The next day, news of the Emperor's demise spread from the palace.
Lin Xiao received the news at Mao Shi, and he hurried to the Prince's sleeping quarters, "Your Highness."
Xiao Wangye opened his eyes in the darkness, his eyes exceptionally bright in the gloom, "What has happened?"
Lin Xiao reported, "The Empress has sent an eunuch to inform us that His Majesty... is at death's door. The Empress wishes for you to hasten to the palace to see His Majesty for the last time."
Xiao Wangye froze for a moment, then quickly put on his clothes, "Go and fetch the Princess to accompany me to the palace!"
Lin Xiao bowed and accepted the order, "Yes."
On the carriage heading to the palace, Ye Qingcheng had not yet recovered her senses, "The Crown Prince's funeral was just held not long ago, and now the Emperor..."
Xiao Wangye sat in the main seat, his eyes closed as if in slumber. Hearing Ye Qingcheng's words, he asked, "Do you find something amiss?"
Ye Qingcheng nodded, "Indeed. When I attended the Crown Prince's funeral, I saw the Emperor. Although I didn't take his pulse, judging by his appearance, he was merely overcome with grief. The knot in his heart had turned into an illness, and with rest, he would have recovered. So, I cannot understand why he would..." Ye Qingcheng didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was understood.
Xiao Wangye lifted the curtain, and the carriage had already entered the palace. "In the past few days, Yu Jian's injuries have also healed considerably. Hand over the account books to her!"
Ye Qingcheng looked at him. On the surface, she seemed indifferent, but inwardly, she was delighted. However, this joy did not last long, as she heard Xiao Wangye continue.
"Now that the Emperor is failing, if he does not survive the night, then with the change in the court and the ascension of the new Emperor, someone will become restless. You must clearly observe the intricacies involved; it will be beneficial for you. Recently, I have permitted you to go out."
Hearing his heavy tone, Ye Qingcheng understood some things. Throughout history, there were many who killed their own relatives for the throne, starting from Hu Hai of the Qin Dynasty who colluded with Zhao Gao to murder his own brothers, and then Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate Incident.
All for the sake of ascending to that supreme throne.
Within the palace, when Ye Qingcheng and Xiao Wangye arrived, all the princes were already kneeling by the Emperor's bedside, weeping. The Crown Princess, holding the Crown Prince's orphan, knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. The Empress sat by the Emperor's bedside, shedding silent tears.
Ye Qingcheng helped Xiao Wangye to kneel.
In his dying moments, the Emperor held the Empress's hand, "Yanran... I, I am sorry to you, for failing to protect, our child."
The Empress was already sobbing uncontrollably, "Your Majesty, do not speak such words. To have married you in this life is enough for me."
The Emperor smiled weakly, gazing at the ceiling and murmuring to himself, "I seem to have returned to my childhood, to the moment I first saw you. You were on the swing, and I leaped from the tree, holding you. Just holding you like this, for over twenty years. I... am content."
The Empress slowly bent down and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, wait for me there, and I will join you soon..."
Whether the Emperor heard clearly or not, he slowly closed his eyes, a tear tracing a path down his cheek.
The Empress felt the hand in hers grow cold and covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
The imperial physician hurriedly stepped forward to take his pulse, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty... has passed away..."
All the imperial relatives present, including the imperial physicians, eunuchs, and palace maids, immediately knelt down and mourned their deceased Emperor, "Your Majesty."
The ministers outside the doors also knelt in a vast expanse.
"Your Majesty!"
As dawn broke, the sound of a golden bell echoed from the direction of the palace. The people of Chengguo also knew that their Emperor had passed away.
At Yishi Yike, the palace staff had already erected the memorial tablet. The Empress did not make an appearance. Having lost her son and husband in succession during this period, no one could bear it!
In front of the mourning hall, the Crown Princess, with her son, donned mourning attire and burned spirit money for the Emperor.
The Imperial Grandson was young and did not understand the meaning of death. He only knew that he would never see his father and grandfather again.
"Mother, can I see them again?"
The child's innocent words, however, caused the Crown Princess's recently subsided tears to fall anew.
She stroked her child's hair, for the first time letting such a young child understand the meaning of life and death.
"No, my dear. Your grandfather and your father have now become stars in the sky. One day, Mother will also become a star in the sky to watch over you!"
How could the child understand these words? He only knew that he would never see his father and grandfather again, and he did not want to never see his mother again.
"Mother, no, this child does not want this. Mother, this child does not want Mother to leave."
The Crown Princess tightly embraced her child, "Rest assured! Mother still wants to watch you grow up, watch you marry and have children. Mother will not leave you now."
At this moment, an eunuch from the Empress's side arrived, "Crown Princess, please go and see the Empress quickly! Since His Majesty departed, she has not eaten or drunk. She has been sitting stiffly on the couch for the entire morning, motionless. This old servant is worried..."
The Crown Princess's heart tightened.
The world praised the deep affection between the Emperor and the Empress, which was unbreakable. It was precisely because they were united as husband and wife that the nation prospered. Now that the Emperor was gone, the Empress would likely not wish to live alone.
The Crown Princess, with her son, went to the Empress's sleeping quarters.
They saw the Empress drinking something.
The Empress, seeing the Crown Princess and her son arrive, and looking at the eunuch beside them, understood their meaning.
Upon arrival, the Crown Princess saw this scene and thought the Empress was attempting suicide by poison, immediately startled, she knelt with a thud, "Your Majesty, please do not do anything rash!"
The Empress smiled, "Xing'er, quickly get up. Do not set a bad example for the child by kneeling at the slightest provocation."
The Crown Princess took the Empress's hand, her heart still trembling.
The Empress smiled and pulled the child into her embrace, "Rest assured! This consort has not yet seen her grandson ascend the throne, so naturally, I will not go down. It is you who has suffered, to become the Empress Dowager without ever sitting on the throne."
The Crown Princess shook her head, crying, "Your Majesty, you know I do not particularly like that position. If I had a choice, I would not wish for my child to take that position either."
The Empress stroked her fine hair, "Good child, you entered the palace from a young age, childhood sweethearts with the Crown Prince, and have seen much of the palace's dangers. Have I not also? But fate has been unkind! The Emperor sacrificed too much for this consort back then, yet in the end, he still ascended the throne. It is even more so for Heng'er. You must accompany him well! He has lost his father now, and cannot be without his mother!"
The Crown Princess choked back her sobs, "Your filial daughter obeys."
The Crown Princess had intended to issue an imperial decree after the Emperor's burial, but she did not expect that only a day after the Emperor's passing, the Prime Minister, leading a host of old ministers, would pressure the Empress to read the imperial decree of succession.
The Empress was furious, "I am still the Empress. Are you attempting to force my hand?"
The ministers all knelt down, proclaiming they dared not, yet their mouths did not cease to urge the Empress to read the imperial decree.
Not far away, Xiao Wangye and Ye Qingcheng, as direct collateral relatives, were also clad in mourning attire.
Ye Qingcheng pushed Xiao Wangye towards the Empress's sleeping quarters. At this moment, the area outside the Empress's quarters was filled with ministers, led by the Prime Minister.
Ye Qingcheng frowned, "It shouldn't be this urgent. The Emperor has not yet been buried, and they are already rushing to establish the next Emperor. Or perhaps, they wish to know who the next heir to the throne is."
"But this is too contrary to custom."