Emperor Kangxi: Yuyu Chengxiang

Chapter 92 Lafayette is sick and lying in the Palace of Compassion
Aunt Su Ma died silently in the Forbidden City.According to her will, Kangxi ordered the palace eunuch to take the ashes to Xiangyang and scatter them in the surging Han River.In the next few years, whenever Kangxi thought of his childhood friend "Big Sister Su", he always felt lost.Unexpectedly, the grief was not over. In September of the 26th year of Kangxi, the 75-year-old Empress Dowager also suffered from a serious illness and could not afford to fall ill.At that time, Kangxi was visiting Chengde to see the construction of a summer resort, and he stopped by Gubeimen to see the Eight Banners and Green Battalion troops stationed in Feiyanggu. He was planning to rush back to Beijing to spend the cold festival, and received a joint letter from several ministers in the study room in Beijing. The memorial handed over, this shock was no small matter, immediately drove back to Beijing in the starry night, the bodyguards and the accompanying eunuchs were divided into two groups, one group slept in the car, and the other group stayed under the car for three days and nights. Back to Beijing.

When the car enters Donghua Gate, it is already dusk, the autumn colors are dark, the crows are flying, and the dead leaves are falling when the golden wind blows.When Kangxi got out of the car, he didn't even care about changing clothes, he just waved his hand and ordered Suo, Ming, Xiong, Gao and others who were picking up at Donghuamen to "go back and do things with peace of mind", and then went straight to the Palace of Compassion. At this moment, white hair and silver eyebrows Zhang Wanqiang knew that the emperor was coming back, and tremblingly, he had already waited in front of the gate of the Palace of Compassion and Ning.

"Zhang Wanqiang," Kangxi asked as he walked, "What symptoms does Lafayette suffer from? Are all the concubines waiting here?" Zhang Wanqiang couldn't keep up with his steps, and said slightly panting: "On the third day of September, Lafayette still It was very tough, and called the empress dowagers of the palaces, the empress dowagers discussed with the noble masters, and said that when the emperor came back, Jiujiu Chongyang would go to climb Yuquan Mountain to get rid of the cold. The meals these days are not good, and I can’t use half a bowl of porridge porridge for one meal...Because I was upset, Yi ordered the concubines in the palaces to have an audience only once a day at the hour of the morning, and they would not wait in front of them..." Kangxi listened and nodded , Seeing that the maids had raised the curtain, they walked in a few steps, knelt down in front of the Empress Dowager's bed, and said softly: "The grandson is back, here is the Lafayette!"

Under the candlelight, the Empress Dowager was lying on the big welcoming pillow with her eyes closed, her face flushed with heat, her throat was probably clogged with phlegm, and her breathing was uneven. When she heard Kangxi coming, Qu Ran opened her eyes and stretched out her hand and said: " The emperor has rushed back. You sit in front of me, I have something to say, you are well back, I am really afraid..." At this point, he stopped, and only looked at Kangxi up and down.The air of attachment, love, and anticipation made Kangxi's heart warm, and tears suddenly filled his eyes. He could only hold back his grandmother's hot hand and comforted him: "Grandma, don't say such things, listen to me!" It’s quite uncomfortable, how did you get there? You have always been strong in body and broad-minded. Last year, I asked Blind Luo to tell your fortune. You always have a lifespan of 120 years old..." As he spoke, his voice was choked with sobs.

"Oh, 120..." The Empress Dowager nodded with a vague smile, and lay down again relaxedly, holding Kangxi's hand tightly, "...that's all deceitful, I understand it in my heart ! 73, 74, the King of Hades does not invite me to go - this is a Han proverb I heard from Fan Xueshi when I was with the Taizu. Kangxi wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Sooner or later, people will have this day. I will return to the West and become a Buddha, so you should send me off happily. But there are a few words, let me say them when I understand them. It would be great, are you listening?"

"Hmm..." Kangxi replied with a crying voice, "If you have something to say, Lafayette will just give orders, and the grandson will obey everything."

The Empress Dowager let go of her hand, as if gathering her last energy, closed her eyes and took a few breaths, caressing Kangxi lovingly and said: "I have entered the palace since the tenth year of Destiny, and I have been with you Aixinjueluo family. 60 years. You and your grandfather and father have overcome many difficulties and experienced many things. It seems that they are always inferior to you. You are indeed a smart and blessed person! During the 26 years since you ascended to the throne, our grandparents and grandchildren almost died at the hands of Oboi , and almost buried Wu Sangui, it’s really not easy for our Qing Dynasty to have what it is today, you have to cherish it!”

It was clearly a will.Kangxi reminisced about the past, his heart was shaken for a moment, and his heart was full of anger. He forced himself to bear his sorrow and said: "Yes, the Qing Dynasty has today, and it is all thanks to the blessings of Lafayette!"

"It stands to reason that I should be buried in the tomb of Emperor Taizong." The Empress Dowager seemed very calm, and said slowly, "It's just that Emperor Taizong has been around for decades, and I don't want to disturb him anymore. Your mausoleum is in Zunhua, the nearest Build me an underground palace there, and one day I can see my grandson every day underground, and I will feel at ease in my heart!"

Hearing this, Kangxi couldn't bear it any longer. He threw himself into his grandmother's arms, and promised in a broken voice: "I will follow my grandmother... grandson and I... I can't bear to let you grow old..." "Don't cry, don't cry. Once you cry My heart is in a mess." The Empress Dowager stroked Kangxi's braids for a long time, then raised her voice and ordered the servants in the palace, "You all go out, don't let anyone stay here!"

In front of the couch and behind the couch, the guards standing in the corners of the hall were already crying with tears running down their cheeks. After listening to her order, they all knelt down and retreated silently. Zhang Wanqiang stood guard outside the hall gate under the watchful eye.Kangxi didn't know what secret order she had, so he listened quietly with teary eyes, but the Empress Dowager asked, "What do you think of Suo'etu?"

"Suo'etu is the son of Suo Ertu, who was used by the late emperor." Kangxi's heart skipped a beat. "17 years ago, Kangxi was a bit arrogant and treated people badly. It seems that he has changed in recent years..."

"Where's Pearl?"

Kangxi bowed his head and thought for a while, then said: "Mingzhu, like Suo'etu, has meritorious service. In the past few years, he has made a lot of trouble in the lower class. I suppressed several letters to sue him; I wanted to get rid of him." Yes, and I'm afraid that the subordinates will be suspicious. You know, the grandson is going to attack the west, so the court situation must not be messed up, so as to create an opportunity for the villains..." The words of the subordinate were difficult to utter, so he swallowed.

"It sounds like you know what's going on in your mind." The Empress Dowager was very alert at the moment, and she could hear Kangxi's subtext at once.She breathed a sigh of relief and said decisively, "In this world, no one escapes the rein of reputation. Some people are good at first, but they may not be good later! Although you are smart, in my opinion, your heart is too generous. Last year I called Internal Affairs The Department of Punishment and Punishment used poisoned wine to kill Bai Cai in the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and you know why!"

Kangxi knew about this. Bai Cai was originally Tsing Yi from Changyin Pavilion, nicknamed "Cabbage Gangzi".Seeing that she was clever, Kangxi sent her to the Palace of Compassion and Ning to relieve the empress dowager, and executed her if she didn't want to.I ignored it at the time, but now that the Empress Dowager mentioned it, Kangxi was a little confused: "I heard from Li Dequan that Bai Cai has no rules, and Lafayette fasted. She was executed for singing "The Little Widow Goes to the Grave". Isn't that the case?" The Empress Dowager shook Shaking his head, he said, "That's what I told them to say. Bai Cai got your birth date and pinned it to the green-faced five ghosts with a needle, trying to harm you with a demon, do you know that?" Kangxi's face snapped Become snow-white, this is a major case of treason and rebellion, and he didn't even realize it!After thinking for a while, he asked, "Didn't Lafayette check who is behind it?"

"The whole body was branded with a branding iron, and she just refused to say anything - nothing can be traced from such a person." The Empress Dowager said, "The mahogany figure was also found in the prince's room last autumn, but there is no trace of it." After finding the owner, I had no choice but to replace all the eunuchs there—these things are useless, which shows that evil does not invade righteousness. According to my careful consideration, these matters are all related to the outside of the palace. I’m afraid that once I tell you that your temper will turn upside down and cause an uproar. So I hold it down. Now that there is no real master in the palace, I’ll go again. One mistake, I can hardly see my ancestors..." After saying that, a string of old tears flowed out silently.

Hearing this, Kangxi's heart beat wildly, he gritted his teeth and pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind, he got up and tucked the quilt for the Empress Dowager, and comforted him: "Lafayette, you are restless, don't talk too much. Now that grandson understands, There is nothing I can’t do. My life depends on the sky, and the little people can’t do anything to me! You rest well, and when you recover from your illness, grandson will tell you to see the result!” After finishing speaking, he knelt down again, and called Zhang Wanqiang, saying, “Old man The Buddha just suffered from the cold and felt a little unwell, so he really needs to recuperate. Pick a few old court ladies to serve you nicely. If there are foreign officials ordering to come in to say hello, just ask them to kowtow outside the palace!"

After resigning from the empress dowager and returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Kangxi asked for a bowl of ginseng soup, and lay down on the easy chair with a jade ruyi to play with it. Seeing Li Dequan coming in cautiously with the yellow box in his arms, he asked, "Go to the study room?" Is there anything wrong?" After Li Dequan was beaten in Sanhe County, he was so honest that he was so afraid of falling leaves that he was afraid of hitting his head. Hearing Kangxi's question, he hurriedly put the box on the table and replied with lowered hands: "Return to the master's words: Xiong Cilu was on duty in the study room tonight, and the others had just left. The slaves didn’t hear anything there, only Xiong Cilu said that the Empress Dowager was merciful and asked Mingzhu to keep things simple for her fiftieth birthday. Disgrace is not the time to be happy...Xiong Zhongtang also said a lot of things, servants are stupid and don't understand."

(End of this chapter)