"Isn't this the Third Prince? What has he done wrong? Could he be plotting a rebellion like the Second Prince?"

"Thank goodness, this time there was no major chaos. Commander Qi arrested the people. Otherwise, we common people could not have withstood another palace coup."

The people who were whispering among themselves through the crack in the door suddenly heard the deep sound of a bell.

One, two, three, a total of thirty-six tolls—this is the number of tolls that marked the death of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince has passed away?

The Zhou dynasty's ritual system differed from other dynasties. When the emperor died, the funeral bell was rung 81 times (99), when the empress dowager or empress died, it was rung 49 times (77), and when the crown prince died, it was rung 36 times (66).

...

At the Prince An's residence, Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun also heard the funeral bell. The two walked out of the house, stood under the eaves, and looked in the direction of the First Prince's residence.

Zhu Zixuan still couldn't pull through.

Zhu Dan rushed over from the Fifth Prince's residence.

"Yun'er, Fourth Brother, the Crown Prince passed away early this morning."

Lu Xiaoyun nodded.

Zhu Yu glanced at him indifferently, wanting to say, "Are you stupid? Didn't you hear the death knell?"

"Father ordered Qi Shaocheng to arrest Third Brother, saying that Third Brother brought the plague to the First Prince's residence, causing the Crown Prince to die from the plague. But how could that be? Third Brother clearly knew that the Crown Prince didn't need his help and wouldn't live for many more days."

He didn't need to get himself into this mess.

Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow at him: "Because I did it."

"You? Fourth Brother, you..."

"Half a month ago, I sent a message to Zhu Chen, telling him that the Crown Prince was shocked by his mother's death and, as a result, his congenital weakness was cured. He will be fully recovered in a few days."