in2ebook Chapter 222 Worship
Chapter 222 Worship
"Indeed, let's just say that when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, dust to dust." Aunt Cheng wiped away her tears, looking at Empress Dowager Cheng with some heartache.
"How have you been these past years? Everyone says you're now the Empress Dowager, above all others. But being the Empress Dowager must be incredibly tough."
Empress Dowager Cheng was stunned for a moment.
She has long held a high position, and others only see her boundless glory. Only her closest relatives truly understand her hardships. She is only thirty-five years old this year, but under her black hair, there are already several strands of silver.
Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Cheng suddenly glared at Princess Huizhen.
Cheng Yan, Qin Yizhen, and Emperor Jing'an are all people who know and understand her, but this rebellious daughter not only doesn't understand her, but also tries to cause her trouble every day, making her worry and have headaches.
Princess Huizhen was inexplicably glared at and looked completely innocent: "Mother, why are you glaring at me? What did I do wrong?"
"Look at you making a fool of yourself." Empress Dowager Cheng withdrew her gaze, too lazy to pay her any attention.
Princess Huizhen choked, but because it was her mother who said these words, she could only suppress her anger.
Empress Dowager Cheng said to Third Aunt Cheng, "I am fine, there is no need to worry about me. You all just take care of yourselves. Alright, it's getting late. Those who need to pay their respects should do so. If you want to catch up, you can do so later when you return to the Marquis of Pingxi's residence."
"Alright, alright, it is indeed time to pay respects." Upon hearing this, Aunt Cheng immediately stopped the many words that were on the tip of her tongue and dared not say any more.
Today's memorial day for the Ming family was presided over by the Pingxi Marquis's residence. The prepared offerings were laid out, incense and candles were lit, and then the group was led to worship. Empress Dowager Cheng held three sticks of incense, kowtowed, and then began to talk about the Cheng family and the Zhang family.
“Mother, the Zhang family committed treason and rebellion, deserving of death. Now the Zhang family is gone. After learning the news, Zhang Shi passed away in great grief. Cheng Hai has also passed away. May you rest in peace in the afterlife.”
"Ayan, the children, and I are all doing well, please don't worry..."
After Empress Dowager Cheng finished speaking, Princess Huizhen continued, "Grandmother, please bless your granddaughter, bless her so that all her wishes come true and she marries a good husband."
"He has to be good-looking, preferably Xie Zhan. If I could marry Xie Zhan, my granddaughter would definitely have your memorial tablet enshrined in the mansion, burning incense three times a day, morning and evening..."
Those present: "..."
Emperor Jing'an coughed, signaling her to shut up.
Actually, the brother and sister didn't have to come, but they respected Empress Dowager Cheng. Empress Dowager Cheng had an extraordinary affection for her birth mother and had witnessed her mother's tragic death, so she couldn't get over the trauma and came every year.
When Empress Dowager Cheng arrived, they came too. When Empress Dowager Cheng knelt, they knelt as well.
Although it was obviously inappropriate for the emperor and princess to kneel, it was also inappropriate for them to stand since Empress Dowager Cheng had already knelt. After thinking it over, they realized that their closest relatives were more important than their reputation, so they naturally knelt down as well.
Princess Huizhen ignored Emperor Jing'an's words. After she finished speaking, seeing that no one responded, she said to herself in a serious tone, "What? Grandmother, you agreed? Thank you, Grandmother. Waaah, you love me even more than Mother Empress."
Empress Dowager Cheng suddenly felt a bit guilty and wanted to give this rebellious daughter a good beating so she would know why the flowers were so red.
Aunt Cheng had never seen Ming again after they parted years ago. Now that her old friend was lying in the ground, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Sister-in-law, I've come to see you..." Aunt Cheng began, her voice choked with emotion, "We haven't come to pay our respects all these years. We didn't know how you were doing. It's not that we didn't want to, it's just that we didn't know how to face you..."
The death of Lady Ming was orchestrated by Lady Zhang. The real culprit was Marquis Chengen, and Cheng He also played a role in it. If Cheng He had sent a letter to Marquis Chengen, neither he nor Lady Zhang would have known that Lady Ming was pregnant, and there would have been no later events.
“What happened back then was our fault, Cheng He and I were the ones who wronged you. If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have left us so early, and Fuyao and Ayan wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
"I've come today to tell you something. Cheng He passed away last year. Before he died, he kept asking his family to come and offer incense to you, hoping to beg for your forgiveness. As for himself, he has no face to see you again on his journey to the underworld..."
May you be reborn into a good family, and live a smooth and peaceful life...
After everyone finished their worship, they offered tea and wine, and burned paper money, thus concluding the worship ceremony.
Empress Dowager Cheng stood in front of the tomb for a long time. The sun rose higher and higher and the weather became hotter and hotter. Cheng Yan and Qin Yizhen went up to persuade her to go back.
Empress Dowager Cheng turned to look at Cheng Yan: "Will you always remember your mother?"
“I remember.” Cheng Yan nodded. “If it weren’t for my mother, I wouldn’t exist. Although I’ve never met her, the fact that she kept me here shows that she loved me.”
"If you truly care about someone, how could you forget them?"
I will never forget this in my life.
In particular, he felt guilty because Ming died because of his birth.
Empress Dowager Cheng nodded: "I won't be coming often in the future. You and Yizhen can come whenever you have free time."
Cheng Yan nodded: "If I were in Qindu, I would come with Yizhen. If we have children in the future, we will bring them with us."
"Very well." Empress Dowager Cheng was deeply gratified. "Then I will entrust these matters to you from now on."
After exchanging a few words, seeing that the sun was getting hotter and hotter, the group headed back to the Marquis of Pingxi's residence.
Empress Dowager Cheng and Princess Huizhen rested at Chunhe Courtyard, Cheng Yan took Emperor Jing'an to Chunhui Garden to talk, and Qin Yizhen went to the kitchen to have food prepared.
Third Aunt Cheng and Second Aunt Cheng kept Empress Dowager Cheng company while she talked.
Empress Dowager Cheng asked Third Aunt Cheng, "How is Cheng An? I heard he got married and had children?"
Cheng An was the only son of Cheng He and his third aunt. Because the child was born with poor health, they asked someone to give him the name 'An'. The Cheng family were originally farmers and did not pay much attention to generational names; they just chose whatever sounded good.
Just like Empress Dowager Cheng, whose name Fuyao was derived from the line "The roc rises with the wind in a single day, soaring ninety thousand miles high" that the Marquis of Chengen read when he was studying, and thus named himself "Fuyao".
"We're married now, and our child is five years old. My health has improved a lot over the years, but I can't afford to overwork myself. That's why he originally wanted to come to Qindu with me this time, but I couldn't bear to leave him alone."
"In the end, he asked your second aunt and Yongshi to accompany him, along with some other people, to come with the escort agency that was carrying the goods."
“An’er is a filial son, and his wife is also a good one. She is the daughter of a scholar, gentle and polite, and she is also filial to me.”
With land and shops at home, and other assets, plus our connection to you, no one will dare to bully us. Rest assured.
"It's just a pity about your third uncle; he was unlucky and passed away so young..."