Chapter 355: Chu Rui Enfeoffed as a Prince
The Crown Prince wept as if his heart were breaking.
His mother, the Empress, was dead.
His unborn child was also dead.
He wished he could drag out the mastermind behind this and tear them to pieces.
Some ministers in the hall, who had also lost wives and children, wept along with him.
"Her Majesty the Empress was benevolent and would never have done such a thing..." one minister spoke up. "Your servant has noticed that Prince Pingxi seemed to have been prepared in advance..."
Chu Yi stepped forward and said coldly, "On the eve of the birthday banquet, I detected unusual movements and therefore made preparations. I never expected that Her Majesty would arrange an assassination and a coup. Though she is dead, the evidence is conclusive!"
"No! Impossible! My mother would never do such a thing!" the Crown Prince cried out hoarsely. "I am the Crown Prince, appointed by Father Emperor himself! Why would my mother fight for what already belongs to me? This is a frame-up! Someone is deliberately setting her up! If it's not you, Chu Yi, then it's Chu Mo! Only the two of you are capable of such a thing!"
The Crown Prince's voice echoed through the hall; he had clearly reached his breaking point.
The Emperor spoke slowly, "It wasn't the Empress. It couldn't have been the Empress."
Chu Yi's expression darkened.
The Empress had plotted the assassination, and realizing her defeat, she had sacrificed her own life at the critical moment to clear the Crown Prince's name.
The Crown Prince had been too sheltered; even now, he remained completely unaware.
And because of this, he would not be suspected by the Emperor.
"Nor was it Yi'er."
The Emperor uttered these words slowly.
If not for Yi'er's advance preparations, everything would have spiraled out of control.
Then it could only be...
"Chu Mo!" The Emperor's fingers tightened, his knuckles turning pale and cold. "It must be him!"
Chu Yi remained silent.
Because the Emperor clearly felt guilty toward the Empress, saying too much would only arouse his suspicion.
Since the Emperor was convinced it was Chu Mo, then let it be Chu Mo.
"The Empress sacrificed herself to protect me. She shall be posthumously honored as Empress Xiaoyi Duanren," the Emperor declared, word by word. "Her spirit shall be announced at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and she shall be bestowed with a posthumous title..."
Everything was arranged according to the highest imperial funeral rites.
The Crown Prince wept bitterly.
After the atmosphere of grief had passed, a minister spoke up slowly, "The orphan of the former Crown Prince, His Highness Chu Rui, remains missing after protecting Your Majesty..."
The Emperor declared, "Chu Rui has rendered meritorious service in protecting the Emperor. His title shall be restored as Prince Zhuang. If he survives, he shall be granted a princely residence and fiefdom, and appointed as a third-rank official in the Ministry of Works. So it is decreed!"
Those who protected the Emperor must be generously rewarded, so that others would be willing to risk their lives in critical moments.
The Court of Judicial Review worked through the night to investigate and ultimately pinned the case on Gong Xi Prince Chu Mo.
This assassination and rebellion incident resulted in the deaths of countless palace maids and eunuchs, nineteen ministers dead, over thirty injured, thirty-six female family members dead, and over eighty injured... In the days that followed, funerals were held throughout the capital. Paper money constantly filled the sky, funeral processions crowded the streets, and the sound of weeping spread everywhere.
The most significant matter in the palace was the Empress's funeral arrangements.
The Emperor insisted on following the highest ceremonial standards, so all officials—from the imperial nobility down to the lowest seventh-rank officials—along with their female family members and children, were required to come to the palace daily to mourn the Empress and chant sutras...
Because Jue Ge'er was still very young, Chu Yi requested an imperial favor to exempt him from the mourning. However, Yu Ge'er and Changsheng could not escape it. They followed their parents into the palace every day, kneeling on the marble floor of the hall to mourn the Empress.When the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor hadn't been particularly concerned—everything was merely a formality.
Now that the Empress had departed, the Emperor came in person every day. With the Emperor present, no one dared to be negligent; each wept as if their hearts were breaking.
Among the crowd, Li Jingshu knelt at the front, her face filled with resentment.
The Emperor's deepest affection had clearly been for her, but after the Empress took that fatal blow for him, everything changed.
Since the Empress's death, the Emperor hadn't so much as glanced at her.
Her relationship with the Emperor was now out in the open. She had already lost her reputation; she must secure a position.
Originally, she had thought it would be enough just to enter the imperial harem.
But now, with the Empress gone and the position vacant, this was clearly her opportunity.
She must plan carefully, she must ascend to that position...
The Crown Prince knelt dazedly at the very front, with the Crown Princess by his side, sorrowfully burning spirit money.
She knew very well that the Crown Prince's stable position in the Eastern Palace relied entirely on the Empress's schemes. Now that the Empress was gone, the Gongsun family was left without a leader, and the Eastern Palace's future seemed precarious...
As if struck by a thought, her hand burning the spirit money suddenly paused.
The Empress had instructed her to deal with Consort Wu.
While the Empress was still alive, there had been no urgency.
But now that the Empress was dead, if anyone used Consort Wu to stir trouble, she and the Crown Prince would have no way to counter it.
"Your Highness hasn't eaten for days. This subject will prepare some food."
Without waiting for the Crown Prince's consent, the Crown Princess rose and quietly withdrew from the mourning hall.
She went directly to the main hall of the Eastern Palace. Since Consort Wu became pregnant, she had taken up residence in the main hall and refused to leave, growing arrogant and complacent from the favor she received.
The Crown Princess had long wanted to deal with her.
"Greetings, Crown Princess." Xie Ping rose and bowed. "If not for this lowly one's pregnancy and humble status, I would also wish to pay my final respects to Her Majesty the Empress."
"Guards!" the Crown Princess said coldly. "Strangle her!"
She had no desire for pointless conversation.
Two matrons quickly entered and pinned Xie Ping's shoulders down.
The Crown Princess expected Xie Ping to weep and beg for mercy, but instead, she saw a sinister smile curl at Xie Ping's lips. "If this lowly one dies, Princess Lan will be beyond saving."
"What did you say?" The Crown Princess's expression turned murderous. "What have you done to Lan'er?"
Xie Ping smiled. "Her Majesty the Empress once gave this lowly one a package of poison, which was fed to the Gong Xi Prince. After taking that medicine, the Gong Xi Prince killed Lady Zhou."
The Crown Princess froze.
It was true that Lady Zhou had been killed, but the Empress had determined it was the act of a resentful palace maid. Could it have actually been the Gong Xi Prince?
What kind of medicine could be so terrifying?
"Princess Lan saw the medicine in this lowly one's hand and grew curious, so I let her taste a little." Xie Ping's smile widened. "Princess Lan has quite an appetite—she's eaten many things here. If the Crown Princess kills me, you will never learn these secrets."
"Wretched woman! Poisonous snake! How dare you harm a child!"
The Crown Princess slapped Xie Ping across the face repeatedly.
But a voice rang out behind her: "What are you doing!"
The Crown Prince rushed in, shoved the Crown Princess aside, and shielded Xie Ping behind him. "Linglong carries my child in her womb! If you dare lay a hand on Linglong, I will strip you of your position as Crown Princess!"
The Crown Princess felt a sweet taste in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.
She had no time to argue now—she needed to find a physician to examine Lan'er immediately...
No one outside knew what had transpired in the Eastern Palace.Outside the main hall, sorrowful clouds hung low, and the sound of weeping was incessant.
Fortunately, the mourning duties were taken in turns. Yun Chu and the children went every other day, kneeling for a full day each time.
The wake lasted a total of forty-nine days, during which the two children missed their seventh birthday and the Lunar New Year's Eve. The kneeling continued until the end of the first lunar month the following year before it finally concluded.
OpenNovel