Old Lady Lin had fallen ill, and the mourning for Grandmother Jia had also been hastily concluded, because Emperor Kangxi had passed away. Under such momentous circumstances, her funeral naturally had to take a back seat.

Kangxi had held on for a period of time, ensuring the throne passed smoothly and arranging various matters, such as the investiture of Lady Uya, and how to settle the households of the First Prince and Second Prince.

Once everything was properly arranged, the funeral bells tolled.

Due to Kangxi’s physical condition, the necessary preparations had long been made.

On the day of the minor encoffinment, led by Yongzheng, all the princes, princesses, princes of first rank, consorts of princes of first rank, and officials dressed in mourning garments entered the palace. This was followed by the major encoffinment, after which officials of the ninth rank and above, princes of first rank and below, imperial princes and consorts, princesses, and court ladies of rank all needed to come to the palace to pay their respects to the late emperor and participate in the encoffinment ceremony.

The Lin family, from Old Lady Lin down to Tang Wanxin, all needed to enter the palace.

On this day, Old Lady Lin entered the palace despite her illness. After persisting through the day, she completely lost the ability to rise from bed.

Old Lady Lin was not the only elderly person to fall ill. On this day, Yongzheng also issued an edict stating that those who had reached a certain age and were unwell could be excused from attending. However, as a precaution, Yongzheng also showed grace by sending imperial physicians to examine them, to prevent some from using illness as an excuse.

Old Lady Lin was truly ill, so naturally she had no fear of the imperial physician.

However, when the physician came, beyond doing what was humanly possible, there was nothing more to be done.

Ever since Grandmother Jia’s death, the breath that Old Lady Lin had been holding in her heart was gone, and day by day, her vitality grew shorter and shorter.

Daiyu had returned to the capital to mourn when Grandmother Jia passed away. Seeing her grandmother in this state, she attended at her bedside daily, her tears never ceasing.

Having lost her mother at a young age, she had grown up at her grandmother’s side. She knelt on the ground: “Your granddaughter is unfilial…” unable to serve constantly at her grandmother’s side.

Old Lady Lin touched her hand. Her eyes could no longer see very clearly. As she felt around, she also touched Han’er’s hand.

“Grandmother will not accept such words. My Daiyu is a filial and good child. Your future blessings still lie ahead. When I am gone, you must take good care of yourself.”

She paused to catch her breath, then continued: “Han’er, your mother’s health is not very good. You must persuade her more, tell her to stop crying so much—it’s bad for the eyes.”

Lin Daiyu’s tears flowed even more torrentially. Her tears always seemed to fall more easily than others’.

Han’er was the daughter born to Daiyu, blessed with exceptional grace and beauty, and most importantly, with robust health.

Han’er obediently nodded, staying close to her mother and grasping her hand: “Mother…”

Hearing the implication in her grandmother’s words, Daiyu wiped her tears: “Grandmother, I won’t cry anymore. Don’t speak such inauspicious words—you will recover.”

Yuan Ge’er was also present. Old Lady Lin shook her head, reached out her hand, and called to him: “Yuan Ge’er…” She knew the state of her own body.

“Here.” Yuan Ge’er extended his hand, allowing his great-grandmother to grasp it successfully.

“Your great-grandmother is old now and cannot watch you grow up. In the future, every Qingming Festival, write me a letter at my grave telling me of your circumstances. Your great-grandmother will continue to bless you from below…”

Lin Ruhai could listen no longer. He staggered toward the door, intending to summon the imperial physicians for another consultation.

Mother’s periods of lucidity grew shorter each day, and she could consume less and less. This was no solution.

Yun Shuyao knew that Old Lady Lin’s condition was not purely illness—it was simply that she was old, her body’s vitality was gone, growing weaker day by day. All the precious medicinal ingredients sent in daily like flowing water could only barely slow the rate at which her life force ebbed away.

Lin Ruhai surely knew this as well. Doctor Zhou’s medical skills were brilliant, and the imperial physicians were also top-tier. But as a son, Lin Ruhai simply did not want to acknowledge it.

Yongzheng had already dispatched the finest imperial physicians to treat Old Lady Lin. For the present, he too hoped she would not pass away—once she died, Lin Ruhai would have to observe mourning.

He hoped she could hold on through this period.

The imperial physician who came was most dedicated. If Lin Ruhai wanted a consultation, then there would be a consultation.

Although Old Lady Lin’s spirits were somewhat diminished, her mind was not yet muddled, and moreover, she did not wish to burden her children and grandchildren at this time. Luo Yu had not yet received her investiture, and as for the next crown prince—Old Lady Lin had given up hope. The new emperor had only just ascended the throne; she would not live to see the day when the next heir apparent was designated.

She was very cooperative: she endured, she slept, as long as she did not fall into a sleep from which she would never wake.

Old Lady Lin was not the only one waiting for a resolution regarding the new emperor’s harem—many others were drawn to those inner palace affairs.

Soon, that day arrived.

The former Consort De had already been invested as Empress Dowager, and now that Kangxi had passed away, his vast number of consorts also had to relocate.

If they did not move out, there would be no place for the new emperor’s harem to reside. At this time, the advantages of having status and rank became clearly apparent.

Those minor attendants and junior concubines even had to squeeze together into small cubicles.

Jia Yuanchun, being at least a consort and having borne a prince, also moved. However, the place she moved to was similar to that of a lady of talent, yet Jia Yuanchun showed no sign of anger or indignation whatsoever.

Who could blame her for having previously offended Consort De, now the Empress Dowager? Having a place to settle was already fortunate.

Simultaneous with the relocation of the dowager consorts was the installation of the new emperor’s harem, and the date for the grand investiture ceremony was also set.

That Lady Ulanara would become empress was beyond question. Then Luo Yu was made Noble Consort, and Consort Li from the lateral household was made Consort Qi.

These three held the highest ranks.

When Yun Shuyao heard this news, her face could not help but break into a smile: “Noble Consort!”

With an empress present, an Imperial Noble Consort would generally not be invested, so this Noble Consort rank was the highest grade possible.

Naturally this was cause for celebration.

As the new occupants moved into the palace halls, the inner palace was filled with joy and celebration, but Lady Uya could not feel this happiness.

She had contributed to the relocation of the dowager consorts. She had said more than once that she wanted the Fourteenth Prince called back, but on this topic, the Fourth Prince had always deflected with the excuse that someone was needed to maintain control there and could not leave without permission. This was why she had been forced to resort to such tactics.

Only now had he finally relented and allowed his younger brother to return!

Lady Uya’s chest felt heavy and oppressive, as if a boulder pressed upon it, making it difficult to breathe.

The Fourth Prince was just like Lady Tong Jia—here only to vex her! If only it had been the Fourteenth Prince who ascended the throne, how wonderful that would have been!

The moment the Fourteenth Prince’s feet touched the soil of the capital and he entered the palace for an audience, Old Lady Lin could endure no longer and experienced a final rally.

She had already been bedridden for three months.

Now that the dust had settled, she was truly exhausted.

She had been lying in bed in a stupor, but suddenly awoke, her spirits remarkably high. Moreover, she requested several dishes she loved, her voice full of vigor. Those with experience knew this was a final rally.

Under the servants’ care, Old Lady Lin took a proper bath, changed into fresh clothes, ate her meal, and then began distributing her private wealth.

Her private wealth was undoubtedly quite substantial. She had provided no small amount of support to her children, but comparatively speaking, her private wealth had continued to increase rather than diminish.

Because once the children grew up, they showed filial piety to her, and combined with the income from her shops and estates, her private wealth had continuously grown.

Old Lady Lin called everyone together. Her distribution surprised Yun Shuyao somewhat, because half of her private wealth went to her, and she gave Yun Shuyao no opportunity to refuse: “You need not speak those words of decline. When I say I’m giving it to you, I truly am. Don’t make me expend more energy speaking words to persuade you. Accept it properly. Over all these years, what you have brought to the Lin family cannot be covered by a mere amount of money and valuables. Right now, all I can give are these worldly possessions, so please don’t disdain them.”

Yun Shuyao was silent for a moment: “Old Lady, how could I disdain them?” Half of her private wealth—a simple estimate would place it at several hundred thousand taels.

And moreover, these words, it must be said, were rather heartwarming.

Half of her private wealth went to Yun Shuyao. Of the remaining half, one-third went to her grandson’s wife Tang Wanxin. Then the majority of the remaining two-thirds was divided equally among her three granddaughters—Luo Yu, Ying Yu, and Daiyu. The generation of her great-grandchildren also received another portion.

Relatively speaking, the several males of the Lin family received the least—just some old heirlooms as mementos, not worth much money.

Old Lady Lin patted the hands of Lin Ruhai and Chen Yu, explaining: “In this world, daughters generally face more hardships than sons. No matter what, the more money they have on them, the better. Just let me be willful this once.”

Lin Ruhai: “Mother, your possessions are naturally yours to dispose of as you wish.”

Although it was a considerable sum, Lin Ruhai would not stoop to coveting his mother’s belongings.

Chen Yu forcibly suppressed his grief: “Grandmother, a good son does not eat from the family division. We all know this.”

Old Lady Lin smiled: “Good, good, good. I’m tired now. I can finally rest properly. Don’t all be too sad. This day would come sooner or later. If you all live well, I will die without regrets. Do whatever you need to do. All of you go out now and let Grandmother sleep. I’m so very tired.”

Having said this, she closed her eyes and lay down to sleep. Within a few breaths of falling asleep, her breathing ceased forever.