Golden Branch

On September 19th, Crown Princess Lu passed away.

According to ancient rituals, although the Crown Princess has a noble status, she is only a crown princess after all, and there are several levels of elders above her.

Her funeral could not be held in a grand manner.

However, the Crown Princess died to save the Crown Prince, and she had been married into the royal family for more than ten years. She was virtuous, respectful and humble, and had children. She could be considered a meritorious official.

The Queen was grateful for the Crown Princess's kindness and personally went to the Saint to ask for grace for her:

Lu was granted permission to be buried with the ceremony of a queen. Her body was kept in the Eastern Palace for 19 days, and her coffin was placed in the royal temple. She would be buried in the Zhaoling Mausoleum after the prince's mausoleum was completed.

The Saint and the Queen attached great importance to the affairs of the Crown Princess after her death, and the Crown Prince loved his first wife even more. Therefore, the funeral specifications of the Crown Princess exceeded the original regulations.

On the nineteenth day of the funeral, all the women of the fifth rank and above in the capital had to go to the Eastern Palace to mourn.

As a princess and the wife of a first-rank duke, Wang Heng was no exception.

In fact, on the morning of the second day after Xiao Sanlang returned to Beijing, Wang Heng packed up and took Jiulang and Shiyi Niang back to Beijing.

She had just arrived at the Duke's Mansion and hadn't even waited to settle down when she heard the funeral bell ringing from the palace gate tower.

Wang Heng and the Crown Princess are old acquaintances.

As early as when he was in Yizhou, he had dealt with the Crown Princess.

When she grew up and came to Beijing, the Crown Princess actively participated in several important events of Wang Heng, such as the warm-up, coming-of-age ceremony, and wedding ceremony.

If she can come in person, she will come in person.

If it is really inconvenient, the Crown Princess will prepare generous gifts and ask her confidant or close person to attend on her behalf.

Especially in recent months, Wang Heng taught Xiao Sanlang, and the Crown Princess was very grateful and gave him many gifts, both openly and secretly.

The Crown Princess was generous, and Wang Heng was even richer.

Among her many businesses, the Crown Princess has a stake.

It can be said that whether in terms of feelings or interests, Wang Heng has a very good relationship with the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess passed away suddenly, and Wang Heng was instinctively sad.

She changed into plain clothes and rushed to the East Palace. She saw the whole room in mourning. There were a few small figures in the mourning hall, some crying, some looking confused. Wang Heng's tears rolled down instantly.

"Crown Princess, are you leaving just like that?"

Wang Heng has experienced the death of her loved ones and witnessed many aspects of birth, aging, sickness and death.

She knew the fragility of life, but every time she saw the dead passing away and the grieving relatives, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, she is gone, leaving behind her beloved husband and her beloved children!"

As the young wife of the prince of a marquisate and a fourth-rank princess, Wang Mian was also qualified to enter the palace to mourn.

Holding her huge belly, she knelt in the mourning hall with difficulty, cried for a while, and then took the opportunity to find Wang Heng.

She knelt beside Wang Heng and spoke to her in a low voice while wiping her tears.

"A Mian, are you okay? You are in poor health. The Queen is kind and generous, and will definitely take good care of you—"

When Wang Heng heard Wang Mian's voice, she turned her head slightly and saw her best friend kneeling with difficulty.

She couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Going to the palace to mourn is an honor, but also a heavy burden.

Especially the elderly, the weak and pregnant women.

Wang Mian is expecting twins and is close to her due date. Not to mention any accidents, even crying too much could cause premature birth.

Wang Heng was indeed sad about the death of the Crown Princess, but the dead are gone, and the living are the most important.

Not to mention, this "living person" is also her best friend.

Wang Heng doesn't want Amian to have any mishaps.

"I'm fine! Her Majesty did grant me grace, but the Crown Princess and I did know each other before, and I, I want to see her off one last time!"

This is the obvious reason.

In addition to this reason, there are other reasons that are hard to tell others:

After all, the Crown Princess is the mistress of the Eastern Palace, and her husband is the confidant of the Eastern Palace. The mistress has passed away, and her husband is not in the capital.

As a wife, Wang Mian must make her presence felt.

Moreover, having lived for more than ten years in the ancient times where imperial power was supreme and hierarchy was strict, Wang Mian had long understood the cruelty of reality.

Pregnant woman?

Haha, in the eyes of royal nobles, there is nothing that needs special care.

Allowing pregnant women to mourn is not torture but grace.

The Queen Mother was kind and gave her some care, but she couldn't really "take chicken feathers as a token of authority."

She must not deviate from any of the necessary rules.

Otherwise, the nobles may not care on the surface, but they will keep a record of it secretly.

There is no need to deliberately make things difficult for him. Just the slightest hint of something in certain matters will make Wang Mian suffer in silence.

Especially since Wang Mian is not an ordinary lady from outside the family, she also has the reputation of being the most jealous woman in Dayu.

The truth about jealousy is known to all the nobles in the palace.

But once Wang Mian offends them, they will still turn against him!

"Alas, who made me travel back to ancient times!"

"In ancient times, there was no such thing as human rights."

Wang Mian sighed inwardly, but still tried to put on a sad look on his face.

She and Wang Heng have been best friends for more than ten years, and unknowingly, she has been influenced by Wang Heng.

"Put on a complete act" and "Cheat yourself before cheating others"!

In later times, Wang Mian would not be able to be hypocritical or pretend.

When someone who is not related to you dies, you just can’t cry.

But at this moment, the Crown Princess, with whom Wang Mian had some friendship, passed away, and Wang Mian burst into tears without having to cheat.

Wang Heng used her own experience to tell Wang Mian that even if it was a show, it couldn't be fake.

Not sad enough to cry?

It doesn’t matter, just think about all the sad things in your life (you can’t go back to ancient times), and the tears will roll down.

Moreover, when one reaches a certain level in acting, one can easily cry and laugh freely.

Wang Mian: ...Great! I traveled through time and space and also learned some acting skills.

With my ability to cry or laugh at will, if I were in the film and television industry in the future, I would at least be a Best Actress.

Wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Wang Mian's plain face was filled with sadness, yet she was still able to chat with her bestie to her heart's content:

"It's truly a pity for the Crown Princess. She and the Crown Prince were married since they were young, supporting each other for many years, and together they gave birth to two sons and two daughters..."

Wang Mian did not have much friendship with the Crown Princess, but as a woman, she could empathize with her.

If it were Wang Mian, she might not sacrifice herself to save her husband.

She did love Xiao Wuzhi, but she loved herself the most.

Using your own life to exchange for a man's life, it is easy to "lose" -

If you die, the man will turn around and remarry.

In ancient times, a so-called affectionate and good husband was not one who committed suicide for love or remained single for life. Instead, when he remarried or took a concubine, he would say a few words to his first wife and write a few poems in her memory. He would then be praised by everyone and his name would be recorded in history.

Not to mention the prince.

As the crown prince, his marriage was never a personal matter, but was related to the stability of the court and the balance of power among various parties.

Wang Mian dared to bet that after the Crown Princess was seriously injured, countless people were already thinking about her husband before she died.

What is even more heartbreaking is that among these people, there are even her closest relatives——

The position of Crown Princess, the future Queen, must be held by a daughter of the Lu family.

As a prominent family, the Lu family has flourished.

There are more than one or two girls of marriageable age in the tribe.

In fact, just as Wang Mian guessed, when the Crown Princess was seriously injured and on the verge of death, her mother, sister-in-law and others rushed into the palace in a hurry.

In addition to feeling sorry for the Crown Princess, they also want her to decide on the next Crown Princess before she dies.

"Son, you can ignore the Lu family, but you can't ignore the children."

"Little Dalang is only ten years old, and Little Twelve Niang is only three. They have lost their biological mother. If their stepmother is not kind and loving enough, they will suffer!"

"It's safer to be with my own family. She is the children's biological aunt and will definitely take good care of them!"

"...Don't worry, my family has chosen someone who is obedient. She is just helping you take up the title of Crown Princess and help you take care of the children..."

Mother Lu kept on nagging, and several sisters-in-law of the Lu family also took the opportunity to join in the nagging.

The Crown Princess had a dead look on her face, and a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes that were about to lose their luster.

These are her relatives. She is about to die, but they are still thinking about their family.

However, the Crown Princess could understand.

She herself is also a victim of family interests.

It's just that she was lucky to have met a good man like the prince.

They have been married for more than ten years, and her husband loves and cherishes her.

Although she was not given exclusive preference, she was given the dignity and honor of a legitimate wife.

There are dozens of concubines in the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Princess is always the most honorable mistress, and no one can surpass her.

And her children are also the ones the prince values ​​the most.

The prince said that his successor could only be the son she gave birth to.

If Xiao Dalang is really disabled, Xiao Sanlang will succeed him.

It was precisely because the Crown Prince gave the Crown Princess enough sense of security that the Crown Princess risked her life to save him in times of crisis.

She believed in the prince and was willing to take a gamble with her already broken body.

However, after he fell, and the prince hadn't done anything yet, his relatives—

"...Okay! I'll follow the arrangements of my family elders!"

Although what Lu's mother said hurt the Crown Princess's heart, there was some truth to it.

There are advantages and disadvantages for a daughter of the Lu family to be the Crown Princess, but in the end the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

No matter who becomes the Crown Princess, as long as she has the status of husband and wife with the Crown Prince and gives birth to a child, she will develop ambitions.

However, if it is a daughter of the Lu family, the Lu family can still restrain her.

The Crown Princess would also make some arrangements before her death.

She would never let her successor stand in the way of her children, nor would she give her the opportunity to hurt her children.

……

The Crown Princess's coffin was kept in the Eastern Palace for nineteen days.

Wang Heng and other ladies-in-waiting also entered the palace every day.

After nineteen days of continuous torture, Wang Heng's voice became hoarse and she lost a lot of weight.

Pregnant women such as Wang Mian and Zheng Shisan were almost in premature labor.

Finally, finally, the day of the funeral arrived.

The first autumn rain came suddenly, and the scattered raindrops, wrapped in the cold autumn wind, not only added trouble to the mourners, but also created a gloomy and sad atmosphere.

The prince was wearing mourning clothes. He raised his hand to wipe away the stains on his face that were not only from rain but also from tears. He continued with heavy steps to see his wife off for the last time.

His marriage was already being discussed, and the candidate for the Crown Princess had also been chosen...