Chapter 194: Let the Emperor Marry

Unfortunately, the Fourteenth Master was infected with an epidemic. When the news reached the capital, the Emperor immediately sent the imperial physician to treat him as quickly as possible, but he was still one step too late.

The person is gone.

Because the Queen Mother was not in good health before the epidemic, the Emperor did not tell her the news.

Of course, there are many gossipy people in the palace, and some news cannot be kept secret.

The concubines were speculating on the reason why the Queen Mother's condition suddenly worsened, and the Queen glanced at Concubine Duan.

Concubine Duan lowered her head, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, and at the same time wiping away the coldness in her eyes.

She does not regret what she did.

Back then, one of them, mother and son, planned and the other drugged, but they tricked themselves into taking it.

Killing two birds with one stone, they not only killed the hidden danger that made them afraid, but also successfully separated the two generals' families.

It's just killing someone with a borrowed knife, isn't it that difficult?

They will, and so will I.

There was no problem with the scriptures she copied by hand that day, but the silk threads of the Wanshou Tu had been soaked in medicine.

Concubine Duan knew that the Queen Mother was a cautious person, and a picture with the word "longevity" was not something she would treasure in her bedroom.

But if it’s given by my youngest son, it’s different.

So when she was embroidering it, she specially embedded the longevity lock in it so that when the empress dowager lay in bed, she could see the object and think of him.

It was a chilly spring day, and a charcoal basin was burning in the hall. When the heat was turned on, poisonous gas spread - this was not a serious poison, and it had no effect on healthy people, so there was no need to worry about investigation.

But if you already have a disease and are weak...if you stay like this for a long time, the situation will only get worse.

The Empress Dowager is old, so it may not be a bad thing for her to suffer less for two years.

Didn't she always miss her little son?

Wouldn’t it be nice if mother and son could be reunited sooner?

In the palace.

The emperor listened to the empress dowager talking about her youth, and recalled his own childhood, on that rainy day, when the Empress Dowager held Longkodo in her arms.

My heart is filled with humiliation.

He also remembered that Shilan said that in her previous life, the queen mother only wanted to see her youngest son before her death, and she also cursed her.

The mother and son were about to be separated, but they didn't seem to be that sad.

The Emperor waited for the Queen Mother to say the expected words.

The Queen Mother regained consciousness a little, but she was still too weak and could only squint her eyes. She held the Emperor's hand and whispered:

"It's my mother who is sorry for you..."

Shouldn't I end up with "no relatives recognizing me and being separated from my flesh and blood"?

How did it become an apology?

The emperor thought he had heard wrongly, but the empress dowager repeated everything she had just said.

"It's my mother who is sorry for you..."

The emperor's eyes were filled with emotion, but he immediately realized that the Empress Dowager was sick and confused, and mistook herself for the Fourteenth Prince.

"Mother shouldn't be so partial to the Fourteenth Prince and neglect you... The Emperor reprimanded you... You were sick a few days ago, and I wanted to go see you..."

The empress dowager was in the past and present at the same time, and sounded extremely confused, but when she called out the emperor's childhood name, she became very clear-headed.

The emperor's tears suddenly welled up. He wanted to call out "Empress Dowager", but something seemed to be choking his throat.

"It's all my mother's fault... If it weren't for my mother, you two brothers wouldn't have turned against each other... Old Fourteen wouldn't have helped others and become an enemy of your own brother..."

"...I can't make up for it in this lifetime...Don't blame my mother..."

Tears gathered at the bridge of his nose. The empress dowager covered his eyes with her other hand and said something. The emperor felt as if struck by lightning in his head.

"Your Majesty." The emperor's Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed down his surging emotions. "Madam Empress, what did you say?"

"My mother's biggest regret in life..."

The emperor leaned forward to listen.

"...I haven't been able to comfort you properly..."

"Go to sleep quickly, so you can grow up. When you grow up, you can draw the bow and make it sound..."

The Empress Dowager raised her hand tenuously, then slowly lowered it, so gently, across time and space, onto the back of the young emperor.

Before the mother finished singing the song, the son burst into tears.

The Queen Mother said very weakly, "You brothers must take care of yourself," and then she could never raise her hand again.

The maternal love he had sought all his life was fulfilled at this moment.

But he no longer has a mother.

The emperor stood up and knelt in front of the bed, knocking his forehead on the cold ground.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, he called out "Madam Empress" and sent the Queen Mother away.

The Empress Dowager's last confession made the Emperor feel even more guilty about the death of his fourteenth brother. He could no longer fulfill the Empress Dowager's last wish and get along well with his younger brother.

But the emperor was still too confident and did not expect that the empress dowager could also hear Nian Shilan's thoughts.

Otherwise, with his suspicious mind, he would definitely be able to guess something.

The Queen Mother knew that in her previous life she had grabbed the Emperor's hand and begged him to let her see her youngest son before she died, but her wish was unsuccessful.

How could a person who had been biased all his life repent when he learned of his youngest son's death at the end of his life?

Of course she could guess who did it, but she could no longer pursue the matter.

Scolding him will not help, begging him will be of no use.

It would be better to do the opposite, as he wished, and not mention the late Old Fourteenth at all. His last words would surely make him live in regret for the rest of his life!

Only in this way can she protect the descendants of her youngest son.

These truths were buried by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would never know them again.

The Queen Mother passed away, and many things needed to be dealt with.

Among them, the embroidery with the picture of longevity that the emperor personally presented was burned along with some of his personal belongings.

The emperor was moved again, thinking that his mother was thinking of him.

Concubine Duan looked at the evidence that turned to ashes in the fire with an expressionless face. However, the Empress glanced at her intentionally when she left.

After the epidemic, the emperor's health had deteriorated greatly. During the empress dowager's funeral, he fainted several times due to grief. As summer passed, the emperor's health deteriorated even further.

Meng Jingxian has been staying in Shoukang Palace since the first month of the year. She learned from the empress dowager that it was the imperial concubine who pushed for the marriage between Prince Cheng and Yujing, and she also hated the imperial concubine.

She did think about obeying the Queen Mother's wishes and entering the palace as a concubine.

But after what happened to Concubine Xi, she immediately came to her senses.

The water in the harem is too deep!

If I marry Prince Guo, I will be a concubine. If my family members can come to the palace from time to time to help me, I may be promoted to the principal wife in the future. However, everyone in the harem is shrewd and has his or her own plans.

Forget about the position of Empress. She was afraid that she would be stabbed by an arrow from nowhere before she could even make a move.

As for the Emperor and the Concubine?

Forget it. I'm afraid my physique can't withstand the Royal Concubine's gun.

Since she couldn't marry the man she loved, she really didn't want to settle for anyone else.

After the Queen Mother passed away, Meng Jingxian volunteered to observe mourning for her.

The emperor, grateful for her filial piety, gave her the honorary title of princess and made her the empress dowager's adopted daughter. She was buried along with the empress dowager's coffin from the funeral palace to the underground palace of the mausoleum.

When the Queen Mother passes away, we need to observe mourning for three years.

According to the rules, close relatives of the royal family were not allowed to marry within three years, and distant relatives of the royal family and princes and ministers in the capital were not allowed to marry within one year.

No music or banquets are allowed throughout the country for three years.

The wedding date originally scheduled for Prince Guo and Yu Jing had to be postponed, but the two of them are now outside the palace, so they have many opportunities to meet.

If the feelings are deep, then you are not afraid of waiting for a few more years.

Nian Shilan felt a little regretful that she could not hold a grand first birthday party for her two children.

Not only the New Year's Eve banquet of the Hong Zhao Xi Dynasty, but also the festivals in the past two years were not allowed to have singing, dancing and music, so the New Year celebrations were meaningless.

On the first New Year's Day after the death, the emperor ordered as usual that everything be kept simple.

The first month of the seventh year of the Emperor's reign.

The concubines came to pay their respects to the empress and were just muttering to themselves that the emperor was stingy when the emperor came over.

"The Emperor has arrived—"

"Your Majesty, your humble concubine."

"Today is the Lantern Festival. I met with all the officials and came here."

The emperor sat in the main seat, and the empress, who had lost her seat, stood beside him and asked with concern as usual:

"This year's spring came early. The weather has been good these days. The snow has begun to melt, and the road is slippery. The people following the emperor should be more careful."

The emperor nodded, glanced at the concubines sitting under the seat, and his eyes fell on Nian Shilan.

"My dear consort, have Hong Zhao and Xi Chao slept well these days? Do they still enjoy their meals?"

According to the astrology, children who are protected by God are naturally very smart.

With the Empress's personal education and the indulgence of the Royal Consort, Hong Zhao and Xi Chao grew up in love. Each one was braver and sweeter than the other.

Wen Yi was so spoiled when she was young, and she was also well-behaved in front of her royal father.

But Xichao didn't.

She had the protection of the Empress Dowager and had perfectly inherited her biological mother's courage. After she arrived at the Palace of Tranquility, she began to climb onto the Emperor.

Nian Shilan asked her to get down, but she refused. She leaned on the emperor's chest, blinked at her mother, and said in a soft and pitiful voice:

"Oh my god~ My wife is so fierce, Xi Chao is scared~"

Even though Xi Chao is small in age, she is notoriously lawless in the harem. When no one is in the Yangxin Palace, she still pulls the emperor's beard and steals his melon-shaped hat. How could she be afraid?

The emperor knew it, but he liked the little princess's tricks and let her do whatever she wanted.

Sometimes, the brother and sister would hold hands and stay in Yangxin Palace, calling them "Hua Ma" all the time. How could the emperor be willing to send them away?

Because she loved her two children, some of the rules were not so strict. In addition, the Empress and the Royal Consort had a private relationship, so Hongzhao lived with the prince, needless to say, while the princess traveled between Jingren Palace and Yikun Palace.

Today he leans in the empress's arms and says that the Empress Dowager is the best in the world; tomorrow he hugs his mother's neck and says that he loves her the most in his heart.

Her brother may have some restrictions, but she can go wherever she wants.

Nian Shilan replied: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is going well for Hong Zhao and Xi Chao."

When the Empress heard the Emperor deliberately asking about the Royal Concubine and saw his happy face, she wondered what had happened at the court session this morning.

And nine times out of ten, it’s related to the Nian family.

"The emperor sees these two children every day, yet he is still so worried about them. This is truly a loving father."

The Queen smiled brightly, "Your Majesty looks happy, maybe he has encountered something happy, why not tell us so that we can all have fun together."

The emperor leaned back, his arms resting on the pillow, his hands folded with Buddhist beads.

"Do you remember that two years ago, Junggar sent people to the court to ask for a marriage for their Yingge Khan, asking for a Qing princess to be his princess."

The concubine with the princess sitting below her immediately straightened up.

[This old thing, why hasn’t it died yet? ]

"Isn't the old Khan still alive?"

Nian Shilan's thoughts and Xin Guiren's words were spoken almost at the same time.

"He's over fifty, and he still has the nerve to do that?" The princess of Xin Guiren was the oldest, so she was naturally worried. "It's been two years, and he still hasn't given up. He wants to be with a young girl. Is he worthy of that?"

That word "match" made Concubine Jing's temples throb.

Concubine Jing glanced at the emperor, feeling extremely terrified: Over fifty years old? An old cow eating young grass? Who is the noble Xin scolding?

Cao Qinmo did not dare to act presumptuously, "Wen Yi is still young, how can she marry into the royal family?"

Nian Shilan was not worried about the marriage, not to mention that her daughter Xi Chao was still young. Even if she was of the right age, her uncle and brothers would not agree to little Xi Chao marrying far away.

This is the advantage of having a strong mother's family.

[This is just a grassland tribe, originally belonged to the Qing Dynasty, and was defeated by my brother in the past. If you hadn't been jealous of my brother's strength in your previous life, you wouldn't have insisted that your sixteen-year-old sister serve a sixty-year-old old man.]

[Yes, I am a person of my age who likes to date young girls the most, so I don’t feel sorry for Princess Chaogui.]

Only women can pity women.

When several concubines heard the age difference, they felt deeply moved. Even now, the emperor did not feel sorry for Princess Chaogui.

After all, he really didn't want to go through so much trouble for something that could be settled with just a woman.

But there have been some minor changes in this matter in this life.

The Dzungar envoy arrived at an inopportune time, as the emperor was in deep mourning at the time.

It was common for princesses of the Celestial Empire to marry into a foreign kingdom. Originally, a princess named Heshuo would be chosen from the royal family to marry into the royal family.

But they insisted on having a legitimate princess.

Although Emperor Taizu had set a precedent in this matter.

However, the emperor's biological mother had just passed away and he felt guilty towards his brother. He had a lot of emotions and had no place to vent them. Yet they still asked for whatever they wanted. It was simply like they were courting death.

In this life, Nian Gengyao was well-behaved and obedient in the capital. His sister had given birth to a prince. The emperor was not afraid that he would rebel at this time, so he sent Nian Gengyao and his son over.

[In my opinion, this marriage is not impossible. ]

This statement surprised everyone. Everyone was curious about what would happen next and listened attentively.

The Queen guessed in her heart that the Emperor was going to be happy, and in order to avoid being embarrassed, she continued, "The Emperor's several princesses are still young, and Princess Chaogui had already arranged a marriage several years ago. It would be inappropriate to go back on your word now."

[Isn't it because the legitimate princess is chosen because of her noble status? Looking at the world, is there anyone with a more noble status than the emperor? ]

Something bad is happening!

The Empress, Concubine Jing and others immediately got ready.

Some pinched their thighs secretly, some bit their tongues secretly, trying to remain serious and not reveal any clues in front of the emperor.

[I think that Yingge Khan is a good match for the emperor in age. If the emperor marries Yingge Khan, and once Yingge Khan dies, the entire Junggar tribe can be taken over without any soldiers.]

emperor:"……"

The emperor thought that it would be best to marry the royal concubine to him so as to anger Naingge Khan to death!

"No need to regret it!" The emperor gritted his teeth and said, "General Nian lived up to expectations. He pacified the Junggars and seized all their cattle and sheep. The Junggars have surrendered."

[Didn't I send you two princesses to be your consorts? ]

The emperor cleared his throat and pretended not to hear.

[Hasn't the Imperial Hospital prescribed expectorant medicine yet? ]

Concubine Jing really couldn't help it anymore, she even hoped that Concubine Qi would make some small mistakes now.

Thinking of Mr. Qi and then of Gualiu, I couldn't help it anymore.

Life is so hard...I want to laugh.

Xin Guiren openly criticized him, and Huang Guifei secretly scolded him. The Empress saw that the Emperor could not stay any longer - her own thighs were pinched until they turned purple, so she set up a stage for the Emperor and said:

"Such a happy event should be celebrated."

"It just so happens that Hong Zhao and Xi Chao have never had a birthday party since they were born. Why not take this opportunity to hold one this year? What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The emperor glanced at the arrogant Nian Shilan. If he wanted to save her face, he would not have to hold the birthday party.

But Hongzhao was intelligent and Xichao was adorable, and he couldn't bear to implicate them. He was glad that the two children were raised by the empress, otherwise he didn't know what kind of disgusting people they would have become.

"There are rules and regulations in the palace, so it's never lively."

The Queen suggested, "Then let's go to the Old Summer Palace."

"The Zoo has been training since last year, and the Yuanmingyuan is always ready, so we can go there anytime."