C53 (1/2)
Tang Quan should have been able to travel easily.
Lian Shang and his children were sorrowful as they rushed back to the Forbidden City.
After Xuan Ye had received the news of Cheng'e's accidental death from Red city's Tang Quan, he rushed back to the palace in a hurry. At this time, the harem was truly in a mess, as the one who died was his son after all, the empress was already grieving beyond control, and the empress dowager was used to having the empress dowager advocate the harem, so she was momentarily at a loss.
The day Xuan Ye returned, he first saw the empress dowager, then hurried over to the empress's side room to console her. Later that night, he came to Rong'er's side room.
”Ai!” Xuan Ye sighed. He didn't ask the palace maid beside him to salute or call Rong'er over. He just walked over to sit on the warm brick bed beside her and sat down quietly. Rong'er turned his head to look at Xuan Ye, and only after a long time did he regain his senses. He said while crying in excitement, ”Your Majesty, Hu'er died …” ”Hu'er died …”
Xuan Ye walked over and took the sleeping Caijing from Rong'er. He looked at it for a moment, then gently handed it to the wet nurse by his side. He lightly wiped Rong'er's tears and said, ”I already know.”
”Rui'er, Qing'er, Zhenhui are all gone, and now even Li'er is gone... ”Your Majesty …” In the four years she had served the emperor, she had never seen the emperor shed a single tear. Under such circumstances, Rong'er was even more saddened as he threw himself at Xuan Ye's chest, tightly hugging Xuan Ye's waist and crying, ”Your majesty … ”Why can't the princes and princesses protect it …”
He held Rong'er and said slowly, ”Since the succession of the previous emperors, I have always strived hard to advance for the sake of my ancestors, and I am willing to do my best for the sake of my people. However, why did the heavens treat me like this? I am the son of heaven, the ruler of a nation, and yet I cannot protect my children.
”No …” ”It's not the emperor's fault …” Rong'er shook his head as he cried, ”It's not the emperor's fault, it's our fault. We didn't take care of the princes and concubines properly, so we let one child after another fall into an accident.”
Xuan Ye bitterly shook his head. ”How can I blame you?” ”In a few days, it will be the vernal equinox. We will meet in the morning in the eastern suburbs to pray for blessings.” Xuan Ye paused before continuing, ”At the beginning, I didn't dare to tell my royal grandmother about my son's sudden death, for fear that she would be sad. But I wanted to go back to the palace, and I couldn't hide this from her for a long time, so I had to tell her that my royal grandmother was extremely sad to hear that my son had died, and wanted to go back with me. How could I bear to let her see such a tragic scene.”
The Old Ancestor must be very sad, Your Majesty.” The Queen … ”Very, very sad …” he whispered, wiping his tears.
”I know that I have already seen her. Since the funeral of Hu'er has been completed, I plan to take her to Red city's Tang Quan to relax. What do you think?” Xuan Ye asked Rong'er.
”Of course it's fine. The empress needs the emperor to be by her side right now. The empress dowager can comfort her there too, which will make her mood a little better.” Gai Rong'er sincerely said.
”Rong'er, stop crying, okay? ”We shall put our sorrow in our hearts. We are the kings, and when we worry about the common people of the world, our prince will grieve without us. However, seeing Rong'er like this, we will suffer even more.” Xuan Ye softly said as he embraced Rong'er.
”Well, Rong'er will keep his sorrow in his heart, and I will go with Rui'er. They will take care of each other.” Rong-er wiped the tears from his face with his hand, nodded, and whispered back.
”Mm …” Yes... ”Yes …” The grief in his heart, however, was hard to resolve.
After the funeral of Kusu, the emperor first went to the first farm to plow the fields when he was frightened, and advised the people of the world to work as farmers. Afterwards, the autumn equinox was observed as a kind of sacrificial activity in the morning sun on the eastern outskirts of the city, in order to remember the ”day” of the sun and the moon in heaven and earth, and to bless the Qing Dynasty with blessings.