"Ahh Zhu Yuanzhang screamed and sat up from the bed straight.

It was pitch black all around, except for the moonlight casting a dying glow through the windows.

Zhu Yuanzhang ran to the window, stretched out his hand, looked at the back of his hand, and then looked at the palm of his hand, it was very clean and there was no blood.

He put his hand to his face, dry, nothing out of the ordinary.

He looked down at his chest again, his clothes intact, no wounds, no blood.

Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a long sigh of relief, it turned out to be a dream.

Ning Yu heard the emperor's exclamation and hurriedly ran into the room.

She saw Zhu Yuanzhang standing in front of the window in a daze, silent, and asked softly: "What does the emperor command?" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer. Ning Yu didn't dare to ask any more, retreated to the door, and stood aside waiting for the emperor to call her at any time.

"What's wrong with the emperor?" Queen Ma said softly.

Zhu Yuanzhang came to his senses and walked lightly to Queen Ma's bed and sat down.

"Xiuying, I ...... It's okay. Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed Queen Ma's hand and held it tightly, the darkness could not hide his lost soul and haggard heart.

Queen Ma saw it in her eyes and decided to use her remaining fading power to help the person she loved get out of the sea of suffering in the little time she had left, even if it was only for a short moment.

"Zhu Gongzi!" Queen Ma called Zhu Yuanzhang affectionately, and her face was unexpectedly radiant.

Zhu Gongzi is the nickname given to him by people in the army when Zhu Yuanzhang participated in Guo Zixing's rebel army.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang fought bravely, fought righteousness and squandered money, everyone liked him, no one would scold him for being a beast, and no one would point a sword at him.

Zhu Yuanzhang's pain finally turned into tears and dripped on Queen Ma's hands: "Xiuying, do you think I'm a good person?" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang replaced "I" with "I". Queen Ma knew Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions. He wanted to tell Queen Ma that even if she became the king of a country, his relationship with Queen Ma would be the same as before.

"Chongba, you're not only a good person, you're also a hero. I didn't expect to marry a hero like you in this life, it's really my blessing. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang touched Queen Ma's head and said emotionally: "Xiuying, marrying you is my blessing." Without you, I'm afraid there would be no current Zhu Yuanzhang, and there would be no Ming Dynasty. ”

"Chongba, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty is the achievement of you and those courtiers, you have to treat them well."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

"And ......" Queen Ma closed her eyes, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks and wetting the pillow.

She knew that every word she said now was most likely the last word she said to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"I have something to ask you for."

"Xiuying, just think about yourself, stop interceding for others, those ministers won't appreciate it. Those who should be corrupt are still corrupt, and those who should pervert the law are still perverted. How do they know about your hard work? ”

Queen Ma smiled and shook her head: "This time I am not interceding for the minister. ”

"And for whom are you interceding?"

"I plead for the child."

"Kid? Which child? All the princes appeared in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind one by one. Lately they have been following the rules and have not made any mistakes.

"I'm not worried about the prince of the peace clan by your side."

"Are you still worried about the unborn prince?"

Queen Ma shook her head: "It's Concubine Yan's child!" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head away, the remnants of the nightmare were still swimming in his body, and his voice trembled a little: "King Yan and King Zhou? ”

"Nope! Their brother, the kid you can't tolerate. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang let go of Queen Ma's hand, and a pair of heavy pupils appeared in front of his eyes, piercing into his eyes like a sharp sword.

"What did you mention it for?"

"The child is still alive."

The moon hid her remnants, and the night was so silent that only the sound of Zhu Yuanzhang's heartbeat remained.

The heartbeat had no rhythm, but it roared, like thunder in the sky, and like a war drum beside him.

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang's hand fell heavily on the bed board, and the curtain trembled slightly.

"Chongba, Concubine Yu has been gone for twenty years, and your country has also been sitting firmly for twenty years. If her child is really a demon, how can our Ming Dynasty be able to adjust the wind and rain, and the country is rich and the people are strong? That's just Qin Tianjian talking nonsense, nothing to do. And that Goryeo envoy, I never believed that he would say those bastard things that slandered the Ming Dynasty. He has come to beg us to send troops, how can he be so arrogant? Heavy eight, someone must be sowing discord! ”

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes and leaned on the bedpost.

"Chongba, can you let that kid go?" Queen Ma tightly tugged on Zhu Yuanzhang's sleeve.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in turmoil. How could he refuse the dying request of the person he loved the most?

He can be ruthless to anyone, including Concubine and his children. But he can't be ruthless to Queen Ma.

Queen Ma followed him without hesitation when he had nothing. She loved him, trusted him, and respected him. She gave her life for him and gave everything.

Zhu Yuanzhang's lips were oozing blood, he turned his head to look at Queen Ma and said, "Xiuying, don't worry, I will promise you whatever you say." ”

Queen Ma closed her eyes with satisfaction, with a smile on the corner of her mouth: "Your Majesty, you go and rest again, it's not dawn yet." ”

The sun did not come the next day, the sky was gray and foggy, and the earth did not seem to have woken up.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was in the early dynasty, Queen Ma left him forever.

Zhu Yuanzhang lost his soul, leaving a group of panicked ministers and hurried towards Kunning Palace.

He touched Queen Ma's serene and peaceful face for the last time, and he found that when the truth came, his heart hurt more than he had imagined.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think about tea and dinner, and stayed by Queen Ma's side for three days and three nights.

Neither the civil and military officials nor the princes dissuaded him, because they knew that no amount of dissuasion would help.

They couldn't bear to persuade him, because his pain might only be reduced a little if he stayed by Queen Ma's side.

Zhu Zhang, King of Qin, Zhu Yu, King of Jin, and Zhu Di, King of Yan, who were sealed outside, hurried to respond to the funeral in Tianfu.

Their swollen eyes and darkened sockets were not hypocritical.

Although they are not born to Queen Ma, they are regarded as their own, without preference or selfishness.

Who wouldn't love such a mother?

The imperial court issued an obituary and heard the funeral. The bells of the monasteries float over the capital, and they fly to every corner to tell their grief and benefit the underworld.

The butcher put down the butcher's knife, the musician put away his instruments, and the people of the city put on all their plain clothes.

Qin Tianjian chose three days later as an auspicious day to bury Queen Ma.

The sun was shining, and he looked down on the earth proudly, without a trace of sympathy.

The Ninchi Hall in the southwest of the palace resembles a steamer.

The ice cubes around the coffin became smaller and smaller in the sound of dripping and clicking.

Zhu Yuanzhang knelt on the coffin and whispered his heartfelt feelings.

He especially cherished this opportunity to bid farewell to Queen Ma, and he found that he still had a lot to say.

The ministers of civil and military affairs above the third grade and the concubines and concubines were waiting outside the Sishan Gate in mourning clothes.

The sound of crying came and went. The ministers were dejected, and the concubines were raining. From time to time, someone is carried out of the crowd because of syncope.

The sun suddenly put away its mocking smile, and the sky was cloudy. The wind swept the sand of the ground into the air, lightning swept over people's heads, and thunder roared triumphantly.

No sooner had all the warnings been issued than the raindrops the size of soybeans crackled down on everything that had no shelter.

Zhu Yuanzhang woke up, he rushed to the threshold and looked up at the sky.

Rain poured mercilessly down the eaves and splashed on his decaying suit.

He slammed his fist on the door frame, and the grief of the past days turned into an irresolvable anger under the condition that the heavens were not beautiful, and erupted like a thunderbolt.

"Go, pass on my decree and kill all the people in Qin Tianjian!" He roared at the storm.

The eunuch was frightened, agreed, and was about to leave.

Zhu Yuanzhang roared again: "Call me Baotong!" ”

The Buddha at the funeral of Queen Ma was in charge of Baotong.

Usually Zhu Yuanzhang was polite to Baotong, but at this time, he blamed all his anger on Qintianjian's poor choice of day and Baotong's failure to understand the will of heaven.

Baotong walked into the Renzhi Palace, calm and calm.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was dark, and his gloomy voice rustled in his throat: "Today is the queen's funeral, but it is windy and rainy, what is the reason?" You explain it to me, the explanation is good, but it's okay, if the explanation is not good, you will have to fall to the ground! ”

Baotong walked to the threshold, his eyes passed through the rain, looked at the sky, and chanted: "Initiation of the saint, the rain falls on the sky and weeps, and the thunder mourns." The Buddhas of the West sent Ma Rulai together. ”①

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyebrows gradually brightened.

He slowly walked to the coffin, stared at it for a long time, and said: "Xiuying, you see that the heavens are crying for you, the earth is mourning for you, you have accumulated virtue and done good deeds when you were alive, and now you have turned into a ruin to bless me with the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Forty-nine lines of gold lacquer outside the coffin illuminated the Renzhi Hall, as if it was the dazzling brilliance of Ma Rulai lying inside.

In an instant, the dark clouds dispersed and the sun shone high in the sky.

Zhu Yuanzhang cried with joy and bowed to the west three times.

Baotong's face was soft and he smiled indifferently.

Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at the Ludian Hall first and waited. The coffin bearer carried the Azusa Palace out of the Renzhi Hall and arrived at the Lu Hall through the royal road. The female dependents watched after the spirit drove away, and waited for the spirit to drive away before slowly following the journey.

The spirit drove across the royal road, and the ministers of civil and military affairs within a hundred miles on both sides knelt down to greet him a hundred steps away from the right side of the road.

Shi Shi and his father, Li Shanchang, were among them.

The golden coffin pierced the stone so hard that it could not open its eyes.

Queen Ma walked slowly from a piece of light: "Stone, be a filial child, listen to your father's words, and love your brothers and sisters." ”

"Got it, Queen Mother, got it, the stone will do it!" Tears blurred Stone's eyes, and the Queen Mother turned away.

The coffin traveled farther and farther, the stone hands were propped up on the ground, and the heavy head could not be lifted.

Since learning of Queen Ma's death yesterday, the Li Mansion has fallen into grief.

Li Shanchang stayed in the study without leaving a step, and Mrs. Li knelt in front of the Buddha statue to chant sutras and pray for blessings.

Stone recalled that the Empress Ma had been seriously ill a few days ago, when he had seen an ominous omen, but he had no ability to perceive the grief it would bring.

For the first time, there was a sense of bereavement in his heart. This pain is completely different from the grief of the people of Honesty Valley when they lost their lives.

At that time, he felt helpless and regretful. But this time he felt fear and trembling.

He always felt that there was an unspoken relationship between him and Queen Ma, like an invisible silk thread, with him at one end and Queen Ma at the other.

The thread broke, and he found himself drifting, with nowhere to stay.

Note: (1) Quoted from "Cutting Shengye Wen"