Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

When the Grand Chamberlain hurried to the Grand Empress Dowager's chambers, she was leisurely enjoying lunch. Suddenly, a spy's scream pierced the Grand Empress Dowager's ears. Panicked, the Grand Chamberlain dropped to his knees, prostrating himself before the ground, and reported in a trembling voice, "Grand Empress Dowager, something terrible has happened! Emperor Qian has ordered that Concubine Qiao be buried with the proper rites for an Empress Dowager, to be interred in the tomb of the virtuous Empress Kun in the Mausoleum of the Human Emperor!" This sudden news shocked the Grand Empress Dowager so much that she dropped her bowl and chopsticks, her face turning pale.

The Grand Empress Dowager put away her surprised expression and asked seriously, "Are you serious about what you said?" The Grand Chamberlain said in a firm voice, "I have always guaranteed that it was indeed the Emperor Qian who ordered the lavish burial of Concubine Qiao. I don't know what to do, so I came to ask the Grand Empress Dowager for advice. This order has no precedent, so I dare not carry it out."

When the Empress Dowager heard this, her face was full of relief. She said, "You did a good job. You go down first. I will go talk to the emperor." Then she waved her hand and asked the chief steward of the inner palace to lead her anxiously to Emperor Qian's bedroom.

The Grand Empress Dowager came to Emperor Qian's bedroom and saw him sitting dejectedly on the dragon throne. His expression was extremely depressed, as if he had suddenly lost all his energy and spirit, sitting there like a puppet. Seeing Emperor Qian's distraught appearance, the Grand Empress Dowager rushed to him anxiously, and with trembling hands, she pulled the hand in front of him to her own. She said worriedly, "Hua'er, what's wrong with you? Don't scare your mother!"

Emperor Qian's body trembled slightly, his gaze slowly retracting from the distance, finally landing on his mother. Her face was filled with anxiety and worry, which touched Emperor Qian's heart. However, he was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to speak, and could only force a smile to show that he was still alive.

Suddenly, Emperor Qian felt a surge of power surge into his heart. His spirit gradually recovered, and his eyes became brighter. He took a deep breath, and with all his strength, he called out softly, "Mother..." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt his vision go black, his body involuntarily fell forward, and he fainted on the ground.

The Empress Dowager was stunned by this sudden change. Her face turned pale as paper, and her heartbeat sped up, as if it was about to jump out of her throat. She stared at the Qian Emperor's collapsed figure with wide eyes, completely at a loss for what to do.

After a while, the Empress Dowager finally came to her senses. She realized the situation was extremely critical and that action must be taken as soon as possible. So, she anxiously shouted, "Quickly call the imperial physician! Quickly call the imperial physician!" At the same time, she frantically directed the palace maids to carry Emperor Qian to the bed, hoping to provide him with a comfortable rest environment.

The maids quickly responded to the Empress Dowager's orders. They carefully lifted the Emperor Qian's body and gently placed it on the bed. Then, one of the maids rushed to find the imperial physician. An atmosphere of tension and anxiety permeated the room, and everyone silently prayed for the Emperor Qian's safety.

The imperial physician came in a hurry, and after a diagnosis, his face became solemn. He shook his head and whispered to the empress dowager: "The Emperor Qian has been overworked, his body is deficient in Qi and blood, and he has also suffered a major blow. He is too sad and needs to be taken care of." After hearing this, the empress dowager felt heartbroken. She clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into the flesh, and ordered solemnly: "You must cure the Emperor Qian's illness, otherwise you will lose your heads!" The imperial physician nodded quickly and promised to do his best to heal the Emperor Qian. Seeing that the emperor had woken up, the empress dowager personally took care of the Emperor Qian's daily life, decocting soup and feeding him medicine, taking care of him in every possible way. However, the Emperor Qian was sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious, which made everyone very worried. A heavy haze shrouded the palace, and everyone hoped that the Emperor Qian would wake up soon.

After a day and a night like this, Emperor Qian finally woke up. Looking at his mother lying beside his bed, he felt extremely guilty. He was so old, but he still made his mother worry about him. He felt extremely guilty. He pushed his mother's hand with his own hands and said softly, "Mother, your son is awake. Please go back to the palace and rest."

When the Empress Dowager saw the former emperor wake up, her eyes were filled with excitement. She hurried forward to hold the former emperor's hand and asked with concern: "My son, you are finally awake! How do you feel now? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" Seeing that the former emperor did not respond, the Empress Dowager asked: "Are you hungry? I asked the kitchen to warm up the porridge for you. Would you like to drink some?

"You're still very weak, so have some porridge first." She immediately ordered her maid to fetch the porridge. The maid hurried out and soon returned with a bowl of steaming hot porridge. Served in a delicate porcelain bowl, it exuded an alluring aroma. The porridge was perfectly cooked, with bits of shredded meat floating on top, looking incredibly delicious. The Grand Empress Dowager took the bowl, blew on it gently to cool it, and then handed it to the Former Emperor, saying gently, "Come, my son, have something to eat."

Seeing that his mother cared about him so much, Emperor Qian did not refuse. He ate the hot rice porridge bit by bit from his mother's hand. With the food, his strength recovered little by little. After eating, he wiped his mouth and said to his mother, "Mother, I am fine now. You can go back. You can't ruin your body for me."

The Empress Dowager was deeply moved by the former emperor's considerate look. "My son, even though you are in such a bad condition, you still think that your mother is fine. As long as you are well, your mother will be fine. Please don't blindly criticize your mother in the future. Your mother can't help me. Please take care of yourself."

When Emperor Qian heard this, he nodded obediently and said, "I understand. I'm sorry to have caused you to worry. You can go back first. I'm fine. I'll take a rest. I want to be alone and quiet."

The Empress Dowager looked at Qian Hong's lonely appearance and couldn't bear to say anything else to him. She just told him to have a good rest and she would come to see him again tomorrow. Then she turned around and returned to her own palace with the palace maid.

After a night of deep deliberation, Emperor Qian decided to make Qiao Xinran the Queen of Kun when he attended the morning court the next day. As soon as Qian Huang announced this decision, the whole hall was like a pot of oil that had just been poured with a drop of water, and it immediately began to boil.

The first to speak up was Wang Yuyan's father, Prime Minister Wang, who vehemently objected to the Emperor Qian: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable! This is against etiquette. The Empress has never done anything inappropriate. How will the Empress feel about you publicly announcing the enthronement of a deceased concubine? How will the people of the world laugh at her? How will the entire court, heaven and earth, view her? Isn't this a slap in the face of the Empress?"

Emperor Qian coldly watched Prime Minister Wang and the other ministers who had risen to the occasion, listening to them fiercely denouncing him in the hall for making this decision. Who were these people? Merely his ministers, yet they dared to so openly oppose his decision? Emperor Qian's fury instantly reached its peak.

There are those who oppose and those who agree. The wrong one is that I think this matter is disadvantageous to me and I have no basis for it. Do you think that if this matter succeeds, my daughter will also have a chance to get promoted and my own family will be able to move up a level?

Seeing the ministers quarreling over this matter, they all said it in a high-sounding way, but it was all for their own interests and the interests of their families. They spoke so righteously in front of me, and then you let them touch their own interests and try to quarrel more fiercely than anyone else.

Emperor Qian was too lazy to argue with this group of people. He suddenly slammed the memorial in his hand at the feet of the quarreling ministers. In an instant, the hall, which had been as noisy as a beehive, became completely silent, as if a pin drop could be heard. Emperor Qian's eyes swept coldly over the terrified and trembling ministers before him, and an uncontrollable anger surged in his heart. He couldn't help but sneer, "Keep arguing! Why don't you stop? Where are we? This is a solemn and sacred hall, not a market! If you are so good at arguing, why don't you go out and curse in the street?"

The words of the Qian Emperor echoed like thunder in the hall. The ministers lowered their heads, not daring to look the Emperor in the eye. They knew that their actions had angered the Qian Emperor, and at this moment they could only pray silently that the Emperor would calm his anger and not punish them severely. However, the Qian Emperor had no intention of letting them off easily. He continued, "I had hoped that you would put the country first and discuss solutions to the problem together, but this is my family affair, and it is not your turn to speak. Yet, you are here arguing endlessly, with no regard for the dignity of the court.

Emperor Qian's rebuke left the ministers feeling humiliated. They realized their mistakes and began to reflect on their actions. A tense and oppressive atmosphere permeated the hall, and no one dared to speak. Seeing this, Emperor Qian calmed himself down a bit and continued, "Since you all know you were wrong, then don't make the same mistake again. If something similar happens again, I will not forgive you! Now, let's get back to business and discuss how to resolve this issue." With that, Emperor Qian returned to his throne and waited for the ministers to speak.

The ministers underground underestimated it in their hearts. This is your family affair, but it is also a world affair. Your every move is related to the interests of various families. Such a thing is even more related to the foundation of the country. You actually said it was a family affair, but this is a minister in the court. They can only discuss it in their hearts and dare not discuss it anymore. They are afraid that if they fail to gain benefits, the war will spread to themselves, so they can only try to stop it slowly.

Since you have no objection, then follow my order!" Emperor Qian glanced at the crowd with dignity.

"Ministry of Rites, please come forward and receive your order!" Following the Emperor Qian's order, a 40-year-old official from the Ministry of Rites stepped out from the crowd. He walked forward respectfully, knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I receive your order!"

"I order you to arrange all funeral arrangements for the virtuous Queen Kun. She must be buried in a grand manner and according to the rituals for Queen Kun, and she must be buried in the imperial mausoleum. All funeral ceremonies must be carried out according to the highest standards and there must be no mistakes." Emperor Qian said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, the officials of the Ministry of Rites, though reluctant, could only reluctantly respond, "We will obey your order and will not let your Majesty down." They knew that this was the Emperor's order and could not be disobeyed. Thus, preparations for a grand funeral began...