"You want to enter the palace?" Sheng Jiangli seemed to be a worm in her belly and immediately saw what she was up to.
Caiyu didn't conceal it either. She openly admitted it and asked, "Are you going to enter the palace too?"
Sheng Jiangli nodded. "The emperor fainted for the second time. After the imperial physicians examined him, they thought the situation was not optimistic. Due to years of toiling over state affairs, he was already in poor health. Now, having suffered a series of heavy blows, he probably won't last much longer."
He lowered his eyes and stared intently at Caiyu. "Shuer, once the emperor passes away, your prince is very likely to become the emperor. If you stay by his side, considering how much he dotes on you, even if he can't make you the queen, you will surely be the most favored imperial concubine in the harem."
"Think it through. Are you really willing to leave?"
Caiyu's heart skipped a beat at Sheng Jiangli's words.
The most favored imperial concubine in the harem?
No.
She didn't want that at all.
Perhaps her thoughts and demands were too unconventional for this era.
What she wanted was to be with just one person for her whole life, to live in harmony and mutual respect with her husband.
Ever since she realized that Song Yinghuai's deep - seated ideas were different from hers, she had given up this thought.
Even though Song Yinghuai liked her, what he had initially considered was only to make her a concubine or a secondary wife.
This showed that from the very beginning, he had accepted the idea of having multiple wives and concubines. Whether he was a prince or the emperor, he would surely take more concubines for the sake of interests.
She knew that she couldn't bear it.
Rather than constantly quarreling with him and wearing away the last bit of nostalgia, it would be better to leave some good memories to cherish for the rest of her life.
Caiyu shook her head. "My mind is made up. Don't worry. I'm really worried about him facing both internal and external troubles this time when I enter the palace... But it has nothing to do with my decision to leave. You just go ahead with your plan. When the time is right, I'll leave with you."
Sheng Jiangli let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
With the sudden change in the palace and Song Yinghuai about to seize power, he was really worried that Shuer would change her mind.
Now that her determination remained unchanged, he could bear to let her go and accompany Song Yinghuai one last time.
As long as he could accompany her in the days to come, he would be content with anything.
"Change your clothes. I'll take you into the palace to see him!" Sheng Jiangli generously agreed.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Imperial physicians, eunuchs, and maids shuttled back and forth. The atmosphere was solemn.
Several trusted ministers such as Xiao Rencheng and Xu Ziyi had gathered here. Even the Duke of Dingguo, who had always kept away from the court, had appeared.
Xiao Rencheng grabbed Imperial Physician Liu and asked, "How is the emperor's condition?"
Imperial Physician Liu looked dejected and shook his head repeatedly. "He has suffered a great shock to his mind. Exhausted both physically and mentally. It's difficult, very difficult!"
Xu Ying said with a solemn face, "No matter what, we must make the emperor wake up again. A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. The throne of Daye must have an explanation. Otherwise..."
The matter was of great significance.
If the emperor didn't leave a will, the feudal lords from all over the country could lead their troops into the capital under the pretext of relieving the emperor. By then, Daye would really be in chaos.
Imperial Physician Liu and the others frowned. "Your humble official's medical skills are limited. We can only use decoctions to keep the emperor alive. As for whether he will wake up or not... Your humble official can't guarantee it!"
"Then use the decoctions to keep him alive." Song Yinghuai ordered in a deep voice. "Seal the news that the emperor is in a coma. Anyone who leaks the news will be executed without mercy!"
He said to Xu Ziyi, "The princess is still on her way back. She will surely bring the great master Guangzhi with her. As long as the master enters the capital, he must have a way to make the emperor wake up."
Xu Ziyi nodded. "I'll send a signal flare of our Xu family to urge my sister to speed up and come back quickly!"
At this time, Sheng Jiangli strode into the palace and was blocked outside the hall by the imperial guards.
Sheng Jiangli sneered and used his inner strength to shout inside, "Are you plotting a palace coup inside? Blocking me outside the hall. What dirty business are you discussing?"
Those gathered around Emperor Guangwu's bed looked at each other, all showing troubled expressions.
On the surface, Sheng Jiangli was a trusted subordinate of the emperor and the crown prince, but in fact, he had some vague connections with them.
They didn't feel at ease letting this person in, but if they didn't let him in, they were afraid he would cause trouble.
Song Yinghuai rubbed his temples and then strode out, intending to drive the man away.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he got closer, through the long spears of the imperial guards, he saw a familiar figure and blurted out, "Yuer?"
He immediately darkened his face and shouted at the soldiers guarding the hall, "Put down your weapons!"
As soon as the long spears of the imperial guards were retracted, he immediately stepped forward and pulled Caiyu into his arms.
The moment he embraced the soft body, his exhausted body and mind from the days of non - stop work seemed to relax.
He secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He hadn't returned to the mansion not only because of the busy state affairs but also because of the matter of the Lan family. He didn't know how to talk to her about it.
He was afraid that once he saw Caiyu, he would be overwhelmed by guilt.
The family she cherished most, the family she had spent her whole life trying to clear of the false charges.
They had all perished in the fire.
Not even their corpses could be distinguished.
If she knew, would she still be able to hold on?
"How did you enter the palace?" Song Yinghuai asked in a low voice.
His voice was deep and desolate, not at all like that of a man on the verge of seizing the throne. Instead, it was full of desolation.
Caiyu's heart trembled. She turned her face and looked at his desolate and handsome face, also whispering:
"So many big things have happened, so I wanted to come and see the prince."
She was no longer like before, showing all her worries on her face and pouring out all her thoughts.
Her words were faint.
But in Song Yinghuai's heart, it was already more than enough.
Did this mean that Caiyu still cared about him?
Although she was still angry, at least she was willing to take the initiative to come closer.
All his worries that she would leave with Sheng Jiangli or Lan Jinxiang vanished at Caiyu's faint words.
He had been worrying unnecessarily these days.
Caiyu had no intention of leaving him.
She was just sulking.
Song Yinghuai hugged her tightly. His voice was low. "Yuer, mother passed away. She was the person I respected the most."
His words were also faint, but Caiyu could hear his desolation.
It was like a child who had lost his beloved mother.
There was no one and no words in the world that could soothe the pain in his heart.
But what she didn't know was Song Yinghuai's inner guilt.
Empress Ma had died earlier because of his plan to kill the crown prince.
Caiyu wanted to reach out and hug Song Yinghuai several times but finally didn't have the courage.
She just reached out and gently patted the man's back.
Once, twice, and then again...
Four days later, the Princess of Nan'an led her troops back to the capital.
The great master Guangzhi rushed into the palace and used the method of acupuncture to revive the comatose Emperor Guangwu.
The first thing Emperor Guangwu said after waking up was to ask Song Yinghuai how the funerals of the crown prince and Empress Ma had been arranged.
Song Yinghuai knelt respectfully by the bedside and replied, "Elder brother was buried in the imperial mausoleum as the crown prince of Daye."
"Mother's coffin is still in the imperial city. It hasn't been seven days since her death, so your son didn't dare to bury her."
Emperor Guangwu seemed to have aged twenty years. Waking up from the coma, he seemed to have traveled through time and become an old man on the verge of death.
His voice was trembling and weak. "I'll go and see her off myself."
On September 26th, the first year of Yuanzheng in Daye.
Emperor Guangwu propped up his sickly body and personally escorted the coffin, sending the virtuous Empress Ma into the imperial mausoleum, which was adjacent to his own.
His intention was clear. When he passed away, he wanted to be buried together with Empress Ma.
After doing all this, Song Yinghuai presented the imperial edict written by Empress Ma during her lifetime.
Emperor Guangwu looked at the will written by Empress Ma with his own hand and pondered for a long time.
The cold look on his face towards Song Yinghuai finally softened. "Your mother said that it was your suggestion to make Zhu'er the crown prince?"
Song Yinghuai knelt on the ground and replied, "Yes, your son has no intention of the throne. Please, father, see my sincerity."
The emperor's aged but still shrewd eyes looked at him for a while.
Suddenly, he seemed to be seeing this son for the first time.
All along, he had been on guard against Song Yinghuai growing too powerful and threatening the crown prince. But no matter how much he calculated, he hadn't expected this.
This son had actually given up the throne that was within his reach?