"Niang niang, the minister of rites already made the announcement. The imperial mandate has proclaimed Aisin Gioro Li Shan as the new emperor and the ascension ceremony shall take place on an auspicious date after the period of mourning." Lady Yang reported.
Empress Ruyi doesn't know if she should be satisfied or disappointed. However, even she knew that a peaceful ascension was for the best. "How is Wan Li?"
"Niang niang, the princess is now taking her afternoon nap."
Empress Ruyi sighed as she recalled her daughter making a ruckus with all her crying earlier. "Do you think that I have coddled her too much?"
"Niang niang, the princess is very well behaved for her age. However, in the end, she is still a small child. Nubi believes that what happened earlier only reflects how much she loves her e'niang."
Empress Ruyi smiled wistfully. Admittedly, though it was worrying to see Wan Li crying so much, it also felt gratifying that she was muttering 'e'niang e'niang, I want e'niang' all the while.
"How about that which I asked you earlier?"
"Eunuch Wu's body has been examined by coroner Lei. He said that Eunuch Wu's cause of death was definitely not suicide."
Empress Ruyi shook her head, she already assumed that much. "What I meant was the bottle I asked you to retrieve from my dowry."
"Ah, yes niang niang. Here it is…" Lady Yang replied as she presented her with the bottle.
Empress Ruyi took the bottle to ascertain that it was the correct one. After that, she asked lady Yang to leave.
--
The moment that the death of the emperor was announced, everyone in and out of the palace became very busy. All colorful decorations were put away, the mourning clothes were prepared, all festivities for a month were cancelled, places of entertainment closed, and even music was forbidden.
For commoners, the period of mourning was for a hundred days. During that period, they cannot shave their heads, and they can not attend nor host festivities. For the imperial family, it may vary from 1 to 3 years depending on the level of kinship.
The death of emperor Gongxu was a national event where strict series of rituals and ceremonies were needed to be followed. Now, although the ministry of rites was responsible for all of these, there were still matters which can only be decided by the primary mourner.
Empress dowager Cixui already knew all of this and would use it to her advantage. So, after the morning meeting, she started drafting a new imperial edict to execute the second stage of her plan.
One of the primary mourner's obligations in case of the patriarch's death was to observe a period of 27 months in mourning before taking the role of head in the family.
In the past, when her biological emperor son died, it was his wife who took that role because he had no son. This time, since Li Shan has already been adopted by the emperor and empress, he should, by default, be the primary mourner. However, since he was still too young, the decision making shall fall on the empress dowager.
If it were to be done that way, from the moment the imperial mandate was announced, Fengwan would, only after spending a month in mourning (since the court still has to run), will legitimately hold authority as the new empress dowager.
Although she was confident that she can put Fengwan under her thumb, she must still prepare something just in case.
--
Empress Ruyi, as a woman of imperial Qing, excelled in the art of stitching and embroidery. After lady Yang left, she brought out her mourning clothes again to continue sewing a pocket inside one of its wide sleeves. To make it unnoticeable, she had to remove and then re-stitch the patterned embroidery.
After she finished, she placed the small bottle inside the pocket. She was just starting to formulate a plausible reason to visit the empress dowager when she heard sets of footsteps from outside.
Shortly, there was a knock on her door. "Niang niang, head eunuch Lui has arrived with an imperial edict and is asking for an audience."
Empress Ruyi paused before giving instruction, "Alright. I will be out shortly." Then, she started donning her mourning clothes.
--
Since Head Eunuch Lui arrived, upon the instruction of the empress dowager Cixui, he tried to observe everyone in the empress' palace.
The servants were busy with everything that was needed to be done, so he could not say much about their attitude. However, upon arrival, they still greeted him respectfully.
Since he was carrying an edict, he waited for the empress in the courtyard. The wait only took him about 5 minutes. He inwardly smiled, pleased. It seems like Empress Ruyi was still the same.
With this, head Eunuch Lui gave empress Ruyi a more respectful than usual greeting.
—
TBC