He Yue's heart suddenly skipped a beat, her tears stopped, and her eyes widened.
Yes, yes, and Hongli too. Hongtun and Hongli disappeared together, but historically Hongli was the future emperor, so he'll definitely be alright.
Since the two of them are together, Hongtun might be fine.
Thirteen sent people out to search for the person, and Yongzheng also sent imperial guards to search secretly.
Heyue sat anxiously in the mansion waiting. If it weren't for Thirteen stopping her, Heyue would have loved to ride off on horseback to find him herself.
Just then, news arrived that Lady Irgen Gioro was critically ill.
Heyue hurriedly ordered horses to be prepared and rushed to her maternal family residence.
Guan Zhu had been granted the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, a first-rank official, by Emperor Yongzheng. The plaque of the current Irgen Gioro Mansion has been changed to Left Censor-in-Chief Mansion.
After years of military training, Guan Zhu has become a tall, dark-skinned man. At the age of thirty, he has two sons and a daughter.
Seeing He Yue arrive travel-worn, Guan Zhu hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects: "Greetings to the Princess Consort of Prince Yi."
As Aunt Sun sat wiping away tears by the sickbed, she quickly rose to greet him, saying, "This humble servant greets the Princess Consort of Prince Yi."
He Yue waved her hand, "No need for formalities." She quickly looked at the Irgen Gioro clanswoman, who was lying on her sickbed, looking much older and thinner, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
For decades since she came into this world, her father and mother have always loved her dearly, making her feel parental love she had never experienced before.
Father is gone, and now Mother is leaving too, leaving only the brothers and sisters.
Heyue sat on the bed, holding her mother's withered hand, and choked out, "Mother, wake up, Xiaoqi is back."
Seemingly hearing her voice, Lady Irgen Gioro, whose eyes were closed, suddenly began to breathe heavily. She slowly opened her eyes and murmured, "Little Seven, Little Seven..."
Heyue tightened her grip on her mother's hand and leaned closer: "Mother, Xiaoqi is here."
Yiergenjueluo stared blankly at Heyue, tears welling up in her eyes. She reached out and touched Heyue's cheek, anxiously asking, "Hongtun... has he been found...?"
He Yue was stunned.
Guan Zhu's wife, Meng Jia, wiped away her tears and explained, "When Mother heard the news of Second Master's disappearance, she immediately fell ill and kept thinking of you and Second Master while she was in a coma."
Heyue felt a pang of pain in her heart. Her mother's greatest concern these days was for her grandchildren, and now she had fallen ill because of her grandson Hongtun.
Guan Zhu glared at his wife, then quickly comforted He Yue: "Seventh Sister, don't be sad. Actually, Mother's health is already quite poor. Even without Second Master's matter, Mother wouldn't have lasted much longer."
Even so, Heyue was still saddened and quickly comforted her mother: "Mother, don't worry, Thirteen has already sent people to look for him, and we'll have news soon. You must hold on, you'll see Hongtun soon."
Irgen Gioro shook her head with difficulty: "Don't...don't comfort me. Mother knows...Mother can't hold on for long. These days...Mother often sees your father...coming to pick me up. Mother is so late, I've missed your father for so long. Mother wants to go...to find your father as soon as possible, otherwise, your father...will be lonely."
Mengjia and Aunt Sun turned their faces away and covered their mouths to cry.
Heyue forced a smile through her tears: "Mother, don't talk too much, get some rest."
Mother has lived a long life to this age. Heyue knows that Mother has already pushed herself to the limit. Even if she recovers, it will be torture. It's better to make things easier.
Yan Yue rushed over and, seeing this scene, her eyes reddened. She threw herself at her mother's bedside and cried, "Mother, Xiao Liu has come to see you! Look at me, don't go to sleep!"
Heyue hugged her sixth sister with one arm: "Sixth sister."
Irgen Gioro's eyes darted around, looking at Yan Yue. She reached out and took Yan Yue's hand, placing it together with He Yue's: "Take... good care of yourself..."
The two sisters nodded in unison, swallowing their sobs.
Not long after, Lady Irgen Gioro closed her eyes, and the hands that were holding theirs fell limp.
Heyue and her sixth sister hugged each other, both of them crying their eyes out.
Everyone in the room was filled with grief.
The next step is to hold the funeral.
The two sisters, Heyue and Yue, personally bathed and dressed their mother in her burial clothes, and they also changed into mourning clothes themselves.
An hour later, Thirteen and Yidu arrived, only to find the mourning hall already set up.
The Heyue sisters, along with their children and daughters-in-law, knelt before the altar.
Incense was offered to the Irgen Gioro clan, and Thirteen and Yiduli went to their respective wives to comfort them.
Because it was a joyous funeral, everyone was alright and not overly grieving.
Three days later, Irgen Gioro and Marhan were buried together.
At this moment, the people sent out to search for the missing persons brought good news: the Fourth Prince and Hongtun had been found and were on their way back to the capital.
Heyue leaned against Thirteen's chest, weeping with joy: "It must be Mother's spirit in heaven protecting Hongtun. Before she passed away, Mother was thinking of Hongtun. It must be that Mother couldn't bear to see us, white-haired people, send off our black-haired son."
Thirteen nodded, his face beaming with joy: "You're right, it's all thanks to my mother-in-law's blessing on our Hongtun."
After her mother passed away, the household was managed by Consort Sun and Lady Mengjia.
Because Aunt Bei never visited her mother after she fell ill, and only appeared after her mother left, Heyue deeply resented Aunt Bei.
However, Heyue was already a married daughter and it was not appropriate for her to interfere in her maternal family's affairs, and Guanzhu was a junior.
Fortunately, no one paid much attention to Aunt Bei, so they chose to ignore her.
Aunt Bei, who was isolated, did not have a good life.
Even when her own daughter, Liangyue, returned home to pay respects to her stepmother, she was ignored.
Not long after, Aunt Bei fell ill.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
One day, the thirteenth prince returned from the palace and said something: "The emperor plans to establish a shrine to virtuous men and women, and to include my father-in-law in the shrine, so that future generations can offer sacrifices."
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