An Sheng's words were overly domineering, yet profoundly heavy and deeply affectionate.
A Mei widened her eyes in shock, remaining utterly motionless in An Sheng's embrace for a long time.
In this moment, silence spoke louder than words. The two held each other just like that; tender, quiet, their long breaths intertwining.
...
Tap, tap, tap!
A low yet urgent knocking sound came from the door.
My lord, my lord, this servant has an urgent matter to report! It was Wu Da's deliberately lowered voice.
An Sheng suddenly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright. Even the fast-asleep A Mei was awakened by the noise.
A Mei's smooth arm softly clung to An Sheng's arm as she sat up alongside him. Looking confused, she whispered, Why is someone knocking at this late hour?
An Sheng's eyes flickered and his expression darkened, but he gently patted the back of A Mei's hand before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed.
He took two sets of clothes from the wardrobe and handed one to A Mei. Put your clothes on first.
Seeing her husband's grave expression, A Mei felt a jolt of alarm and hurriedly got dressed.
Once they were both dressed, An Sheng took A Mei's hand, walked over, and opened the door just a crack, revealing Wu Da's anxious face.
Wu Da was stamping his feet in anxiety. Finally, the door opened. Seeing An Sheng, he was just about to speak when he noticed half of the madam's head poking out from over Eunuch An's shoulder.
A Mei was staring at Wu Da with wide eyes.
Wu Da's mouth hung open. Caught between speaking and staying silent, his face flushed red as he widened his eyes and could not help but look at An Sheng.
Speak, An Sheng ordered coldly.
Wu Da's voice carried an uncontrollable tremble as he immediately spoke. My lord, an oral decree from His Majesty urgently summons you to the palace. This servant heard from the Second Prince's people that... that His Majesty's health is failing!
At these words, An Sheng's brow twitched. His thoughts raced at lightning speed before he furrowed his brows tightly.
After a brief silence, An Sheng shot a sharp glance at Wu Da. Go wait at the main gate first. I will be there shortly!
Yes, my lord!
As soon as Wu Da left, An Sheng turned to look at a dumbfounded A Mei and said directly, The Emperor is likely about to pass away. I need to go to the palace to assess the situation first. It is an emergency, so I do not have time to explain much to you. Tomorrow, when my godfather wakes up, pass this news to him.
Pass away? The Emperor is dying? A Mei stood frozen in shock.
An Sheng reached out and caressed A Mei's cheek, his previously tense expression softening for a moment.
I will definitely be very busy for the foreseeable future. If I do not have time to return home, do not worry. If anything happens, we can pass messages through Wu Da and Xiao Zhengzi.
Looking into An Sheng's eyes, A Mei steadied her nerves and nodded firmly. Do not worry, husband. A Mei understands.
An Sheng curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile but said no more. He turned, grabbed a bundle from the cabinet, and hurried away into the night.
...
By the time An Sheng rushed frantically to the palace, deafening wails of grief were already erupting from the direction of the Emperor's bedchamber!
An Sheng's steps faltered, his gaze turning dark and unreadable, before he broke into a sprint toward the sound.
Running to the doors of the main hall, An Sheng first furrowed his brow. With a vicious kick, he shoved aside a eunuch kneeling by the door who happened to be blocking his path. His shrill voice practically charged into the hall from outside.
What are you crying for? Get out of my way!
He then hurried into the inner hall, calling out shrilly and urgently as he went, Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This servant is here!
Kneeling and weeping beside the dragon bed at this moment were the Empress and the Second Prince. Just below them was Grand Secretary Tan, along with several other cabinet ministers.
Everyone's gaze turned toward An Sheng. They saw that as soon as he entered and took in the scene within the hall, his face turned deathly pale. His eyes looked ready to split open from grief. Then, as if unable to bear the weight of it, he took a step back before dropping heavily to his knees with a loud thud.
Your Majesty— A long, shrill, and utterly tragic wail tore from his throat, followed immediately by loud sobbing.
An Sheng was not like those refined ministers, who, no matter how hard they cried, remained neatly dressed without showing any unsightly behavior. An Sheng wept without any restraint. He thrashed about, tears and snot streaming down his face. He cried with absolute heartbreak, beating his chest and stamping his feet, fully acting out the picture of a man reduced to a blubbering mess.
Seeing An Sheng cry in such a vulgar, street-like manner, several ministers inevitably felt disdain in their hearts. However, remembering how much the Emperor—no, the late Emperor—had previously relied upon and favored him, it seemed entirely reasonable that he would be unable to accept the sudden loss of his greatest backer now that the late Emperor had passed.
Ultimately, it was the Second Prince who could no longer stand the sight of it. Feeling that it was a grave loss of decorum, he gave a look, and someone immediately helped An Sheng up to kneel properly.
Since An Sheng had arrived late, he had not heard the Emperor's dying words. Grand Secretary Tan, suppressing his grief, said to An Sheng, Before His Majesty passed, he passed the throne to the Second Prince. He specifically instructed us to assist the new Emperor well in the future. Lord An, do not disappoint His Majesty's trust!
Grand Secretary Tan's words were true, but even as calm as he was, he felt wary about the Emperor summoning An Sheng to his deathbed. Everyone present was a pillar of the state, an old minister shouldering the burden of the empire for the imperial family.
Yet this An Sheng was merely a eunuch. He had not expected the Emperor to rely on Eunuch An to such an extent. Powerful eunuchs brought disaster to the nation. To prevent the Emperor from granting him even more power, Grand Secretary Tan had to take precautions, which was why he had deliberately delayed the notification time.
After his bout of wailing to the heavens, An Sheng knelt on the ground, utterly exhausted. Hearing this, he raised his eyelids, his face full of sorrow. He then struggled to break free from the eunuch supporting him, kowtowed heavily three times to the late Emperor's remains, and prostrated himself deeply before the Second Prince. This minister swears loyalty to the new Emperor unto death!
With the Emperor's passing, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for establishing the funeral etiquette and arranging the related ceremonies.
Officials of the Ministry of Rites, both high and low, worked under bright lights, sorting through the procedures and making arrangements according to regulations. However, a minor hiccup occurred in the middle of it all, leaving the official in charge of compiling the roster in a difficult position.
By tradition, only officials of the fifth rank and above, along with the titled noble ladies in their households, could attend the Emperor's funeral.
The edict summoning the civil and military officials, the princes and nobles, and their families to enter the palace to mourn and weep was almost fully drafted. The problem lay with the list of titled noble ladies meant to attend the mourning.
As they cross-referenced the registry of officials above the fifth rank and the titled noble ladies to draft the edicts, they eventually calculated that they were short one titled lady. Upon closer inspection, they were shocked to discover that the official file for Commander An of the Inner Depot listed his wife as Madam An, née Zhu.
Everyone was instantly dumbfounded.
An Sheng was now a high-ranking official of the third rank and held the crucial position of Commander of the Inner Depot. According to regulations, he was eligible to request a noble title for his wife. Historically, noble titles for women were either requested by the officials themselves or bestowed directly by the Emperor.
Although it required a request, the women in the inner chambers of officials' households would usually rush to urge them to do so. Yet when it came to Eunuch An, no one at home had urged him, he had not made the request, and the Emperor had not bestowed it. This...
The truth was that An Sheng had genuinely been too busy and forgot about this matter. A Mei, naturally, had no idea. As for the late Emperor, his health had been poor while he was alive, leaving him no time to attend to such details. Thus, the matter had truly just slipped through the cracks.
Now, the Inner Depot was simply too prominent. The officials of the Ministry of Rites discussed it and concluded that even though Madam An, née Zhu, did not currently hold a noble title, she was still the bona fide wife of a third-rank official. For such a momentous occasion, they absolutely could not leave her out.
Therefore, when A Mei received the edict instructing her to proceed to the imperial palace to mourn, she was completely bewildered.
