lcionline Chapter 243 The Queen Mother Passes Away
Chapter 243 The Queen Mother Passes Away
Inside the pilgrimage hall, everyone had already left, leaving only Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan.
The flickering lights inside the palace illuminated the emperor's aged face.
His face was full of weariness and vicissitudes, but his eyes still shone with an invincible majesty.
“She, isn’t my mother your own sister? She wouldn’t rebel against you… why do you insist on killing her?” Gu Junze stood in the center of the hall, his voice deep and suppressed.
The emperor's expression shifted between light and dark, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "I had no choice but to do this."
"Have no other choice?" Gu Junze sneered. "What could possibly make you so cruel to your own sister?"
The Emperor turned around, his back to the crowd, and said in a low voice, "During the Rebellion of the Five Princes, I was able to sit on this throne entirely thanks to my elder sister's strong support. However, she holds a large army and her prestige is too great, which has caused dissatisfaction among many ministers in the court."
"So what?" Gu Junze's emotions grew increasingly agitated, his eyes turning bloodshot. "She's your own sister, she's cared for you since childhood, and you've risked your life together on the battlefield. How could she possibly harm you! Is the bond you shared growing up so fragile?"
His voice echoed in the hall, filled with endless resentment and heartache.
The Emperor turned around abruptly, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes: "Do you think I don't know? But in the struggle for power, kinship never matters!"
“The court officials are submitting memorials every day, saying that she has rebellious intentions. If I don’t do something, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold onto this throne!”
"So you're going to sacrifice her? Use her life to solidify your throne?" Gu Junze's voice was icy cold, like a sharp blade in the dead of winter.
"You keep saying it's for the sake of the country and its people, but doesn't that include your own sister? She killed all the royal brothers for you and helped you ascend the throne, yet you repay kindness with enmity!"
His eyes burned with fury, as if he wanted to burn the hypocritical man in front of him to ashes.
The emperor remained silent; this silence was the best answer.
Chu Ruohan looked at Gu Junze, feeling heartbroken.
She knew how cruel the truth was to him.
She could feel the burning anger and endless pain in his chest.
Even though he had already guessed it, the truth was still revealed: the murderer was his own uncle, the current emperor.
All talk of being forced into it boils down to nothing more than trust.
Gu Junze looked directly at the Emperor, "You have never trusted her..."
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall, followed by panicked cries: "Empress Dowager! The Empress Dowager has fainted!"
The Emperor's expression changed drastically. Disregarding his composure, he rushed out of the Imperial Hall, with Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan following closely behind.
The Empress Dowager was being supported by several palace maids; her face was as pale as paper, her eyes were closed, and she was lifeless.
Everyone hurriedly settled the Empress Dowager on a bed in the inner palace, and the imperial physicians rushed over, anxiously diagnosing her around the bed.
"Mother!" The Emperor knelt before the bed, his voice filled with an unprecedented panic.
The imperial physician turned around, bowed deeply to the emperor, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager... is extremely weak, her pulse is erratic, and her breath is barely perceptible. I'm afraid... her time is near."
These words struck the Emperor like a bolt from the blue.
He stared in disbelief at the withered old man on the bed, his throat bobbing, unable to utter a sound.
The Empress Dowager's personal maid stepped forward, her voice choked with emotion: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has always been in poor health, and the imperial physicians have said that her time is near. She was afraid that Your Majesty would worry, so she has been keeping it from you."
The Emperor grasped the Empress Dowager's hand, his fingers trembling: "Mother, I am here, please open your eyes and look at me!"
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes weakly, looking at the Emperor with unfocused eyes, then slowly shifting her gaze to Gu Junze standing to the side.
"Junze, come here." The Empress Dowager's voice was weak, but it carried an undeniable authority.
Gu Junze stepped forward and knelt before the Empress Dowager's bed.
The Empress Dowager raised her withered hand and gently stroked Gu Junze's face: "You look just like your mother."
Gu Junze's eyes welled up with tears, unsure how to answer.
The Empress Dowager suddenly became agitated and grabbed the Emperor's arm: "Emperor Taizong, how could you kill Anyang? She was your own sister!"
The emperor's face turned deathly pale, and he was speechless.
The Empress Dowager burst into tears: "My Anyang, my daughter!" She suddenly coughed violently.
The Emperor quickly helped the Empress Dowager up, saying, "Mother, please calm down. Your son knows he was wrong."
"Admit your mistake?" The Empress Dowager sneered. "It's too late to admit your mistake now!"
The Empress Dowager coughed a few times and looked at Gu Junze: "Junze, I am sorry for your mother. Back then, I knew that Emperor Taizong had a grudge against her, but I failed to protect her."
Gu Junze lowered his head, tears falling to the ground: "Grandmother..."
The Empress Dowager turned her gaze to the Emperor again, her voice weak but each word sharp as a needle: "Emperor Taizong, you must promise me that you will not harm Junze."
The emperor looked troubled.
"I guarantee it!" the Empress Dowager shouted with all her might, followed by another violent coughing fit.
The Emperor gritted his teeth and nodded: "Mother, rest assured, your son guarantees that he will not harm Junze."
The Empress Dowager was finally relieved. She leaned back on her pillow, her eyes softening. "Junze, leave. Leave the capital and take your Ruohan with you to a faraway place."
Chu Ruohan stepped forward and gently took the Empress Dowager's hand: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will take good care of Junze."
The Empress Dowager was finally relieved. She slowly released the Emperor's hand and turned her gaze to the bed curtains, as if she were looking at the distant past.
"The late emperor, back then I resented you for not caring about Anyang and for stripping her of her military power. You said then that women holding power was a cardinal sin..."
The Empress Dowager's voice grew louder, as if she were about to roar out the pent-up resentment that had been building up in her heart for many years, "The late Emperor, so you foresaw the ending back then, Anyang..."
The Empress Dowager's voice abruptly stopped, her hand fell limply to the side of the bed, her eyes slowly closed, and she breathed her last in pain and regret.
The Emperor collapsed onto the Empress Dowager, weeping loudly, "Mother! Mother!"
Chu Ruohan couldn't hold back either, and tears streamed down her face.
She was saddened by the passing of the Empress Dowager and also felt distressed by everything Gu Junze had suffered.
No one was spared from this tragedy of power.
The tears in Gu Junze's eyes had long since dried, replaced by a chill.
He grabbed the emperor by the collar, his voice icy and chilling: "Are you satisfied with this ending? Your grandmother died with resentment in her heart..."
The emperor let Gu Junze drag him along without resisting. His face was covered in tears. At this moment, he was no longer the high and mighty emperor he once was.
The last person who loved him also left him.
He truly became a lonely figure...
He muttered to himself, "Mother, I really didn't mean it. But in the imperial family, even family ties must give way to power."