novelaction Chapter 358: The Empress Dowager's Explanation
Chapter 358: The Empress Dowager's Explanation
Chapter 358: The Empress Dowager's Explanation
The day before the Empress Dowager died, she summoned Xiao An. In the Empress Dowager's palace, Xiao An saw the Empress Dowager lying on the bed, pale and thin. When she saw Xiao An enter, she just turned her head to look at him.
And so, the two remained silent, not uttering a single word. Xiao An grew somewhat impatient and, without saying a word, headed straight for the palace gates. But upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, he stopped in his tracks.
"I know you hate me. I suddenly regret saving Qingyi and concealing her identity." The Empress Dowager said, coughing twice as she spoke. Looking at Xiao An's retreating figure, she didn't know what he was thinking, but she still hoped to gain his forgiveness.
She didn't want to be hated by her only son after she died.
"I rescued Qingyi back then. She was still young and was being hunted down. Later, she said she would be loyal to me and told me her identity. So I let her stay by my side, and that lasted for several years. But who knew that you and she were in love? The enemy country has seized this opportunity. If outsiders find out that the Empress is a spy and has given birth to the Emperor's son, wouldn't that be utterly absurd? At that time, your throne, your kingdom, and everyone else will become prisoners."
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Xiao An was at a loss. Should he admit defeat? But he didn't know. He didn't want to face it; at least, if he didn't accept it, he didn't know who to hate. He was truly unwilling to accept Qingyi's death.
"When she left, hundreds were buried with her, leaving no remains and no memorial tablet. Your mother, I, have never felt I wronged her in any way. Cough cough... Remember... remember to protect... the empire..."
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she fell silent. Xiao An, however, dared not turn around, standing there blankly with empty eyes. His legs gave way and he knelt on the ground. This time, he did not cry. When the Empress Dowager was alive, she held the reins of the government. Now that she was gone, he had to pull himself together. If he fell, his empire, his Xiangping and Xuanhong would all perish without a burial place.
After the Empress Dowager died, she was given a grand burial. A prime location was chosen as her mausoleum, and she was buried with several hundred servants and two large chests of gold jewelry.
That day, Princess Xiangping was in her palace, looking after Xuan Hong and occasionally playing with him in his cradle. After seeing the Empress Dowager die, Xiao An didn't know where to go. He wandered around aimlessly like a walking corpse, and before he knew it, he arrived at Xiangping Palace.
He stood at the doorway, regaining his senses, and realized he was actually in Xiangping Palace. Looking at Princess Xiangping and Xuan Hong lying in the cradle, he felt a sense of relief. After all, he wasn't truly alone; he had his two children with him.
Xiao An walked slowly over, squatted down and looked at Xuan Hong in the cradle, but did not see Princess Xiangping who deliberately moved her feet. Xiao An reached out to touch Xuan Hong's round face. When Xuan Hong saw Xiao An, he grinned.
The more Xiao An looked at Xuan Hong, the more he felt that he resembled Qingyi. He wanted to pick up Xuan Hong in the cradle, but the little Princess Xiangping stopped his outstretched hands. Before Xiao An could speak, Princess Xiangping said, "What do you want to do? Do you also want to burn Xuan Hong to death?"
With resentment in her eyes and harsh words, Xiao An stared blankly at Princess Xiangping before him. He knew she had misunderstood him, but how could he explain? He couldn't explain. The only thing he could do was to conceal it. He always remembered Qingyi's last words when she died.
His eyes dimmed, like a lost and helpless child. Xiao An hesitated and withdrew his outstretched hand. He looked at Xuan Hong in the cradle, then at Princess Xiangping who was looking at him with hostility. He got up and left Xiangping Palace, but kept looking back at Xuan Hong in the cradle.
Xiao An believed that Princess Xiangping was still young and would forget many things as she grew older, including the death of her mother. He firmly believed that time would heal all wounds. However, misfortune struck again. Instead of falling seriously ill, Xiao An suddenly developed some gray hairs and aged considerably overnight.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." That day, Xiao An was reading memorials in his palace when a maid rushed in in a panic, saying these words, but it was hard to understand.
Eunuch Feng was standing at the door, thinking that Xiao An was reviewing memorials inside and no one would disturb him, so he leaned against the door and dozed off for a while. Suddenly, he heard a commotion in the palace and quickly went in to see what was going on.
"Your Majesty, it is my dereliction of duty that allowed this servant to enter and disturb Your Majesty." Eunuch Feng was new and, fearing to anger Lu Xiao'an, quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to admit his mistake.
"You slave, why don't you kneel down and kowtow to admit your sins?" Eunuch Feng said sternly, looking at the maid. The maid quickly knelt on the ground, afraid that Xiao An would blame her.
"Speak what you have to say," Xiao An said, putting down the memorial in his hand as he saw the maid who had suddenly rushed in while kneeling on the ground. The maid looked up at Xiao An, then quickly lowered her head, unsure of where to begin.
"Your Majesty... His Highness Xuanhong... he... he's in trouble." The maid stammered, not daring to reveal the truth. She lowered her head, awaiting her fate. Just then, a gust of wind swept by, followed by the sound of Eunuch Feng saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please slow down..."
The sound faded into the distance. Seeing that the palace was empty, the maidservant chased after it. Inside Xiangping Palace, maidservants were gathered around a cradle. When they saw Xiao An run in, they quickly knelt on the ground, afraid of being implicated.
The moment Xiao An rushed into Xiangping Palace, he suddenly slowed down, gazing at the cradle from afar. Beside the cradle knelt Princess Xiangping. Xiao An saw her but dared not approach. Eunuch Feng, who had followed behind, saw Xiao An hesitate and prepared to go in, but Xiao An stopped him.
Eunuch Feng didn't know what had happened either, so he could only lower his head and await orders. Xiao An frowned and said, "Quickly go and fetch all the best imperial physicians in the palace to Xiangping Palace. Go now."