A murder case like this in Jing caused the common people to panic. Every time before the curfew, there would not be many people on the streets, and the streets would be much quieter than usual.
"Junma, it's raining heavily. Should we find a place to rest?" Outside the carriage, a manservant wiped the rain off his face and scolded the heavens inside. It had been raining for a few days. They had waited for the sky to clear before leaving. Who knew that it would start raining again on the way back? It looked like it was going to get heavier. They were really unlucky.
"No need." Luo Zhongzhen raised the curtain and looked outside. "It's almost time for the curfew. We should hurry back to the fu to prevent Junzhu from worrying."
"Yes." The manservant did not dare to speak more. He motioned for the carriage driver to move faster to prevent the rain from getting heavier. It did not matter if they got wet, but if the junma caught a cold, Junzhu would punish them severely when they returned to the fu.
Luo Zhongzhen was also very irritated. Thinking about what the Crown Prince had said, he felt slightly uneasy. In terms of personality, he admired Prince Sheng more. It was a pity that the Crown Prince was the legitimate heir. He was a loyal person and naturally could only stand on the Crown Prince's side.
But he hadn't thought that Junzhu, she …
The carriage suddenly shook violently. Luo Zhongzhen frowned and said, "What's going on?"
There was no answer from outside, and he suddenly felt something was wrong. He lifted the curtain to take a look, and his expression immediately changed. This was because he found that the guards and manservants he brought out were all lying on the ground silently, and the ground was covered in blood.
Before he could breathe, he felt a silver light flash in front of his eyes. His throat felt cold and itchy. When he opened his mouth to shout for help, his vision turned black.
"Boom!"
The leader looked at the finely dressed man who had fallen out of the carriage. The heavy rain washed away the blood that flowed out of his body and added to the aura of death.
"Leader, no one is alive."
"Retreat."
The rain grew heavier and gradually washed away all the footprints. No one would have thought that a murder case like this would happen right under the Emperor's feet in the streets of Jing.
"What?! Lin Ping Junma was assassinated dozens of zhang away from his fu last night?! " Hua Xi Wan almost broke the teacup in her hand. She didn't even care that two drops of tea splashed on the back of her hand. "Is he still alive?"
"Master, be careful." Bai Xia hurriedly wiped away the tea on the back of her hand. Fortunately, the tea was not too hot, otherwise, it would have burned her master. She reached out to take the teacup in Hua Xi Wan's hand and said softly, "This servant heard that Princess Linping's residence has already raised a white banner."
Hua Xi Wan was a little surprised. She remembered that in order to marry this man, Princess Linping could be considered to have given up everything. Now this man was gone, leaving Princess Linping and two children. It was really not a good thing.
At this time, a few servants came in with a box. Red Tassel inspected it and said with a frown, "Who put this luminous pearl inside? Master does not like this. You are not allowed to have this in the yard in the future."
"This one will remember." The servant holding the box of luminous pearls carefully closed the lid and sighed. The luminous pearls that were worth thousands of gold were like dirt in Wang Fei's eyes. It was a pity that Wang Ye had sent them wholeheartedly and hadn't thought that Wang Fei did not like this item.
Hua Xi Wan listened as the servant girls counted the items that Yan Jinqiu had sent over. Her sadness gradually faded. She even thought, no matter how strained the relationship between Princess Linping and Xian Wang Fu was, at least she had the blood of the Yan Clan. If she wanted to find some men she liked and raise some male companions in the fu, no one would dare to say anything as long as those male companions were not stolen.
A short while later, Yan Jinqiu hurriedly came in. Seeing Hua Xi Wan sitting by the window in a daze, he walked over and sat down next to her. "What is it?"
Hua Xi Wan shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I just heard about what happened last night and felt a little sad."
Yan Jinqiu rubbed her palm and did not speak.
Seeing him like this, Hua Xi Wan hesitated and said, "Now that there is no fuma, Princess Linping and the two children will not recover for a while. How about …"
"Your health has only slowly improved in the last few years. You cannot go to a place like the mourning hall where the yin energy is heavy." Yan Jinqiu shook his head and directly rejected the words that Hua Xi Wan hadn't said in time. "Luo Zhongzhen is a relative of the Imperial Family.
His funeral will be handled by the officials of the Ministry of Rites. You do not have to worry. "
Hua Xi Wan heard the coldness in his words and did not mention the matter again. There were differences between people. Even though there was a layer of smoke between her and Yan Jinqiu, it was undeniable that he was the closest person to her other than her family.
"Just now, I heard the servants say that you do not like night pearls?" Yan Jinqiu did not understand why Hua Xi Wan did not like night pearls so much, so he asked directly, "What do you like? I will have the servants find it for you."
"The storeroom is almost full with the things you have given me." Hua Xi Wan smiled. "I just read in an ancient book that night pearls can disturb one's thoughts and should not be placed indoors."
"I see." Yan Jinqiu smiled and put her on his lap. "If you do not like it, then don't like it. In the future, if there is anything good, I will have someone send it over."
The method of using precious objects to hit people was indeed a long-lasting one.
When the two finally finished their exercise on the bed, Hua Xi Wan thought in her daze: How did they end up on the bed?
The assassination of Luo Zhongzhen was like throwing a landmine in Jing. Countless officials felt insecure. Even the junma could be assassinated, much less them.
The Qilong Emperor was probably the most furious person. As the Son of Heaven, someone had assassinated a member of the imperial family right under his nose. Furthermore, they had done it so openly near Princess Linping's fu. This was not putting him in their eyes! “
No one dared to face the Son of Heaven's anger directly. Therefore, once the order for a thorough investigation was given, the security of Jing instantly improved. Even the people who ate and dined and stole stopped. After all, the limelight had been too intense recently. They did not want to become the punching bag for no reason.
Princess Linping did not have the heart to care about what the people outside thought. She cried all day in the mourning hall. She didn't even have the heart to care for her two children.
She didn't dare to believe that this man who had shared a bed with her for so many years had passed away like this. And the place where he had been killed was so close to the junzhu fu. Clearly … clearly, they could have gone home after a short walk. Why was it like this?
"Jing, Jing," She stumbled to the door.
Looking in the direction of the imperial palace, she suddenly laughed so hard that tears came out of the corners of her eyes. "I was wrong, I was wrong."
She did not dare to agree to come to Jing with fuma. She had been wrong from the beginning. After they had been moved by the Emperor's secret edict, they were destined to walk on a path full of schemes and plots.
"Zhongzhen," Princess Linping covered her face, her tears falling. Her mind was filled with scenes of her interactions with Luo Zhongzhen. Even though Luo Zhongzhen was a man who was not attentive, but at least, they had treated each other with respect these years and had not had any unpleasantness. If they had not come to Jing in the beginning, she and Luo Zhongzhen would still be the noblest couple in Jiang City. Which rich and country gentry would not give them face?
Now that they were in Jing, even though she was a junzhu, without the support of Xian Fu, her junzhu position was just an empty shell. In Jing where nobility were everywhere, what did she, a junzhu with an empty shell, count for?
The Imperial Astronomer had calculated the date of Luo Zhongzhen's burial based on his birth characters. On the day of the burial, many families in Jing had built a memorial platform along the path of the funeral procession. Xian Wang Fu was not an exception.
Hua Xi Wan even personally went to the junzhu fu. When she arrived, many people had already arrived. Seeing her appear, after everyone exchanged greetings, Hua Xi Wan stood at the spot closest to Princess Linping.
No matter how cold Princess Linping and Xian Wang Fu were on the surface, the relationship between the two families was the closest. No matter how it was on the inside, in this place with so many people, they had to act out a friendly atmosphere.
Because she had cried too much, Princess Linping appeared very haggard, and her gaze was slightly wooden. When she saw Hua Xi Wan, she only said a few polite words and did not purposefully make things difficult for her as she had done in the past.
"Please restrain your grief." Hua Xi Wan felt that these words were the most useless in front of the dead, but in this kind of situation, she could only say such useless words.
"Thank you." Princess Linping's eyes were bloodshot. Seeing Hua Xi Wan's slow reaction, she said, "Please take a seat."
Hua Xi Wan smiled and walked to Luo Zhongzhen's coffin, bowed, and then retreated to the side without a word.
Many guests came, but seeing Princess Linping like this, no one spoke recklessly. After a few words of advice, they found a place to stand and sit. Anyway, if they could not speak, they would try their best not to speak.
When it was time to raise the coffin, Princess Linping cried again, causing the womenfolk who did not like her to feel some pity. After all, she had lost her husband at such a young age, and in such a tragic and inexplicable way. No one could let it go.
The funeral procession walked out of the junzhu fu. Along the street, there were sacrificial altars set up by each fu. Every place they passed, there would be someone to weep for the coffin. Joss paper was scattered all over the street, and there was a sense of desolation.
"Xian Wang Fu worships the spirit of Lin Ping Junma."
"Weep for the coffin!"
Princess Linping, dressed in white, stopped and looked at the sacrificial altar next to her. Compared to the other altars, this sacrificial altar appeared grander, but in reality, it was just that there were more things.
Dazedly, she looked away and continued to walk forward. In front of her, there was the sound of other people weeping for the coffin. She touched the dry corners of her eyes. There were no tears here.
She remembered that year, when she got married, her younger brother had carried her onto the bridal sedan. She had leaned on his shoulder and heard him ask her, "Sister, will you regret it?"
She remembered that she had replied with certainty that she would not regret it.
To this day, she did not know if she had ever regretted it. He was no longer here. Other than remembering his good points, she could not remember his bad points.
Probably, she did not regret it.
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