After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Can."

Yongzheng's eyes were already a little bloodshot, and he waved his hand indifferently.

"Arrange for the Grand Council to draft the imperial edict."

"Yes, sir." Su Peisheng nodded quickly.

Yongzheng glanced at her, then looked at his somewhat frightened and anxious daughter-in-law:

"I promised you I wouldn't kill Ning Baixuan. But he brought this upon himself. I recruited him time and again, and how did he treat me in return?...

"He's unlucky, and his daughter-in-law is managing things herself." Tang Caifeng's eyes reddened.

"Hmm," Yongzheng nodded, raising his hand slightly, "You shouldn't go see your younger brother, lest you be frightened."

"You must be tired tonight, so you don't need to go to Changchun Garden. Changge has already done his filial duty."

"Many people died in the Prince Duan's mansion, and it was very bloody. You should go to Chengqian Palace and keep Consort Yi company. She misses you and Changge very much."

"As for Ning Baixuan... I promise you, rest assured, I will give his body a proper burial..."

Tang Caifeng bowed deeply and said sadly, "Daughter-in-law thanks Father."

The sound of the wheelchair's wheels fading into the distance.

Su Peisheng, who had arranged for a eunuch to take a note to the Grand Council to give orders, returned.

Even though Emperor Yongzheng had clearly gotten rid of a major worry tonight, his mood was rather complicated.

"Tell me," he said hoarsely to Su Peisheng after a pause, "was the one who died tonight Han Qing?"

Su Peisheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Princess Consort of Prince Duan, and several others who have defected to our court all say that he is Han Qing, so he is naturally Han Qing."

Yongzheng's eyes were deep and unfathomable: "What if another one pops up tomorrow?"

The imperial physician came to deliver the medicine.

Su Peisheng took the medicine prepared by the imperial physician and knelt on the ground to feed it to the emperor on the bed: "Your Majesty, these bandits are always like this. When one Zhu San Taizi died, another Zhu San Taizi always appeared. So what? Didn't the late emperor kill them all?"

Yongzheng chuckled, "That's true, we can always kill them all." He smiled and said, "Ning Baixuan isn't dead. He's trying to fake his death and escape."

Su Peisheng, whose fingers were red from the scalding medicine bowl but whose hands remained perfectly steady, also smiled and said:

"Just now, in front of Prince Duan's wife, Lord Ortai couldn't say much, so he left first under the pretext of closing the gate. Knowing the Emperor's intentions, he has already gone. He will personally arrest Ning Baixuan together with Lord Mushu."

"Alright... Send someone to chase after them and tell Ortai... This time," the emperor said calmly, taking a sip of his medicine and feeling a slight bitterness in his mouth, "there's no need to leave any survivors, lest they be held back... I only want Ning Baixuan's head."

"twitter."

…………

Changchun Garden is located on Fuchengmen Inner Street. Enter from the alley between Guangji Temple and the Temple of Emperors of Past Dynasties, and walk about a kilometer to find a garden with an area comparable to Jingshan Park.

This garden was built in the inner city during the reign of the late emperor, modeled after some Jiangnan gardens such as the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou. However, it has been delayed for many years.

It wasn't until a few years ago, when the Fourth Prince, who was interested in Jiangnan, volunteered to oversee the construction, that the garden was finally completed.

As a result, the Fourth Prince was commended by the Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager.

The Fourth Prince petitioned the Emperor to name the garden "Changchun Garden," and the Emperor granted his request, personally writing the three characters "Changchun Garden" which were then hung above the garden's plaque.

It's almost dawn.

A commotion broke out in Changchun Garden.

Above the main hall of the garden, surrounded by all kinds of flowers and rare plants, white curtains were hung. In the dark sky, several white curtains dancing lightly in the night breeze revealed a deep sorrow.

Inside the main hall.

A gleaming, luxurious golden coffin sat upright in front of them.

Five days of mourning were observed after court sessions; the coffin far exceeded the proper rites; princes and ministers were dressed in full regalia; and the princes were about to walk to escort Consort Nian's coffin...

All of these things demonstrate the special feelings the emperor of the Forbidden City had for Consort Nian.

So much so that when he discovered that Consort Nian seemed to be nearing her end, he immediately bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Noble Consort, a rank second only to the Empress, who was from the Plain Yellow Banner and bore the surname Ulanara.

Despite strong opposition, Consort Nian was buried with the honors due to an empress.

The Seventeenth Princess, the daughter of Consort Nian, was dressed in mourning clothes. She looked much thinner and more haggard than she had a few days ago.

After a few days, her face was covered in tear stains.

The seventeenth princess knelt before the golden coffin of the Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu. After looking at it for a while, she felt a deep sadness in her heart. Her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her large eyes again.

"My mother is dead..."

Even now, she finds it hard to believe that such a thing actually happened. Her whole body was terribly limp.

"Seventeen, get up now, we'll be sending off the spirit soon."

Wearing a pure black melon-shaped hat on his head and dressed in mourning clothes exactly like his sister's, the Fourth Prince Hongli squatted down, looked at his sister with concern, and began to persuade her.

Burbuza shook his head, his face ashen.

"Fu Hui is also not in good health. Father Emperor was worried about him and told him to go and rest. He cried for a long time, so I gave him a beating and promised him that I would pay tribute to his mother on his behalf. Only then did he agree to go back to the palace first."

Hongli said, "Your health is also important."

Burbuza shook his head again, his eyes fixed on his mother's memorial tablet in front of him.

The carving is made of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the title of the mother is written in both Manchu and Chinese on the front.

The memorial tablet of Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu.

The Manchu script is on the left, and the Chinese script is on the right.

The back of the memorial tablet is inscribed with the mother's name, banner affiliation, birth and death dates, and life story in Chinese.

As Burbuza watched, he seemed to become numb. He stopped crying and didn't know what to do anymore.

Emperor Hongli ordered some vegetarian pastries and hot tea to be served.

"We still have a whole day's journey to escort the Imperial Noble Consort's coffin. Please don't ruin your health."

Burbuza stood there for a moment.

After a long while, perhaps thinking of her grandfather who was also crying his eyes out, or perhaps thinking of her younger brother Fu Hui, she finally hummed in agreement, moved her body, and tried to stand up, but her legs, like many times in the past few days, had already become sore and numb.

Several maids who had been serving her for many days rushed over and helped the princess up.

Seeing that Seventeen had finally eaten a few pieces of pastry and taken a sip of tea, Hongli's two thin eyebrows, which had been furrowed, finally relaxed.

Consort Dunsu was not his biological mother after all.

Although Hongli was saddened, his grief was naturally not as intense as that of the seventeenth prince.

Suddenly, he thought of his birth mother, Consort Xi, and his heart sank.

What if his mother were to pass away in the future...? After thinking about it, Hongli shook his head slightly, exhaled, and put aside the sad scene he had imagined.

"The riots outside...?" Pulling himself out of his suppressed emotions, Burbuza looked up and asked his elder brother about the riots that had suddenly broken out in the city.

She was a little worried that her mother's trip to Dinghui Temple for a temporary resting place might be delayed.

Hongli comforted him:

"Don't worry, Father has already quelled the riot. They were just a bunch of audacious thieves. The Imperial Noble Consort's funeral will not be delayed in the slightest. Chief Eunuch Su has already sent someone to inform them, and Father has also reprimanded several disrespectful princes."

Burbuza then nodded, pursing her lips. She was relieved that her mother's funeral wouldn't be delayed.

These past few days, Father Emperor has invited forty lamas to chant sutras for Mother Mother's salvation.

They also invited the abbot of Guangji Temple to prepare offerings and perform the ritual of feeding hungry ghosts.

Offerings were placed at Yikun Palace, where my mother lived before her death, Nian Mansion, where I lived as a child, and Changchun Garden, and monks chanted sutras at all of them.

Upon arriving at Dinghui Temple, together with the monks and lamas there, they would chant sutras for their mother for another forty-nine days.

The monks had set the exact day and time for sending Mother to Dinghui Temple, and there was no room for error.

In addition to monks, the Emperor also invited Taoist priests to perform rituals.