Chapter 527: The Crown Prince’s Funeral

Chapter 527: The Crown Prince's Funeral Procession

"That little girl comes from the countryside and doesn't have a scheming bone in her body. I've observed that although her skin is a bit dark, her features are actually quite pleasant."

"If Chao'er takes a liking to her, we can just give her some minor title and keep her around to serve him. That's not out of the question."

"The imperial physicians are all a bunch of old geezers past their prime, and we're short on help anyway. If we can keep her here, maybe when the two of us get old, we can rely on her to take care of us."

The National Preceptor's face lit up as he nodded approvingly at Empress Dowager Yuan. "Cousin, you've thought of everything."

"This way, who could possibly take the Xishu Kingdom's throne from us?"

Even as he spoke, the National Preceptor's hands were already wandering, undoing Empress Dowager Yuan's robes.

"Cousin, it's been way too long since we've been together. I've been dying for you."

Empress Dowager Yuan's face flushed with fake shyness, though her body was more than willing. "Cousin Fan, you're so naughty~"

When Ji Yuntang saw something she shouldn't have, she quickly shut off the screen and led Hua Feixue out of Baohua Hall.

She returned to her own quarters without alerting anyone.

Hua Feixue was embarrassed and furious at the same time.

"Shameless! Absolutely shameless! That Old Witch schemed against this Crown Prince, and she even dared to scheme against you too!"

"And on top of that, she wants you to become a consort to her sickly son and take care of him! I could hear her scheming from here!"

"If she knew you were already married and were the Princess Ye of the Dongchen Kingdom, I wonder if she'd question her whole life!"

Unlike Hua Feixue's fury, Ji Yuntang stayed remarkably calm!

She kept replaying the conversation between Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor in her head.

Two things struck Ji Yuntang as especially weird.

First, Yuanchao was apparently the son of Empress Dowager Yuan and her cousin—the two had been having an affair—and yet she'd gone so far as to appoint her cousin as National Preceptor.

But from what she'd learned, this National Preceptor was a direct disciple of the Abbot of Taibai Mountain, with the title Perfected Person Lingxi.

He'd lived on Taibai Mountain since childhood, an orphan with no parents, and the Abbot had taken him in because of some karmic connection.

By all logic, Perfected Person Lingxi and Empress Dowager Yuan's cousin couldn't possibly be the same person.

Second, the National Preceptor had just mentioned that because of him, Yuanchao could only take the Yuan family name.

This suggested that he himself was stuck in circumstances beyond his control.

What reason could there be for Yuanchao to take the Yuan surname instead of his biological father's?

With that in mind, Ji Yuntang turned to Hua Feixue and said, "Your Highness, we now have proof of the affair between Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor. But if we want to ruin their reputations and the Yuan family's too, this isn't enough."

"There are two things I need you to look into back at the General's Estate."

Hua Feixue calmed down and asked Ji Yuntang, "What things?"

Ji Yuntang pressed her lips together and said, "The family background of the Old Witch's cousin, and whether he's really a disciple of the Abbot of Taibai Mountain."

"I just heard the Old Witch call him 'Cousin Fan,' so after you leave, focus your search on anyone with the character 'Fan' in their name."

Hua Feixue understood right away and nodded. "Don't worry, leave this to me."

"Tomorrow, when the False Crown Prince is buried, I'll be relying on you. If you really can't stop the Old Witch, then I'll lead my men and fight them head-on!"

"Either way, I won't let them dig up my mother's grave."

Ji Yuntang said, "Don't show yourself unless you absolutely have to. Once we've investigated everything and presented the evidence, they'll bring about their own downfall."

"I understand." Hua Feixue nodded.

Ji Yuntang used her spatial ability to bring him to the palace gate, where he used his Lightness Skill to fly out while no one was looking.

Ji Yuntang stayed in the palace and started developing the photos from her camera.

That night, Empress Dowager Yuan stayed over at the National Preceptor's place.

She didn't wake up until dawn, when Nanny An knocked on the door.

Empress Dowager Yuan got dressed and came out, asking with annoyance, "What is it?"

Nanny An didn't dare raise her head, keeping her eyes down as she said, "Your Majesty, Commander Zhu is here. He says he has something urgent to report."

Empress Dowager Yuan then remembered that she'd ordered Zhu Wei to lead the imperial guards in searching the palace for the assassin who'd attacked her last night.

A whole night had passed—she wondered if his men had found anyone suspicious.

Empress Dowager Yuan instructed Nanny An, "Tell him to wait for me at Cining Palace. I'll be there in a bit."

With that, she turned and went back into Baohua Hall, shutting the door behind her.

Fifteen minutes later, Empress Dowager Yuan finally made her way back to Cining Palace at a leisurely pace.

Zhu Wei had been waiting there for a while. When he saw Empress Dowager Yuan, he immediately knelt and saluted, "Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Yuan glanced at him and sat down gracefully. "Rise, Commander Zhu. How did the investigation go last night? Did you catch the assassin?"

Zhu Wei said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, last night I followed your orders and had the entire palace searched. In the end, we did catch a few suspicious people lurking around."

"One of them was a woman with messy hair wearing red robes, but she turned out to be a palace maid. When my men found her, she was meeting secretly with a palace guard. After being caught, she drew her sword and killed herself!"

"I'm not sure if she's the person Your Majesty was looking for. Would you like to examine her body?"

Empress Dowager Yuan frowned, finding the whole thing distasteful.

She said coldly, "No need. Today is the Crown Prince's funeral procession. Increase the number of guards and have the imperial guards keep order in the palace. There must be no disturbances."

Zhu Wei clasped his fists and said, "As you command."

After he left, Empress Dowager Yuan went inside and changed into plain mourning clothes, putting a white crabapple hairpin in her hair before walking out gracefully.

She said to Nanny An, "Come, let's go see how the Crown Prince's funeral preparations are coming along."

Nanny An replied, "This servant obeys."

Today, the palace was draped in black mourning banners. The red palace lanterns that used to hang under the eaves had all been replaced with white ones, and the trees were decorated with white flowers.

Servants and ministers alike wore white mourning garments, arriving early at the palace and standing to the side with heavy hearts.

Empress Dowager Yuan had deliberately put on makeup to look frail, and with her pale lips, she looked even more grief-stricken.

As the ministers paid their respects, she said with a sorrowful expression, "There's no need for such formalities, honored ministers. The fact that you've all come today to attend the Crown Prince's funeral and see him off one last time is already a great honor!" "Though the Crown Prince was unconventional and often acted crazy, playing tricks on you ministers, he was still the only bloodline left by Emperor Chu. I have no children of my own, and I always treated him like my own son."

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