Chapter 680: Death Knell (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She shook her head indifferently. “That won’t be necessary.”
She placed these women under house arrest simply to keep the influential officials in check, making sure they didn’t dare to act recklessly. The women around her were nothing more than powerless ladies, nothing worth paying attention to.
Empress Dowager Yuan stroked the cloud patterns embroidered on her sleeves and ordered calmly, “Ring the bell.”
Her tone was very calm, and her mood was also very calm. She was like a lake without any ripples, clear and calm.
The eldest eunuch hurriedly received the order and retreated, pa.s.sing by the eldest palace maid who was walking over with a teacup.
The old tea was changed and new tea was served.
Empress Dowager Yuan elegantly picked up the teacup, lifted the lid, and gently stirred the tea leaves floating in the teacup.
She drank her tea slowly.
The fresh tea fragrance filled the room with rising heat.
When Empress Dowager Yuan was almost done drinking the cup of tea, the eldest palace maid rushed over again and reported, “Your Majesty, Eldest Madam Yuan is here.”
Empress Dowager Yuan put down the teacup and said firmly, “Come in!”
Almost at the same time that she finished speaking, a loud bell sound came from outside.
“Bang!”
Right on the heels of that, a second bell hit, a third, an a fourth…
The bell resounded through the palace like a thunderclap. With this as the center, it spread throughout most of the capital.
The commoners in the capital walked out of their houses when they heard the commotion. They all looked in the direction of the palace.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The bell rang continuously, making one’s ears ring.
Soon, more and more people gathered on the street, bustling with activity.
In the crowd, a withered old scholar looked up at the sky and listened carefully. His mouth moved slightly as he silently counted. When he counted to 28 rings, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
He muttered to himself, “A death knell, this is a death knell!”
The 27th ring signalled the death of the empress dowager and the empress.
However, the funeral bell still didn’t stop. It had already exceeded 30 times, but it was still ringing
The old scholar wasn’t the only one counting. The others on the street were also counting. “…43, 44, 45.”
At first, the counting sounds were a little messy, but slowly, these voices became uniform.
After the bell rang for a full 45 times, it fell silent.
The streets and alleys in the capital, even the residences, were silent.
All the officials and commoners who heard the bell trembled in their hearts and couldn’t help but reveal sorrowful expressions.
The bell rang 45 times, a number a.s.sociated with the death of an emperor, signifying that the Emperor had pa.s.sed away!
Most people might only experience a big event like the death of the Emperor once in their lives, but the thousands of citizens in the capital had already experienced it once a year ago. They immediately reacted and knew that it was a funeral bell just now.
Everyone’s hearts sank.
Although this Emperor had only succeeded the throne for a year, he was kind-hearted and loved the people as his son. In just a year, he gave benevolent governance widely, issued an edict to reduce taxes and conscription for the people, vigorously repaired farmland water conservation, reduced penalties, and so on. The people were also grateful.
“His Majesty died!”
In the crowd, someone shouted.
The old scholar looked in the direction of the palace sadly and slowly knelt down.
The two scholars beside him also kneeled down with him. The surrounding people seemed to have been infected by this emotion. One spread to ten, ten spread to a hundred, a hundred spread to a thousand, a thousand spread to ten thousand… The citizens on the street all kneeled down.
The atmosphere was solemn and sad.
Suddenly, messy hoofbeats came from the street in the distance. They approached quickly, gradually approaching, and also woke the citizens up from their sorrow.
A team of bronze-armored royal guards galloped past, their hooves flying.
“All of you commoners, go home. You’re not allowed to stay outside.”
“Anyone who wanders around as a wanderer will be taken down as a troublemaker.”
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The commoners kneeling on the ground were shocked when they heard that. They got up one after another and returned to their homes, afraid that they would be captured and sent to prison.
The entire capital was in a state of panic. Soon, there were no pa.s.sers-by on the street. It became empty and lifeless.
Soldiers of the imperial guards rode their horses through the streets and alleys of the capital. One by one, they shouted or waved their horse whips, forcefully expelling the citizens on the street and not allowing them to wander outside.
Not only that, but there were also teams of soldiers surrounding the residences of the imperial capital, the Five Cities Military Department, the Northern Town Bureau, and the various n.o.ble generals..