Zhu Yuanzhang did not leave far away. All the princes and grandsons were waiting in the front hall of Qianqing Palace.
Everyone is waiting nervously.
Time passed by, and Zhu Yuanzhang's heart sank little by little. Li Qing's diagnosis and treatment usually lasted only half an hour, but now an hour had passed, and he still didn't come out.
Seeing that something was wrong, some concubines secretly touched the ginger hidden in their sleeves, preparing to cry bitterly.
After another two quarters of an hour, Li Qing walked out with a tired look on his face.
Zhu Yuanzhang rushed forward, took his hand, and said in a trembling voice: "What's the matter?"
"Fortunately, your Majesty is awake." Li Qing said tiredly, "Your Majesty, please go alone."
"Okay." Zhu Yuanzhang let him go and walked inside.
It was difficult for everyone to follow, so they could only look at Li Qing.
Li Qing has been here for so long, but the prince and grandson still don't recognize him fully, let alone the concubines, so they can only bow to each other and say, "It's polite to lower your rank."
Zhu Yunwen stood up and moved a chair for him, timidly saying: "Sit down and rest for a while!"
Li Qing was indeed exhausted, so he thanked him and sat on a chair to regain his energy.
About a quarter of an hour later, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma walked in hand in hand. The princes were greatly shocked, and the concubines looked even more complicated.
Queen Ma has a rosy complexion and steady steps. She is a completely normal person, with no trace of illness.
For a moment, everyone's eyes changed when they looked at Li Qing.
Li Qing ignored the strange looks from these people, slowly sat up from his chair, and saluted with everyone.
"No courtesy." Queen Ma was in a very good mood, "Don't stay here anymore, it's time to go about your business."
Everyone stood up slowly and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Let's all go back," Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Chen'er, Fan'er, Yunwen, and Yunxi stay."
"My son (my concubine) retires."
Seeing everyone leaving, Li Qing touched his nose and said, "Wei Chen, please leave."
"You stay."
"...I obey the order."
Queen Ma said, "Chongba, call Biao'er, Changning and Chang'an too!"
"Well, okay." Zhu Yuanzhang agreed without hesitation and glanced at Xiao Guizi. The latter immediately understood, bowed and retreated.
The palace maid brought fruits and snacks, and the family sat down around the table. Li Qing seemed out of place.
After a while, Zhu Biao hurried over, and more than half an hour later, Princess Ningguo and Princess Anqing also arrived, and Li Qing was on pins and needles.
The one whose husband died, but every time he looked at him, he looked like he wanted to eat him.
Doesn't it mean that she will be deprived of her title and demoted to a commoner... Li Qing thought helplessly.
"It's been a long time since we got together like this." Queen Ma was in high spirits. Seeing his reserved look, she smiled and said, "No need to be formal, you can eat whatever you like."
"Hey, thank you, empress."
Li Qing nodded, reached for an orange, and peeled it, automatically ignoring the resentful woman.
Zhu Xi and Zhu Fan didn't talk much. Anqing's attention was all on Li Qing, and almost all of them were the eldest son Zhu Biao and the eldest daughter Chang Ning.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that several people looked uninterested, he felt furious and banged the table, "Everyone is mute, right?"
"What are you doing?" Queen Ma rolled her eyes at him, "It's not easy to get together and you're still angry."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled bitterly and softened his tone, "Okay, we won't get angry."
As he said that, he looked at a few people and sighed: "Your mother only has one day left in her life."
"What?"
Zhu Biao was shocked, and the others were also shocked. Even An Qing turned his attention to Queen Ma, with disbelief on his face.
"No one is immortal!" Queen Ma said calmly, "I am very contented to have survived until now."
"Mother, you look clearly good, how could you..." Zhu Biao looked at Li Qing, "Li Qing, what's going on?"
"Biao'er," Queen Ma said, "If it weren't for him, I would have been buried long ago. He has tried his best."
"Queen mother..."
"Grandma Huang, my grandson doesn't want you to die." Zhu Yunwen cried out.
When he cried, the atmosphere instantly became sad.
Even Zhu Xi, who had always been aloof and arrogant, had moist eyes, and the two princesses were even more excited.
Queen Ma glared at Zhu Yuanzhang angrily, "It's all your fault, why do you have to tell me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang also wanted to cry, but he held it back in the end and said hoarsely: "Why are you crying? It's annoying."
"Okay, don't cry anymore." Queen Ma joked, "I'm not dead yet. If you have tears, wait until I die to cry, but I won't cry anymore, ah~"
The two princesses gradually stopped crying, and only Zhu Yunwen was still crying silently.
"This kid."
Queen Ma held him on her lap and pinched his nose, "Stop crying and give grandma a smile."
"Hiss, hey, hey, hey..."
Li Qing smashed his mouth and continued to eat oranges.
noon.
The imperial meal was particularly sumptuous, with hundreds of dishes, for ten people in total, including two children. Although Li Qing was a big eater, he couldn't eat so much, not even a third of it.
Empress Ma lamented, "I cooked too much and couldn't eat it at all."
"We are the emperor, why can't we be extravagant once in a while?" Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be displeased, "It's still too little for us."
"See what you can do." Queen Ma curled her lips, "Give these to the servants, don't let them fall."
"Okay, it's up to you."
After dinner, Queen Ma said, "Let's go out for a walk in the afternoon. Don't stir up trouble. Just put on ordinary clothes and walk around."
"Okay, it's up to you."
…
On the streets of the capital, the Jin Yiwei put on common people's clothes, carried sharp swords, and hid powerful crossbows in their sleeves. They blended in with the crowd and secretly guarded Zhu Yuanzhang and his family in the middle.
Empress Ma bought a lot of things, including gifts for her son, daughter, and grandson. Even Li Qing mixed in a peace charm.
Although it is a street stall product, it has extraordinary meaning.
"Sister, don't you buy something for us?"
"What's the hurry? Don't I have to think about it carefully?"
"Okay, we're not in a hurry, you can think about it slowly." Zhu Yuanzhang said gently.
Queen Ma spent a long time choosing, and finally chose a piece of wood for him to scratch. It was very cheap at only twenty cents. It was the cheapest gift among all the gifts, but Zhu Yuanzhang liked it very much.
I wandered around for nearly two hours before returning home exhausted.
Returning to the palace, Queen Ma's energy and energy dropped sharply, which made Zhu Yuanzhang panic.
"Sister, please lie down and rest for a while."
"No, I still have something to say." Queen Ma said, "Biao'er."
"My son is here." Zhu Biao took two steps forward and knelt in front of her.
Queen Ma stroked his head and said with a smile: "You have lost weight these days. From now on, you have to balance work and rest, and don't tire yourself out.
Your father is too strict. You don't have to obey him in everything. You have to insist on what you need to do. "
Zhu Biao nodded slightly, "I understand."
"Chang'er."
"My son is here."
"You have been naughty since you were a child. Please be more restrained in the future. Don't cause trouble to your father and elder brother..."
"My son, please remember this."
"Fun'er."
…
Empress Ma explained one by one. She knew the temperament and character of each of her children very well, and gave specific instructions.
Li Qing saw this and was quite touched. Although it may not be useful, Empress Ma did the best she could to be kind.
She talked a lot, and her complexion became even worse. There was very little energy left in her body, and she was trembling even as she spoke.
"Sister, please stop talking." Zhu Yuanzhang quickly supported her, "Lean in our arms and rest for a while."
Queen Ma shook her head slowly, "I'll be able to sleep in a while. I still want to... want to talk to you again."
"Okay, tell me, we're listening." Zhu Yuanzhang held her hand, tears flowing down uncontrollably.
"I...want to ask the Emperor for a favor."
At the last moment, Queen Ma became official in her speech.
"We agree to a hundred or ten thousand items."
"Yes." Empress Ma showed a relaxed expression, "I beg the Emperor to restrain his desire to kill, to be lenient to others, to kill sparingly and with caution."
Holding on for her last breath, Queen Ma continued:
"I only hope that the emperor will seek virtuous people and accept advice, and be cautious until the end. I hope that all descendants of my Ming Dynasty will be virtuous, and that my subjects will benefit from it. Even if I die, I will still live..."
Queen Ma's hands dropped weakly, and her eyes were dim, without a trace of light.
The kindest and wisest queen in history is laid to rest.
Even though Li Qing tried his best, he still didn't let her survive the fifteen years of Hongwu.
