Secrets of Yuqing Palace

After the two carriages entered the inner city, they went directly to the Guarjia residence.

Shi Wenbing and Shi Wenzhao knew that their father was at the end of his life.

So I have taken leave recently and stayed at home to take care of my father at his bedside.

Therefore, when the Crown Prince's family, Prince Yong and his concubine arrived, Shi Wenbing and Shi Wenzhao received the news and immediately brought out the men, women, and children in their families to greet them.

Shi Wenbing and Shi Wenzhao saw the two young princes and the little princess in front of them with excitement in their eyes, and immediately led everyone behind them to kneel down and kowtow to pay their respects.

"Your servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Crown Princess."

"Meet Prince Yong and Consort Mu."

"Greetings to Prince Hongxi, Prince Hongye, and the two princesses."

Yinreng winked at Zhang Xi behind him.

"Everyone, please stand up."

Zhang Xi hurried to help the two of them up.

"I heard that the old man is not in good health."

"Today I brought the Crown Princess, two children, my fourth brother, his concubine, and Ning Chuge back to visit the old man."

Shi Wenbing extended his hand and gestured for invitation.

"Your Highness, please come inside."

Then the group led the way to Shi Huashan's bedside in the main courtyard.

The entire Guwalja mansion was filled with a solemn and sad atmosphere, and the servants walked hurriedly with their heads hung.

They walked through a long corridor and came to a room filled with the bitter smell of medicine.

At this time, Jueluo was holding a bowl of soup and personally feeding Shi Huashan the medicine, wiping the corners of his mouth from time to time.

Shi Huashan was lying on the bed, his face pale, but his eyes were still clear.

When he saw his two granddaughters, and their husbands and children, his eyes widened slightly and a smile appeared on his face, a smile that contained both relief and reluctance.

"You are here."

Although the voice was weak and hoarse, every word could be clearly heard by everyone.

Looking at Mafa lying on the sickbed, he was extremely thin. His face, which was once majestic yet kind, was now full of wrinkles from the years.

Wanyu held back her tears, walked quickly to Mafa's bedside, and gently held her dry and almost bony hand.

Her voice was choked with sobs. "Mafa, Yu'er has brought the prince and the children to see you."

Wanlin also took a few steps forward, squatted beside her third sister, knelt in front of Mafa's bed, and said in a dry voice.

"Mafa, Lin'er has also brought the Fourth Master and Ning Chuge back to see you."

Shi Huashan patted their hands gently with difficulty, his eyes moved over them, and he smiled with relief.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Then he looked at the prince and Yinzhen behind his granddaughter.

"I am too ill to stand up. Please forgive me for not being able to pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Yong."

Yinreng smiled gently and soothed.

"There's no need to be so, old man. You are the Crown Princess's Mafa, and naturally my elder."

Yinzhen also nodded in agreement.

Shi Huashan smiled.

"I am now seventy-three years old, which is considered a long and advanced age. My descendants are filial and promising, so my life on earth has not been in vain."

"The only thing I'm worried about is my two granddaughters."

"They were all raised by the servants. They are all good children with good behavior. They don't have so many evil thoughts."

"It's not easy to survive in a harem, so I hope the two masters can treat the two children with some kindness in the future."

"If they ever commit an unforgivable mistake, the two masters need not worry and can simply send them back to the Guarjia clan."

When sisters Wanyu and Wanlin heard what Mafa said, they couldn't help but shed tears.

Yinreng looked at Shi Huashan with seriousness in his eyes, then nodded in assurance.

"Don't worry, old man. I will never let the Crown Princess down in my life."

Yinzhen had never been favored in his life, and he was deeply touched by the kindness of this frail old man on his sickbed towards his granddaughter.

He was very envious of his concubine for having such a preference.

He couldn't bear to let down this friendship, nor did he want the old man to leave with no peace of mind.

So he nodded seriously and said, "Just relax, old man!"

Shi Huashan curled the corners of his mouth in satisfaction, then slowly shifted his gaze to the children, his eyes filled with love and expectation.

At the signal from the Crown Prince and Yinzhen, the children walked obediently to the bed and shouted in unison: "Weng Kumafa."

Wanyu and Wanlin pulled the four children into their arms, and then pushed them in the direction of Mafa.

After seeing the four children clearly, Shi Huashan's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a weak smile.

He moved his fingers slightly, wanting to raise his hand to caress his four great-grandsons one by one, but he didn't have enough strength.

Feng Sheng'e was quick-witted and took the initiative to reach out and hold Ongkumafa's right hand beside the bed.

“Ongkumarfa.”

He spoke with difficulty, "Good boy, good boy."

"You are all good children. You must listen to your father and mother from now on."

"Ong Kumarfa hopes that you will all have a smooth and worry-free life."

"It's a pity that Ongkumarfa can't see it anymore, but when Ongkumarfa returns to Changshengtian, he will bless you every day."

The four children nodded obediently.

Feng Sheng'e and Ning Chuge were already grown up, and they naturally understood what separation meant. Their eyes were red at this moment.

But the twins were still young and didn’t understand the separation of life and death. They just nodded obediently along with their older brother and sister.

Shi Huashan looked at his granddaughter Wanyu behind the children, his eyes full of love.

"Everyone else please go down. I want to say a few words to Yu'er one last time."

"Fujin, go sort out the things I left for the children and let them take them later."

Jueluo pressed her slightly red eyes with a handkerchief.

"it is good."

After everyone left, only the grandparents and grandchildren were left in the room.

Wanyu sat on the edge of the bed and held Shi Huashan's hand.

"Marfa, do you have any instructions for your granddaughter?"

Shi Huashan forced a smile.

He said with difficulty: "Mafa knows that you and the prince are walking on thin ice in the palace. If you don't explain clearly, Mafa will not be able to leave with peace of mind."

Wanyu cried, "Mafa, don't say that. My granddaughter is living well in the palace."

Shi Huashan sighed softly and slowly told his granddaughter the ideas he had been thinking about over the past two years.

"The Crown Prince is in his prime and his prestige is growing, but the Emperor is already in his old age. Many people would like to try their luck in following him."

"No emperor would tolerate his subjects abandoning him and choosing a new master. This is a challenge to the imperial power and the throne!"

"Once something like this breaks out completely, the emperor will be unable to stop the large number of ministers flocking to him. He will have no choice but to suppress or completely eliminate the person who threatens his position, because this is the root cause of shaking his position."

"Even if this person is the one he loves the most!"

"No one will tolerate someone who threatens their authority, especially those in positions of power who are used to holding absolute power!"

"Yu'er, do you understand what Mafa means?"

Looking at Mafa's burning gaze, Wanyu felt a tightness in her heart.

"Yu'er understands."

Shi Huashan was relieved and finally said, "Mafa has handed over the cowpox matter to your uncle."

"He may have had selfish motives in the past, but now he is the patriarch of the Guarjia clan, and his thoughts and concerns are solely for the benefit of the entire Guarjia clan."

"Mafa has already informed him of your intention. He knows the importance of things, so you can rest assured."

Wanyu understood that different positions would naturally lead to different ideas, so she did not doubt the meaning of Mafa's words.

So she nodded, "Okay."