SFS Chapter 433 Burial
Chapter 433 Burial
The Northern Qi emperor was stunned when he saw a purple robe in the bundle.
The palace maid was terrified and said in a panic, "Your Majesty, the Empress instructed me to take this garment out of the chest and burn it."
The empress said that if the Northern Qi emperor came to Chang Le Palace, she should take this shirt out and let the emperor find it.
She did as instructed, but she couldn't suppress the fear welling up inside her.
The Northern Qi emperor had no time to pay attention to the palace maids; his gaze was fixed on the long robe, and those distant, forgotten memories gradually became clear.
He seemed to see himself, still living in the Eastern Palace, saying to the equally young and naive Empress: "Other brides would make clothes for their husbands by hand, but the Crown Princess is different. The clothes she gave me were made by the embroiderers in the palace."
The empress at that time covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few times, but did not reply to him.
He looked at the open chest at the Empress's feet, which contained the fabrics that had come with her dowry, and casually pointed to a piece of purple brocade: "Use this fabric to make me a dress."
The Empress calmed her cough, looked up at him, and pursed her lips slightly: "I have been in poor health since childhood and have mostly been bedridden. I have never learned needlework."
He stared into the empress's calm, unwavering eyes, suddenly felt bored, and turned away.
Later, he heard that the Empress had learned needlework and would sew clothes for Prince Qi every year, but she had never made a single set of clothes for him, and he had forgotten about this casual remark.
Unexpectedly, after a long time, he saw the garment made of that brocade.
The Northern Qi emperor felt a mix of emotions, unable to describe the feeling.
Because he knew the empress didn't love him, she never bowed her head in front of him and was an extremely proud person.
She finished making the clothes, but didn't send anyone to deliver them to him. She kept them in a trunk, upholding her pride, waiting for him to ask about them.
Now that she has volunteered to leave the palace to guard the imperial tombs, this garment will probably never be given away again, which is why the palace maid destroyed it.
The Northern Qi emperor inexplicably felt there was another layer of meaning: in the empress's heart, their marital bond had ended.
He reached out to take the clothes, but just before touching them, he clenched his fist, slowly withdrew his hand, and instructed the eunuch beside him to wrap them up and send them to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The eunuch quickly wrapped the bundle up and then looked at the palace maid kneeling on the ground.
The Northern Qi emperor followed his gaze, but did not punish her. He walked out of Chang Le Palace and returned to Qin Zheng Hall.
It wasn't until nightfall that Eunuch Liu returned from the imperial mausoleum with a message: "Your Majesty, the Empress said that nothing stays hidden forever. Prince Qi's sins are grave, and if she continues to rule the empress's palace, it may cause turmoil in the court. To avoid putting Your Majesty in a difficult position, she will spend the rest of her life atoneing for her sins in the imperial mausoleum."
He paused, glanced at the Northern Qi emperor, and stammered, "He also said..."
Looking at Eunuch Liu's trembling, hesitant demeanor, the Emperor of Northern Qi lowered his voice and asked, "What else did you say?"
Liu Gonggong said in a trembling voice, "Her Majesty said that if she interferes with the affairs of the court, you may depose her as Empress and establish another Empress to stabilize the court."
The Northern Qi emperor's fingers twitched slightly, and the empress, even in the imperial mausoleum, was still thinking about the bigger picture.
He glanced at the tiger-shaped pendant around his waist and vaguely felt that he had made a mistake; he shouldn't have let the Empress examine him.
Just then, a eunuch's voice came from the doorway: "Your Majesty, Consort Shu is requesting an audience with you in the Cold Palace."
The Northern Qi Emperor's gaze suddenly turned cold. Compared to the Empress, Consort Shu appeared all the more mercenary and utterly devoid of sincerity. Every action she took was driven by a strong ulterior motive, a constant attempt to curry favor with him.
The Northern Qi emperor rubbed his aching head, personally drafted a secret edict, and then entrusted it to Eunuch Liu for safekeeping.
Eunuch Liu glanced at the secret edict and caught the words "to be buried alive with the dead".