Great Tang princess

Chapter 322 Remembering
His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi, left this world after all.

He was lying in his wife's arms, with a satisfied smile on his face, it could be seen that he left without pain or regret.

At the last moment of his life, he could feel the love of his wife and children, which made him feel the beauty of the family.

The children knelt beside his body, weeping softly.

His wife and youngest daughter, holding his gradually cooling body, wept sadly.

The last time Li Yuechen cried so sadly was when his elder brother passed away.

He leaned against his father's gradually icy body, and what flashed through his mind were various images of being with him since birth.

I clearly remember that when he was just born, he held her in his arms and showed off to foreign envoys: "This is my little daughter!"

When he was a little older, he would quietly imitate her posture when no one was around, placing his arms on top of his head and comparing his heart.

When she became a girl, she would sincerely praise all the things she invented.

When I was older, although I was worried, I still believed in her ability, sent her to the battlefield, and gave full play to myself...

In the past eighteen years, all the things that he experienced with him kept flashing in Li Yuechen's mind. From now on, he will not continue to appear in front of her.

……

I don't know how long it took, but the mother's crying gradually stopped.

She raised her hand to wipe her still red eye sockets, stretched out her hand to hold her daughter in her arms, and took a deep breath: "Okay, okay, Chen'er won't cry..."

At this moment, she suddenly changed a lot.

In the past, Li Zhilai played the role of doting, so she always looked very serious in front of her daughter.

Now that her husband passed away and her daughter had grown up, she suddenly took off her mask, and was no longer as serious to her daughter as before, but comforted her in a low voice like a weak mother.

Leaning on his mother's shoulder, Li Yuechen was still crying, but he had begun to control his emotions gradually, not as loudly as before.

Wu Zetian patted his daughter's back lightly to express comfort, while sniffling: "The emperor has passed away, and Saburo will take care of the follow-up matters."

"Yes!" Li Xian agreed, wiping away his tears.

……

The moment the emperor passed away, Zhang Chengxin had sent someone out of the palace to notify the ministers.

The courtiers who received the news were slightly surprised, and then hurriedly went out in hemp and filial piety and headed for the palace.

Although they already knew that the emperor's time was running out, they did not expect it to be so sudden.

Just after noon, a kind of ministers had already arrived outside the Hall of Renshou and began to cry.

The eunuchs and maids were also crying while building the mourning hall under Li Xian's command, perhaps because of the orderly relationship, the speed was very slow, and the mourning hall was almost completed just after Weishi.

Seeing Li Xian appearing here, although many ministers were surprised, they didn't say anything.

Thinking about it, he is not here as a prince now, but as a son, finally coming to do his filial piety to his father.

At the same time as the mourning hall was built, the assembled coffin was transported to the Hall of Renshou.

Wu Zetian patted Li Yuechen who was still in tears, "Chen'er, help my mother to sort out your grandpa's remains."

"Ok!"

Li Yuechen nodded, raised his hand to wipe away his tears, and immediately got up to help.

When the emperor was buried, he had to wear a mianfu. Li Yuechen took the mianfu from the maid next to him and began to help his father put it on.

Fortunately, not long after Li Zhi died, his limbs were not completely stiff, so it was relatively easy to wear.

Wu Zetian and other children also helped, and it took nearly half an hour to put on the crown robe.

While his daughter was helping to dress, Wu Zetian was beside him arranging his hairstyle and beard, wiping tears silently while arranging.

When everything was ready, Li Yuechen reached out to pick up his father's body and gently put it into the coffin.

Yiyang and Princess Xuancheng were also beside him, helping him arrange the clothes on his back and put them down gently.

Their movements were very gentle, as if they were afraid of waking him up.

Wu Zetian watched him enter the coffin from the side, and helped to close the lid of the coffin half way, exposing only the area above his chest.

She slowly stretched out her hand and stroked her cheek lightly, tears welled up again.

……

The emperor passed away, and the entire Eastern Capital City seemed to be filled with an atmosphere of sadness.

In the afternoon, the ministers who were crying outside the hall entered the hall to meet the emperor for the last time and say their final farewell.

They wailed loudly, supported each other, and seemed to be equally saddened by the death of the emperor.

However, at dusk, after walking out of the palace, they stopped crying one by one.

Although the expression still reveals sadness and the eye sockets are still red, it is completely different from the scene in the Hall of Renshou just now.

They all used sad expressions to tell how good the emperor is, and it is a misfortune for the world to leave now...

It sounds like you're trying to comfort each other, but in reality, it's also a way of exchanging information.

In the process of this communication, they were very surprised to find that there was no trustee!

Before the emperor died, he just stayed with his family and did not summon any ministers into the palace!
This kind of thing is extremely abnormal. It stands to reason that the emperor should summon one or even several prime ministers into the palace before his death, but this time, no one was summoned.

Of course, from a certain point of view, this is also a good thing.

At least in the future in the court, no one will use the name of "the first emperor's death" to oppress them and limit their room for display.

But again, that's not really a good thing.

There is no support for important officials, which means that in the future, if any conflicts arise between the ministers and the new emperor, no one can stand up and speak for them collectively.

After all, in this era, relying on the name of the last emperor's will, even the emperor has to give up three points, otherwise he will be suspected of being unfilial.

Filial piety is of course a virtue, but in the feudal era, it can often become a kind of shackle.

The most typical example is Qin Shihuang's mother, who favored a fake eunuch named Lai Ai and gave birth to two children.

Lai Ai claimed to be Qin Shihuang's father, and even conspired with her to murder Qin Shihuang and make her child emperor.

Qin Shihuang killed two half-brothers and killed Lao Ai, but he had nothing to do with his mother, he just drove her out of Xianyang.

But the ministers persuaded again, your mother is wrong, but you must not be unfilial.

In desperation, he had no choice but to take his mother back and continue to fulfill his filial piety!

So in the same way, ministers with the title of "the last emperor's death is in his body" are often able to confront the emperor directly, such as the eldest grandson Wuji back then.

Although he is said to be authoritarian and overbearing, at least he is on the side of the minister and will not ally with the emperor.

Now that there is no such a person, many ministers feel a little empty in their hearts.

……

In the Hall of Renshou, no one touched the food on the dining table, obviously they had no appetite.

Wu Zetian wiped away tears, looked at the children, and moved the chopsticks first: "Okay, it's been a busy day, have some dinner, and go back to rest."

"Mother, I..."

Before Li Yuechen could speak, she stopped her: "Tonight, Chen'er will go back to rest first, and she is not too young for her mother. If something happens, I have to count on you and Sanlang. Tonight... Erlang will stay with me to watch the night." .”

Li Xian nodded and agreed: "Yes!"

Although he had some objections to his mother's arrangement, Li Yuechen did not say anything.

She knew very well that her mother was just trying to keep herself from being too sad and take a good rest.

Besides, thinking about it carefully, it is normal for her to want to come by herself during the first night of vigil.

Over the years, the husband and wife have been deeply in love and fought side by side. There should be a lot of tacit understanding between the two of them that I don't know or understand.

After taking a few mouthfuls to rest his stomach, Li Yuechen returned to Anfu Hall.

After returning, he went directly into the inner hall, lay sideways on the bed, hugging his own pillow.

However, when she closed her eyes, what flashed before her eyes were still various pictures of her father's life. These pictures kept flickering in her mind, which made her shed tears again.

Suddenly heard footsteps behind him, Li Yuechen ignored it, just hugged his pillow and cried silently.

"I came in without permission, and I hope His Highness will forgive me..." Shangguan Wan'er's gentle voice sounded from behind, "But His Highness is in my heart, so I came in to have a look..."

Li Yuechen exerted his arms slightly: "I'm fine..."

Shangguan Wan'er was silent for a few seconds, then knelt down on the bed, lowered her body gently, and hugged her with the pillow.

Li Yuechen, who was crying, raised his head and saw a gentle smiling face, but at this time there were tears in the smile: "If His Highness is really sad, Wan'er will cry with His Highness, but after tonight, Don't be so sad anymore... A saint dotes on His Highness, and would not like to see His Highness like this..."

Hearing her words, Li Yuechen raised his hand to wipe away his tears: "I know, I know..."

While talking, she burst into tears. Shangguan Wan'er hugged her and cried with her.

Outside the room, the two princesses Yiyang, Xuancheng, and Pei Qingwan were all here, and when they heard the crying inside, they all looked back.

They let Shangguan Wan'er in, and Princess Yiyang knew very well that at this time, the company of friends might be more effective than the comfort of family members.

Pei Qingwan was a little worried: "This... If Your Highness is too sad..."

"Don't worry, Chen'er is very strong!" Princess Yiyang said softly, "Tomorrow, she will return to her usual appearance."

Princess Xuancheng also nodded: "Yes, Chen'er has always been like this!"

Pei Qingwan couldn't help but think of the time when her husband died, she nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

……

Early the next morning, Li Yuechen opened his eyes early.

Yesterday, she cried until midnight, causing her eyes to be a little red and swollen, but under the effect of her biological clock, she woke up early.

Shangguan Wan'er next to her was still sleeping, because she cried with her, there was still a trace of tears on her face.

She gently got up from the bed, without waking Shangguan Wan'er up, she tiptoed out of the room.

After walking out of the room, Xiao He had brought food: "Your Highness, let's have some breakfast."

"Ah."

Li Yuechen agreed, took two casual bites, and hurried to the Hall of Renshou.

After coming over, I only saw my second elder brother sitting cross-legged in front of the coffin to watch the coffin, but Wu Zetian was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Madam?" she asked.

"I started persuading her in the middle of the night, and just fell asleep." Li Xian replied softly, "I cried for a long time, let her sleep for a while."

Li Yuechen nodded: "Brother, let's go back first, as long as I'm waiting behind you."

"Well, Yuechen, you should also pay attention to rest, don't ruin your body because of the spirit guard." Li Xian warned.

"Don't worry, I'll pay attention." Li Yuechen agreed, then seemed to think of something, and said suddenly, "Brother, if someone suddenly visits you..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Xian interrupted: "Don't worry, I know. When the emperor dies, it is often the time when the palace coup is most likely to happen. I will pay attention."

He knew what his sister was worried about.

It is nothing more than fear that someone will take advantage of him and rebel in his name.

After all, although Li Xian was deposed, he is still the emperor's son by blood, and this cannot be changed.

"I'll ask Hongfeng to send someone to protect brother back later!" Li Yuechen said, and then explained, "I'm not here to monitor brother..."

"No, I should be under surveillance at this time!" Li Xian suddenly reached out and grabbed his sister's shoulder, with a serious expression on his face, "Your approach is right, if I am kidnapped at this time, the situation will be very unfavorable!"

Seeing that he could understand, Li Yuechen nodded: "That's the best!"

Letting Li Xian go back to the military camp sounds a little troublesome, but in fact, the military camp is much safer than the palace.

At present, although Qianniuwei is the royal army in name, but because of Li Yuechen's special status and prestige, they are the least likely to betray her.

Inside Qianniuwei is Li Yuechen's private domain.Compared to the palace like a sieve, absolutely no one can sneak in there!

About an hour later, Geng Yunqiang brought a battalion of soldiers to Xuanwu Gate to take Li Xian back.

Outside the Hall of Renshou, Li Yuechen warned: "Although I don't think anyone will make trouble at this time, I still pay attention on the way back to prevent someone from hijacking brother."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, we have been under control all the way before coming here, and there will be no accidents!" Geng Yunqiang replied, "Second Highness will definitely go back safe and sound."

Li Yuechen nodded, she was quite at ease with Geng Yunqiang's attitude.

After finishing speaking, Geng Yunqiang was silent for two seconds, and couldn't help but said: "Your Highness..."

"shut up!"

Li Yuechen interrupted suddenly: "I know what you're going to say, but it's best not to say it! Otherwise, it's a serious crime, and I can't protect you!"

Hearing her warning, Geng Yunqiang suddenly grinned: "Since Your Highness understands, let's not say anything!"

After speaking, he saluted, turned around and let the soldiers take Li Xian away safely.

Watching them leave, Li Yuechen sighed slightly. She knew that she was not dead yet, and the loyalty of this army to her was always higher than that of the royal family.

But this is also good, at least it can be regarded as an insurance for the future.

Raising his hand and rubbing his red and swollen eyes, Li Yuechen turned around and returned to the Hall of Renshou.

The emperor has passed away, and there are still many things that need to be dealt with next.The third brother might be too busy alone, so he still needs to help out.

(End of this chapter)