Even though the Crown Prince's reputation was not very good when he died, but because the Crown Princess had given birth to a son for the Imperial House, even though her status as the Crown Princess only existed in name, the effect of her hanging herself was great in Jing.
In the past two years, it was as if the royal family had been cursed. People died one after another. Some people said that it was because the Crown Prince had died at a bad time, at the time of the fourth gram. Therefore, after his death, several people in the royal family would die.
Yan Jinqiu changed into a plain cotton robe and sat with Hua Xi Wan to wait for the Imperial House's decree. The Crown Princess was of the same generation as them and they did not need to wear mourning robes, but she was still the Crown Princess. They could not overlook any details.
Logically speaking, when the Crown Princess died, they, as members of the Imperial House, should immediately attend the funeral. But the present situation was different. The Crown Princess had died in an ugly manner because of the rumors about the Crown Princess a few days ago. The cautious members of the Imperial House did not want to be unlucky, so they all waited for the Emperor's decree.
In any case, the one who had died was the Emperor's daughter-in-law. Whether they were grieving or pretending to be anxious, there was no need to be the first at this time.
The news that the Crown Princess had hanged herself did not spread among the common people. Otherwise, the Imperial House would lose all face. So two hours later, when the news that the Crown Princess had died of illness spread, no one was surprised.
In Zhu Que Palace, the Emperor looked at the plain white mourning hall. After standing for a long time, he suddenly staggered and a trickle of blood came out of the corner of his mouth.
"Emperor!" Ma gonggong's expression changed dramatically. He immediately went forward to carefully support the Qilong Emperor.
"Shut your mouth!" The Emperor imperceptibly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and then put the blood-soaked handkerchief into his sleeve. He said, "Send zhen's decree. Order all third-rank and above noblewomen in Jing to stand vigil at the Crown Princess' coffin."
Ma gonggong released the hand that was supporting the Qilong Emperor. He took a step back and bowed. He said, "Wang Fei, Jun Wang Fei and others in Jing, should they also … …"
"The Crown Princess is the future Empress, and her position is incomparably high. Now that the Crown Princess has passed away, it is only right for them to come and keep vigil. "
Eunuch Ma lowered his head even more. "This servant will pass on the decree now."
The Emperor waved his hand and turned to slowly walk out of Zhu Que Palace. The further he walked, the calmer his expression became. When he arrived in front of Chengzhang Palace, he raised his head to look at the dragon pillar in front of the palace gates. The majestic dragon body, the shining golden dragon armor, and the incomparably sharp dragon claws. A moment later, he lowered his head and laughed mockingly, hiding the loneliness in his eyes.
Back then, he had used all sorts of methods to seize the throne, eliminating dissidents, and enjoyed limitless glory. Now, he had truly become a loner. He wondered if this was retribution for killing his brothers back then.
In a trance, he seemed to hear the cries of a child. His heart suddenly quivered. He turned to the palace maid behind him and said, "Where is the imperial grandson? Let Xiao Mazi carry him to Guang Yang Palace Hall."
The palace maid was slightly stunned and said with fear: "Emperor, Eunuch Ma has already brought people out of the palace to announce the decree."
Hearing this, the Emperor finally remembered that he had let Xiao Mazi out of the palace just now.
"Then send someone to carry the imperial grandson over. Be careful, don't bump into him." He slowly inhaled. No matter what, at least he still had this child at his knees.
"What, Fuhuang is having Qinwang Fei stand vigil?" Princess Duan He said with a cold smile, "Just a widowed Crown Princess, where does she get such face?"
Just as she finished speaking, she heard a servant come in from outside to say that the steward of Chengzhang Palace, Eunuch Ma, had come to announce the decree.
Princess Duan He's expression instantly became extremely ugly. But the cold treatment she had received in the past few days had taught her to judge the situation. So in a few breaths, the resentment and discontent on her face disappeared without a trace. She walked out of the inner room.
It was normal for the palace to send a decree for a third-grade woman and above to stand vigil, but it was slightly inappropriate for a princess or qinwang fei to also stand vigil. Disregarding the fact that the Crown Prince had died long ago, even if the Crown Prince was still alive, the death of the Crown Princess did not qualify for all the womenfolk of the Imperial House to stand vigil. She was not the Empress Dowager or the Empress.
Also, the rumors before the Crown Princess's death were unclear, and the Crown Prince's reputation was in tatters. How noble was this Crown Princess? Was she worthy of having the wang fei and princesses stand vigil at her coffin?
After the Imperial Decree came down, some of the older members of the Imperial House were so angry they almost couldn't breathe. Some of the old dowager consorts were unable to rise due to their "illness" and had their juniors go to the palace to pray and stand vigil for the Crown Princess.
The Qilong Emperor's actions caused the members of the Imperial House to be privately dissatisfied. But out of consideration for the Emperor's bad luck in the past year — the death of his son, his foster mother, his daughter-in-law, and even his own wife — everyone gritted their teeth and swallowed this anger. In any case, a living person did not need to be too calculative with a dead person.
Xian Wang Fu naturally received this decree. After Ma gonggong left, Hua Xi Wan saw that Yan Jinqiu's expression was not quite right and knew that he was dissatisfied with this decree. She said, "I do not have much contact with the Crown Princess, but the Lin Family and the Hua family are related by marriage. She and I can be considered acquaintances. It is right to burn a few more sticks of incense for her."
"I understand," Yan Jinqiu smiled as he touched the silver hairpin in her hair. He ordered Bai Xia and the others to take good care of Hua Xi Wan. Then he sat on the carriage with Hua Xi Wan and entered the palace.
The husband and wife first burned incense in front of the Crown Princess's coffin before going to Cheng Zhang Palace to pay their respects to the Emperor. However, the taijian on duty at Guang Yang Hall said that the Emperor was not feeling well and would not see them. They did not insist and left after bowing outside the palace gates.
"Who was the person that just came?" Qilong Emperor asked expressionlessly as he leaned against the wall in the slightly dim room when he heard some noise outside.
"Emperor, just now, it was Xian Wang and his wife that came to pay respects to you." Ma gonggong knew that the Emperor was not in a good mood and lowered his voice, "They heard that you were not feeling well and left after bowing outside the palace gates."
"Zhen remembers that Xian Wang Fei is very beautiful. How is the relationship between the husband and wife?" The Qilong Emperor narrowed his eyes as he looked at the bow hanging on the wall. The bow was made from a bow and arrow set decorated with auspicious clouds. Because the room was too dark, the auspicious clouds could not be seen clearly.
Ma gonggong hadn't expected that the Emperor would ask this question. After pausing for a moment, he cautiously said, "It is said that Xian Wang Fei is beautiful and intelligent. Xian Wang is very fond of her. He doesn't even have a concubine in his fu. They must be very close."
"Very close … …" The Qilong Emperor's tone was slightly hesitant. When he said these words, there was a hint of mockery. Ma gonggong was so frightened that sweat broke out on his back.
Why did the Emperor suddenly ask about Xian Wang and Xian Wang Fei?
"Zhen has heard about it in the past. Originally, zhen thought that it was just a rumor. Now that I think about it, there may be some truth to the rumors," The Qilong Emperor slightly lowered his eyes, "Tell me, between him and Yan Boyi, who is more suited to be the Crown Prince?"
This was a bolt from the blue. Ma gonggong was so frightened that he immediately knelt down. He trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Seeing him so timid, the Qilong Emperor showed some satisfaction on his face. He raised a hand for him to stand and said, "Leave. With you watching Zhu Que Palace, zhen will be reassured."
Ma gonggong lowered his eyes and silently retreated.
The atmosphere in the mourning hall was very heavy. After the womenfolk lit the incense, they sat down in the side hall to rest. Because the Crown Princess had died so suddenly, even if the womenfolk had thousands of questions, no one dared to speak in this kind of situation.
Right now, the Crown Princess was gone, and the moment her son was born, heavenly fire descended and lightning struck the imperial mausoleum. This was a great misfortune. Adding on the rumors that he was not the Crown Prince's son, this kind of identity was not suited to inherit the throne.
The imperial grandson could not inherit the throne, and the Emperor did not have any children. Then the future Emperor could only be chosen from the Imperial Family. In terms of bloodline, Prince Sheng and Xian Wang were the noblest and most suitable. But a few days ago, there was a rumor that Prince Sheng had an affair with the Crown Princess. Prince Sheng had also been removed from his position in court because of improper political matters.
Comparing the two …
Everyone looked at Hua Xi Wan and the Hou Clan sitting next to each other. The two were acting naturally as though there was no barrier between them. They really could keep their composure.
How could the Hou Clan not know what the other women were thinking? She lowered her head and laughed coldly. She tilted her head to look at the grief-stricken Hua Xi Wan, "Xian Wang Fei seems to have lost some weight."
"It's probably because the weather has been hot these past two days, and her appetite has not been good." Hua Xi Wan's expression was worried, "Yesterday, I had nightmares. I didn't think that the Crown Princess had died of illness." Speaking of this, her eyes reddened, "Our Hua family and the Lin family are in-laws."
Hearing this, the surrounding people suddenly remembered that Xian Wang Fei's cousin had married into the Crown Princess's family a few days ago. Thinking of this, they really were in-laws.
However, it really was surprising that Princess Sheng was so close to Xian Wang Fei. Did even Princess Sheng think that Xian Wang had a greater chance of inheriting the throne?
So everyone looked at Yi 'an Marquis Madame who was sitting in the corner. It was a pity that this Yi' an Marquis Madame was calm. Even when people asked her, she did not reveal anything and people could not find anything wrong with her.
The Lu Clan did not have the patience to deal with these madams who had different thoughts, but they also knew that ever since their daughter married Xian Wang, she could not escape the struggle for power. The Hua family disdained to sell their daughter for glory and wealth, and naturally did not bear to be a burden to their daughter.
If she could choose, she would rather have her daughter marry into a normal prestigious family. Even if Xian Wang could become the emperor in the future, she did not feel that marrying into the Imperial Family was a good choice.
Thinking about this, the Lu Clan looked worriedly in the direction of Hua Xi Wan. Coincidentally, Hua Xi Wan was also looking in their direction. Mother and daughter imperceptibly exchanged a look and then calmly moved their gazes away.
As a mother, she did not bear for her daughter to suffer. As a daughter, how could she bear for her parents and brothers to fall into trouble because of her?
It was just because they did not want to part with each other.
When Ma gonggong came to the side hall, all the madams and womenfolk were present. He quickly scanned the crowd and then randomly walked in front of Hua Xi Wan. He bowed. "Greetings to Xian Wang Fei. This servant has come on the orders of His Majesty to take care of some of the matters in the Crown Princess' funeral hall."
Although the funeral rites for the Crown Princess were handled by the Ministry of Rites, if the Emperor wanted to show that he valued someone and sent someone to help, it could be considered a form of dignity.
Ma gonggong was the chief steward of Chengzhang Palace, which meant that he was the eunuch with the highest status in the entire court. The Emperor sending him to take care of things could be considered extremely benevolent.
In the eyes of others, the Emperor's actions could be considered benevolent because the Crown Princess' death was still unclear and the stain on her body had not been washed away. But to Hua Xi Wan and the Hou Clan, who knew the truth, the Qilong Emperor's actions seemed like a joke.
They really did not know what kind of mood the Qilong Emperor had in sending Ma gonggong.
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