latelenovela Chapter 400 The Queen Mother passed away
Chapter 400 The Queen Mother passed away
My younger sister knelt outside the Shou Kang Palace for several days in a row, wanting to attend to the sick, but she was always stopped at the door.
Returning home every night, the younger sister was worried, and her face inevitably showed signs of fatigue.
The Emperor felt sorry for her and pulled her into his arms: "Wan'er, the Empress Dowager doesn't want to see anyone, why force yourself?"
The younger sister, her eyes red, said, "The Empress Dowager must be blaming me. She's been so good to me, treating me like her own granddaughter, yet I insisted on entering the palace to accompany her. Your Majesty, am I being too unfilial?"
The Emperor wiped away her tears: "Nonsense, this is my will. If the Empress Dowager wants to blame someone, she should blame me. How could this be your fault? Don't think such nonsense."
Of course, the younger sister couldn't help but overthink things, and she almost never got to sleep at night.
The Emperor sent several imperial physicians to Shou Kang Palace, but when they came out, they all shook their heads, indicating that the Empress Dowager only had a few days left.
The younger sister grew increasingly worried: "Empress Dowager is in such a state, why won't she see me? Does she not even want me to see her one last time?"
After saying that, she burst into tears.
The Emperor recalled the Empress Dowager's words before she closed the palace: she would not see anyone again, and would only send someone to invite him upon her death. He hadn't cared then, but now he couldn't help feeling a little sad.
He then said, "If you really want to see the Empress Dowager, I will have someone open the gates of Shou Kang Palace."
"No, no!" the younger sister hurriedly said. "I have already angered the Empress Dowager and don't want to make her suffer any more. If she wants to be alone, then let her be."
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, someone came to Shou Kang Palace. The Emperor and his younger sister were both on tenterhooks, wondering if the person had come to announce the Empress Dowager's death or if the Empress Dowager was willing to see his younger sister.
As it turned out, the person the Empress Dowager wanted to see was the Emperor.
After comforting his younger sister, the Emperor rushed to Shou Kang Palace. He saw that the Empress Dowager was emaciated and knew without even asking the imperial physician that she was dying.
He stepped forward and whispered, "Mother."
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and looked at him, her face filled with anger: "Have I been unkind to you? Have I been unkind to her? The two of you... do you even respect me?"
The Emperor knelt before the bed: "It is my fault. If Mother wants to blame someone, then blame your son. It is my fault... that I had ulterior motives. It has nothing to do with Wan'er. She was naive and was bewitched by my son."
"Don't try to excuse her! She knew your identity perfectly well; she was clearly doing it on purpose!" The Empress Dowager's anger had not subsided.
The Emperor quickly said, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood Wan'er. Wan'er is simple and innocent, and she never came for my status. Your Majesty, she is a county princess personally appointed by you, so why would she be dissatisfied?"
The Empress Dowager remained silent, whether she was deep in thought or simply too tired.
The Emperor continued, “Mother, I know you care about the Si family. Rest assured, as long as I am here, I will protect the Si family and Wan’er.”
The Empress Dowager lowered her hand and reached out to stroke the Emperor's hand, which was resting by the bedside.
Just like when he was a child and lying in bed sick, the Empress Dowager stroked his hand in the same way.
The Emperor rose and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand tightly.
Such thin, bony hands—how stunningly beautiful she must have been in her youth, with gold and silver bracelets adorning her wrists…
The Emperor frowned and said in a low voice, "It seems that the Empress Dowager did not have so many bracelets when she was young."
The Empress Dowager glanced at it and said, "When you were young, you were not favored by your father, so these gold, silver and jade ornaments were the only things that pleased people. You wore them every day with great joy. How could you not have them?"
The Emperor said, "Does your son remember? When I contracted smallpox, my mother stayed by my side every night, feeding me medicine. I remember it all."
The Empress Dowager laughed: "You, you've always been so suspicious. Yet you're not so observant. When you were so ill, how could I have the mind to dress up? All those gold and silver ornaments hanging on my hands, jingling and clanging, would disturb your peace and quiet, and how could I recover?"
The emperor reached out to touch her jewelry, and then took it off one by one.
The Empress Dowager let him go, and after a long while she sighed, "Tell me, you've been suspicious your whole life, why do you only grant my wish when I'm about to die?"
The Emperor lowered his eyes: "It's my fault."
"It's not your fault. Perhaps... if they were biological mother and child, things wouldn't have turned out this way..."
"No, that's not the case."
The emperor wanted to explain, but he felt something was wrong with the hand he was holding. He looked up and saw that the empress dowager had already closed her eyes.
He couldn't believe it and kept calling out, "Mother! Mother!"
"Mother!"
The Emperor hurriedly knelt down, embraced her body, and wept bitterly: "Mother, in my heart, you are my mother, you are my own mother!"
But the Empress Dowager could no longer hear it.
The Empress Dowager passed away two nights before New Year's Eve.
The Emperor walked back to the Zichen Palace in the wind and snow, thinking about many things along the way.
I remember the painful days when I was a child, being beaten and punished by my own mother. I also remember how my mother took me to her palace later, and how attentive and caring she was, like a true mother.
What caused them to develop so much discord later?
As he grew up and became involved in court politics, he had a conflict with his mother over political matters. His mother forced him to obey, and while he outwardly obeyed, he actually resisted her.
After the incident, the Empress Dowager scolded him severely while cleaning up the mess for him.
Later, his father passed away, and he became emperor. However, his mother refused to relinquish power, so he fought against her to the end, even going so far as to elevate his own mother to the rank of Imperial Concubine Dowager.
He was only angry with his mother; otherwise, he wouldn't be a concubine, but the Empress Dowager.
After that, the mother did relinquish control, but their relationship could never go back to what it was before.
The real rift began with the Shao family.
The Emperor took a deep breath. His mother didn't understand. How could anyone else sleep soundly on the Emperor's bed? The Shao family's achievements were too great for the Emperor's eyes. If he didn't take action, the throne might change hands.
He didn't dare to gamble.
After thinking it over, the emperor was somewhat stunned. Why hadn't he dared to gamble back then?
He feared losing power, and could spare the lives of the Shao family. But it was also out of fear that he preferred to exterminate them all.
They wiped out the Shao family and all their associates, and also severed his connection with his mother.
The Emperor returned to the Zichen Palace and fell seriously ill.
Fortunately, last month, the Emperor restored the Crown Prince's authority over various departments, and upon learning that the Crown Prince was diligent in his duties and humble in his dealings with scholars, he delegated considerable power to him.
So now, even though he's ill, the crown prince can still oversee the country.
While serving the Emperor, the younger sister was also very worried. She hadn't expected the Emperor to be so fragile; the Empress Dowager's passing had made him fall ill, and she still had so many things to plan.
The imperial physician said that the emperor's illness was caused by mental distress and that he only needed to rest and recuperate.
The younger sister pouted and blamed the emperor for not taking care of his health.
When the Emperor regained his senses, he embraced his younger sister and said, "I promised you, and I won't go back on my word. Wan'er, I was thinking that it would be a good opportunity to give the Crown Prince a chance to gain experience. If he can handle the great responsibility, it would be better to pass the throne to him sooner. I just want to spend the rest of my life peacefully with my Wan'er."