Harem Daily Life

The funeral could not be delayed, so Princess Yong had to go to Concubine Hui again.

Concubine Hui was also confused by anger. When Prince Yong came back from the palace, she forgot to ask what the emperor had said to Prince Yong, so she sent someone to invite Prince Yong over.

Lin Yuanyuan was alarmed and felt both sad and happy. She pestered Prince Yong and wouldn't let him leave.

"Princess Qinghe's matter is a big deal. If it goes wrong, the entire palace will be implicated. You should rest assured and take care of your pregnancy. I will be back soon." Prince Yong comforted her softly for a while before hurriedly going to see the concubine.

Prince Yong arrived late and received two cold stares from his mother.

He did not dare to delay and respectfully conveyed His Majesty's intention to Concubine Hui and Princess Yong.

"So, was she buried according to the rites for a princess?" Princess Yong wasn't one to quibble with a dead person or compromise on such matters. She'd just set a standard and do it.

"Your Majesty originally intended to bury her in her fiefdom, but since we have all returned to the capital, it would be inconvenient to bury her in her fiefdom. Therefore, we will bury her in the imperial mausoleum according to the rites for a princess. The Ministry of Rites will send a funeral certificate to the State of Yan, announcing Princess Qinghe's death. If the State of Yan wishes to retrieve her remains in the future, we will return them to them."

Concubine Hui's brows relaxed. "It seems His Majesty agrees with our statement and concludes that he died of illness."

His Majesty showed some leniency, and Concubine Hui breathed a sigh of relief. She instructed Princess Yong, "The funeral must be held with splendid ceremony. It must not give the impression of neglect."

After all, she is a princess of a country, so she should be given the honor she deserves.

Princess Yong said with some embarrassment, "I'm afraid that not many people will come to pay their respects, and all the effort will be wasted."

Concubine Hui snorted coldly, "Just pretend it's deserted, but it's still wartime. Who would sincerely come to pay homage to a princess from an enemy country?"

Princess Yong didn't dare say anything more. She had already argued with her mother-in-law today about Lin Yuanyuan's matter, so naturally she would do whatever her mother-in-law said. After all, there was plenty of money in the mansion, so she just had to spend it according to the rules.

In Changle Palace, He Linzhang rubbed his eyebrows and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

Tao Yanyan already knew about Princess Qinghe's death. She whispered, "Your Majesty, are you still worried about Princess Qinghe?"

He Linzhang sighed, "I'm just worried that Yan will find an excuse to rally their morale, making it difficult for my Great Zhou soldiers to attack the city."

Tao Yanyan soothed him, "In the face of absolute strength, any excuses are futile. Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. We just need to be prepared and strongly support the soldiers at the front."

He Linzhang thought for a moment and smiled, "Your words are spot on. However, I am indeed angry about this incident at Prince Yong's mansion."

Hearing the word "accidental," Tao Yanyan's eyes darkened: "Your Majesty, do you think Princess Qinghe really died of illness?"

He Linzhang didn't hide it from her. "Prince Yong reported it to the palace during the day. He even tried to hide it from me, but I'm not one to be fooled. In the end, he had to admit that someone had murdered Princess Qinghe. But for the sake of the Great Zhou royal family and the war, I can only agree to let them die of illness."

Tao Yanyan was not surprised at the royal family's actions, but the fact that a life was gone like that still made her feel a little unhappy.

Not to mention that Princess Qinghe once begged her in order to stay alive, regardless of her dignity.

"I don't know who did this. It's New Year's Day, it's creepy." Tao Yanyan asked.

He Linzhang patted her shoulder and said, "Do you remember when we first went to Prince Yong's Mansion and met Aunt Lin?"

Tao Yanyan looked at him in disbelief: "What? She did it?"

Tao Yanyan thought of Concubine Hui and Princess Yong, but never thought that the concubine was the real murderer.

Seeing her surprised expression, He Linzhang helped her comb back a strand of hair that was hanging on her cheek. "You can judge a person by his appearance but not by his heart. This seemingly harmless little white rabbit actually killed someone who was more powerful than her."

Tao Yanyan's eyes darkened. If she had felt a little sympathy for Aunt Lin as a substitute before, now she had no sympathy at all.

"Princess Qinghe is unlucky. She married far away from home and has no support from her parents. She lost this marriage." Marrying far away is a gamble, and almost no one will win.

The funeral at Prince Yong's mansion was held with great ceremony, but none of the dignitaries in the capital came to pay their respects. Instead, Empress Tao sent her trusted maid to go on her behalf and burn a stick of incense.

Because of Qingfeng's arrival, Prince Yong was even more convinced that the person who had treated Princess Qinghe was probably Empress Tao. He was a little worried that Empress Tao would think he was a heartless person.

Feeling depressed, after Princess Qinghe was buried, Prince Yong found an excuse and entered the palace.

It was not easy to ask for an audience with the empress, but Prince Yong was in charge of the defense of the capital and had some connections in the Imperial Guards, so after several rounds of negotiations, he contacted Chang Tai. Chang Tai naturally would not publicize Prince Yong's request to see the empress, so he reported it quietly.

Tao Yanyan was still in confinement after childbirth and couldn't get any exposure to the wind, so she wrapped herself tightly and went to meet him in a pavilion in the Imperial Garden. This place was open to everyone and was the only way to the Empress Dowager's Changchun Palace. If anyone saw him, Prince Yong could say that he had come to see the Empress Dowager and had just met Empress Tao by chance.

"I wonder why Your Majesty wants to see me?" Tao Yanyan asked after inviting Prince Yong to sit down.

Prince Yong glanced at the people around her, but Tao Yanyan didn't say anything to ask them to leave. Prince Yong had no choice but to say, "Regarding Qinghe's matter, I didn't know she was ill before. It was my fault for not taking good care of her. Later, Lin from the mansion took advantage of the situation and harmed her. I feel deeply guilty."

Tao Yanyan narrowed her eyes. "This... I don't understand. Why did the prince come here to explain to me?"

Behind closed doors, it's just the grudge between you two, and it has nothing to do with me.

Prince Yong was speechless for a moment, but he still explained: "I hope the Queen will not think too badly of me. I didn't really want her to die."

Tao Yanyan took a deep breath and looked into the distance. "I don't think I have a good relationship with Princess Qinghe. I'd say we don't even have a relationship. She initially wanted to marry Your Majesty, and I was quite angry with her for that. But when she was poisoned by a chronic poison, she came to me for help."

Tao Yanyan turned around and looked at Prince Yong. "Putting aside her status as a princess married to a foreign king, let's just say she's your concubine. You have a daughter who was tortured by poison and had no access to medical treatment, yet you turned a blind eye. How cold-blooded of you."

Prince Yong moved his mouth but couldn't say a word. He couldn't say that the poison was given by his own mother.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "I don't want to know who poisoned her, and you don't need to tell me. She's dead now, so there's no point in pursuing this."

"Then I..." King Yong didn't know how to start.

"If Your Majesty feels guilty towards Princess Qinghe, then burn more paper money for her and treat her daughter well. As for the murderer who killed her... that is your palace's family affair." Tao Yanyan said as he tried to get up. Prince Yong anxiously asked, "Then how do you treat me..."

Tao Yanyan bit her lip and said, "Your Highness and I are uncle and sister-in-law. You don't need to care about what I think of you."

Looking at Queen Tao's leaving back, Prince Yong felt lost.