I just want to live a happy life

The Queen Mother had not yet recovered from the blow of the Queen's dethronement and death, and this was another fatal blow to her.

Her already shaky body could no longer hold on and she fell seriously ill. After taking her pulse, the imperial physician went to the Yangxin Palace and said that the empress dowager would not be able to hold on for a few more hours.

The emperor did not delay and went directly to Shoukang Palace. The concubines in the harem also received the news and were taken to the empress dowager's palace by the three concubines.

The concubines were all waiting outside, and each of them was a master of acting. None of them was truly sad about the news that the Empress Dowager was about to pass away, but they had to put on an act in front of the Emperor.

Some concubines cried silently, some even sobbed softly. Yi Xin did not make any sound, but his eyes were red, and it was obvious that he had been crying. He was very sad about the passing of the Queen Mother.

But in fact, she had put some tear-stimulating medicine on her handkerchief before coming. Otherwise, she would not have been able to cry.

Waiting here with nothing to do for the moment, she looked at the space. To outsiders, she looked very sad, but in fact, her mind had already flown to other places.

In the inner room, the Empress Dowager begged the Emperor to let Fourteenth Prince come back. No matter how much the Empress Dowager cried, the Emperor did not agree.

Fourteenth was already dead and was no longer a threat to him, but the emperor still refused to send his coffin back, which showed how much he hated Fourteenth.

"Emperor, Fourteenth is my son, your biological brother. Can't I see him once before I die?"

The emperor was unmoved: "My Queen Mother, my fourteenth brother has passed away. Please don't bother him anymore."

Looking at his expression, the empress dowager gave up completely. She withdrew her hand that was grabbing the emperor's sleeve and lay quietly on the bed with her eyes wide open. No one knew what she was thinking.

After a long silence, the emperor didn't know what he was thinking. Maybe he would run out of time if he didn't say anything. He knelt on the ground and said, "Go to sleep, mother. Sleep so that you can grow up. When you grow up, you can draw the bow. You have never sung such a song to comfort your son. Can you sing it to him once?"

The Queen Mother did not respond. She did not look at the Emperor, as if she did not hear what he was saying.

It was unknown how long it had been, but the empress dowager seemed to sense something. She called out to Old Fourteen and Yixiu a few times before she closed her eyes unwillingly forever.

The emperor, kneeling on the ground, knew that his mother had passed away. He was very sad. He was sad that his mother had left him and left. He was sad that his mother never had him in her heart until her death. She only had Fourteenth Son in her mind. In her heart, he was not even as good as Yi Xiu. She didn't even want a son like him at all.

The concubines who had been waiting outside also learned of the Queen Mother's death. They all knelt on the ground and cried, looking very sad.

The Empress Dowager was the Emperor's mother. No matter what the inner story was, her funeral had to be grand. However, not many people cared about the deposed Queen who also passed away during this period.

Her funeral was kept simple and it was obvious that it was very perfunctory.

Everyone in the court and the harem could see that the emperor was very sad about the empress dowager's death. Not only was he tired to the point of vomiting blood, he was also in a trance and fell down many times. The emperor was old, and the falls were not light, so he had to lie on the dragon bed for many days.

But some people took advantage of this and soon some news spread among the people that the Qing Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, but the current emperor was unfilial. The reason was that after his biological mother passed away, there was no sadness on his face and he did not even keep vigil at the wake.

Furthermore, there were rumors that the emperor came to the throne illegitimately, and fearing being blamed by the previous emperor, he did not dare to live in the Qianqing Palace, where the emperor should have lived, and instead lived in the Yangxin Palace.

Now, all the emperor's previous efforts to change the people's impression of him were in vain, which made the emperor very angry.

In order to avoid gossip, he could only be supported and limped to the empress dowager's spirit tablet to keep vigil.

After the Empress Dowager's funeral, the Emperor's health not only did not recover, but got worse. There was no other way but he could only recuperate slowly.

Time flies by.

Soon it was the day of the selection for the Third Prince. In order to make it more grand and show the importance of the Third Prince, Concubine Qi asked Yi Xin and Concubine Jing to accompany her.

The emperor had previously told the third prince to choose Qingying as his concubine, but the third prince was a very stubborn man. He did not like Qingying who looked down on him from a high position, so he did not listen to his father and chose Dong E as his principal wife. However, he did not choose Qingying as his concubine, but chose another one. In the end, Qingying did not even get the title of princess.

Qingying didn't feel sad about this. She didn't like the Third Prince in the first place, and it was better that he was not chosen.

Yi Xin looked at Princess Qingying, who was dressed in an old-fashioned and arrogant way. She really had no idea what she was thinking. She seemed to be still immersed in the fact that she was the queen's niece and came from a royal family.

After the selection was over, the emperor also learned about the person chosen by the Third Prince. He was not angry because the Third Prince did not like Qingying. Besides, the selection was over and he could not change it.

Maybe Qingying and the Fourth Prince Hongli are destined to be together. Even though Hongli now has a crippled leg, Qingying still falls in love with him. Hongli also has feelings for Qingying. The Emperor agreed to Hongli's request to marry Qingying without much hesitation.

He agreed to let this son, whom he had never cared about, marry a woman from a powerful family. Although the Ulanara family was also a Manchu noble family, they had long been in decline and there was no capable person among them who could help Hongli.

Marrying a woman from the Ulanala family would not pose a threat to his real heir Hongyao.

In fact, he could see that his son was ambitious, but so what? Even if the Ulanara family could help him, he had already lost his inheritance rights. After all, the emperor did not need a disabled person.

After a few more years, the emperor gradually felt that he was overwhelmed, so he asked Hongyao to stay with him and he would teach him carefully.

As Hongyao's mother, Yi Xin was promoted to Consort Rou by the Emperor not long after the Empress Dowager's death. This time, she was directly promoted to Imperial Consort, in charge of the affairs of the six palaces.

It was obvious a few years ago that the emperor had already regarded the sixth prince Hongyao as his heir, but it was even more obvious now.

Yi Xin felt even more deeply touched. When the ladies from other royal families came to the palace to pay their respects, they were all respectful and polite to her and gave her many treasures.

There were also many concubines in the harem who tried to curry favor with her. Among them, Concubine Jing, who was devoted to staying in Xianfu Palace to raise her children, also started to interact more with her. She knew that Concubine Jing did this for Wen Yi's future.

Yi Xin did not refuse this. Wen Yi was very cute and she liked her very much. Besides, Concubine Jing was also a good person.

Hongyao was growing up, and the emperor was pleased to see such a smart and capable son, but he also began to be wary of Hongyao.