I married the crippled queen and became the most favored queen in the capital

Leng Yiyan frowned and nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Prince Duan, for reminding me. As you said, everyone will eventually grow old, get sick and die. My mother left first, and her life span has come to an end."

"Fourth brother, you are really open-minded, but I still want to remind you that the harem is not peaceful right now, so you have to make plans early."

After saying this, he knelt up straight and said no more words, but there was a hint of gloom between Leng Yiyan's brows.

Leng Yiheng, who was kneeling behind them, had a livid face. He retracted his fingers into his sleeves and clenched and unclenched Dang An's.

Leng Yixing's expression was very calm, and his eyes occasionally glanced at Leng Yiyan.

Luo Nianxi whispered in his ear,

"When others talk to you, just listen and don't say too much. There are few people in this palace who can be trusted."

Although Leng Yiyan’s memory is gone, he still understands this principle.

Hearing that the emperor was coming to Fengxian Palace to pay tribute to the empress, the concubines in the harem all dressed in plain clothes and hurried over, all wanting to be seen by the emperor.

Leading the group was Consort Xian, the highest ranking concubine in the palace. She was dressed in a grey dress with a solemn look on her face. From her appearance, no one would have thought that at this moment, she was already beaming with joy in her heart.

Now that the queen is dead, Heng'er is one step closer to success, and she also becomes the head of the harem. This is really a win-win situation!

The Ying Fei who was following behind her showed no surprise or joy on her face, but rather a bit of fatigue.

She disdained the disputes in the harem, and did not want to come here to ask the emperor to look at her more. She came here sincerely to mourn Queen Jiang.

The Concubine Mei wore a light green long dress and had no makeup on her face, as if to show her respect for the passing of the Queen.

After the emperor came out of Fengxian Palace with a solemn expression, the concubines began to kneel down and sob. The emperor frowned and went forward to pull Mei Fei up.

"My beloved, don't be too sad. Go back!"

Seeing this scene, a sinister and terrifying expression appeared on Concubine Xian's face.

Since she can make the queen disappear silently, what does this woman matter?

Supported by her maid, Concubine Mei passed away sadly.

Seeing this, Concubine Xian also raised the handkerchief in her hand, wiped her tears and cried out loudly.

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. My sister passed away suddenly due to illness. I am also heartbroken."

The emperor glanced at her and nodded slightly.

"I'll leave the affairs of the harem to my beloved concubine for the time being. I'm afraid you will have to work hard during this period of time."

Hearing this, Concubine Xian was so happy that she was overjoyed, but she still nodded helplessly.

"Since my sister is gone, I am willing to worry about the emperor."

The emperor sighed, glanced at the other concubines, and waved his hand at them.

"Let's all go back."

He turned his head to look at Leng Yiyan.

"Yan'er, come in with me. I have something to tell you."

Leng Yiyan nodded, stood up from the ground, followed the emperor's footsteps, and came to Fengxian Palace.

The emperor looked at Queen Jiang's coffin and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yan'er, I know that your memory has not returned yet. You don't remember your mother, but she was the one who gave birth to you and raised you. Her coffin will be kept for three days. During these three days, you have to keep vigil for her. This is considered as sending her off for the last time."

Leng Yiyan's eyes darkened for a moment, and then he asked:

"When did my mother die?"

The emperor's eyebrows flickered slightly, and he replied sadly:

"This morning..."

"How many times has Father come to pay his respects?"

“Just arrived.”

"Ah!"

Leng Yiyan snorted disdainfully.

"It's been nearly three hours since my mother passed away, but my father has just come to pay his respects. How disappointed my mother would be if she knew."

His words made the emperor's face turn livid.

During this period of time, he had been unable to extricate himself from the gentle arms of Concubine Mei. Although he knew that the Queen had passed away last night, for some reason, he felt his body heavy and he could not get up.

"I have been feeling unwell these past few days and have not been able to visit your mother in time. It is my fault."

"Father is not unwell, he just stays in the Plum Blossom Pavilion every night and doesn't want to get up!"

"presumptuous!"

The emperor suddenly shouted loudly,

"Leng Yiyan, you have no right to blame me."

Leng Yiyan's eyes dimmed a little at this moment. He remembered what Luo Nianxi had said to him before entering the palace: Don't talk too much about everything. So he kept silent.

He just questioned the emperor because he felt unfair for his mother, but what was the point of speaking out? His mother was gone, and he couldn't change anything.

He frowned and whispered:

"My son, I know my mistake."

The emperor then angrily flicked his sleeves, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

Seeing that the emperor had left, the people outside who were mourning for the queen also left one after another.

After Luo Nianxi asked the three children to kowtow to the queen, she asked Bai Lan and Hong Yan to take them downstairs to rest.

She knelt with Leng Yiyan in front of the queen's coffin, adding paper money to the brazier while comforting him softly:

"I heard everything you said to the Emperor just now. As a son, you were right to question him, but you shouldn't have questioned him here, letting everyone hear it and losing face for the Emperor."

Leng Yiyan snorted coldly.

"The royal family is so heartless that they forget the old when they have a new one. When the queen of a country passed away, the emperor not only did not ask about the cause of death, but he even came to mourn three hours later. This is really... really a big joke."

At this point, he suddenly turned to look at her and said seriously:

"I want to open the coffin tonight to check the cause of mother's death. Are you afraid?"

Luo Nianxi pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No, but I've asked Bai Lan to find out what happened last night. I'll see what she says later."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Lan came back in a hurry.

"Princess, I just went to inquire and found out that Zhuhua, the maidservant beside the queen, is missing, and several other maids in the palace are also missing."

Hearing this, she looked at Leng Yiyan in astonishment and asked impatiently,

"There is such a thing? Does the emperor know about this?"

Bai Lan nodded.

"It is said that when the Queen felt unwell yesterday, she ordered the imperial physician Zhuhuaxuan to come, but the imperial physician only said that the air in Fengxian Palace was not comfortable and that it would be fine if it was ventilated."

"What about the royal doctor?"

Bai Lan shook her head in horror.

"The scary thing is that no one recognizes the imperial physician, and he doesn't seem to be from the Imperial Hospital."

Leng Yiyan stood up from the ground like crazy at this moment, and Luo Nianxi hurriedly held him back.

"what are you up to?"

"I will open the coffin and conduct an autopsy now to determine the cause of death of my mother."

"Sir, don't move."

She shook her head at him solemnly.

"My husband, this is not a trivial matter, please don't be impulsive."

"Didn't you hear what Bai Lan said? All the girls around her are gone. She must have been murdered. I'm going to find my father now and ask him to investigate this matter thoroughly."

"My husband, I just heard that the emperor has been staying in the Plum Blossom Pavilion all day and hasn't attended the morning court for half a month. You saw how the emperor treated Concubine Mei just now, and you also saw with your own eyes how he treated the queen's sudden death. He won't believe what you said. He will only say that this is your imagination and your guess."

"But the facts are here..."

"I know you're anxious, but if you make a big fuss about this, not only will you not be able to find out who is behind this, but you might even alert the enemy."

Luo Nianxi's words may have reminded Leng Yiyan that his memory was gone and he did not have the ability to accurately judge the current situation. Perhaps it was right to listen to her.

Thinking of this, his brows tightened, and then he nodded.

"Then according to my lady's wishes, what should we do?"