The battle for the crown prince was over, and the Yongle court was on the right track.
And an old man could no longer hold on.
In the seventeenth year of Yongle's reign, Yao Guangxiao, the prime minister in black, passed away at the age of eighty-four.
Zhu Di was so sad that he abolished the imperial court for two days and buried Yao Guangxiao with the rites of a monk. He posthumously awarded him the posthumous title of "Tui Cheng Fu Guo Xuan Li Civil Minister", special promotion to Ronglu Doctor, Shangzhu State, the title of Rong Guogong, the posthumous title Gongjing, and He was buried in the northeast of Fangshan. He also personally wrote a Shinto inscription for him and gave his adopted son Yao Ji the official position of Shangbao Shaoqing.
The glory has reached its peak.
In this world, this demon monk successfully fulfilled his dream and was not scorned by the world. He had his own adopted son and relatives in his later years, and he spent his later years in happiness.
Yan Ling also received news of Yao Guangxiao's death in Ningbo Mansion.
He did not know this monk, but this did not prevent Yan Ling from hearing about the reputation of the demon monk Yao Guangxiao. In the original history, Dao Yan was also a character that cannot be ignored.
Regarding his death, Yan Ling was somewhat relieved. At least in this world, this ambitious talent did not leave with regrets.
Not long ago, Fu Youde, Feng Sheng and others passed away one after another.
Although they were against Zhu Di, because they were their own masters, and they had indeed made great achievements in the war when the country was founded, Zhu Di did not do anything to them in the end. He just deprived them of their military power and ordered them to retire. Compared with being taken away Li Jinglong is under house arrest, they are really lucky.
After living in their hometown for a period of time, these old antiques who lived from the Yuan Dynasty to the present passed away one after another.
Prior to this, the nobles of Hongwu, such as Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen, Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi, Yongping Marquis Xie Cheng, Chongshan Marquis Li Xin, etc., also died one after another.
They escaped the big blue jade case in the last years of Hongwu, but they did not escape time after all.
In ancient times, their age was enough to be called a long life.
The last traces of the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty dissipated in the wind.
The British Duke Zhang Yu also passed away in the 16th year of Yongle.
Even Zhu Di, the once strong young man, the baby that Yan Ling watched grow up, is now old.
Yan Ling could clearly feel that an era was over.
"Old friends are dying one after another, just like leaves falling in the wind..." He sighed, stretched out his hand, and took the yellow leaves blown by the autumn wind.
Live forever, live forever!
…
In the eighteenth year of Yongle, just before the capital was about to be moved, two screams rang out from the Yue Duke's mansion and Chen Guogong's mansion, and then several fast horses rushed out of the gate of the capital.
Yan Ya and Yan Keng, these two figures who stood at the top of the empire's power, were no longer as calm as usual. They had sadness and panic on their faces. They did not hesitate to use the horsepower of the expensive BMW, and they just wanted to get to their hometown in Ningbo as soon as possible.
Just now, the two of them received news from the family.
Their mother, Mrs. Feng of Yipingaoming, was seriously ill.
When they arrived at her hometown in Ningbo, Feng Shuzhen was already lying on the hospital bed and almost lost her ability to move. Her skin was wrinkled, her eye sockets were sunken, her eyes were cloudy, and her gray hair hung on her shoulders. She was obviously dying.
They saw a young man sitting by the bed, holding the hand of the old woman on the bed tightly, reluctant to leave for a moment.
"Father." They both greeted at the same time.
Yan Ling nodded slightly.
"Can you save mother?" Yan Ya asked in a low voice, with hope in his eyes.
Father, he is an immortal blessed by immortals! He is a powerful man with boundless longevity, scheming against the world, and a desire to seize the dragon from heaven! It's just a minor illness, how can you defeat him?
However, Yan Ling's answer disappointed them.
"I can't save her...I, I can't do anything." Yan Ling whispered, his tone choked. There were two lines of tears on his face. He had cried many times in the past few days and the tears had dried up.
Husband and wife for decades, the depth of their relationship is unimaginable to others.
Especially during the period when Yan Ling faked his death and retired, the only person he could contact was Feng Shuzhen. The dependence and affection between the two has long gone beyond that of an ordinary couple.
After answering this sentence, Yan Ling's head hung down. This was the first time since he came to this world that he felt so powerless.
No matter what kind of difficulties he encountered in the past, he relied on the advantage of the prophet and the assistance of props to never panic.
But this time, he deeply felt fear and his powerlessness in the face of life and death.
Yan Ling's usually well-kempt hair was now as messy as a chicken coop. He tangled his fingers in his hair and closed his eyes.
He had already asked the game panel countless times if he could grant Feng Shuzhen immortality. He was willing to pay any price as long as Feng Shuzhen could survive with him.
The answer from the game panel was cold, with only two words:
"cannot."
"You are the only player. Only players can live forever." is its explanation.
"Even if I am willing to give up all the props and use everything in exchange?"
"Even if you are willing to give up all your props and use everything in exchange."
Asked again, got the same result.
Yan Ling let out a cry like a wounded animal, his eyes filled with despair.
Feng Shuzhen smiled while lying on the hospital bed and said in a hoarse voice: "It's okay, it's okay... Birth, old age, illness and death in this world are just like flowers blooming and falling. It is impossible to avoid... The grace of immortality will not be given frequently by immortals. Husband, there is no need to ask any more, but don’t offend the immortal.”
Hearing his beloved wife's words, tears welled up in Yan Ling's eyes again.
Looking at their father's sad expression, Yan Ya and Yan Keng's eyes were already full of sentimentality and sadness.
In their impression, their father always had the most wisdom and was always so confident, as if nothing in the world could stump him. This was the first time they had seen him so helpless.
They knew that their father was really powerless this time.
After all, he just received the favor of the immortal, and he is not a real immortal after all.
"Come." She whispered. Yan Ya and Yan Keng hurriedly came forward. Feng Shuzhen raised her thin hand and gently brushed their foreheads.
"Okay, okay! My son has grown up!"
After saying this, she seemed to breathe out the last breath in her heart. She turned her eyes and looked at Yan Ling, with infinite nostalgia and regret, and uttered her last words:
"Husband, take care..."
Her eyeballs lost their luster.
On this day, Feng Shuzhen, wife of Prince Jingping and wife of Yipingaoming, passed away at the age of seventy-six.
That day, it rained heavily.
In the tomb, Feng Shuzhen's coffin was placed in another tomb, far away from "Yan Ling's bones". This was Feng Shuzhen's last request before her death.
Yan Ling, as the head butler of the Yan family, stood aside and watched his wife sleep.
His tears have dried up.
He finally understood,
This is a game, this is just his game.
(End of chapter)
