The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Where is the emperor?

"In the Qianqing Palace."

"Let's go, I'll go see him."

"Mother..."

"Let's go."

The Empress was helpless.

In fact, the Empress Dowager's health had been deteriorating over the past year.

Neither the mother nor the son knew who was giving the gift to whom.

The Empress's thoughts... No, she can't collapse, she has to stand firm!
The real test has arrived, and she and her son must weather it together!

The Empress Dowager rode in a sedan chair and went to see the Emperor with the Empress.

"Mother, I am busy with official duties. I am sorry to trouble you with your concern."

To his shame, he was indeed very busy, but more than that, he was worried about his health and feared that his mother would notice his poor health and cause her concern.

Unexpectedly, his mother came to see him.

"My son, while state affairs are important, you must also take care of your health."

Looking at her son's health, what couldn't the Empress Dowager understand?

"Why keep so many court officials who only receive salaries and do no work?"

"Mother, I understand."

It's not that we don't want to do our jobs, it's that we're afraid they'll misbehave.

My days are numbered, and I need to sort things out for the Crown Prince. Some obstacles need to be removed so that I don't leave him with too much trouble.

"Cough cough..."

The emperor coughed, the empress dowager coughed, and the empress... what a pair of mother and son who have gone through so much hardship together!

She kept telling herself to stay calm!
"Mother, I still have some official business to attend to." The Emperor calmed down and said to the Empress, "Zitong, escort Mother back to her palace to rest."

"Yes, I am resigning!"

The Empress escorted the Empress Dowager back to Cining Palace.

"Your Majesty."

"My son is here."

"Make the necessary preparations," the Empress Dowager said, tears welling in her eyes. "Prepare my share as well."

"Mother..."

The Empress was greatly surprised, but inwardly she was quite moved: the women who could laugh last in the harem were no simple people!
She actually saw through everything!

"Everyone has to take that step eventually." The Empress Dowager sighed, "But this enormous burden will fall on the Crown Prince's shoulders. Empress, when the late Emperor passed away..."

The Empress Dowager appeared to be having a casual chat with her, but in fact, she was imparting her experience to her.

The Empress listened attentively and thought carefully, feeling very grateful.

It is said that there are conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, whether in ordinary people or in the imperial harem.

However, the Empress Dowager treated her with a lot of kindness, and she got along very well with the then Empress and now the Empress Dowager from the moment she entered the Eastern Palace.

There wasn't that much filth involved.

Moreover, because the Crown Prince was frail and sickly, she helped suppress some troublemakers, so he was very grateful to her over the years.

I never imagined that such a good mother-in-law would end up like this.

After returning from Cining Palace, the Empress lay on the couch for a long time, lost in thought.

"Someone, summon Lady Hou to the palace."

Lady Hou was the Empress's biological mother.

In such critical moments, the help of the maternal clan is always needed.

When Lady Hou entered the palace, the Empress gave her these instructions.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will make the arrangements perfectly."

There's so much to do next.

Firstly, the Crown Prince's wedding was something the Empress would have loved to bring forward if the wedding date hadn't been set long ago.

She was really afraid that if either the mother or the son didn't make it through, the Crown Princess wouldn't be able to enter the palace on time, and they would have to wait three years—no, it would be a long period of mourning, with the grandson observing mourning for a year, which would still be four years. Four years is a long time, and things can change in any way!
With the Crown Prince's wedding approaching, the court officials naturally had all sorts of thoughts on the matter.

Some thought that the Crown Prince and Empress would eventually take concubines, and their pampered daughters would finally have a chance; others, however, were thinking about what would happen after the Crown Prince's wedding...

Sure enough, at the Crown Prince's wedding, the Emperor only attended briefly before making an excuse about having state affairs to attend to and did not reappear. The Empress Dowager did the same.

Therefore, things are about to change in the palace!

After attending the Crown Prince's wedding banquet, Madam Xia returned and shared her speculations with Xiao Chunyu.

"Prepare everything you need so you won't be in a rush and unable to find what you need later."

"Yes, mother."

If something were to happen in the palace, the General's Mansion, being a second-rank official, would naturally have to observe mourning and mourn. Xiao Chunyu asked Xiu to prepare white cloth and even had one custom-made for Panpan according to her height. There was no other way; she was now the Emperor's adopted daughter and a princess!

She can't escape this kind of thing!
As soon as it was dawn, Panpan ignored her nanny's attempts to stop her and ran to Heyun Courtyard.

"Mother, Mother, Panpan wants to go to the palace."

"Panpan, it's so early. You don't have to attend the morning court session. Go to the palace later."

"No, Mother, Panpan wants to go to the palace, she wants to go to the palace."

Panpan wouldn't say what she wanted to do in the palace.

"Alright, Mother will arrange a carriage for you."

Not only should carriages be arranged, but also guards.

Panpan's movements did not escape the notice of Madam Xia, who was taken aback upon receiving the notification.

"This child never does anything without a reason; I'm afraid something bad has happened to that person in the palace."

The old woman was stunned when she heard this.

No way, we haven't received any news?
"Granny, listen, what's that sound?"

"It's the sound of bells."

The morning drum and evening bell are played, but it's not at this time to ring the bell.

Madam Xia and her nanny... no, the entire capital was counting the chimes, one, two, three... twenty-seven.

"The Empress Dowager has passed away!"

Madam Xia thought to herself that, judging from the time Panpan entered the palace, she wasn't going to the palace to see the Empress Dowager off at her deathbed!
At this point, she had only reached the palace gate.

At the palace gate, Panpan's carriage was stopped.

"Sir, this is Princess Anping. She has business at the palace."

The maid handed over her waist token. The imperial guards checked the token, inspected the carriage, and finally respectfully allowed her to pass.

Although this princess is young, she is not subject to any restrictions when entering the palace.

Even though it's the Empress Dowager's recent death... wait, she was wearing mourning clothes just now!

Yes, as soon as the bell tolled for the Empress Dowager's passing, Princess Anping dressed in mourning clothes and came to the palace to mourn: how filial she was!

No wonder she was favored by the nobles in the palace.

The Empress and the Crown Prince were busy and were surprised to hear that Panpan had entered the palace.

"Panpan, what brings you to the palace?"

The Empress hurriedly asked.

"Mother, I must go and accompany Father. Father is leaving."

Panpan blurted out something, startling the maid beside her, who quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Let her go." The Empress glanced at her and said, "Crown Prince, take Panpan to your father's palace."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

The Crown Prince was also shocked. Could it be that what Panpan said was true?

My grandmother just passed away, but my father is too weak to get off his bed.

His grandmother's passing was also a blow to him, perhaps even...

"Father, Panpan has come to see you."

As soon as Panpan entered the room, she walked over to the person on the dragon bed: "Father, take good care of yourself, don't worry about Panpan."

The emperor's hand laboriously touched her head, then he glanced at the crown prince.

"Father, I will definitely protect the ancestral land, take good care of the Empress Dowager, and protect Panpan."

The emperor opened his mouth to say "Good," but his eyes rolled back, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back down. The hand that was on Panpan's head also fell down.

"Your Majesty..." Upon seeing this, Eunuch Fu cried out in anguish and knelt on the ground: "His Majesty has passed away..." (End of this chapter)