Xie Yushu looked at the Empress Dowager's aged and haggard face and said firmly.
"As long as I, Xie Yushu, have a breath left, I will definitely avenge Xuanyuan Che!"
The Empress Dowager sighed again upon hearing this, but simply nodded without saying anything.
Xie Yushu said no more and turned to lead the way for the Empress Dowager.
Then, a large group of officials from the Ministry of Rites, carrying clothes, hairpins, bedding, and other items, followed them into the courtyard.
Even though Xie Yushu and the others had put in a lot of effort, the mourning hall still looked very simple in the eyes of the Empress Dowager. Finally, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but cry and rushed to Xuan Yuanche's coffin, hugging the coffin and weeping bitterly.
"Che'er! My dear Che'er!"
Your mother has come to see you off!
Why are you so disobedient, child? Why are you so disobedient!
When the Empress Dowager cried, everyone knelt down and wept as well.
Although Xuanyuan Che had teased them a lot in the past, he was still a child back then and never really did anything to them!
No one expected that the prince, who seemed so delicate, would leave so resolutely. It really pierced their hearts, and they were truly heartbroken!
Xie Yushu and the others also had tears in their eyes once again.
Knowing that the Empress Dowager also needed to vent her grief, Xie Yushu let her cry for a while before helping her up.
"Your Majesty, let's help Xuanyuan Che change his clothes!"
Despite her immense grief, the Empress Dowager nodded and allowed Xie Yushu to help her up.
Xuanyuan Che was still wearing the ordinary clothes that Han Zhongyu had changed him into, but this time the Empress Dowager brought his first-rank prince's robes and a golden nanmu coffin carved with a four-clawed golden dragon.
Xuanyuan Che was in poor health. The imperial physicians had previously predicted that he would not live past the age of twenty-five. While the Empress Dowager unconditionally doted on him, she also secretly began to prepare things for his funeral.
Later, he met Xie Yushu, who could control his physical condition. The Empress Dowager was happy for a long time, thinking that he could escape the hurdle of turning twenty-five. Who knew that he would still leave so early!
Upon opening the coffin, one's eyes were still met with Xuan Yuanche's serene face, as gentle as a jade plate.
It lay there peacefully.
The cold winter seemed to freeze him in this moment forever.
The Empress Dowager couldn't help but touch his face with trembling hands, then she had the people from the Ministry of Rites come forward to help her change Xuan Yuanche into the robes of a first-rank prince.
After changing her clothes, the Empress Dowager stopped crying and addressed the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
"Proclaim the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing this, someone from the Ministry of Rites produced an imperial edict and solemnly recited it.
“My eighteenth brother, Prince Xuanyuan Che, sacrificed himself for the country, did not fail the great ambition of our ancestors, and was both loyal and filial. He is truly a man of great righteousness.”
Upon hearing the tragic news, I was deeply saddened and tears streamed down my face.
Brotherly courage has protected the interests of the Great Qi. I am deeply grateful and grateful, and hereby bestow upon my eighteenth brother the title of "King of the First Rank," granting him the honor of being buried with imperial honors and his spirit tablet to be offered incense in the imperial ancestral hall.
"By imperial decree"
This was considered a posthumous honor, but who cares about such material things when they are truly heartbroken? Although he was posthumously granted the title of "King of the First Rank," no one felt much comforted by it; they all wished he were still alive.
Qingfeng received the imperial edict and placed it in the golden nanmu coffin.
Subsequently, Han Zhongyu, Pei Jie, Qingfeng, and the head of the Ministry of Rites moved Xuanyuan Che there as well.
Then there were some personal burial items.
There were jade ruyi, pearls, gold ingots, silver ingots, grains, silk, and several ancient books, all bestowed by Emperor Qingyuan.
It symbolizes that in the next life one will still be rich and noble, with no worries about food or clothing.
Besides these fixed items, they usually bring some personal belongings of their loved ones for companionship.
The Empress Dowager took off a string of Bodhi prayer beads that she had worn for over a decade, carefully placed them on Xuan Yuanche's hand, and murmured...
May Buddha bless my son so that he may be healthy and have all his wishes fulfilled in his next life.
Before she could finish speaking, she was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Han Zhongyu's eyes reddened again, and he pulled out a white jade lotus hairpin from his hair and inserted it into Xuan Yuanche's hair bun.
His lips twitched, but he ultimately said nothing.
Actually, this hairpin was given to him when he was teaching Xuanyuan Che. Once, Xuanyuan Che sneaked out to play, and he spent the whole afternoon searching for him before finally finding him at the cockfighting place on East Street and bringing him back to the palace.
That time, he was so angry that he wanted to resign from his post. In order to keep him, Xuanyuan Che gave him a piece of jade that he had won.
Later, although he did not resign, he still punished Xuan Yuanche by making him write large characters for a day, while he watched him from the side and casually carved a lotus hairpin from the jade.
Seeing how exquisitely he had carved it, Xuanyuan Che tried several times to take it back, but failed each time.
Now, looking at the lotus hairpin adorning Xuanyuan Che's hair, Han Zhongyu silently said to him...
"May our friendship last forever."
Xie Yushu was unaware that there was such a ceremony at the funeral. She wanted to leave something for Xuan Yuanche, but since arriving in Tianshui City, she had not worn any jewelry.
The only things he had left were the Divine Eagle Guard token that Xuan Yuanche had thrown to him at the end, and the hairpin hidden weapon on his head.
Although it's not a valuable item, it's still a token of my appreciation.
So he raised his hand to take the hairpin, but the Empress Dowager stopped him.
"He doesn't need hairpins anymore, Xie Yushu. Let's be frank, Che'er likes you, do you know that?"
Xie Yushu was taken aback for a moment, not expecting the Empress Dowager to bring this up, but still replied magnanimously.
“I know, Xuan Yuanche said that, but I only consider him a brother and a close friend.”
I told him that.
The Empress Dowager nodded.
"I don't care what you think of him, if you respect his affection for you, then leave a lock of your hair for him, to stand in for you and stay with him!"
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