"Is this really feasible?" The prince sat in the study with a sullen expression and asked several of his aides.
There was no one else in the room. Several young eunuchs who were serving were standing far away outside the courtyard gate, not daring to move.
"Your Highness, there is nothing we can do now. If the Emperor finds you, it will be troublesome." An aide frowned and shook his head, "Your Highness was too impatient before."
"Your Highness, this is indeed the case right now. The Prince of Yun is a man of great evil. If Your Highness does not eliminate his evil, there will be a backlash. The Crown Princess is gone at this time, and the Crown Prince must be staying in the mansion. No one will doubt you about this matter. This kind of thing must have been done by the royal family. If it is not you, then it could be the King of Jing, or the King of Wei, or even..."
The aide could no longer speak at this point and pointed his finger above his head, indicating the emperor.
The Prince of Wei is the emperor's third son. He has always been sickly and in poor health. He seldom appeared in public in the past. But this does not mean that it is impossible for him. Sometimes, the royal children who have the last laugh may be the most inconspicuous person at the beginning.
As for the emperor, he was very kind to Pei Yuanjun, but who could say that it was not because of Pei Yuanjun's military power
As long as the emperor is still clear-headed, he will definitely not allow Pei Yuanjun to become so dominant, which would lead to a situation where the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong.
"Something happened to the Crown Princess, so what about the Ling Anbo Mansion?" The Crown Prince said with a gloomy face. His face looked pale and haggard, but his eyes were a little irritated. He skipped the previous topic and switched to another one.
"Since something has happened to the Crown Princess, it's almost time for Ling Anbo to die too. Let's wait until soon to avoid any more trouble. From now on, Ling Anbo can be inherited by the second branch of the Ji family. With the Concubine around, this matter will be over from now on." An aide suggested.
After hearing his suggestion, several other aides nodded repeatedly, looked at each other, and approved of it.
The matter of the Crown Princess and Ling Anbo was like two huge stones pressing heavily on their hearts. They felt anxious every time they thought of it. Who could have thought that the Crown Princess was already dead when she married into the Eastern Palace, and it happened so suddenly that even the Crown Prince had no choice but to do it. Later, in order to block the news, he even made up a lie, saying only that the Crown Princess was injured while saving the Crown Prince and was in critical condition.
Ling Anbo also fell ill because his beloved daughter vomited blood.
As for the Crown Princess's sister, she died of a sudden illness, and was hastily buried for fear of disrupting the Crown Princess's happy event.
If all these things happened at the same time, it would be too unbelievable. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could not bear it and had to delay the matter with lies.
In fact, everyone in the study knew that the Crown Princess was forced to die in Linyuan Pavilion early on.
As for Ling Anbo's matter, I can't talk about it anymore...
Prince Pei Luoan pressed his throbbing temple with his hand and lowered his head. The study room suddenly became quiet, with a strange and indescribable solemnity.
Suddenly, a young eunuch timidly reported ten steps away from the door: "Your Highness, Concubine Ji brought you a bowl of snacks she made herself."
Behind the young eunuch, Ji Youran was wearing gorgeous clothes. Her hair was tied up high with two dangling phoenix-head hairpins. Below the phoenix heads were several round beads of the same size. Her hair swayed slightly as she moved, making her look even more beautiful than flowers. With a gentle smile on her face, she looked affectionately towards the study door, but she was very well-behaved and did not go forward.
The prince pursed his lips and said, "I'm not hungry, go down first!"
The young eunuch looked at Ji Youran behind him in embarrassment.
Ji Youran's face darkened. She was now living a very leisurely life in the Eastern Palace. Although she was not the principal wife, she was the only female master with a status in the Eastern Palace. Everyone who saw her would fawn on her and call her "Her Majesty".
Pei Luoan was also very good to her. He would think of her no matter what. Sometimes he would even stare at her in a daze, with tenderness that was hard to conceal in his eyes. Those palace maids who were originally in the East Palace to do personal affairs for the prince wanted to provoke him, but were blocked by the prince. Since then, Ji Youran's life became more and more comfortable.
In the past, she had also come to the prince's study. Although she knew the rules and did not go forward, the prince would often call her in. Even if there were aides discussing matters inside, he would ask them to step aside first. But now, His Royal Highness the Prince rejected her kindness. Ji Youran even felt that the eunuch standing aside looked at her with mockery.
The smile on his face froze for a moment.
After a long while, he forced a smile, bowed to the door of the study, and said softly to the eunuch: "Since Your Highness is busy, I will not disturb Your Highness. If Your Highness is hungry later, you can bring in some snacks."
After saying this, he asked the maid behind him to hand the food basket in his hand to the young eunuch, then turned and left.
He behaves gracefully and does not fight or compete with others.
Pei Luoan heard the voices coming from the door and his expression improved a little. Ji Youran was still the sensible woman who was exactly what he wanted.
"Just do as you gentlemen said and let Ling Anbo go there in the near future, and then ask for an imperial decree to appoint the concubine's father Ji Yongan as the new Ling Anbo." Pei Luoan made the final decision.
"That's good."
"Yes, that's it." Several staff members nodded repeatedly.
But one person was still a little worried and added, "Your Highness, we have to keep a close eye on the Ling Anbo Mansion these days. No accidents can happen."
"Of course. Ask when the Ling Anbo Mansion will come to pay tribute to the Crown Princess. After the worship, spread the news that Ling Anbo has passed away." Pei Luoan said in a deep voice. This is the best.
Only after the Crown Princess and Ling Anbo are both dead can those things be truly buried, everything can be buried, and it will no longer be a major concern.
It's just a pity that I have been planning for so many years, and it has implicated Ji Hanyue. All this was caused by Ji Yongming, that ungrateful guy. If he had just handed over what he wanted, I wouldn't have to go through this. Ji Hanyue can only hate her father, it has nothing to do with me.
I also wanted to save her life, but she jumped off Linyuan Pavilion out of despair.
His fingers trembled slightly and pressed on a roll of paper on the desk. The paper slid open a crack, and a fluttering corner of clothes appeared on the scroll. He hurriedly pressed the letter with his hand, rolled up the scroll, and threw it into the painting jar. Then he lifted up the Crown Prince, who was still gentle but a little sickly.
Such an incident happened to the Crown Princess, and as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it was normal for him to look a little sick out of sadness. Several aides nodded secretly, thinking that their master acted well, and even they almost believed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really had deep feelings for the Crown Princess. Of course, knowing the truth, they thought it was impossible.
The Crown Prince still likes Concubine Ji, and he has made all the proper arrangements for Concubine Ji. He even killed the Crown Prince's wife to clear the way for Concubine Ji. From now on, he must not neglect Concubine Ji...
After contacting Yue Wenhan, I also learned that the day for the Ling Anbo Mansion to worship is tomorrow.
Mo Ying also reported to the dowager, saying that they would go to pay tribute to the Crown Princess tomorrow. The dowager also thought that tomorrow was a good day, as those who have a close relationship with the Crown Princess or the Crown Prince would generally go to pay tribute tomorrow.
That night, the manager of the sewing room brought over several sets of coarse cloth clothes.
Nanny Miao led the person to Qu Moying.
"Fourth Miss, this is newly made in the needlework room. There aren't many, so we had to rush to make some. There are some for the Madam Dowager, the Second Madam, the Third Miss, and the Fourth Miss. The Second Madam wanted the Fourth Miss to choose first. Although the Madam Dowager will lead everyone there tomorrow, the Fourth Miss has a special relationship with the Crown Princess. She should be more careful about what she wears than others, and there can't be any mistakes."
The housekeeper was a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties, who looked talkative. She smiled and told the two maids behind her to put the clothes they had brought on the table in the middle of the room.
"Miss Fourth, you choose first, and then I will give it to the Madam."
"Grandmother, do you know that I picked it first?" Qu Moying asked with a frown. This was against the rules.
"The Madam knows. I just came from her place. She also told the Fourth Miss to choose first. She said that she had never chosen fabrics before when she was not at home. Now that she is back, let her choose first. It's just that we had lit incense and candles before, so there is a smell of incense and candles." The steward said with a smile.
Since it was mourning clothes, the incense and candles on the altar were lit in the needlework room to show respect for the deceased, not to mention that she was the Crown Princess. Even if Qu Moying got it, she had to put it in front of the altar and worship it before wearing it, and then take it out when she wanted to wear it.
Qu Moying propped up his head with his hand, looking very depressed. He waved his hand and said, "Put down anything you want."
"Fourth Miss, I know you are very sad, but you can't be careless at this time. Please come and pick one. If there is anything wrong, I will change it immediately. Going to the Prince's Mansion tomorrow is a big deal. Madam Tai has repeatedly instructed me to let Fourth Miss choose a good one."
The manager talked a lot and was very enthusiastic.
Qu Moying finally stood up and walked to the table. The four sets of clothes were placed in the middle. Although they were made of coarse cloth, they were made quite delicately and the stitching was excellent. Each set looked good and there was no flaw to be found.
"Miss Fourth, please pick a set first."
There were four sets of clothes, all made of white coarse cloth, very plain and simple. One could tell at first glance that they were mourning clothes, but upon closer inspection there were some differences. The materials of two of the sets looked slightly finer, but that could only be seen upon closer inspection. At first glance, they looked exactly the same.
Although they are all white coarse cloth clothes, they may not be from the same batch, so it is normal for them to be different.
Qu Moying's eyes fell on the two sets of rougher clothes in front of her. She was the Crown Princess's cousin, so of course she had to wear rougher clothes.
Finally, he pointed to the one on the right and said to the old woman, "Let's take this one!"
"Okay, then I'll take the other three sets to the Madam, and let her give them to the Second Madam and the Third Miss." The steward picked up the other three sets swiftly and left with his people.
After sending the person out, Madam Miao returned to the room and saw Qu Moying sitting at the table. Her eyes fell on the clothes in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat and she asked anxiously, "Miss, is there something wrong? Do you want me to go out and call her back to change your clothes?"