Chapter 174
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
One could not tell if Nalan Hongye was happy or sad. Her figure seemed so lonely as her eyes gazed into the distance. Far in the distance, the Yi Le Palace stood, with music coming out from inside. The dances and musicals seemed like a metaphor for the weakening of the glorious empire.
“Let us head to Qing Zhi Palace,” Nalan Hongye instructed.
In the dusk, Xuan Mo had left the palace. Aunt Yun, along with the servants, brought up the dishes that had already been prepared. Nalan Hongye did not have a good appet.i.te and merely ate a few mouthfuls. Suddenly, she heard a flurry of panicking footsteps beyond the door. A person was running while shouting breathlessly, “Princess! Princess! Disaster! Disaster!”
“What happened?” Nalan Hongye raised an eyebrow.
Aunt Yun quickly rushed out to inquire, but before she had even opened her mouth, the eunuch ignored her and dashed in with his eyes full of tears. Pouncing onto the ground, he wailed, “Your Highness! It was disastrous! His Majesty climbed onto the rooftop of Yi Le Palace and accidentally fell off!”
The setting sun draped the palace with a layer of crimson. The security of the palace was tighter than usual, with patrolmen and guards everywhere. The doors to the palace were completely shut tight, and no one was allowed to enter or exit. Most of the officials had arrived and were all kneeling in waiting. Those lowered head lifted up at the moment she entered. Mixed in with the crimson sunlight, their gazes spoke of differing emotions. There was respect, fear, jealousy, disdain, anger. All kinds of emotions could be felt in that one glance, before they lowered their head again, returning to the prior peace.
Wearing a dark violet silk gown, there were giant embroideries of roses st.i.tched on her collar, contrasting with her pristine white neck. Her face looked solemn and forlorn. Walking up the Mo Ji Palace, the entire atmosphere was frigid. Standing at the front of all the officials was Jinjiang King. Seeing that she had arrived, he quickly stepped up, only to be pushed by a man dressed in a dark blue blouse, and he almost tripped.
Xuan Mo’s eyes were filled with worry. Completely ignoring the rage in Jinjiang King’s eyes, he stepped up. Despite wanting to speak, he ultimately decided to remain silent.
“How is the emperor?” Nalan Hongye solemnly asked. Her expression was calm, and one could not see any signs of fatigue or emotions. The crowds threw at her gazes of curiosity which was quickly replaced by disappointment. Xuan Mo shook his head and informed, “The imperial doctors said there was no way to save him. Princess, please head in to take a look.”
In that instance, her heart sank. But unfortunately, many pairs of eyes were staring at her, judging her every move. Nalan Hongye suddenly recalled how many years ago, on the night when her father pa.s.sed away, also in this Palace, she was also gazed at in the same manner, and it was also raining like it was now. It was freezing cold, and she found it difficult to breathe, yet she forced herself to calm her breathing. Slowly, she forced it back. She forced all of her raging emotions back down with her logic which was already bordering on breaking down.
She slowly walked over, through the crowds. The two maidservants lifted up the veils, and she walked into the bedroom alone. The golden sunlight pierced her eyes. Biting her lips, she walked through layers and layers of curtains. The inside of the palace was so hot that she could barely breathe. Her brother laid on the gigantic bed with a complexion that was completely pale, yet his eyes shone with light. Lying there motionlessly, his eyes seemed to have sunk back into the sockets, and his lips were cracked in dryness. On his head, one could see a patch of crimson red blood.
Her vision suddenly clouded up, but Nalan Hongye forced her tears back. Right now, she was surrounded by judging gazes. Her hands trembled very slightly. She wanted to stretch out her hands, but she did not know where to place them. She could only lightly call out, “Yu’er?”
Hearing her voice, the Emperor turned around ever so slightly. His first response was fear, as with his hoa.r.s.e voice, he tried to explain, “Sister…I still have not finished writing…”
Tears surged and almost fell from her eyes yet again. Nalan Hongye sat by the bed and held his shoulder with her hands. “You do not need to write it anymore. I will never punish you again…”
“Really?” The young emperor’s eyes shone with antic.i.p.ation. He continued to ask, and seemed more like a healthy person, “Are you serious?”
Suddenly, Nalan Hongye was reminded of that moment when father pa.s.sed away. Her heart was likewise frozen up completely. Biting her lips, she nodded, “Yes, I promise.”
“That would be great!” The Emperor laid back and stared emptily at the veils that hung from the ceilings. The dragon embroideries on it seemed so ferocious, as though it would eat people up.
“That would be great. I could finally…finally…” He ultimately could not continue his speech. His eyes sparkled with antic.i.p.ation, as though he was about to achieve his lifelong dream. He straightened his neck, and his face looked excited, yet with an unhealthy blush. He pulled on Nalan Hongye’s hand, as though he wanted to say something, but it was as though his throat had been blocked, and could only produce incoherent wheezing.
The imperial doctors rushed up, and the crowd gathered. The young eunuch that had been with the emperor since young wailed out, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
“What did His Majesty want to say?” Nalan Hongye turned around. With her eyes bloodshot, she inquired, “Do you know?”
“Princess…” The young eunuch kneeled on the ground as though he had been scared dumb, and did not answer the question properly, “His Majesty climbed onto Yi Le Palace as he wanted to see how it looked like outside. He said that he had never been outside the palace before. His Majesty…His Majesty…”
Sadness overflowed from her heart, and freezing coldness encapsulated her entire body. With the imperial doctors rushing all around her, Nalan Hongye’s face was bright red. She repeated hoa.r.s.ely, “Sure…sure…”
Nalan Hongye grabbed the Emperor’s hand and said, “Yu’er, once you get better, I will bring you outside!”
A tinge of joy flashed before the Emperor’s eyes. He closed his eyes, and with his bright eyes, he looked at his sister. His eyes were so pure and innocent; he seemed like a young child. Suddenly, his hand let go of Nalan Hongye’s sleeves, as his breath abruptly came to a stop. With a dull impact, his head fell sideways onto the bed.
“His Majesty!”
“His Majesty!”
Loud wails of sadness erupted in the palace, as the sounds of sadness spread throughout the entire palace. The setting sun had finally sunk below the horizon, as the last ray of light disappeared from sight. The land sank into darkness, as the white lanterns were raised up once again. Wailing sounds could be heard everywhere. However, one could never tell how many of these crying sounds really came from the bottom of their hearts.
“His Majesty has pa.s.sed on…” the sharp voice of the servants pierced the heavens. Standing in the middle of the crowd, Nalan Hongye faced so many wailing officials. They were divided into many parties and wailed in their respective camps. There were so many people present, yet she still felt that the entire palace was so empty. As the sun set, the bright moon rose. The pale white light illuminated her lonely figure. The white light looked like snow, so cold, so bone piercing.
With the death of the emperor, the entire Song empire had to mourn. Within the month, no marriages were to take place, and everyone was to wear solemn clothing outside. Just as the war was about to begin in the Northwest, the Song empire was faced with such a disaster. The original military exercise that was held to help Yan Bei distract the Xia Empire was also called off. Within the Song Empire, dark clouds loomed over everyone’s hearts.
With the pa.s.sing of the Mingren Emperor, Nalan Hongye announced his will. The emperor’s oldest son Nalan Heqing would take the throne, and that marked the beginning of the Mingde period. Yet, on the night of the pa.s.sing of the Emperor, Nalan Hongye fell gravely ill. The fatigue that had acc.u.mulated over the years was like a barrel of gunpowder that was ignited. The moment she stepped out of Mo Ji Palace, a mouthful of blood surged in her throat. Yet, she suppressed it. Tumbling, she almost fell, as Aunt Yun rushed up to support her. In front of all of the officials, she knew she could not afford to vomit that mouthful of blood. Therefore, she swallowed it back as she pushed away Aunt Yun’s hands.
The Nalan Family was already empty. Other than her mother who was sick, her young sister, and her nephew who was barely one-year-old, she was the only one left. The gargantuan territory of the Nalan Royal family had once again fallen onto her shoulders alone. That was why she could not afford to fall, or even show weakness. The moment she fell would mark the moment that the efforts of her ancestors over the past thousands of years went to waste.
Straightening her back, she calmly read the will and arranged the funeral. With that, she managed to calm the hearts of the officials. After all was done, she returned to her bedroom and sat quietly for an entire night. With the candle wax dripping like tears, her eyes were hollow and cold, but no tears emerged.
The funeral of the Emperor was left to King of Anling and Xuan Mo and his father. By the next day, the various officials all around the empire sent men to take part in the funeral. Sitting in the central palace, Nalan Hongye took charge of everything. Although the Emperor was deceased, the heir apparent had long ago been declared, and the Eldest Princess Nalan was still around, so there were no drastic changes.
On the second day, Nalan Hongye brought men to the Queen’s palace in order to bring the new Emperor to the ancestral temple. Yet, before she had even stepped into the bedroom, she saw a blade piercing towards her.
With a whoosh, Xuan Mo drew his blade. Deflecting the incoming blade, he shielded Nalan Hongye. The guards around panicked, with someone shouting, “a.s.sa.s.sin! a.s.sa.s.sin!”
Just as they were about to charge into the bedroom, one could hear the Queen shouting frantically, “I will kill you! Kill you!”
Cui Wanru dashed out, her hair in a mess. With one hand holding the child, the other hand was holding scissors. With bloodshot eyes, she screamed with her hoa.r.s.e voice, “You despicable woman! You killed the Emperor. Now you are plotting to kill my child! I will kill you, I will kill you!”
Nalan Hongye’s face turned pale as she bit her lip. Seeing that, Aunt Yun interjected, “Your Highness! What nonsense are you saying?”
“I am not speaking nonsense! I know everything!” Cui Wanru smirked. “You are such an ambitious woman. You wanted to be the ruler, so you killed the Emperor, and now you have come for my child. I will not let your plot come to fruition!”
Nalan Hongye suddenly felt very tired. The sun felt so piercing, as though everywhere it shone was filled with acrimony. Coldly, she turned around and calmly said, “The Queen is not feeling very well, and can no longer raise the Emperor. Bring the Emperor away.”
Xuan Mo said in deference, “Roger. What about the Queen?” With the death of the Emperor, the entire court was a ruckus. Cui Wanru’s father was the Grand Commandant of Song Empire. If she were to continue as the mother of the Emperor, the strength of the Cui family would instantly skyrocket. What’s more, Grand Commandant Cui was Jinjiang King’s teacher…
“The Queen was wise and upright, and swore to be with the Emperor. Reward her with poisonous wine and send her on her way!”
Despite the shining sun, dark patches of rain clouds drifted in from the northwest. Raising her head, Nalan Hongye wondered if it would rain. Forcing herself to complete the paperwork, it was already deep into the night. Following behind her, Xuan Mo seemed like he wanted to say something multiple times, but ultimately he decided not to. Before he left, he advised, “The dead cannot return to the living. My condolences go out to you, Princess. Please do not be too sad, as it will hurt your health.”
Nalan Hongye nodded, and very formally she replied, “I appreciate your a.s.sistance, Xuan King.”
Xuan Mo did not reply, and merely looked at her. Lifting her head, Nalan Hongye saw that his face looked really serious and lonely, and was no longer filled with youth and liberty. With the pa.s.sing of time, ultimately, everyone had changed.