Unparalleled Beauty C141 extra

Indistinctly, she seemed to hear the sound of firecrackers.

The sound of firecrackers never ceased. She drifted into a hazy sleep for a while, and when she awoke, they were still going off.

The tip of her nose was filled with a lingering, musty odor. Suddenly, she felt a slight movement of air, and she sniffed like someone parched with thirst. She faintly heard a young maid outside the window saying words like 'Crown Prince's grand wedding' to someone.

The Crown Prince's grand wedding?

Mei Wuxia thought sluggishly.

After a moment, she remembered that Mei Wushuang the Empress, and the Crown Prince were her son.

She was the supreme Empress, and now her son was getting married. As for her… even if Mei Wuxia refused to admit defeat, she had to acknowledge that she was far inferior to the other.

Who was to blame?

Blame fate?

But now, she didn't even have the strength to resent. She had been ill for too long, so ill that she couldn't get out of bed, and even speaking was difficult. How could she even talk about resentment?

How long had it been since someone had come to see her?

In the beginning, her elder brother and sister-in-law would come to see her a few times, but in the end, only the mother she despised and resented came to see her. Each time, she would hold her and cry for a long time, but now, even she hadn't come for a long time.

Mei Wuxia felt that she was about to die. Perhaps after she died, someone would only discover her after she had begun to stink.

In a daze, she fell asleep again.

Turning and tossing in her dreams, she had a dream.

In that dream, Mei Wushuang died, and he also died. Before his death, he had allowed her to become the Empress Dowager, raising the future emperor.

She was the Empress Dowager? This was the life she should have lived!

Mei Wuxia saw herself wearing mourning clothes, and in an instant, she was wearing the Empress Dowager's coronet and robes, accepting the bows of everyone. Her face still wore an expression of grief, but she was laughing in her heart.

A small child stood beside her, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe.

This was her son.

She was the Empress Dowager.

***

The dream was too real.

Mei Wuxia couldn't help but immerse herself in it.

She watched herself, initially cautious of her status as Empress Dowager, but after a while, she used it as an excuse to generously reward the Mei family. Her father, her mother, her eldest brother and younger brother, her deceased grandmother, and yes, even her Third Uncle and Third Aunt.

Mei Wuxia had always felt that this couple was outwardly respectful to her, but in reality, they had always looked down on her.

Why?

Right, she had snatched Mei Wushuang's marriage!

But that was her stupidity; she was the one who rejected the marriage herself. So what if she was the late Emperor's darling? She was dead, and the late Emperor was dead too! All dead. She was the Empress Dowager!

She watched the Third Branch couple kneel before her, shouting "Long live the Empress Dowager," revealing a mocking smile.

The victor is king, the history books should be written by the winners. She would make sure that that bitch was condemned and forever scorned.

But as soon as she made a move, someone came to warn her. Only then did she remember that there were still two people in this palace watching her, both of whom she couldn't touch: Fusheng of the Directorate of Ceremonial and Fusheng of the Directorate of Palace Attendants.

The Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of Palace Attendants were completely independent of the inner palace. She even suspected that the late Emperor had done this because he had foreseen this day.

Untouchable? The most annoying eunuchs in the world were still those civil officials. Perhaps those four Regent Ministers could be used.

***

"My son, you must know that it is a great taboo for eunuchs to interfere in politics. The four Regent Ministers are right. The power to approve documents in the hands of eunuchs violates the ancestral laws and disrupts the order."

"But Father Emperor also said that no matter who it is, if they can be used well, they are worth using. Not all civil officials are good people, and not all eunuchs are bad people. Eunuchs and palace attendants are extensions of imperial power. They are servants, house slaves. I can dismiss them with a single word. But if civil and military officials become too powerful, imperial power will be lost. Moreover, Empress Mother, Father Emperor left an imperial edict before his death, forbidding anyone from touching Fulai and Fusheng before I take power. If we are talking about ancestral laws, isn't Father Emperor's edict also an ancestral law?"

Mei Wuxia glared at the usually silent little child before her.

For the first time, she realized that her 'son' did not seem as obedient as she had imagined.

With a report, Fulai and Fusheng walked in.

The two saluted her, and Fusheng led Ji Jie away with a smile.

Fulai stood before her, still slightly bent as he always was, a smile on his face.

"Why must the Empress Dowager torment herself so?"

Mei Wuxia pursed her lips, glaring, and remained silent.

"It is true that civil officials detest eunuchs, but they detest the interference of the inner palace and the maternal family even more. Dealing with this one and Fusheng would be no problem, but I fear that after we two are dealt with, it will be the Empress Dowager and the Mei family's turn. This one and Fusheng are merely people without family or roots; death would simply mean serving the late Emperor. But is the Empress Dowager willing to part with this glory and wealth?"

Without her noticing, Fulai had already left.

Mei Wuxia sat blankly on the phoenix throne, gazing at the opulent palace around her.

She couldn't bear to part with it!

Did you foresee all of this? Even if I became the Empress Dowager, I wouldn't be able to do as I pleased; there would still be people restraining me?!

As time passed, Mei Wuxia began to feel that these days weren't so bad after all.

She was the supreme Empress Dowager, and apart from matters of court and a few other things, she could do as she pleased. Gradually, she became immersed in this sense of superiority.

Her nephew forcibly seizing a maiden was nothing significant; her elder brother embezzling disaster relief funds was nothing significant. Power truly was a wonderful thing, allowing one to do as one pleased.

She had no son, and she felt that this glory and wealth should be preserved within the Mei family for a long, long time. Many years later, she would be the Mei family's undisputed founding matriarch, and everyone in the Mei family should remember that it was she who brought this supreme power to the Mei family.

Mei Wuxia summoned the Emperor, who was already sixteen, and it was time for him to marry.

"...Mei Fang has outstanding beauty, is dignified and generous, and should be the Empress. What does the Emperor think?"

"If Mother Empress thinks it's good, then it is good."

Mei Wuxia revealed a satisfied smile and dismissed the Emperor.

At this time, she did not know that in the imperial court, the Mei family's years of rampant and domineering behavior, relying on the Empress Dowager's power, had long provoked public resentment. Countless officials had submitted impeachments, but due to the Chief of the Directorate of Palace Attendants' long-standing suppression of these reports, the situation was on the verge of eruption.

On the second day of Ji Jie's personal rule, the Grand Secretariat compiled more than forty charges, both major and minor, against the Mei family. Ji Jie ordered the confiscation of their property and a thorough investigation. For a time, the people of the capital applauded and cheered. It wasn't until the Mei family's home was seized and everyone was imprisoned and confessed their crimes that Mei Wuxia learned of this matter.

She was furious and ordered people to summon the Emperor.

The Emperor did indeed come, but he brought a bowl of medicine.

"Before Emperor Father passed away, he left this Emperor an imperial edict, instructing this Emperor to depose you after assuming power. Emperor Father was renowned for his wisdom his entire life, and he passed the throne to me. This Emperor truly cannot bear the thought of him being criticized even after his immortal passing. This all began with this Emperor, and it shall end with this Emperor. Let it be this Emperor's final act of filial piety towards Emperor Father."

Mei Wuxia watched as the Emperor stood with his hands clasped behind his back, exuding an air of refined elegance.

She did not want to drink the medicine, but she was pressed harshly to the ground, her mouth forced open, and it was poured down her throat. The ornate phoenix coronet fell to the ground, making no sound.

She glared, fiercely glaring at the person before her.

"You beast, you are a matricide!"

Ji Jie bent down slightly, watching the liquid uncontrollably dribble from the corner of her mouth.

"You are not this Emperor's mother. This Emperor's birth mother resides in Prince Duan's mansion; now this Emperor can only call her Aunt. As for this Emperor's mother, it is she who is buried alongside Emperor Father in the imperial mausoleum. Emperor Father only acknowledged her, and so does this Emperor. Although this Emperor was young then, it does not mean this Emperor was unaware that you usurped her place. Rest assured, this Emperor will not let you die. You will continue to be your Empress Dowager, but the Mei family ceases to exist from this day forth."

***

The Emperor had already left.

Mei Wuxia's body gradually lost all sensation.

She heard the sound of someone entering, followed by a startled cry, "Empress Dowager, what's wrong?"

***

In the tenth year of Chengde, the once-powerful Duke Mei family, who were relatives of the imperial family, was destroyed.

The Empress Dowager suffered a convulsion in Cining Palace. Later, imperial physicians came to diagnose her, determining it to be a wind ailment.

The Emperor, mindful of her years of nurturing, continued to provide for the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace. In the years that followed, the Emperor, in his spare time, did not forget to personally serve her medicine, earning high praise from the court officials for His Majesty's utmost filial piety.

***

The Empress Dowager felt that she was about to die.

In a daze, she found the scene extremely familiar. Suddenly, she smelled a lingering musty odor, faintly mixed with the stench of urine. Opening her eyes, she realized she had merely been having a dream.

So, it was all a dream?

Fortunately, it was a dream!

She felt a bone-chilling cold. Recalling the dream, recalling her entire life, she realized her life had been so worthless. What had she gained in the end from all the struggles, the plunders, the grabs, and the refusal to concede?

Nothing at all!

In a daze, she heard people talking, seemingly her son and daughter-in-law.

"Forget it, don't go in. She's such an unlucky person; you'll only get tainted. I'll just go in and say a word to her. Anyway, even if she knew, she wouldn't be able to get up."

"The death of our in-laws' maternal grandmother is a major event. It's not appropriate for only a woman like you to handle it. I should go in and speak. Since Father passed away, I haven't been here. It all seems so unfamiliar..."

Our in-laws' maternal grandmother has passed away?

Her mother, her mother is dead?

No wonder, no wonder she hasn't come to see her in so long.

A middle-aged couple walked in together. They didn't see any servants and called out loudly. Only then did a little maidservant hurriedly run out.

"Lord, Madam."

"Why weren't you inside serving? Why are you running around everywhere?"

The little maidservant said with some grievance, "In this courtyard, only this servant and Granny Huang are serving. Madam always loses control and wets the bed. This servant went to wash the soiled bedding."

The woman said in a low voice, "Alright, why are you scolding her? Hurry and go inside."

The two entered the room and subconsciously covered their noses.

Walking to the bedside, they saw an old woman with graying hair, withered and as thin as firewood, her eyes wide open, staring at the top of the bed. She had been dead for quite some time.

"Dead? How unlucky!"

"What can we do?"

"Father said before his death that she should not be buried in the ancestral grave. If the Mei family doesn't care or ask about it, just find a place to bury her."