Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Xiahou Che did not stay in Yihua Palace for long and left soon.

Yan Zhen watched his figure disappear into the vast snowy night, pondered for a long time, and then called Hongyu over.

"Find a way to place someone who knows martial arts in Linzhi Palace."

Hongyu asked, "To spy on him?"

Yan Zhen glanced at her: "Don't put it so harshly, it's called—protection."

-

Before we knew it, it was December.

Heavy snow fell in the capital, covering the entire imperial city in a blanket of white.

Xiao Lingyi was very sensitive to the cold, so Yan Zhen stayed indoors all day and never went out. On the low table next to the chaise lounge, the books were changed one after another, but they all had the same cover.

Yan Zhen spends a lot of time on these books every day, preparing for his plans after the new year.

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yan Zhen had lunch and was drawing in his study to pass the time when, with a "bang," Green Pearl burst through the door and stumbled in, tripping and falling hard in her haste.

The commotion startled the palace maids who were accompanying Yan Zhen in the study.

Before anyone could help her up, Green Pearl scrambled to her feet and rushed to Yan Zhen. Her eyes were wide, but she was panting heavily and unable to speak, her face deathly pale.

Seeing her like this, Yan Zhen had a plan in mind, but still asked, "Lvzhu, what's wrong?"

Green Pearl opened her mouth, but before she could utter a sound, tears streamed down her face: "Miss, His Highness the Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince... has passed away."

Yan Zhen paused, and the pen in his hand fell onto the table, the ink stains making the nearly completed plum blossom painting look mottled.

The palace maids beside them were even more stunned.

"What did you say?"

"News has just reached the palace that His Highness the Crown Prince and the disaster relief officials were separated by a mudslide in Sichuan. After searching for three days, His Highness the Crown Prince's body was found downstream of the river." Green Pearl sobbed uncontrollably. "The soldiers accompanying him are on their way back to the palace with the coffin. They will arrive in the capital in four days."

Yan Zhen's gaze was fixed, and his hands trembled slightly.

It wasn't until Ziying called her several times that she came to her senses, stood up, and said, "Help me change my clothes and go to Yongchun Palace."

When she arrived at Yongchun Palace, where the Imperial Concubine resided, the palace was deathly silent.

The palace servants entering and leaving had solemn expressions, their heads bowed, and dared not utter a word.

Yan Zhen quickened her pace, and finally lifted her skirt and ran into the inner palace.

The imperial concubine leaned against the couch, one hand supporting her forehead, while the imperial physician took her pulse.

"Miss!"

The imperial concubine raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed and her face pale. The dignified and noble mistress of the palace seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant.

Upon seeing Yan Zhen, she trembled slightly, as if her suppressed emotions had finally found an outlet. As soon as Yan Zhen approached, the Imperial Concubine embraced her and burst into tears.

"My son!!!"

Yan Zhen remained silent and gently patted her back.

The imperial concubine cried until she fainted. The imperial physicians frantically performed acupuncture and massage on her, and it took a lot of effort to revive her.

The entire palace endured four days of gloomy weather.

For the past four days, Yan Zhen has stayed in Yongchun Palace, taking care of the Consort who was suffering from a high fever due to excessive grief, and also managing the affairs of the six palaces for the Consort who was unable to attend to her duties.

To outsiders, she seemed unusually calm for someone who had just lost her fiancé.

Only Yongchun Palace and her maids Lüzhu and Ziying knew that she hadn't slept a wink for the past four days.

On the evening of the fourth day, the Crown Prince's coffin arrived in Shangjing.

Yan Zhen, dressed in white mourning clothes, went out of the palace to welcome the spirit.

The entire palace was draped in white gauze and lanterns were replaced with white ones. A thick atmosphere of mourning enveloped the imperial city. Among the long line of people kneeling at the palace gate waiting to receive the coffin, Yan Zhen saw Xiahou Chuan.

Xiahou Chuan looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, but considering the inappropriate occasion, he didn't dare to speak to her.

Soon, the black coffin slowly entered the palace gate, and cries of grief immediately filled the palace.

Yan Zhen, as the Crown Princess, accompanied the coffin into the Changde Hall where the body was laid to rest. Emperor Jin and a group of princes were waiting there, and even the ailing Empress had come.

The coffin was placed in the center of the mourning hall. The coffin lid was slowly opened. Emperor Jin only glanced at it before turning his face away, covering his eyes, his chest heaving violently.

Yan Zhen took two steps forward, about to approach the coffin, when Emperor Jin suddenly said, "Yi Ning, stop looking."

Yan Zhen paused in his steps.

"Jin'er wouldn't want you to see him like this."

Yan Zhen didn't speak, her bloodshot eyes filled with stubbornness. She brushed aside Emperor Jin's hand and walked to the coffin, quietly looking at the lifeless person lying inside.

Xiahou Jin did not die peacefully. His frozen expression showed extreme pain. His handsome face was ravaged by mud and rocks, and in the freezing cold of December, his body was a terrifying bluish-gray.

Just over a month ago, a person was alive and well. Now, lying in a coffin like this, Yan Zhen felt a sense of regret, as if he were watching a masterpiece of art being destroyed and smashed.

She didn't dislike Xiahou Jin; on the contrary, she quite liked his face and the youthful energy he occasionally exuded.

It's a pity, he was a member of the Heavenly Family.

Xiao Lingyi's previous life, which ended in a short life of twenty-four years and depression, proved a truth: youthful affection cannot overcome a man's innate desire and pursuit of power and status.

He loved Xiao Lingyi, that's true, but in order to consolidate imperial power and eliminate the possibility of interference from the empress's relatives in politics, he ultimately chose to stand against her, trapping her in the deep palace, causing her to die without an heir and slowly die in despair.

This man is a good man, but he must die.

And she had to put on a good show after his death.

Having not slept for four days and four nights, and with very little food, Xiao Lingyi's already delicate body was almost completely drained. Yan Zhen took a deep breath to suppress the metallic taste rising in his throat.

In front of Emperor Jin and a group of princes, she trembled as she tried to touch his face.

Seeing her so heartbroken that she couldn't even cry, Emperor Jin couldn't bear it and said, "Yining, please accept my condolences."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Zhen suddenly and without warning spat a mouthful of blood onto the coffin.

Amidst gasps of alarm, she collapsed and fainted.

-

The Crown Prince passed away, and the Crown Princess Yining, who was about to become the Crown Prince's wife, was so heartbroken that she fell ill and never recovered.

Except for the day of the Crown Prince's funeral, when she struggled to get up and attend the ceremony despite being so thin she could barely stand, she remained secluded in the Yihua Palace, refusing all visitors.

Throughout the entire twelfth lunar month, including the Spring Festival, the capital was shrouded in gloom due to the death of the crown prince.

As the Spring Festival passed and all things came back to life, the gates of Yihua Palace, which had been closed for two whole months, finally opened. Princess Yining, dressed in plain clothes, went to the Imperial Study to request an audience with Emperor Jin.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has passed away. My heart is as still as water. I have little fate with the Crown Prince in this life and cannot be husband and wife. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to shave my head and become a nun, and enter the Thousand Buddha Temple to cultivate myself."

Emperor Jin looked at the woman kneeling before his desk, thin and emaciated, her eyes devoid of their former brilliance, and said helplessly, "Yining, I promised that no matter who becomes the Crown Prince, you will always be the Crown Princess."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty, but I have no desire for worldly affairs. I only wish to cultivate myself in this life so that I may be able to continue my relationship with the Crown Prince in the next life." Yan Zhen said, bowing deeply to the ground.

The Jin emperor remained silent.

He understood the deep affection between Xiao Lingyi and Jin'er, who had grown up together and pledged their lives to each other, but Xiao Lingyi was a pawn in his game of controlling Xiao Dingfang, and he could not allow her to leave the palace and become a nun.

"You and Jin'er had a deep affection for each other. He's gone just like that. I understand that you're having a hard time right now, but my word is my bond. There's no reason for me to go back on my word. You can only be the Crown Princess of Great Jin."

No sooner had the Emperor of Jin finished speaking than a sharp female voice came from outside the Imperial Study: "Jin'er's body is barely cold, and Your Majesty is already in such a hurry to choose a new husband for Princess Yining?"