pdf-ebookys Chapter 159 The Queen Dies
Chapter 159 The Queen Dies
As soon as Shen Yuyao stepped into Yongtai Palace, she heard the eunuchs behind her shouting: The prince has arrived!
Shen Yuyao had no choice but to turn around and leave Yongtai Palace.
She knelt by the door, and after Xia Yu hurried into the hall, she hurriedly stood up and followed Xia Yu into Yongtai Hall.
As soon as she entered the hall, Shen Yuyao saw that standing in the middle of Yongtai Hall was the eunuch Zhang who was beside the emperor.
He had a serious face and was dressed in white mourning clothes.
Shen Yuyao was horrified, and her heart sank to the bottom of the sea. After a moment of trance, she suddenly remembered that the two-year deadline had expired!
Mother, the time has come!
Thinking of this, her knees softened and she knelt down!
As soon as she knelt down, all the concubines, maids, and servants in the palace who followed Shen Yuyao knelt on the ground.
Xia Yu also knelt on the ground. Eunuch Zhang would only dress like this during a national mourning!
Eunuch Zhang raised his white eyebrows, and before he could say anything, two lines of hot tears flowed down.
After calming down his mind, he took out the imperial edict on his body and read aloud: "The Emperor's decree says: The late Empress, the rise of the emperors of all ages, the virtuous partner, can work hard together in politics, and rarely can open up the world and bring blessings to the people. But the Empress and I rose from humble beginnings, worked hard together, and have lived together since the turmoil of the times. Until now, for thirty-one years, you have been a model for the family and the palace, a model for the world, and helped me govern the country. You have made my descendants virtuous, and there is nothing better. I thought that in a few years, when my son becomes the emperor, I should return to the old and longevity palace with the Empress, raise my grandchildren at my knees, and enjoy the care of the world. Unexpectedly, you died suddenly due to an illness, which made me wail and mourn. Although there is life, there must be death, which is the normal way of heaven. Although the Empress has died, her virtues will not be forgotten. I will follow the ancient posthumous name law and posthumously name the Empress Xiaoci. What a joke! This is a matter of public opinion, I dare not be private, I only hope that the spirit will judge it."
By the time he finished reading it in one breath, Xia Yu and Shen Yuyao had already knelt on the ground, crying bitterly.
The concubines and servants behind them were crying loudly.
Many of them had received favors from the Queen, especially the concubines, who were grateful to the Queen for sending them to Prince Ning's Mansion, so that they would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.
Eunuch Zhang also shed a lot of tears, and after a while he said, "Prince Ning and Princess Ning, please accept my condolences. The emperor has ordered Prince Ning to return to the capital as soon as possible to attend the funeral, and Princess Ning should accompany him!"
"My son, I accept the order!"
"Your Highness accepts the order!"
After Xia Yu and Shen Yuyao calmed down a little, Eunuch Zhang sat down and told them the details of the Queen's death.
It turned out that the Empress had suddenly fallen seriously ill after accompanying the Emperor on an outing a few days ago. The Emperor sought treatment from famous doctors, but to no avail. He even wanted to summon Princess Ning to rush back to the palace to treat the Empress.
But the Queen Mother insisted on not taking any more medicine and refused to have her pulse examined by anyone.
The emperor begged the empress, but she only said, "Life or death is determined by fate. What's the point of praying and offering sacrifices? The imperial physician can only cure illnesses, not lives. If I take the medicine but it doesn't work, I'm afraid your majesty will punish the imperial physicians because of me!"
After saying this, the Queen Mother refused to even drink water.
The palace maids all said that the Empress gave up seeking medical treatment after she became seriously ill. The reason was that the Empress knew the Emperor's temper very well, and she did not want to endanger other people's lives because of her illness.
But in fact, Shen Yuyao knew in her heart that two years ago, the Queen was given two more years of life by Xia Xiaoxian who had used up all her immortal spirit.
Today, the Queen is at the end of her life and no medicine can help.
The Empress herself knew this clearly, so she was worried that the Emperor would vent his anger on the palace maids and refused to take any medicine.
When Xia Yu heard Eunuch Zhang telling him the truth word by word, he burst into tears thinking of how much his mother loved him.
He raised his scarlet eyes, looked directly at Eunuch Zhang and asked, "Does the Queen Mother have any last words?"
Eunuch Zhang said, "When the Empress was dying, the Emperor asked her if she had any last wishes. But the Empress said, "I only hope that Your Majesty will seek wise men and accept advice, be as careful as you were at the beginning, and hope that your descendants will be wise and capable, and that the ministers and the people will have someone to rely on. That's all!" After saying that, she passed away suddenly!"
After hearing this, everyone sobbed even more.
That night, Xia Yu and Shen Yuyao dressed in tight clothes, mounted their horses, and galloped towards the capital.
They attended their mother's funeral together!
......
The capital of Daxia.
The day of the Queen's funeral.
The whole country of the Great Xia Dynasty was in mourning.
Unfortunately the weather was not good. There were lightning and thunder early in the morning, and soon, heavy rain began to fall.
The emperor, who was already heartbroken and exhausted, was now extremely angry.
He asked the eunuchs to send in the monks who were chanting and praying for the Empress.
The emperor questioned the monks why it rained heavily on the day of the queen's funeral, making it impossible for the queen's funeral to be held as scheduled.
The monks were all trembling with fear, fearing that one wrong answer would bring disaster upon them.
So they all lowered their heads silently and dared not say a word.
The emperor became even more furious, and his cruel temper could not help but come out again. He even ordered that if the Queen's funeral could not be held today, then all the monks present would have to be buried with the Queen!
The golden words were so true that for a moment, everyone in the entire palace was silent and trembling.
Everyone was afraid that if they made a mistake, they would be sentenced to death by the emperor and buried with the empress.
The entire palace, and even the entire capital city.
Everyone was filled with gloom and sorrow.
Seeing that the emperor was about to draft an edict and prepare to kill, Shen Yuyao, who was kneeling on the ground, hurriedly asked the eunuch beside her for pen and ink. She wrote a short poem on it and turned around to ask Eunuch Zhang to present it to the emperor.
After reading the poem written by Shen Yuyao, the emperor burst into tears!
Seeing that the emperor was still unwilling to let go of his murderous intentions, Shen Yuyao stepped out to comfort the emperor and said, "Father, God is merciful. It is the virtue of our mother that has moved God."
"So this downpour is God shedding tears for the most honorable Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty."
"This thunder is the gods and Buddhas weeping and bidding farewell to our mother. It is also the queen's mercy. She is also weeping and bidding farewell to us."
"My mother can't bear to leave my father, and even more so, her people."
"Father, it is a blessing for all the people of Daxia to have such a virtuous and benevolent queen."
"Father, you must not go against Mother's wishes!"
When Shen Yuyao finished speaking, she also burst into tears and her face was full of sadness.
The emperor cried more and more as he listened. When he gradually calmed down, he issued an edict to pardon the death penalty for everyone present. In accordance with the empress's will, he issued an edict to the world: "The court will be suspended for 100 days, the princes will mourn for one year, and the people of the Great Xia Dynasty will mourn for three days."