Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 512 The End
Zhao Wangshu thought that everything was settled and Yun Hao should be back, but when it was evening, he still hadn't come back. She took little Yun Yu to the second gate to wait, just to see him as soon as he came.

But after waiting for so long, all he got was his message, "My Lord said that he will come back when he is busy. Please take good care of yourself, Madam, and don't worry about him."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Zhao Wangshu was holding little Yunyu's hand and turned around when he was startled by Madam Yun, who was standing not far away. She was wearing plain clothes and had long hair.

Zhao Wangshu calmed down and asked with a smile, "Mother, why are you here?"

Madam Yun approached slowly, with a gentle smile on her lips, "I heard that Hao'er was so busy that he didn't come back for a few days. I was worried about him, so I wanted to come and see you two. Wangshu, you have worked hard these days. You have to take care of the affairs of the mansion and take care of little Yunyu. It is really not easy."

As Madam Yun spoke, her gaze fell gently on little Yun Yu. The little guy was blinking his big eyes, looking curiously at his grandmother who seldom showed up in public.

"It's not hard, mother. Yunhao works for the country and the people. Although I can't be with him, it is my responsibility to protect this home, take good care of Yuer, and let him have no worries." Zhao Wangshu said with a smile.

Madam Yun's eyes showed relief and appreciation. "Good child, you have always done very well. It is a blessing for Hao'er to marry you. Hao'er is busy outside and sometimes can't take care of the family. You need to take care of yourself and don't worry too much. Especially now that you are pregnant, you should be extra careful."

Zhao Wangshu gently stroked his bulging belly. "Don't worry, mother. The maids are there to help with the affairs of the mansion, and Yu'er is also carefully taken care of by the wet nurses and maids. It's my body that has been feeling a little tired recently, but the doctor said it's nothing serious, I just need to rest more."

"That's good. It's windy, let's go back to the yard." Madam Yun sent the mother and son and her wife to Linglong Courtyard, politely declined Zhao Wangshu's invitation to go in and have dinner together, and took Aqi back to the Buddhist hall.

In the middle of the night, it started to rain, and the rain was dripping, tapping on the window frames.

Zhao Wangshu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

The coolness of the rainy night crept in through the window, causing her to tighten the quilt around her, with inexplicable waves of worry rising in her heart.

In the palace, Yun Hao, dressed in black, quietly entered the Yangxin Palace. The eunuch saw him and whispered, "Sir, you are here."

"Thank you for the trouble." Yun Hao nodded slightly.

In the inner hall, apart from the emperor lying on the bed, the palace servants who usually served him were not there.

The eunuch followed Yun Hao into the hall and he stood guard at the door.

Yun Hao walked to the bedside, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

After calling him twice, the emperor did not respond at all, let alone wake up.

Yun Hao pulled out a needle box from his sleeve pocket, took out a needle, and stabbed the emperor in the philtrum.

The emperor slowly opened his heavy eyelids and looked at the person in front of him. After a moment of recognition, he said, "Jingyao, you are here."

"I'm here to ask your majesty a question." Yun Hao looked down at the emperor with a cold gaze.

The dying emperor did not notice Yun Hao's abnormality. "What do you want to ask?"

"Did Your Majesty kill my father?" Yun Hao asked directly.

Hearing this, the emperor's eyes flashed with a complex emotion, as if he was surprised, but also as if he had expected it.

He tried hard to sit up, but could only barely support his upper body. His breathing seemed particularly heavy in the silent hall.

Yun Hao did not step forward to support him, but just looked at him quietly, without any warmth in his eyes.

"Jingyao, your father was my study partner. I trusted him like a brother. However, the palace is unpredictable and many things are not as simple as they seem. His death was an accident." The emperor tried hard to distance himself from the matter.

"Your Majesty, do you think I am still the naive and ignorant child I was back then?" Yun Hao asked.

The emperor was silent. He knew that Yun Hao must have found out the truth and came to question him tonight.

"You coveted my wife and used all means to kill me, and you still try to use the word 'accident' to fool me?" Yun Hao's voice was low and full of anger.

"I, I..." The emperor was unable to refute. He knew very well that no matter what he said, Yun Hao would not believe him.

"Jingyao, these years, I have treated you as my own son and have been very kind to you. Now that I don't have much time left, you should stop dwelling on the past." The emperor's voice was pleading.

Yun Hao raised the corners of his lips and smiled strangely, "Your Majesty, do you know why you don't have much time left?"

The emperor realized something and his eyes widened. "It's you. You attacked me?"

"I don't want to dirty my hands. There are other people who attacked you. To be precise, many things were instigated by me. I won't talk about the past, but just talk about the two most recent things. Prince Zuo bribed the imperial physician to poison you, and he led people to sneak into the palace and besieged the Yangxin Palace. All of these were instigated by me." Yun Hao leaned over and said in his ear.

The emperor's face turned pale as paper in an instant, and his chest rose and fell violently. "When did you know about this?"

"Ten years old." Yun Hao stood up straight and said.

The emperor suddenly laughed, "As expected of you, you are the son of the Yun family. You have such deep thoughts at such a young age. It's hard for you to pretend in front of me all these years."

Yun Hao groaned in silence, and the emperor continued: "If you were my biological son, I would definitely pass the throne to you."

"Your Majesty, we have been talking for so long and I am tired. Please sleep forever." Yun Hao's eyes flashed with a hint of sarcasm. He had said and asked what he needed to say, and there was no need to say more.

As he spoke, he inserted the silver needle in his hand into the emperor's fontanelle acupoint and slowly pushed it inside.

"What a shame." The emperor said these four words with difficulty and closed his eyes. In order to save the emperor, the court judge and the imperial physician gave him many needles, including the fontanelle acupoint, but the needles were not inserted deep enough.

Even if someone examined the emperor's body and found needle holes, no one would doubt it.

After Yun Hao made the emperor unconscious, he stuffed a pill into his mouth and then walked out. When he reached the palace gate, he said to the eunuch, "Thank you for your help."

"You are too polite, sir. Please take care." The eunuch said with a faint smile.

Yun Hao walked out of the Yangxin Palace. The rain had stopped, the night was deep, and the palace lanterns were swaying, stretching his shadow long, making him look particularly lonely and resolute.

He quietly returned to Jingren Palace, not far from the Yangxin Palace. The emperor was critically ill and could die at any time, so Ling Ze and the other two temporarily stayed in the palace to handle state affairs.

When Yun Hao returned to the rear hall of Jingren Palace, he did not alarm Ling Ze who lived in the east hall and Yao Bin who lived in the west hall.

He changed out of his black robe and lay down on the bed for a while before he heard a noise.

The chief eunuch followed the plan and after Yun Hao left, he called the judge and the imperial physician over on the pretext that the emperor was vomiting. After a diagnosis, the judge and the imperial physician asked the chief eunuch to quickly call Ling Ze and the other two, as well as Lin Tiao, who was named the crown prince, because the emperor was about to die.

Yun Hao pretended to be the last one to be woken up, and appeared in front of everyone with sleepy eyes, "Master Ling, Master Yao, what happened?"

Ling Ze's face was solemn, with a barely perceptible worry between his brows. He turned to look at Yun Hao and said in a deep voice: "Jingyao, your majesty is in a critical condition. I'm afraid..." He didn't finish his words, but the implication was enough to make people feel depressed.

"It's only a matter of time. Let's go." Yao Bin was mentally prepared, and he had been trapped in the palace for several days. He would not be able to bear it unless the emperor passed away.

Yun Hao followed them back to the Yangxin Palace.

The emperor was awakened by the judge with a silver needle, but his eyes were squinting and his mouth was crooked. Not only could he not speak, he couldn't even stare at people. His mouth made a "ho ho ho" sound.

The flickering candlelight in the hall illuminated the complex emotions on everyone's face.

"Your Majesty..." Ling Ze knelt beside the bed, his voice low and respectful. He tried to catch a glimmer of clarity in the emperor's chaotic eyes, but the only response he got was a more rapid "ho ho" sound.

The judge and the imperial physician tried to use acupuncture to relieve the emperor's pain, but it was obvious that all this was in vain.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, we will assist the prince well." Yao Bin pulled the dull Lin Tiao in front of the emperor.

"Father, I will follow the instructions of the three regents and do my best to protect this country and make it prosperous so as to live up to your expectations." Lin Tiao said stutteringly.

The emperor's eyes were filled with sadness, and his uncontrollable eyelids trembled slightly, as if he was using all his strength to convey his unfinished words.

The light and shadow of the candlelight danced on his distorted face, adding a sense of desolation and helplessness to this heavy scene.

The emperor's "ho ho" sounds gradually became lower and lower, his breath gradually became weaker, and finally he returned to calm.

The judge checked his breathing and pulse before slowly shaking his head.

The eunuch knelt down with a thud and shouted, "His Majesty has passed away!"

Everyone then stopped crying. After crying for a while, Ling Ze stood up and said to Lin Tiao, "The country cannot be without a king for a day. Your Highness, you should ascend the throne immediately and stabilize the government to comfort the spirit of the late emperor."

Lin Tiao looked flustered. "I..." He took a deep breath and straightened his back. "Lord Ling is right. Although I am not talented, I will do my best to live up to my father's wishes and the people of the world."

Looking at such a new monarch, Ling Ze felt that he had a long way to go and a heavy responsibility.

When the funeral bell rang, Zhao Wangshu was drowsy and about to fall asleep, but the sound of the bell instantly dispelled all sleepiness.

The emperor passed away, the prince ascended the throne, and a new pattern emerged in the court.

Zhao Wangshu, who couldn't sleep, wanted to get up. The baby kicked her in the stomach, and it was quite hard. Her stomach hurt a little. Zhao Wangshu quickly touched her stomach and said, "Okay, mommy won't get up. Mommy is going to sleep."

She forced herself to fall asleep, and when she woke up, it was bright outside. Looking at Yun Hao sitting beside the bed, she was a little dazed and suspected that she was dazzled, "Husband?"

"Wangshu, you're awake." Yun Hao helped her sit up, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"I'm glad you're okay. When did you come back? What's the situation in the palace?" Zhao Wangshu asked anxiously.

"I just got back a quarter of an hour ago. The Ministry of Rites in the palace is arranging the funeral and the coronation of the new emperor. I asked for leave for you so you don't have to go to the palace to mourn." Yun Hao said, touching her belly.

"Thank you, husband." Zhao Wangshu said happily.

She rang the bell and asked the maid to come in and help her wash.

Yun Hao had breakfast with Zhao Wangshu, changed his clothes, and went back to the palace.

Zhao Wangshu ordered his servants, "Replace all the things in the mansion. No flashy things should be allowed."

During the period of national mourning, the whole country is in mourning.

After the coffin of the previous emperor was settled, Crown Prince Lin Tiao ascended the throne in accordance with the imperial edict, and a new era quietly began.

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