Even with the highest position of power, it was a cold and lonely place. Even those who wished to mourn for the Empress Dowager were forced to follow ancestral rituals and wail loudly. But as they wept, their grief flowed out with their tears, falling onto the cold, stone-blue palace bricks, cooling and dissipating like drifting clouds, unable to gather again.
Yan Ning was still reeling from what had happened before the Empress Dowager's death. She knelt blankly before the old lady, neither shedding tears nor uttering a sound.
The tear stains on her face had dried, forming thin scabs, and her white mourning clothes made her look pale and weak.
The old lady knew what she had seen and heard in the Empress Dowager's palace, which was why she acted this way. However, her rudeness was a breach of etiquette for the Fucha family.
The old lady lowered her voice and reminded Yan Ning in shallow words that only the two of them could hear, "If you can't cry, then when the entire Fucha family loses its life because of you, you'll have nowhere to cry!"
Yan Ning looked at the old lady, who was also dressed in white mourning clothes, and then looked around at the wives and noblewomen all dressed in white mourning clothes.
She knew that a breach of etiquette towards the royal family would have far-reaching consequences. The eldest prince, Yonghuang, and the third prince, Yongzhang, were disqualified from inheriting the throne because they did not show enough grief at Empress Fucha's funeral.
Even a blood relative as close as his own son could be treated so coldly by the Emperor in his grief. Now that it is the Empress Dowager who has passed away, if she were to be disrespectful, it would implicate the entire Fucha family and the Su family. In a daze, Yan Ning vaguely heard the Emperor's cold voice summoning Fu Kang'an back to the capital, but it didn't seem real.
She was somewhat terrified. All the fright she had suffered in the Empress Dowager's bedchamber turned into resentment. She disobeyed the eunuch in charge and began to cry mournfully.
Kneeling before Yan Ning were the wives of the Prince and the Prince. As they grieved in silence, a mournful sound, like the zither's mournful cry, echoed behind them. Unconsciously, she quietly turned her head to take a look.
They sighed inwardly, "The voice is like a person, but the person surpasses the voice." The same white mourning clothes, worn by Yan Ning, resembled peach and apricot petals scattered on a willow branch, her every movement like white butterflies fluttering in the wind. If it weren't for Yan Ning's protruding belly, she truly would have been a white butterfly, fragrant with peach and apricot blossoms, drifting down from the white mourning clothes.
No wonder Master Fu dotes on her so much; with such a gentle demeanor and stunning beauty, anyone who sees her would be captivated.
It was common knowledge throughout the capital that the Third Master Fu of the Fucha family was favored by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. He was transferred to the position of General of Jilin, and even the Empress Dowager wanted to see his wife before her death. With such great favor, they were able to dispel their doubts about Yan Ning's rudeness, assuming that she was simply overwhelmed with grief over the Empress Dowager's passing.
Yongyan's wife, Lady Hitara, couldn't help but glance at Yan Ning a few more times. She had seen this face many times in portraits, and today she was seeing the real person. The grief she felt for herself far outweighed the white banners and mourning clothes and the Empress Dowager's memorial tablet that she could see when she looked up.
The head eunuch followed the sound to Yan Ning's location, and was so moved by her cries that he couldn't bring himself to scold her.
From dawn to dusk, a day and night have passed.
Before the loud wailing, the head eunuch granted the wives of the princes and the ladies of the officials in the capital a moment's rest. Perhaps they were tired from crying, for their sobs gradually subsided. The hall fell silent, and Yan Ning's soft weeping sounded particularly melodious and sorrowful.
No one tried to comfort her; she was left to weep. They sighed inwardly at the depth of her affection for the Empress Dowager, an affection they could never hope to match.
Even a prince's wife cannot freely enter the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager without being summoned by the Empress Dowager or receiving an imperial decree. Unlike Yan Ning, who was once embraced by the Empress Dowager and served her closely. This honor is something they cannot obtain by begging.
Heshen, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, glanced at Yan Ning when he came to report to the Emperor. Yan Ning, her eyes brimming with tears, looked at him with a puzzled expression. By the candlelight behind him, Yan Ning saw his eyes narrow and reveal a murderous glint, and he nodded to her.
Yan Ning's sobs stopped abruptly, and her thoughts, which had been in turmoil for a day and a night, began to clear.
Eunuch Lin had already been bribed, either by the Fifteenth Prince or Heshen. Perhaps the initial intention behind the bribe wasn't for her. Given Heshen's meticulous nature, he probably already made this move long ago. When the Emperor faces his mother, he will inevitably occasionally reveal his innermost thoughts.
How could Heshen miss such a golden opportunity to fathom the Emperor's intentions? There must have been someone planted by Heshen's side long ago. Otherwise, how could Heshen, with his suspicious nature, have so easily believed her cryptic remark implying Yongyan was the Crown Prince? Thinking about it this way, did Heshen also already know about Fukang'an's relationship with the Emperor?
If he finds out, what will be the consequences? How will he restrain Fukang'an? He is Yongyan's man; will he help Yongyan deal with Fukang'an? Or will he incite Fukang'an to seize power?
His thoughts were so meticulous that Yan Ning dared not imagine what the outcome would be.
In this imperial city, too many people harbor their own ambitions. Yet, beneath these hidden thoughts, they orchestrate schemes for others. Those who set these plans are patient enough to wait; the scheme may last a year, two years, or even more than a decade.
Wasn't the Empress Dowager also the one who, after failing to poison Fukang'an back then, waited for more than ten years, constantly seeking opportunities to control him?
The old lady also channeled all her dissatisfaction with the Empress Dowager into cultivating Fukang'an, waiting for more than twenty years for her son to bring her glory.
When Fukang'an first learned of Wuchun's pregnancy, he secretly devised a plan for the Empress Dowager, saving her two children and turning the tide in her situation of not being valued.
Yan Ning felt that everything she had experienced in the Empress Dowager's palace had given her a deeper understanding of everything in the imperial city, and this understanding was followed by a deep fear.
She felt a wave of dizziness, and heard the old lady's hoarse, low-pitched exclamation.
"Yan Ning, wake up!"
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