Prince Luo's expression gradually became gloomy, sadness shrouded his eyes, and his curly beard obscured his originally handsome face.
"The princess and I have known each other since childhood. She was the daughter of the old tutor. When I was in the study, she was also in the study to listen and serve tea to the tutor. In my life, I have only loved her. When I was ten years old, I told my father that I would marry her in the future. When she was 15 years old, my father decided to marry us. After the marriage, she was weak and cold, and she did not get pregnant for seven years. She had been asking the imperial physician in the palace to regulate her body. Finally, in the eighth year, she became pregnant. At that time, the king and the princess were very happy, but the news was kept secret and dared not be made public, because people said that if the pregnancy period is less than three months, it cannot be told to the public, for fear that the child will be stingy. She strongly requested that the king not mention this matter to anyone, so she went to the palace to pay respects as usual."
There was a distant look on Prince Luo's face, immersed in the past, feeling both sweet and sad.
Then, his expression darkened, as if a storm was brewing, and his eyes took on a dull blue hue.
"That day, the prince was out for something, so she went to the palace to pay her respects. She and Concubine Gong had always had a good relationship. In the past, after paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, she would go to Concubine Gong's palace to sit for a while. When she came back that day, the prince had not returned yet. I arrived at the mansion at the hour of Hai and saw that her eyes were swollen from crying. No matter how I asked, I couldn't get any information. She just kept crying. The prince was afraid that she would hurt herself from crying, so he went to find the maid who accompanied her into the palace to ask for clarification. However, the maid said that the princess went to Concubine Gong's palace at that time, and they were not allowed to enter the palace. Later, they were assigned to the tea room. When the princess came out, she was already in a state of dismay and crying bitterly. The maid didn't know about this, so the prince had to go to the palace to find Concubine Gong, but before she arrived at the palace, the guards in the mansion chased her and said that the princess had hanged herself. The prince was so shocked that his heart and liver were broken. When he returned to the mansion, the princess had already... died!"
When he said this, he couldn't hold back his tears and his voice trembled.
Tianjizi was dejected. The two young men were in love and their love was extremely deep. It was naturally a huge blow to the prince that she hanged herself while pregnant.
"Your Highness, please accept my condolences. I'm sure the princess doesn't want to see you sad for her." Tianjizi comforted.
Prince Luo took a deep breath and held back his sadness. "I still can't figure it out. Why did she bear to leave me behind?"
"Has the prince entered the palace to ask?" Tianjizi asked.
Prince Luo nodded, "After the funeral, I went to the palace. When I entered the palace, I found out that Concubine Gong had been executed. It turned out that the emperor had thoroughly investigated the matter. It was Concubine Gong who insulted the princess that day and made things difficult for her maliciously. The princess could not bear the humiliation. In addition, the imperial physician later said that the princess would become sensitive and fragile when she was pregnant. She could not bear what she could bear on weekdays. She thought too much and was sad for a while, so she hanged herself. My brother felt very guilty and even apologized to me in tears, saying that the management of the harem was ineffective and the princess did not know that she was wronged. I could see that my brother was really sad and upset, and he was not pretending. After the princess died, he cared for me even more and always advised me to marry another princess."
After hearing these words, Tianjizi asked again: "What did Concubine Gong say? Did she want the princess to commit suicide?"
"My brother has investigated thoroughly. When the princess was talking to Concubine Gong that day, she mentioned that she was pregnant. Concubine Gong had not given birth to a prince yet. Concubine Gong felt that the princess was picking on her and got angry and said something harsh. The princess was in a bad mood because of her pregnancy and talked back. So she asked Concubine Gong to punish her."
"Did Concubine Gong's maid say these words? Did the prince ask her in person?"
Prince Luo shook his head, "No, after Concubine Gong was executed, everyone in her palace took the blame, and my brother beat them all to death."
"What does this have to do with them?" Tianjizi knew that in the imperial palace, there had always been situations where the masters made mistakes and the servants suffered, but it was not necessary to kill all the servants.
Moreover, when Concubine Gong punishes Princess Wang, the servants cannot interfere!
"My brother tried every possible way to make amends to me on behalf of Concubine Gong. I was too sad at the time and did not investigate further. Concubine Gong is dead, and I do not think it is necessary to investigate. After all, this matter has nothing to do with my brother. He has done everything he can for me."
After that, he said in a hateful voice: "An Ran came here this time and talked about this as soon as she entered the door, which reminded me of the sad things that happened back then. For the sake of Qin Zhou and Chu Yue, she didn't even care about the feelings of me, her third brother. Back then, the princess was also very good to her. How could she be so ungrateful?"
Tianjizi did not respond to his words, but raised a question instead, "Your Highness just repeated what the princess said, and mentioned that the princess said something. Your Highness has always known the princess's character. In your opinion, will the princess have the heart to abandon her beloved husband and commit suicide with the child she conceived with great difficulty because of Concubine Gong's troubles?"
Prince Luo said: "I have thought about this, but later the imperial physician explained to me that the princess was pregnant and she was overthinking, which was why she acted like this."
"What did Concubine Gong say herself?"
"The Emperor said that Concubine Gong pleaded guilty and was willing to drink poison and commit suicide."
Tianjizi chewed on the information carefully, "The princess told Concubine Gong that she was pregnant. As sisters-in-law for many years, they have a good relationship. Regardless of whether Concubine Gong is a tyrannical person or not, even if she is vicious, she should not punish the princess. If something happens, wouldn't Concubine Gong be held responsible? Is Concubine Gong such a brainless and stupid person?"
"If not for this, what else could have caused her to insult the princess and punish her?" Prince Luo asked.
However, the thought of Concubine Gong came to her mind. Concubine Gong always gave people the impression of being very honest and virtuous. Indeed, even if she was really jealous of the princess' pregnancy, she would never do such a thing for the sake of her reputation. At most, she would do something bad behind her back.
Doesn't she know the consequences of this incident
"Your Highness, it took the princess eight years to get pregnant, and the princess strongly requested that you not mention this to anyone. How could she tell Concubine Gong? If Concubine Gong is a person with evil intentions, how could the princess not know after living with her for many years? If she knew, she would not tell anyone."
Prince Luo asked doubtfully, "But if she hadn't told me, how would my brother and the imperial physician know about this? I only mentioned to my mother that the princess was pregnant a month after she was buried. If the princess hadn't told me and I hadn't told her before, my brother and the imperial physician would never have known about it."
"Unless the princess encountered some danger in the palace at that time, and she thought that by revealing the fact that she was pregnant, she could escape the disaster." Tianjizi said.
"What kind of danger could there be in Concubine Gong's palace? Concubine Gong can't say she wants to kill her. Of course, if Concubine Gong wants to punish her, she can tell Concubine Gong that she is pregnant, which makes sense."
"Yes, but she didn't tell me until she was about to be punished. What was the reason for the conflict between her and Concubine Gong? Either Concubine Gong was lying, or..."
He didn't finish, just looked at Prince Luo.
(End of this chapter)