"Empress Dowager is Beichen's grandmother and Junshu's great-grandmother. I naturally should provide for her." Shen Xihe had never considered killing the Empress Dowager.
Death was too simple.
For what she had done to Xiao Huayong, Shen Xihe would not grant her a swift end.
Youning Emperor's weary eyes gazed intently at Shen Xihe, who neither avoided nor flinched from his stare. His voice, already deteriorating, rasped with a hoarse sound: "Summon the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers..."
Liu Sanzhi looked toward Shen Xihe. Without her permission, he couldn't rush out.
Shen Xihe raised her hand slightly. Zhao Zhenghao led the way, moving his restrained colleagues aside to clear a path. Liu Sanzhi swiftly went to summon Cui Zheng and the others.
Youning Emperor closed his eyes, seemingly conserving his energy.
Shen Xihe remained vigilant. Xiao Huayong had once said that the Emperor had Hidden Guards, always at his side. They must be concealed within the hall now. Moyu and Tianyuan were practically protecting Shen Xihe closely. It was unknown whether His Majesty would still struggle desperately in his final moments.
By the time Cui Zheng and the others arrived, Youning Emperor had not summoned his Hidden Guards. He opened his eyes, his gaze already beginning to fade, his voice as frail as a candle flame in the wind, seemingly extinguishable by a mere breath: "After... this emperor's demise... pass the throne... pass the throne...His words gripped everyone's attention, but Shen Xihe remained composed.
The Emperor's mind flashed with faces one by one. He knew he had no other choice. Whomever he named now would be futile. Xiao Changqing's heart was no longer set on the throne. Xiao Changgeng had long served the Eastern Palace. As for Xiao Changhong... naming him would only harm another son. Shen Xihe's ambition for the throne was blatantly obvious.
Now, whether it was the Northwest, the three Northeastern regions, or even the entire Imperial City, all were under her control. Not passing the throne to Xiao Junshu would only cause further turmoil, unable to alter the outcome.
"The Crown Imperial Grandson..."
These three words, the Emperor enunciated with extreme clarity, as if uttering them consumed his last breath. He rapidly grew weary, his eyelids becoming exceptionally heavy. Hazily, he seemed to hear several sighs of relief. These people probably also hoped for such an outcome. He wanted to open his eyes and look once more, even if just one last glance, to see who so eagerly anticipated a child emperor's reign. But he still could not defy fate, and passed away abruptly.
On the fourteenth day of the third month, in the twenty-fourth year of Youning, the first rays of dawn enveloped the Imperial City, signifying the end of the palace coup that had lasted all night.
Witnessed by the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the Emperor personally decreed the throne be passed to the Crown Imperial Grandson, Xiao Junshu.
The first emperor of the Xiao Imperial Clan, not yet half a year old, was born.
The palace quickly restored a peace of rebuilding amidst ruins. Shen Xihe moved out of the Eastern Palace, converted the Zichen Hall back into the new Emperor's residence, and moved in with Xiao Junshu, the place where he was born.
After the Emperor's burial, the new Emperor ascended the throne, changing the era name to Yonghe.
Throughout history, imperial era names were meticulously selected by the Ministry of Rites scouring the "Book of Changes." However, the new Emperor's era name was decisively determined by the Empress Dowager.
Yonghe were originally two extremely majestic and grand characters. The officials also dared not refute.
Everyone knew that from this moment on, the Empress Dowager ruled the land.
After the new Emperor's accession, the funeral for the Valiant Prince, Xiao Changying, was belatedly held. He had already been buried long ago, but the funeral couldn't conflict with the late Emperor's burial or the new Emperor's enthronement, hence the delay.
Shen Xihe, now the Empress Dowager, holding the still non-verbal Xiao Junshu, personally went to the Valiant Prince's residence.All members of the Xiao imperial clan were present, with Noble Consort Rong and her daughter standing nearby. They watched Xiao Changqing—who was silently burning paper offerings with a hemp mourning belt tied around his waist—with visible guilt, not daring to meet Shen Xihe’s gaze.
Shen Xihe left the fate of this mother and daughter to Xiao Changqing. Since waking on the day of His Majesty’s passing, Xiao Changqing had remained silent and gaunt, his spirit eroded to the bone in just a few days.
Shen Xihe did not know how to speak to him either. With a soft sigh, she took Xiao Junshu and returned to the palace.
On the evening after Xiao Changying’s seventh-day memorial, Tianyuan reported, “Empress Dowager, Prince Xin has remained atop the Han Yao Gate tower and has yet to leave. The palace gates are due to be locked, but the attendants dare not approach to urge him.”
Shen Xihe set down the memorials and glanced at Xiao Junshu, whose dark, bright eyes were wide open. “Summon Prince Yi to accompany His Majesty.”
Prince Yi was Xiao Changhong, merely eight years old. Shen Xihe had still granted him a princely title and allowed him to remain in the palace until he turned fourteen, when he would move to his own estate. Xiao Junshu and this young uncle were particularly close, as if they had endless conversations to share.
Han Yao Gate was the second inner wall of the palace. It was on this tower that Xiao Changying had taken his own life. The setting sun cast an orange-red glow on the bluestone floor, resembling bloodstains that had yet to fade.
Xiao Changqing, clad in a white lapel robe, stood at the very spot where his younger brother had died. His emaciated frame was bathed in the twilight, exuding an aura of boundless desolation, as if the world itself were dimming.
Shen Xihe dismissed all attendants and walked alone to his side.
Noticing her approach, Xiao Changqing bowed in greeting, his voice hoarse and strained. “I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager.”
“Rise,” Shen Xihe said, lifting her hand. She stood beside him, her gaze sweeping over the palace’s exquisite pavilions, lush forests, and winding rivers, extending to the distant horizon. “Fifth Brother, our ninth brother, watching from the heavens, would not wish to see you like this.”
Xiao Changqing’s eyelashes fluttered twice. After a long pause, he replied, “I came to bid farewell to my younger brother.”
After this day, he knew he must rally himself. He understood why Xiao Changying had taken his own life—a convergence of many reasons, but fundamentally, it was to prevent either a beloved kin or a cherished one from meeting an unjust death.
Had Xiao Changying not acted as he did that day, either he or Shen Xihe would have perished. Given that Shen Xihe had swayed half of His Majesty’s Embroidered Uniform Envoys, the more likely casualty would have been him.
Had his out-of-control self harmed Shen Xihe and disrupted her plans, causing even greater casualties, not even Shen Xihe could have spared him without quelling the ensuing outrage.
Xiao Changying had traded his life for his. Now, he must live for Xiao Changying’s sake.
To ensure these vast mountains and rivers endured unbroken, the nation’s destiny eternal, shaped into the form his brother would have rejoiced to witness.
Shen Xihe turned to study Xiao Changqing’s gaunt, handsome face, outlined by the golden light, which lent him a sacred and refined aura. He no longer seemed as deeply somber as he had that day; at the very least, she sensed vitality returning to him.
“Noble Consort Rong and Princess Pingling… what are your intentions?” Shen Xihe asked.
She had already dealt with those who warranted punishment. She had left no survivors in Princess Ruyang’s household. The Xue clan had been stripped of rank and reduced to commoners, for their main lineage proved too mediocre, while collateral branches showed promise. Thus, it was better to yield position to the latter—they were, after all, still of Xue blood.
Apart from the Empress Dowager, who was enshrined in the Great Blessing Hall, indulging daily in the “Milestone Dreams” incense Shen Xihe personally blended for her, Shen Xihe had shown no mercy to the others. She had spared Yu Sangning, assigning her to serve the Empress Dowager in the Great Blessing Hall, where both now drifted into dreams each night, lulled by the scent of Milestone Dreams.In dreams, one reigns supreme over the world, the other enjoys immense wealth and honor. Upon waking, the imperial harem lies silent and desolate, day after day, year after year.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel