The queen's chanting and the miraculous doctor's presence finally failed to save the young prince's life. On the early morning of the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, frightening cries came from the East Palace, and then the death knell rang. I sat up from the bed with a leap.
He got up and hurriedly changed his clothes. As soon as he stepped out of the threshold of the bedroom, he saw Murong Qingfeng rushing in.
I grabbed his hand and asked, "How is the situation outside?"
"It's not sudden. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is well prepared and orderly, but it's just superficial." Murong Qingfeng straightened the messy hair around my temples for me and sighed: "The Queen's Aunt fainted at that time. Now,
You've woken up, and the East Palace is very noisy with people coming and going, so let's go to Kunning Palace and have a look first."
The dead are dead, and the living are the most pitiful. The one I am most worried about at the moment is the Queen. Murong Qingfeng’s move was very much what I wanted, so he nodded: “Let’s go.”
As a result, before arriving at Kunning Palace, he was stopped by Eunuch Fu on the way, saying that he was summoned by the emperor, so he had to change his way to the royal study.
I have been to the Imperial Study Room many times since I was a child, but it has never been as depressing as today. The faces of the palace maids and eunuchs were trembling with fear, for fear that a waiter might accidentally offend Long Yan. The air pressure in the Imperial Study Room was as low as the Siberian cold current invading.
, even though I was wearing a thick cloak, it still made me shudder.
"Jinyue pays regards to the emperor."
"The humble minister comes to see the emperor."
Murong Qingfeng and I both knelt down to see the emperor. The emperor sat on the dragon chair with a gloomy expression and waved to us: "Get up."
"Yes." We responded respectfully.
After standing up straight, I suddenly realized something. The emperor was supposed to be taking refuge in the summer resort. He had not heard any news about returning to the palace before. Now he suddenly appeared in the imperial study. The royal family has always been weak, so he must
It was not because of the death of the prince, but probably because he was worried about the change in the palace that he rushed back.
I am solely responsible for the cowpox matter, and I have guaranteed it in front of the emperor. If it doesn't succeed, I will be punished. Fortunately, I have already explained at the beginning that I have no choice but to do something about the disease, so the prince's matter has nothing to do with me, and it has nothing to do with me.
cannot be affected by this
, then took the initiative and said: "Your Majesty, after Jinyue and the guards were planted with cowpox, they stayed in the palace with the sick people for more than half a month, and no one was infected. It can be said that we are done. The serum has been collected and we are just waiting for the emperor's approval."
, you can promote it in large quantities.”
"Okay! Let's start tomorrow. I have already lost a prince, and I can't lose other princes, otherwise my Yuechen Kingdom, country, country, country, and country will not be protected." The emperor slapped the table suddenly, and then fell back to his chair angrily.
He went up, held his forehead and sighed: "If you had figured out this method earlier, my Ming'er wouldn't have...sigh!"
Although there was a hint of reproach in his voice, the emperor was not a foolish king. Naturally, he understood that relying on cowpox to control smallpox was an unprecedented and unprecedented act that transcended the times. It took time to collect the serum and plant the cowpox, and to ensure the effectiveness, it needed to be examined in the palace.
, it’s not that I can get up quickly if I want to, and I don’t need to explain more. I just comforted: “Life and death, wealth and honor are determined by heaven. The father-son relationship between the emperor and the prince’s brother only lasts so long, and there is no way to force it.”
The emperor did not want to say any more, and waved his hands tiredly: "Ming'er is the lifeblood of the queen. The loss of her beloved son is a big blow to her. She has always been close to your mother, and she regards you as her own daughter. Go to her to stay with her.
Well, she must relax her mind. If the prince is gone, he can be re-established, but my harem cannot be led by her, the mother of a country."
This is the sadness of being born in the royal family. The emperor has so many concubines. If the prince is gone, other princes can be established. And An Ming is the queen's biological son, the only one who can never be replaced in her mind.
, no matter how much my mother cares about the world, it cannot change the fact that I will be alone and helpless when I grow old.
I sighed long and short all the way from the imperial study to Kunning Palace. After Zhilan ushered us into the bedroom, my sighs turned into tears. The queen was lying on the bed sadly, as if she had aged dozens of years overnight, with her temples turning gray.
Vaguely visible, the expression has
He no longer had the calmness and calmness of before, as if he had suddenly lost his goal in life. He didn't even bother to do basic cover-ups. When he saw us coming in, he only slightly raised his eyelids and then lowered them. His eyes were dry, and he thought he had shed tears.
Hard work.
"The Queen..." I wanted to comfort you, but I choked up as soon as I opened my mouth. Murong Qingfeng answered: "Auntie, my mother is very worried about you, but the palace is strictly guarded. After a few days, after the cowpox is inoculated, she will come into the palace.
Visiting you."
The queen sobbed and said: "Smallpox is a taboo in the palace. The bodies of those who died from smallpox will be burned and buried deeply. Not even the whole body can be left. Don't let your mother suffer, so as not to make her sad."
Cremation is a common funeral method for modern people, but in ancient times, the corpse was put into a coffin. Only monsters and people with strange diseases would burn it. This behavior was tantamount to crushing the bones and scattering ashes. No wonder the queen was so sad.
I was really not good at comforting people. I was afraid that my words would not be to the point and would only make her sad, so I just cried with her and said nothing. After about half an hour, she stopped talking and walked away from the pillow.
He took a clean handkerchief and handed it to me. With tears in his eyes, he tapped my forehead with his index finger: "Silly boy, you can't resurrect the dead. You'll hurt your eyes from crying carefully."
Murong Qingfeng grabbed the silk handkerchief from my hand and wiped my tears gently. The queen did not smile and joke like before, but her expression became much more relaxed. It happened that Zhilan came in with someone bringing lunch. Seeing this
He said hurriedly: "The princess is good at pleasing people. Once you come, the queen will be in a much better mood. If only she could have a few more bowls of rice, that would be Amitabha."
I deliberately made a serious face and scolded: "It's okay to eat a bowl of rice, but wouldn't it be too much for a few bowls of rice? Where is this stupid servant? She should be dragged out and slapped with a dozen or twenty dozen boards."
Zhilan did not panic, and just smiled at the queen: "Your Majesty, I have learned from you that my slave has been stupid since she was a child, and she is not as popular with the master as the clever talker. Now that I am very old, if I want to teach you, it will be too late."
."
"It's not too late." I waved my hand and said with a smile: "The Queen is the most merciful and soft-hearted. Don't preach, even if her tone is a little serious, she will naturally not be smart. It's better to send them to Dangui Palace. Don't
In three to five days, I’m sure you’ll be able to obey what they teach you.”
Everyone in Kunning Palace suddenly trembled, and their faces were as pale as paper. The queen said helplessly: "You are obviously a kind-hearted and lovely person, but you have to act like a late mother, and make everyone afraid, so I have to mention you.
The color has changed, what do you think you are planning?"
I said with an indifferent expression: "People are bullied when they are kind, and I have a bad reputation. Naturally, others will not dare to bully me easily."