Chapter 525: Into the Trance

Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu were shocked by the death of Prince Qing, but the emperor and eunuch An did not react much.

The Prince of Qing has been sick since he was born. He has a minor illness every three days and a serious illness every five days. In the eyes of the Emperor and Eunuch An, the fact that he can survive until now is entirely due to the care of Prince Qing and Princess Qing. All kinds of rare medicinal herbs are poured into the Prince of Qing's stomach free of charge. If it were an ordinary family, the Prince of Qing would have died long ago.

If the illness had not been so serious and incurable, Prince Qing would have hoped that his son would die without regrets and would not have asked the emperor to allow him to accompany his son on a trip outside the capital. However, he did not expect that he would die so soon, and he probably had not even prepared his luggage.

The Emperor and Eunuch An were not surprised, but they felt a little sad. If there had not been a bastard raised in Prince Jingbei's Mansion, Prince Qing would have had no descendants.

The emperor looked at Shen Wan and said, "Go on, what do you want to see father?"

They rushed into the palace in order to delay Prince Qing from leaving the capital to prevent him from hiding or even recruiting troops and causing trouble. But now there is no need. Prince Qing's son is gone, and the Qing Palace has to hold a funeral. Prince Qing has no reason to leave the capital at this critical moment.

Chen Wan said, "My daughter hasn't come to pay her respects to the emperor for a few days. I miss him. My mother's birthday is coming soon. I would like to ask for your permission to hold a lantern festival outside the palace on that day to pray for my mother in the afterlife..."

Chen Wan wanted to hold a lantern festival outside the palace, which was just a matter of words. She also found a pretext to pray for Concubine Chen, so the emperor had no reason to refuse.

The emperor agreed immediately.

The emperor had finished reviewing the memorials and had a rare moment of leisure, so he asked Shen Wan to play chess with him.

But Shen Wan hadn't played chess much in the past few months. She wasn't good at it to begin with, and now she's even worse. Shen Wan said, "Let my husband play with my father, and I'll watch from the side."

"Okay."

The emperor and Xie Jingyu sat down, and Shen Wan subconsciously stood next to Xie Jingyu. The emperor looked at Shen Wan and then at Xie Jingyu.

Shen Wan silently moved to the emperor's side.

A certain prince consort, "..."

Is this a game of chess?

This is a test for him.

If you don't play it right, you'll offend two people.

No.

It is to offend three.

Because only a few chess pieces had been played, Xiao Huaijin also came.

The game of chess was not so obvious, but when it came to lunch, the pitiful status of the prince consort was so pitiful that anyone who saw it would feel sorry for him.

Just like the first time Xiao Huaijin accompanied the emperor for dinner, he and Shen Wan sat on the emperor's left and right, and the prince consort sat in the seat farthest away from the emperor.

In the past, the palace maids would just find it strange when they saw him, but now when they saw him again, they felt sorry for the prince consort and couldn’t help laughing.

However, for the son-in-law, not only did he sit far away, but the emperor wanted to beat him seven or eight times during lunch.

Nothing else.

Chen Wan and Xiao Huaijin, two stupid people, got together.

There are more vegetables in the emperor's bowl than he can finish.

The emperor threw sharp glares at him, and the prince consort felt like sitting on pins and needles.

Are there any more memorials? He will review them.

Although the emperor ate a lot of vegetables for lunch, he was in a really good mood.

After lunch, Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu took their leave, and Xiao Huaijin also left the palace with them.

Prince Ling's Mansion and Prince Jingbei's Mansion were not in the same direction. After leaving the palace, they parted ways, and Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu went back home.

When she returned, the Fourth Madam happened to be returning in a sedan chair. When she came out of the sedan chair, she looked a little worried. Only when she saw Shen Wan did she smile a little, "What a coincidence..."

Shen Wan said, "Fourth Aunt doesn't look very good. Is there something bothering her?"

The Fourth Madam sighed, "The Luo Mansion and Prince Qing's Mansion are almost right next to each other, and the wedding procession was supposed to pass in front of Prince Qing's Mansion. I never expected that Prince Qing would suddenly disappear..."

The funeral was held at Prince Qing's Mansion, and right after that the Luo Mansion held a wedding with lights and decorations and loud gongs and drums, which was like rubbing salt into the wounds of Prince Qing's Mansion.

Because Princess Qi Yang was suddenly murdered, it was understandable to postpone the wedding date of Xie Zhiyao and Young Master Luo by ten days or half a month. There was no reason to postpone it further for Prince Qing. But if they didn't postpone it, it would feel unfair. After all, the Luo Mansion and the Qing Mansion had been neighbors for many years.

The Fourth Lady was worried about this matter. If she had known that her daughter's marriage would involve so many twists and turns, she would not have kept her daughter for so many days earlier. She was just looking for trouble.

This is indeed a difficult matter. The Luo Mansion and Prince Qing's Mansion are not just next to each other. Standing at the gate of the Luo Mansion, you can see the gate of Prince Qing's Mansion. The Luo Mansion can postpone the wedding date, but the civil and military officials are afraid of causing trouble for Prince Qing, and most likely will not go to the Luo Mansion for the wedding banquet.

After all, one would like the wedding banquet to be as lively as possible, so it is no wonder that the Fourth Lady looks so worried.

Chen Wan said, "It depends on what the Luo family thinks. If it is really postponed, Fourth Sister can stay with Fourth Aunt for a while longer. Fourth Aunt should be happy."

After Shen Wan said this, the fourth lady's mood suddenly brightened.

The maid said, "If it is postponed, it would be better if the princess can come back."

…Shen Wan also hoped that the princess would come back, but it was obviously unlikely.

However, Chen Wan didn't say anything. He talked and laughed with the Fourth Madam as they entered the mansion, and then returned to Zhaolanxuan.

Chen Wan walked a long way in the palace today and felt a little sleepy, so she fell asleep. However, she didn't sleep for long and woke up in less than half an hour. Usually, Shanhu Yinchuan would come into the room to serve her as soon as she woke up, but today, she called her twice, but the two maids didn't come in.

"Coral and silver bracelets."

Shen Wan's voice became heavier.

"Here it comes, here it comes..."

Two maids came in hurriedly.

Shen Wan asked, "What are you busy doing outside?"

Shanhu said, "I was talking to Yinchuan and didn't hear the Crown Princess calling us..."

Shen Wan would not blame them for such a small matter, but was curious, "What are you talking about so intently?"

Shanhu said, "Qiu'er told me that she went out on the street the other day and saw the Third Young Madam... No, it was Qiaohui, the personal maid of the First Young Madam of the Qing Palace, who was secretly buying something from a quack doctor. She suspected that she was buying poison..."

As for what the poison is for, it goes without saying.

Du Xiner married Xie Jingxi, and although she was packed up and sent out of the house the next day after she entered the house, she married Xie Jingxi for the position of the crown prince.

Xie Jingxi is the son of the second wife, yet he dares to covet the position of the crown prince of the first wife. What's more, Xie Jingxi has returned to his ancestral home and become the illegitimate son of Prince Qing, while the crown prince is still a sickly child. It is impossible for Xie Jingxi and Du Xiner not to have their eyes on the position of the crown prince.

The daughter of the Left Prime Minister is not a soft-hearted person, so Shanhu and Yinchuan suspect that she was the one who poisoned Prince Qing to make room for Xie Jingxi.

Prince Qing has only two sons. Since the legitimate son is gone, the illegitimate son is also a treasure.

The death of Prince Qing was too sudden. Chen Wan was already suspicious, and she also felt that Shanhu Yinchuan's suspicion was not redundant.

After putting on her dress, Shen Wan looked at herself in the bronze mirror and found that her hair was not messy, so she went to the study to find Xie Jingyu.

Tell Xie Jingyu that Qiu'er saw Du Xin'er's maid going to a quack doctor to buy things.

Without Chen Wan saying anything, Xie Jingyu knew what Chen Wan was going to do.

He immediately ordered Chen Ping.

"Go check it out."