Chapter 300

On the seventh day of the sixth month in the fifth year of the Qiyuan era,

Wang Xihua the Empress passed away in the Kun Ning Palace at the age of twenty-three.

When the news of the Empress's passing reached Lin'an, all who heard it were shocked.

Xiao Jingheng was especially grieved. He immediately ordered an end to the southern tour, commanding the imperial carriage to hurriedly return to the capital day and night.

This hurried journey was tiring for the horses and carriages. Even lying in a comfortable padded carriage did not feel pleasant.

Xiao Jingheng was concerned that Song Zhao was pregnant and originally allowed her to take it easy, with guards escorting her back to the palace.

But Song Zhao's mind was filled with thoughts of the nation's mother passing away. She did not dare be negligent at all and insisted on returning to the palace together with Xiao Jingheng.

Thus, Xiao Jingheng allowed her sincere wish and specially permitted her to ride in the imperial carriage with him, in order to protect her from some of the bumps in the road.

Xiao Jingheng did not speak much during this journey.

He would look out the window from time to time, and at other times his eyes would redden. An invisible low pressure gathered in the carriage, making Song Zhao feel extremely heavy and oppressed.

From when the Empress was in Suzhou and took advantage of the civil and military officials to subtly put pressure on Xiao Jingheng, going against his holy will by forcibly taking Jinghe back to the palace, to when Xiao Jingheng specifically instructed Consort Hui to "take care of" the Empress after returning to the palace, Song Zhao had already understood:

The Empress was probably reaching the end of her life.

Song Zhao had witnessed Xiao Jingheng's methods of eliminating the Ning family and Prince Rui in one blow. Thus, the Empress's death did not bring her any shock at all. Rather, she felt it was commonplace.

Because this was something the emperor Xiao Jingheng could do without even batting an eye.

There is a common saying, accompanying the lord is like accompanying a tiger. How could he possibly tolerate an Empress who could not give birth to a heir, was full of schemes and jealous of the imperial consorts, harmed the crown prince, and even dared to defy him?

But Song Zhao was completely different from the Empress.

She was utterly obedient and attentive towards Xiao Jingheng.

This time, with the passing of the Empress, Song Zhao assisted in managing the affairs of the six palaces, arranging everything for the women of the rear palace very properly.

Compared to when she first entered the palace, she was even more composed, handling matters meticulously without any flaws. Xiao Jingheng saw all this.

From Song Zhao's cluelessness when she first entered the palace to now able to adeptly handle the affairs of the six palaces,

in Xiao Jingheng's eyes, these were all fruits of his personal nurturing.

This sense of accomplishment was gradually becoming comparable to Song Zhao's world-rare beauty in Xiao Jingheng's heart, becoming another one of her irreplaceable merits.

Now, Xiao Jingheng still wore his yellow dragon robes while Song Zhao had already changed into plain linen clothes, with a white kerchief in her hair, dressed entirely in white hemp.

Xiao Jingheng had barely closed his eyes this entire journey.

There were dark circles under his eyes and red veins in the whites of his eyes. Despite still being handsome, he looked haggard.

Seeing this, Song Zhao's heart ached. She placed her palm over the back of his hand and choked back tears advising:

"Your Majesty must not grieve too much. You still have to take care of your health and get some rest. After returning to the palace there will still be many matters requiring Your Majesty's handling. If you overexert your holy self, whatever shall we do?"

Xiao Jingheng looked at her with shimmering tears flowing in her eyes. Finally he could not help but let tears stream down as he reached out to wipe away her tear tracks, sighing softly:

"Although We have had many dissatisfactions with what the Empress has done over the years, in the end she was Our principal wife. Now that she has suddenly passed, Our heart grieves and We find it hard to believe."

As he spoke he grasped Song Zhao's hand, intertwining their fingers tightly.

Perhaps because there were ice containers in the carriage, when Song Zhao held Xiao Jingheng's hand she felt his fingers were as cold as jade.

"This concubine will always accompany Your Majesty."

Her words were sincere. Xiao Jingheng gazed at her and also felt slightly comforted.

"We originally wanted you and the Noble Consort to handle the Empress's funeral arrangements together. But the Noble Consort has filial duties and you also have a pregnancy, so it is not good for either of you to overexert yourselves. Thus, We were thinking of first letting Consort Yin, Consort Yao, and Consort Yun handle things. You may also properly rest, take care of yourself and the dragon heir."

What Xiao Jingheng said was not to deprive Song Zhao of her authority to manage the six palaces, but rather out of genuine concern for her.

After all, handling the funeral of the nation's mother involved adhering to numerous rules. When busily working on a state funeral, it was common to not even close one's eyes for four to five days straight.

There would be kneeling, bowing, crying one's heart out until one vomited blood.

Hurting one's body and spirit, it was truly unsuitable for pregnant women to appear at such occasions.

Song Zhao had not gotten along with the Empress for a long time already. With her death, Song Zhao was naturally happy to be free of her.

Now that Xiao Jingheng had allowed her not to handle the funeral arrangements, so she didn't have to shed fake tears before the Empress's memorial tablet, Song Zhao's heart was elated.

But in front of Xiao Jingheng she still put on a grieved appearance, choking back tears pleading: "This concubine shall follow whatever Your Majesty arranges. It is only that on the day the Empress Dowager's spirit carriage leaves the palace to be entombed, this concubine must attend and see her off on her final journey, to fulfill my duty as an imperial consort and see the Empress Dowager off with no regrets left in my heart..."

Xiao Jingheng relented seeing her sincerity.

The imperial carriage entered the capital on the ninth day of the sixth month, returning to the palace after three Double Hours.

Upon returning to the palace, everyone began busying themselves. Xiao Jingheng especially did not rest for a moment,

pleading for the Empress's spirit tablet with utmost grief within the palace.

Because the Empress had passed in summer, it was improper for her remains to be kept for long.

Thus on the eleventh of the sixth month, on an auspicious time chosen by Xiao Jingheng, he escorted the women of the rear palace and wives of officials, personally guarding the Funerary Chamber carrying the remains of Empress Wang to inter her in the imperial mausoleum.

To demonstrate his grief, he then suspended court sessions for five days and wore mourning clothes for thirty six days. Common people stopped weddings, musical performances and celebrations. From dawn to dusk, all knelt and bowed towards the imperial mausoleum to mourn the nation's mother, with the entire nation grieving together.

With the Empress dying at this time, it also meant that for the next three years, no new imperial consorts could be promoted in the rear palace, nor could new women be selected to enter the palace.

Song Zhao's child in her belly had not been born yet.

So whether it was the position of Noble Consort that Xiao Jingheng had promised Song Zhao, or Ning Wanshuang's position as Imperial Noble Consort, they would all have to be put on hold first.

But there was someone who benefited from this situation, and that was Consort Yao whom Xiao Jingheng saw as an "auspicious person for imperial consorts".

Back in Lin'an, Xiao Jingheng had already decreed her elevation to the rank of Consort, although there was no official enfeoffment ceremony performed yet, but with the edict already issued she was already a rightful Consort Yao.

During the mourning period for the Empress, except for showing her face on the first day, Ning Wanshuang had been staying in Yonghe Palace accompanying her two children the entire time. Not wanting to walk around more in the summer heat.

Even on the one day she made an appearance, in front of the Empress's spirit tablet, she had been utterly indifferent from beginning to end, not shedding a single tear.

At that time with so many civil officials and their wives watching, her performance inevitably drew criticism from others.

Perhaps it was also due to this matter that Xiao Jingheng did not pay her a single visit after returning to the palace. Everyone in the palace gossiped that Ning Wanshuang had thoroughly lost Xiao Jingheng's favor this time.

Whereas Consort Yin, Consort Yun, and Consort Yao's behavior during the mourning period for the Empress was utterly proper and dignified. They handled everything appropriately without any flaws others could pick on.

After all, with the passing of the Central Palace's mistress, the rear palace was left without a leader. The Noble Consort had lost favor.

So the next successor would surely be chosen from among Consort Yin, Consort Yun, Consort Yao, and Consort Yi these four consorts.

Being only one step away from the most esteemed position a woman under heaven could have, who would not have ambitious thoughts?

Other than how Song Zhao had no other family besides her mother, the families of the remaining three consorts also began hustling about, stirring things up in the rear palaces of the previous dynasty, setting off a new round of contention:

The struggle for the position of the next Central Palace Mistress!

[I have OCD and must make it an even 300 chapters, so there will be one update today and compensation with four updates tomorrow!]