Hongye sat beside the bed, put her hand on his shoulder, and said softly, "Don't write anymore. My sister will never punish you again."
"Really?" The young emperor's eyes suddenly glowed with a strong brilliance. He asked happily, like a healthy person, "Really, sister?"
In a trance, Nalan Hongye recalled the moment when her father passed away many years ago. Her heart was filled with coldness. She pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes, my sister keeps her word."
"That's great!" The emperor lay back down, staring blankly at the curtains on the top of the bed. There were layers of them, embroidered with golden dragons with ferocious claws, like a man-eating monster.
"That's great, then I can... can..." In the end, he didn't say what he could. The emperor's eyes looked strange, as if he had never had such a bright gaze in his life.
He stretched his neck straight, his face flushed with excitement. He grabbed Nalan Hongye's hand tightly and wanted to say something, but it was as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat. He could only make broken sounds and could not utter a word.
The imperial doctors rushed forward immediately. A crowd of people swayed before their eyes. The young eunuch who had been with the emperor since childhood knelt on the ground crying and shouted, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"What does the emperor want to say?" Nalan Hongye turned his head suddenly, his eyes slightly red, and said to the young eunuch, "Do you know?"
"Princess..." The young eunuch knelt on the ground, seemingly frightened, and answered irrelevantly with tears, "The emperor climbed to the roof of Yile Palace, saying that he wanted to see what the outside of the palace looked like. The emperor said that he had never been out. The emperor... the emperor..."
Sadness overflowed from my chest, like cold snow, flowing through my body. The imperial doctors were in a panic. Nalan Hongyu's face was red as he kept repeating hoarsely, "Yes... yes..."
Nalan Hongye grabbed the emperor's hand and said, "Yu'er, when you recover, I will take you out of the palace!"
A glimmer of joy suddenly flashed across the emperor's eyes. He closed his mouth and looked at his sister with bright and clear eyes, like a child who has not grown up yet.
Suddenly, the hand that was pulling Nalan Hongye's sleeve loosened, his breathing stopped, and his head fell heavily with a dull sound.
"emperor!"
"Your Majesty!"
A huge wailing sound suddenly rang out inside and outside the palace, and the long funeral bells rang throughout the entire palace. The setting sun obscured the last ray of light, and the earth fell into darkness. The pale lanterns were hung up and cries were heard everywhere, but no one could tell how many of them were true and how many were false.
"The emperor has passed away--" the eunuchs' shrill and long voice of farewell sounded. Nalan Hongye stood outside the crowd. In front of him were a large number of old ministers who were crying and shouting. They were divided into various factions, and they gathered together in a clear and distinct manner and cried out loudly. There were so many people, but she still felt the hall was empty. The sun set and the white moon rose. The pale light shone through the open window onto her thin back, like icy snow, so cold and so biting.
The Song Emperor died of great grief, and the whole country was in sorrow. No marriage was allowed for a month, and everyone wore plain clothes to mourn for this rare and kind-hearted monarch. The cold wind blew the mugwort. Just as the war in the northwest was about to break out, the Song Dynasty was in danger of death. The military exercises that were originally assembled on the border to help Yanbei contain the troops of Daxia were also forced to stop. The country of Song was filled with gloom and sorrow.
After Emperor Mingren passed away, Nalan Hongye read out the imperial edict, and the eldest son of the previous emperor, Nalan Heqing, ascended the throne and changed the reign title to Mingde.
However, on the night the emperor died, Nalan Hongye fell seriously ill. Years of hard work were like a sudden fire that burned her entire mind and soul. The moment he stepped out of Mo Ji Palace, a fishy and sweet taste of blood rushed to his throat and he almost vomited it out. She staggered slightly, and Aunt Yun hurried forward to hold her arm. Surrounded by astonished and confused officials from the court, she knew that she could not spit out the blood, so she swallowed it hard and pushed Aunt Yun's hand away calmly.
There is no one left in the Nalan lineage. Now, except for her sick mother, her young sister, and her nephew who is less than one year old, she is the only one left. The majestic genealogy of the Nalan family and the vast land once again fell on her shoulders alone. Therefore, she could not fall down, could not be weak, and could not even cry. If she fell down, the thousand-year foundation of the Nalan family would collapse.
She straightened her back, read the will in a measured manner, gave instructions for the funeral arrangements, calmed people's hearts, and then returned to her own bedroom, sitting quietly by lamplight all night. The candle shed tears silently, and her eyes gradually became empty and cold, but no tears flowed out.
The emperor's funeral arrangements were all handed over to Prince An Ling and Xuan Mo and his son. On the second day, officials from various local garrisons sent people to the capital to pay their respects. Nalan Hongye sits in the center palace and coordinates everything. Although the emperor had passed away, the crown prince had been appointed and the pillar of the country, Princess Nalan, was still there, so no major changes had taken place.
On the second day, Nalan Hongye led people to the bedroom of Queen Cui, intending to take the new emperor to the Taimiao. However, before they stepped into the bedroom, they saw a sharp knife coming towards them.
With a swish, Xuan Mo drew out his sword, split the sharp blade, and blocked in front of Nalan Hongye. The guards around were all shocked, and someone shouted "There is an assassin".
Just as he was about to rush into the bedroom, he suddenly heard the queen's shrill voice, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Cui Wanru rushed out with disheveled hair, holding the child in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Her eyes were red and she shouted in a hoarse voice: "You bitch! You killed the emperor and now you want to kill my child! I will kill you! I will kill you!"
Nalan Hongye's face turned pale, but her lips were tightly pursed. Aunt Yun saw this and quickly shouted, "Empress, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm not talking nonsense! I know everything!" Cui Wanru sneered, "You are such an ambitious woman. You wanted to be the emperor, so you killed the emperor. Now you want to kill my child. I won't let you succeed!"
Nalan Hongye suddenly felt very tired. The sun was so dazzling and everywhere was filled with angry curses. She turned around coldly and said calmly, "The queen is inconvenient and can no longer take good care of the emperor. Take the emperor away."
Xuan Mo replied respectfully: "Yes, what about the queen?"
The emperor had just died, and the government was unstable. Cui Wanru's father was the Grand Commandant of the dynasty. If she became the Queen Mother to assist in the administration, the power of the foreign relatives would rise immediately. Moreover, Grand Commandant Cui was the teacher of Prince Jinjiang...
"The queen is very righteous and vows to follow the late emperor. I will give her poisoned wine and white silk. You can send her off!"
The sunlight was dazzling, but large dark clouds were floating in from the northwest. The cursing behind him became louder. Nalan Hongye looked up and thought to himself, it's going to rain. He forced himself to deal with the affairs of the previous dynasty, and when he returned from the front hall, it was already late at night. Xuan Mo walked last, and he hesitated to speak several times, but finally sighed helplessly. Before leaving, he reminded: "The dead cannot be resurrected, Princess, please mourn for yourself, and don't be sad and hurt yourself."
Nalan Hongye nodded and replied in a businesslike manner: "Thank you for your hard work, King Xuan."
Xuan Mo didn't answer, but just looked at her quietly. Nalan Hongye raised his head, but saw that his face looked a little more desolate and sad. He was no longer as young, lively, cheerful and unrestrained as he used to be. Time had passed by them, and everyone had changed after all.