Chapter 6: The End of Eternity 1. Hands and feet
"On an auspicious day of the month, I will wear the first clothes. I will abandon your childish ambitions and follow your virtues. I wish you a long and healthy life and great happiness."
"In an auspicious month and auspicious day, I will dress you well. I will respect your dignity and be prudent in your virtue. May you live a long life and receive eternal blessings."
"In the right year, in the order of the month, all are blessed. Brothers are present to complete their virtue. Huangdi has no boundaries, and receives the blessing of heaven."
Following the words of praise from Taichang, Liu Xiu placed the last crown on Liu Zhuang's head. Liu Zhuang changed into the crown prince's attire and bowed to the civil and military officials according to etiquette.
The Imperial Household Minister shouted: "Crown Prince Zhuang, with the given name Zili!"
The whole audience cheered, the emperor, his ministers, the guests laughed and congratulated each other, the music of bells, chimes and orchestras sounded, and Liu Xiu stood about seven or eight steps away from me, holding his son's hand, and walked slowly towards me.
Zili——Liu Zili!
My eyes suddenly became moist. I was clearly still grinning with emotion, but tears were filling my eyes uncontrollably.
In the spring of the 23rd year of Jianwu, the crown prince came of age and was moved to the Crown Prince's Palace. According to the system, he was assigned to several official offices: one crown prince's junior tutor, one crown prince's chief officer, three crown prince's concubines, five crown prince's servants, one crown prince's household officer, one crown prince's warehouse officer, one crown prince's food officer, one crown prince's servant, one crown prince's stable master, one crown prince's gate doctor, five crown prince's junior sons, sixteen crown prince's grooms, one crown prince's deputy shield officer, and one crown prince's guard officer.
A month later, Princess Wuyin and Princess Nieyang married Liang Song and Dou Gu respectively, and set up princess mansions. The Chief of the Imperial Clan appointed one princess household steward, one princess assistant, one princess chief clerk, one princess servant, one private palace chief, three direct officials, and two assistant officials according to the regulations.
The palace seemed to have suddenly become deserted. My children had all started families, and I felt like a fledgling leaving the nest. This obvious feeling of loss lasted until the summer and I couldn't get rid of it. I believe Liu Xiu had this feeling to some extent, but as a father, he didn't always take his children as seriously as a mother.
I suddenly felt bored. I read books every day but was often distracted.
Hongfu promised Han Guang that I would keep her for another four or five years, after all, she was only fourteen years old, but since her two older sisters got married, she actually clamored to get married immediately. Fourteen years old is indeed qualified to start a family in this era, not to mention that Hongfu has always been precocious, born with a graceful figure, and her physical development is not inferior to her older sisters. Liu Xiu is a very open-minded father, always obeying his daughter, not to mention that in his eyes, getting married at the age of fourteen is not a big deal.
In the end, I couldn't resist my daughter's crying and pleading. I was very sensitive about her. Her words "Mother is partial to me!" were more hurtful than any actual action. So, the wedding was set for this autumn.
On the seventh day of the fifth month, Grand Tutor Cai Mao passed away. Liu Xiu had originally intended to let Zhu Hu take over this position, but he did not expect that Zhu Hu would be critically ill before he was mentioned. After more than a month, his condition became increasingly serious and he eventually passed away.
In August, before the successor to the position of Grand Chancellor was decided, Grand Chancellor Du Lin passed away.
The old generation is leaving, and the new generation is gradually replacing the old one. I suddenly felt a sense of the Yangtze River's waves behind pushing the waves ahead, but my understanding of the old waves dying on the beach was humorous and inevitably gave rise to a kind of cold sadness.
At the end of the month, Princess Guantao Liu Hongfu got married. The wedding was very grand. Liu Xiu and I did not neglect our third daughter because we had three weddings in a year. All the etiquette and pomp were the same as the first two weddings. Hongfu was very happy, but I couldn't help crying again at the wedding. This child may have regarded marrying as a step to escape from the control of her parents. On the evening of the wedding day, she happily stepped into the painting carriage and left. She didn't even leave a word of comfort. She was really a bit heartless.
As usual, many wives and relatives came to the palace to help at the wedding, so I met Yin Shi, Yin Xing, Yin Jiu and other brothers from my mother's family again. But this time, Yin Xing impressed me too much. I never expected that in just half a year, he would become so thin. The wide, curved-hem long gown wrapped around his body still looked a little loose. His face was not only haggard, but also old. He was only 39 years old, but he looked like a little old man. His back was hunched, and one hand was clenched into a fist to cover up the rude cough when greeting.
I couldn't believe my eyes, so I asked the Grand Chamberlain to summon Yin Xing's wife for questioning. However, Mrs. Yin was always very reserved in her words and deeds when she saw me. She did get some answers about family matters, but they only told me good news and not bad news. She really couldn't get what I wanted to hear, so she had to ask Shanan to find Amber to see me.
Upon seeing her, I found that Amber had lost a lot of weight. When she saw me, she kowtowed to me according to etiquette, but at the end she fell to the ground and started crying. It turned out that Yin Xing had been ill for almost a year. At first, she just caught a cold occasionally. She took a lot of medicine, but she still often felt palpitations and weakness. In the past six months, her condition has worsened. She felt nauseous and vomited everything she ate. She was tortured to the point of losing her human form.
She cried as she spoke, and the more I listened, the more frightened I became.
Yin Xing concealed his illness in order not to make me worry. In fact, this was not just his idea. Yin Shi, Yin Jiu and others did not mention a word to me. It has been so long. If Yin Xing had not been so sick that he lost his human form, I am afraid I would have been kept in the dark forever.
If it were my previous temper, I would have wanted to jump up and rush to the front hall to pull Yin Xing out of the crowd and scold her. But I am no longer the ignorant girl I was back then. After the wedding, Liu Xiu and I discussed it, and Liu Xiu finally ordered the imperial physician to go to Yin Xing's mansion to see the patient.
Since he didn't want me to worry, if I showed up, I would be wasting his kindness. So I pretended to be unaware of it, but secretly let Amber and Shanan keep in touch and exchange information.
A month passed like this, and Liu Xiu appointed Yu Kuang of Chenliu County as the Grand Tutor at the court. He also told me that Yin Xing's condition had improved significantly, and he planned to leave the position of Grand Marshal to Yin Xing.
After hearing this, I finally felt relieved after a month of worrying about it.
On the second day of October, early in the morning, I had just gotten up and washed myself when the Grand Chamberlain came in and reported: "Shizhong Yinxing's concubine Ke is outside the palace asking to see you!"
I was stunned at first, and before I could think of anything, I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my scalp. Shanan dropped the comb in panic and said, "I lost my hand..."
I felt even more puzzled. I glanced suspiciously at Shannan, whose face had turned pale, and replied to the Grand Chamberlain: "Bring in Ke!"
The Grand Chamberlain immediately ordered someone to arrange the side hall of the West Palace as the reception room. Half an hour later, Amber stumbled in. Her steps were unsteady. I noticed that her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had just cried. When she came to me, she stuttered and couldn't even speak coherently: "My husband ordered me... to invite the Queen to come..."
I couldn't help but laugh and said, "How did Jun Ling find out? But you are not simple at all. You were able to hide it from him for a month..."
Amber was hesitant and didn't know what to say.
I continued to laugh and said, "After he scolded you, did he want to find me to talk to him again? But it's not that easy. I won't go. If he wants to settle the score later, just come to the palace to see me."
Amber's face turned pale, and even the blood color on her lips faded away. She stood in the middle of the room, looking at me helplessly.
Shanan interrupted and called out in a low voice, "Empress!" But then she seemed to be hesitant to speak and just sighed deeply.
I was just feeling strange when the eunuch on the corridor shouted, "The Emperor has arrived—" Amber was so frightened that her legs went limp and she fell to her knees.
I felt that Amber's behavior today was more and more strange. While I was thinking, Liu Xiu had walked in from outside. There was a hint of calmness on his usually gentle face. The moment he saw Amber, a hint of understanding flashed across his face.
"Lihua, please go! I have ordered the Gatekeeper to guard the Middle East Gate for you, so you don't have to rush back on time..."
Liu Xiu's words gradually made me stop smiling. My eyes moved from him to Amber, and then from Amber to Shanan. Everyone's expression was filled with a hint of sadness. At this point, even if I was dull, I could still sense something was wrong.
"Jun Ling, he..."
"He wants to see you..." Liu Xiu sighed, "Go quickly! He's waiting for you!"
As soon as I finished speaking, I jumped up as if by reflex and ran out of the room in a panic, completely ignoring Shanan's repeated calls from behind.
The carriage stopped at the door, and I hurriedly got off the carriage and walked without waiting for the eunuch to report. The servant who opened the door was obviously confused, and I didn't have time to explain to him, so I just rushed in.
The long skirt dragged on the ground. Although I tried to walk as fast as I could, the long dress bound my legs and feet. No matter how fast I walked, I couldn't take big steps. It felt like there was a fire burning in my chest. The fire was so strong that I didn't know what it felt like.
Zhonghuangmen led the way, and the guests and servants who had been scolded along the way were so scared that they made way and bowed. I had no time to care about them and went straight into the room.
The door of the main room was also crowded with people. Many people were wandering in the corridor. Some of them looked familiar, but some were very unfamiliar. I took a quick look and many of them immediately lowered their heads.
The first door was opened and I stepped in. In the dim room, kneeling were members of the Yin clan, big and small, including Yin Xing's wives, concubines and children. Before I entered, I didn't know what they were discussing. When I entered, the voices suddenly stopped, and then everyone turned around and looked at me.
"Empress——" The scene was a bit chaotic, and it was obvious that these people did not expect me to appear so abruptly.
I stood at the door and tried hard to calm my disordered breathing. My eyes passed through these tribesmen and fell directly on the tightly closed double door.
"Everyone, be quiet!" It was a very calm voice, not loud, but surprisingly powerful, which instantly suppressed the noisy voices.
I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yin Shi sitting in the highest seat in the east with a calm face.
After restraining the tribesmen, he nodded slightly to me, then turned his eyes to the double door, and the little maid kneeling by the door immediately rolled up the bamboo curtain. I walked slowly inside, and the strong smell of medicine hit me in the face. The curtain was half-closed, and a woman was kneeling in front of the bed, holding a medicine bowl and feeding the soup into Yin Xing's mouth spoonful by spoonful.
Yin Xing was half-leaning on the bed, exhausted, his skinny body weakly supported on the huge bed. I suddenly hesitated, not daring to move forward, the muscles in my calves trembled constantly.
Halfway through the medicine, Yin Xing heard a "vomit" sound, and his body trembled, and he vomited out all the medicine he had just fed. The vomit splashed all over the bed, and the girl at the head of the bed was not spared. Yin Xing was exhausted from vomiting, and lay on the bed with his head raised, gasping for breath. The girl bit her lip and silently wiped the filth on the bed with her sleeve.
It moved me to tears and my heart was filled with sorrow and pain.
Yin Xing took a long breath and suddenly said in a hoarse voice: "I know you don't like me. You only like Yin Jiu. We are both your younger brothers, so why do you ignore me?"
My whole body froze, and the step I was about to take suddenly stopped. The girl was obviously used to it, and said softly: "No, Daddy, please don't think like that..."
Yin Xing's breathing was like pumping a bellows, and his breath was very rapid. He was lying face up, and I couldn't see his expression, but I felt that his tone was like he had suddenly returned to his childhood, and his youth was very serious.
"Daddy died early. We are born of the same mother. Why do you treat him better than me now?" He suddenly struggled to prop up his upper body, and then grabbed Su He's wrist with his skinny right hand like an eagle's claw. Su He felt pain, and the medicine bowl in her hand rolled to the ground.
Yin Xing looked at her with great effort, his expression was extremely complicated. After a long time, he said softly: "Okay, I was wrong. I shouldn't have called you a useless person! I'm sorry... I didn't really want to scold you. I was just angry that you don't know how to love yourself for Liu Xiu and always ruin yourself... Don't be so indifferent and angry with me anymore. Can we still be the same as before? You treated me... treated me..."
He couldn't catch his breath, and what came back was a heart-wrenching cough.
Su He stood up in panic, looking at her trembling father at a loss.
I hurried forward and saw Yin Xing's eyes rolled back and his hands and feet twitched stiffly. Su He saw me and knelt down in panic. I hugged Yin Xing and patted his chest carefully. While helping him calm down, I yelled at Su He, "Why don't you call the doctor!"
Su He was startled by my yelling, and she explained tremblingly: "Daddy...Daddy he..."
As he spoke, Yin Xing groaned, took a deep breath, and slowly woke up.
I supported him, and he slowly turned his head, his eye sockets were sunken, and his eye bags were dark. He looked at Su He for two minutes, then turned back to look at me, his cloudy eyes gradually becoming clearer.
"Empress!" He swallowed hard, and the movement of the protruding Adam's apple on his neck was particularly noticeable.
After Su He heard this, her eyes lit up, and a hint of hope flashed across her pretty face: "Daddy! It's the Queen... It's the Queen who came to see you... Daddy, you're finally awake, I'll go call the imperial physician now--"
Yin Xing reached out to pull her, but failed, and Su He was blown away like a gust of wind.
Yin Xing's hands dropped weakly, and I carefully laid that skinny body down. Yin Xing leaned on the quilt and soft pillow, not saying a word, his breathing through his nose sometimes slow, sometimes rapid.
"Jun Ling..." I licked my lips and called his name tentatively.
Yin Xing groaned again, then closed his eyes: "I am very grateful to the Queen for coming to visit me. However, it will be inconvenient for the Queen to leave the palace. It is better for her to go back early." He seemed very tired. He barely finished this sentence and then there was no more movement. The huge room was so quiet that only his faint breathing could be heard.
I stayed with Yin Xing for more than half an hour, and until I was sure that he was really asleep, I tiptoed out of the dormitory silently.
The curtain was rolled up again, and the situation outside was no different from when I came in. There were women weeping behind their sleeves, and children lying on the ground in silence. When I walked out, the women and children in the room immediately stared at me with an indescribable look of dependence.
I was deeply hurt by these hopeful looks. At that moment, I felt the same as them, completely helpless. Because based on the current situation, Yin Xing's condition did not seem to be optimistic.
I took a deep breath, walked around the crowd, and came to Yin Shi. Just as Yin Shi was about to salute, I immediately pressed his shoulders hard. He struggled symbolically for a few times, but then gave up.
"What disease did Jun Ling have?" I tried my best to make my tone sound calm, but as soon as I said it, I realized that my voice was already trembling.
Yin Shi made way for me and gestured for me to come. I suppressed my excitement and took the elegant posture that a queen should have, sitting in the middle of the mat. Yin Shi chose another seat at the bottom and sat down. Then he spoke expressionlessly, "It's not easy to delay until now. The imperial physician said that it's just a matter of time. Your Majesty has shown your grace and has come several times in the past month. Your Majesty also understands Jun Ling's intention... The queen can come today... I think Jun Ling should be satisfied."
I just felt a buzzing sound in my head, and my thoughts stopped at that moment: "You...you actually deceived me together..." My words were choked, and I was so heartbroken that I couldn't say any more.
Although I had felt something ominous when I saw the abnormal reactions of Liu Xiu, Hu Bo and others in the morning, and I saw Yin Xing was so sick that he was unconscious and talking nonsense, I felt even more disappointed. But I didn't want to believe it until the end. He was only 39 years old! He was in the prime of his life!
Thinking of this, I stood up from my seat, causing the younger generations who had just sat down to stand up hurriedly.
"Is the Queen going back to the palace?" Yin Shi's voice sounded slowly.
I didn't stop walking, and instead walked towards the inner room instead of going out. The maid at the door didn't expect me to do this, and didn't even have time to roll up the curtain. I ignored her and lifted the curtain and walked in.
This time, a new person was serving the bed, not a maid, nor Su He, but Yin Xing's wife, Cao. When I went in, Yin Xing was whispering something to Cao, and Cao was just crying, heartbroken.
When I walked to the bed, Yin Xing suddenly perked up and said to Cao: "That's it, you go out first and take good care of the children... I still have something to say to the queen!"
Although Cao was sad, she did not dare to go against her husband's wishes, so she walked out trembling. As she reached the door, her legs went weak and she collapsed. Fortunately, the maid at the door was quick-witted and hugged her in time, thus preventing her from falling.
"Look at how clumsy she is. She hasn't made any progress in the past twenty years..." Yin Xing looked at his wife's back and suddenly laughed half mockingly.
I was speechless and choked up, my chest felt like it was filled with cotton wool, it was really suffocating. The more relaxed Yin Xing acted, the heavier my mood became.
"I think... it's time to return this thing to you." Yin Xing tried to raise his hand, but his arms were shaking and he was unable to do so. In the end, he could only keep staring at the head of the bed.
I immediately understood and reached under his pillow to feel around. Soon I touched a cold, long object. I pulled it out and saw that it was indeed a jade box carved from white jade. It looked heavy, but it was not as clumsy as it looked. I opened the jade box in front of him and saw the evil-repelling jade pendant tag without any surprise.
"Please keep it properly for the future, Your Majesty!"
I think he was trying to smile nonchalantly, but he was too sick to control himself, and the smile he forced out was uglier than crying.
"Jun Ling..." I also wanted to laugh, but in the end, the corners of my mouth twitched and I could only force out a smile that was uglier than crying.
He looked at me with his eyes wide open. About ten minutes later, just when I thought he had fallen asleep, he suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice: "Sister, if I die, will miss me?"
I shuddered and tears fell. For the first time in so many years, he called me sister without any scruples. I was so excited that I nodded with sobs in my throat, and then immediately shook my head: "You won't die! You won't die...Sister won't let you die, don't let your imagination run wild..."
He smiled and shook his head: "Why deceive yourself..."
"You won't die! His Majesty wants to appoint you as one of the Three Dukes, and the Crown Prince still needs your assistance..."
He continued to shake his head and took a deep breath: "The prince is already an adult, he will naturally make his own decisions... Your status will be more respected in the future, but there is one thing you must remember, do not let the Yin family get involved in the vortex of government..."
He spoke in a lower and lower voice, and at the end, he seemed to have fallen asleep and disappeared.
I covered my mouth, tears streaming down my face. I don't know how long it took before Yin Shi came to my side and said in a hollow voice, "Let him go!"
I fell to the ground, bursting into tears. In an instant, there was a commotion outside, and then the whole house seemed to wake up, with sudden cries of grief. I was drowned in the heartbroken sobs, as if I was immersed in an endless ocean. The water was freezing cold and filled with endless despair.
Yin Shi walked forward, reached out and touched Yin Xing's forehead, then supported his back, took away the soft pillow under him, and laid the lifeless thin body flat. After doing all this, he sat at the head of the bed, silently looking at his younger brother.
Not long after, Yin Xing's eldest son Yin Qing came in crying, supporting his mother, followed by Yin Qing's younger brothers Yin Bo, Yin Yuan, Yin Dan and others, and finally a large group of other nephews and relatives.
Yin Shi then stood up with trembling legs, supported me while I cried with one hand, and waved to the door with the other hand: "Coffin - funeral -"
Tears slowly slid down his gloomy face...
