Zhaoniang died of illness.

  (In the 30th year of Yongli) In December, the Northern Army and Wu Shu, the commander-in-chief of the Ming dynasty, fought in Shaowu, but were defeated. The Northern Army came to attack Shaowu, and Shu led his troops to fight back; at that time, it was snowing heavily and extremely cold, Shu's soldiers crossed the stream to resist, but they were all frozen and unable to hold on, so they dispersed. Shu abandoned Shaowu and retreated to Tingzhou.

  Ming You Wu Wei Xue Jin Si Qi Ting Zhou, Guo Hui.

  At first, Wu Shu considered Tingzhou to be an important place for Fujian and Jiangxi, and asked to send troops to suppress it. Zheng Jing ordered Jin Si to guard it. When the northern army broke through Shaowu, Jin advanced to Jianning County, several miles away from Tingzhou; Jin Si heard about it and was flustered and lost his composure. Liu Yinglin offered to contribute all his family's wealth to supply the troops and firmly defend the city, but Jin Si suspected him and did not agree, abandoning the city and fleeing at night. Yinglin fled to Chaozhou to depend on Liu Jincheng, and died of anger and illness.

  "Min Hai Ji Yao"

  A string of failures left the Ming-Zheng side in a dismal state, but the Zheng army's defeats continued. On the 29th day of the first month of Yongli 31, the Qing army launched a strong attack on Xinghua, and Ming Zuo Dudu Xingmingbo Zhao De Sheng died in battle. He You, who had fallen for the Qing army's counter-plot, sat back and watched as Zhao De Sheng's unit was defeated, and then abandoned the city and fled under solitary military circumstances.

  Xinghua was lost, and the Qing army rushed to Quanzhou without stopping. At this time, most of the soldiers in Quanzhou had been transferred to Xinghua, and there were few soldiers left in the city with no defense preparations. Suddenly seeing the Qing army appearing under the city, they were greatly shocked, and the defender Lin Dinghua escaped by disguising himself as a monk. Zheng Junbiao, Lin Meng, and other camp commanders who did not have time to escape fought hard but were killed at the forefront of the city wall due to being outnumbered. Quanzhou was thus lost.

  After Quanzhou fell in mid-February, the gate of Zhangzhou was wide open. As the main force had been lost in the battles of Wulon River and Xinghua, Zhu Jin's thousand-strong bodyguards were powerless to resist the Qing army that came pouring in, so Zhu Jin decided to abandon Zhangzhou and Haicheng, retreating to Siming Prefecture.

  The road to escape was bumpy, and seeing the defeated soldiers' armor not in order, Zhu Jin felt anxious and worried. He thought that he had originally occupied seven counties, but now it was like a dog losing its home, and he was temporarily disheartened. He immediately prepared to withdraw his troops and return to Dongning. Fortunately, the local people heard the news and knelt down to persuade him to stay, and Wu Gui's department collected the defeated soldiers from all sides, which temporarily turned danger into safety.

  Since the situation has temporarily stabilized, Zhu Jin wanted to make a comeback and executed Xue Jinsi for fleeing without a fight. He then punished Xu Yao with 100 lashes for mishandling the battle at Wuyang River and fleeing first. Afterwards, he took away He You's general seal and had him wait for punishment and merit together with Wu Shu who had just been released.

  In addition, Zhu Jin also recalled the poor performance of the new attached army that had been interrupted by Liu Jingzhong's New Attached Army family relocation to Taiwan. He instructed them to implement it immediately. The families of Wang Jinkang, Shen Rui and Zhang Xueyao had already moved to Haicheng, and this time they were directly transported to Dongning. Only Liu Yan used his mother's illness as an excuse, sent troops to intercept the transport fleet at sea, and later defected to the Qing army in the north.

  Liu Yan's betrayal gave Feng Xifan an opportunity, and he spoke to Zhu Jin, pointing out Chen Xiangwu's numerous mistakes. Zhu Jin was already angry with his incompetent subordinates, and at this time, he was even more biased towards listening to the instigation, and immediately ordered Chen Xiangwu to return to Dongning for recuperation. Chen Xiangwu returned to Taiwan in low spirits, but it made Chen Yonghua suspicious. After thinking about it, he spoke to Zhu Jin again, recommending that Zheng Kechang be appointed as the Regent.

  Zhu Jin, who initially recognized Zheng Kezang's ability, agreed to Chen Yonghua's suggestion this time after a slight hesitation. However, in order to appease Chen Yonghua, Zhu Jin did not order the dismissal of his position as Dongning General Governor, but instead instructed Zheng Kezang in the edict of investiture to follow Chen Yonghua to learn about government affairs, and everything would continue with Chen Yonghua as the main person.

  "Qin Shu, no, it really suits you to wear this dragon robe as a regent."

  Several maidservants chattered and flattered in front of Chen Zhaoniang and Zheng Kecang, but although these words brought a few happy colors to the face of Chen Zhaoniang who had been bedridden for a long time, they couldn't move Zheng Kecang's tightly furrowed brow.

  Looking at Chen Zhaoniang's face, which had become gaunt and out of shape, Zheng Kechang felt a pang in his heart. Although he didn't have a deep mother-son relationship with Chen Zhaoniang as a person who had lived two lifetimes, after all these years of living together, he naturally understood how she treated him. Thinking back to his parents from his previous life, his tone was tinged with a hint of reluctance: "Mother, do you want someone to carry you to the courtyard to bask in the sun?"

  "Mother will just go out and bask in the sun like this." Chen Zhaoniang gently pinched Zheng Kecang's hand. "Although you've hidden the mirror, Mother knows what a sorry state she's in now, so there's no need to make a fool of herself in front of others anymore." These words brought tears to the eyes of several maidservants. "Mother has always wanted to see Qinshe become a great general and get married to his own son, but Mother's body won't hold out, maybe she won't even live to see that day."

  "Mother, I can see it." Zheng Kezang's heart skipped a beat, similar words, his mother in his past life had also said to him on her sickbed. "Mother's illness will definitely get better." As he said this, Zheng Kezang's expression changed. "Mother, why don't I go send a letter to Father King and let him take charge of the wedding, to bring good luck to Mother?"

  Chen Zhaoniang was overjoyed, but her expression quickly turned gloomy: "Your father, the king, has suffered a defeat on the mainland, so it's better not to distract him."

  "Besides, what kind of reason is it to let the new daughter-in-law kowtow to her aunt on her sickbed? This will bring bad luck."

  Chen Zhaoniang's firm expression made Zheng Kecang realize she wasn't joking. Just as Zheng Kecang was about to shed tears, Chen Zhaoniang asked in a low voice: "By the way, Qinshe, which family's daughter have you set your eyes on? Mother will take charge and go pay respects first, so that later on, because of mother's body, it won't delay you two?"

  "Mother!" Zheng Kezang understood what Chen Zhaoniang meant by "delay", which was that he couldn't get married or engaged during the mourning period. Thinking that Chen Zhaoniang was still considering his well-being, Zheng Kezang quickly wiped away the tears on his face. "Whatever Mother says," Zheng Kezang could only follow Chen Zhaoniang's thoughts for now. "It's just that I haven't found a girl I like yet, so it's all up to Mother."

  "This child," Chen Zhaoniang closed her eyes, almost making people think she had fallen asleep. Just as Zheng Kechang signaled to summon the imperial physician, Chen Zhaoniang slowly said, "The daughter of the Chen family is not bad, how about it?"

  "Alright, alright," Zheng Kezang repeatedly replied. "I'll arrange for my son to take care of it right away, Mother can rest assured and focus on recovering from her illness."

  "As long as we can be good in the future, it's fine, and also avoid blaming Mother in the future."

  After finishing this sentence, which was like a last testament, Chen Zhaoniang's body seemed to wither and fall, unable to bear the weight. Zheng Kechang was suddenly shocked and lost his color: "Doctor! Quick, call the doctor!"

  "That cheap woman is finally dead!" The news of Chen Zhaoniang's death arrived, but in the Jin Hua Temple, a burst of laughter was heard. Tang He Nang, who felt that her husband's favor and son's status had been taken away by Chen Zhaoniang and her son, didn't care about her own seriously ill body, nor did she care about her usual dignified and gentle demeanor, suddenly jumped out of bed. "The one who laughs last is the winner, I've finally won!"

  Watching his mother's frantic behavior, the nine-year-old Zheng Kesong was so scared that he hid behind the maid. Finally regaining her composure, Tang He's mother slowly stretched out her hand: "Qin She, come to Mother here, Mother misses you, come on!"

  Zheng Kesong, whose mind was not yet mature, how dare he go to his mother's side? The more gentle Tang He spoke, the more afraid he became, and suddenly turned his head and ran out of the house. Looking at her son's reaction, Tang He's face was filled with disappointment and confusion: "What's wrong with Qin Shu, I'm his mother, how can he treat me like this?"

  Seeing Tang and his wife looking puzzled, the maids hastily comforted them: "Madam, why don't you go back to bed and rest? The second young master was just frightened by you for a moment. He's just a child, he'll be fine in a while. Wait a minute and I'll bring him over."

  "Frightened, when did I become so terrifying? Even my own flesh and blood are scared to death." Tang He's wife stared at the maids kowtowing on the ground with wide eyes. "Are you hiding something from me again?" Don't say it, a woman's intuition is always sharp. "Go, bring the copper mirror over."

  The maids nervously handed the mirror to Tang He's hands, and under the candlelight, she saw that the once beautiful woman was now equally gaunt and haggard, with a sickly appearance that made one want to vomit. With all her might, Tang He flung the copper mirror to the ground: "No wonder! I'm also going to die, but I won't resign myself to it! Although I've defeated that wretched woman, I still haven't helped Qin She take back his rightful position. I won't resign myself to it! I won't!"

  But it was no use, as the saying goes, "Yan Wang wants you to die at three o'clock, how can you stay until five o'clock." Just on the third day after Chen Zhaoniang's death, Tang He Nang finally couldn't stop the god of death from taking her life away.

  ??

  Within three short days, Zhu Jin's wife and concubine died one after another. The peaceful Anping City suddenly became a white ocean. Many people couldn't help but think of the Ming Zheng's defeat on the mainland and worry about Taiwan's future.

  However, just as the people of Dongning were discussing it, Zheng Kezang, dressed in mourning attire, arrived at Tang He's funeral. Looking at Zheng Kesong, who was kneeling and drooling, apparently having fallen asleep, Zheng Kezang lovingly picked him up. The nine-year-old child was already quite heavy, and if not for Zheng Kezang's daily exercise, he could hardly carry this kid.

  It seemed to feel the shaking of his body, Zheng Kesong opened his eyes and saw that it was Zheng Kezang. The child suddenly burst into tears: "Big brother, mother is dead, father won't come back from the mainland, Qin's house is left with only one person."

  Zheng Kezang pulled him into his arms: "Big brother's mother is also dead, big brother is now alone too. But big brother is not lonely, big brother still has Qin She, and Qin She also has big brother. From now on, let's be together."

  "No, Qin She will live with me from now on." A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, and Zheng Kezang was startled to turn around and see Dong Guotai walking towards them, who shouldn't have been there. "Come, Qin She, come to your aunt's side."

  Zheng Kesong looked up at Zheng Kechang, who thought for a moment. He had originally planned to keep Zheng Kesong under his control, but Dong Guotai's sudden intervention had already made this plan impossible. Since that was the case, he nodded slightly, and as soon as Zheng Kesong saw him agree, he rushed over and grabbed hold of Dong Guotai's collar.

  "Qin She, since your father the king has entrusted Dongning to you and Chen Fufu, you have a great responsibility. Qin She still has me to guide him." Dong Guotai explained at this point. "Besides, according to the ritual code, the Son of Heaven mourns for 27 days, although Zheng Shi was only granted a surname, he is also considered a regional overlord. You mourning for three months is enough, you absolutely must not neglect official duties because of this!"

  Zheng Kezang was also momentarily unclear about Dong Guotai's meaning, and subconsciously bowed his head in response: "Yes! The son knows what to do?"