The day after King Cheng was executed, at the morning court session, the emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials, appointed Xie Jingyan as the crown prince.

As early as when Consort Chen overturned her case, the Emperor wanted to make Xie Jingyan the Crown Prince. Xie Jingyan refused, citing the safety of the palace and his concern that it would be unsafe for him to leave Shen Wan and the child in the palace while he went to arrest Prince Cheng.

Now that King Cheng has been brought to justice, Xie Jingyan's worries are gone, and he has no reason to refuse the imperial edict.

Xie Jingyan being made crown prince was something that all the civil and military officials had long expected, and no one was surprised. They only felt that the emperor had made the appointment too late.

Logically, Xie Jingyan should have moved into the Eastern Palace after being made Crown Prince, but Shen Wan was still in confinement after childbirth, so Xie Jingyan had to wait until she finished her confinement period before moving into the palace.

The Emperor granted this small request.

However, people can temporarily stay away from the palace, but memorials still need to be approved.

Then the man returned to the life he had before going to the border.

Xie Jingyan was made crown prince, and the princes, imperial relatives, and ministers all sent gifts to congratulate him.

The Yun family was happy for Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan, but they were also quite reluctant to part with her, thinking that Shen Wan would soon move into the palace with Xie Jingyan and it would be much harder for her to leave the palace. It would also be even more difficult for the Yun family to see Shen Wan, as the palace walls were not easy to enter.

Madam Yun longed to see her three great-grandchildren. She could still see Shen Wan at the Ling Prince's residence, but once she entered the palace, she didn't know when she would be able to see her again. Madam Yun came to the Yun family to see Shen Wan and the three children.

Shen Wan was surprised that her maternal grandmother, who was so old, would come to the Ling Prince's mansion to see her and her child. She said, "It should be me taking the child to see my maternal grandparents."

Madam Yun smiled and said, "The child is too young to withstand any hardship. It's alright for his health to come all the way here."

It was a rare occasion for Old Madam Yun to visit the Ling Prince's residence, and she stayed with Chen Wan for quite a while before leaving.

Cheng Yao and Xu Huan also came today and tomorrow, making Shen Wan's postpartum confinement period quite interesting.

On this day, Yan Yue and Yan Qing'er came to visit Shen Wan. The two were chatting and laughing with Shen Wan when suddenly a bell rang out.

I couldn't hear it very clearly, but I could vaguely make it out.

This is no ordinary bell.

It is a death knell.

The bell can only be rung when the emperor dies, the empress dowager passes away, or the empress passes away.

This is……

Has the Empress Dowager passed away?

Just as a guess flashed through Shen Wan's mind, Dong'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has passed away..."

It was indeed the Empress Dowager who had passed away.

The Emperor has already deposed the Empress, and Empress Song is also dead. The Emperor is in the prime of his life and it is impossible for him to suddenly die. It can only be the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager's health has been poor ever since the affair between Prince Cheng and Empress Song was exposed. Even after moving to the temporary palace, her condition did not improve. It is already quite remarkable that she has managed to hold on until now.

Shen Wan guessed that the Empress Dowager must have known that Prince Cheng had been executed by the Emperor. Her last hope was shattered, she went blind, and the Empress Dowager, who was estranged from her son, could not bear the blow. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she died.

Upon receiving news of the Empress Dowager's passing, it was impossible for the Emperor to feel nothing at all.

The Empress Dowager moved to the temporary palace, and the Emperor let it be. He neither advised her nor stopped her.

He knew that the Empress Dowager wanted to use leaving the palace as an excuse to force him to see her.

The Empress Dowager tolerated so many wrongdoings by Prince Cheng, and even threatened to move him to the imperial palace. The Emperor was already angry enough, so how could he possibly give in to the Empress Dowager's wishes?

Now that the Empress Dowager is gone, the Emperor feels a pang of sadness.

When the Empress Dowager passed away, she needed to be brought back to the palace for her funeral, and the Emperor entrusted the Ministry of Rites with this task.

Although the Empress Dowager said the funeral should be simple, how could the Emperor listen to her? He did whatever he wanted.

The Minister of Rites led his men on horseback to the temporary palace, and in less than seven days they brought the Empress Dowager's body back to the palace. All the officials kept vigil for the Empress Dowager.

Shen Wan was still in her postpartum period, so naturally she didn't need to do these things.

Xie Jingyan's vigil for the Empress Dowager was different from his vigil for Consort Chen, where he was absent for several days in a row. Xie Jingyan only kept vigil for the Empress Dowager for one night.

The day of the Empress Dowager's funeral was the last day of Shen Wan's postpartum confinement.

It must be said that Shen Wan is a blessed person. Sending off the Empress Dowager at her funeral was no easy task. Many noblewomen were so tired that they could hardly straighten their backs. They envied Shen Wan even more. When Consort Chen was buried, she was in confinement. When the Empress Dowager was buried, she was still in confinement.

Xie Jingyan had previously agreed with the Emperor that he would move back to the palace after Shen Wan finished her postpartum confinement. Now that the Empress Dowager has passed away, music and entertainment are prohibited in and around the palace for one hundred days.

Xie Jingyan then postponed the move back to the palace.

The emperor didn't say anything.

After all, the Crown Prince moving into the Eastern Palace was a joyous occasion, and the court was to hold a banquet to celebrate.

The Emperor had always been filial to the Empress Dowager, but in the end, he became estranged from her because she was too biased and protective of her own. This angered the Emperor so much that he acted this way. But now that the Empress Dowager was gone, the Emperor could not do anything that would make him seem unfilial.

Chen Feng and Chen Yu felt extremely miserable, much like the heir of the Duke of Du.

They had finally settled the marriage and were happily preparing for the wedding when war broke out at the border. The prince went to the battlefield, and they wanted to go with him, so the marriage was postponed.

Now that they've returned to the capital with the prince, they thought they could finally have a happy occasion. They planned to hold a banquet after the princess finished her postpartum confinement, but then the Empress Dowager passed away, and music was banned for a hundred days.

Why is it so difficult to get married?

100 days.

God knows how hard it was.

The two secret guards, Chen Feng and Chen Yu, counted the days until just over a hundred days had passed. They then sent the almanac to Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan, asking them to bestow an auspicious date.

Shen Wan also planned to hold their wedding banquet as soon as possible. It would be more convenient to do these things in the Ling Prince's mansion, as it would be impossible to hold a grand wedding for a maid in the palace.

The wedding banquet for the two maids was truly lively.

Cheng Yao and Xu Huan both sent dowries to Yin Shuang and Hai Tang, and even came to the Ling Prince's Mansion to drink their wedding wine. Even Eunuch Yuan found out and sent a congratulatory gift through Xiao Xizi. Eunuch Yuan mentioned it to the Emperor, and after the Emperor found out, he also bestowed a gold bracelet upon each of them.

This level of refinement is something that even ordinary ladies from prominent families cannot match.

Although Shen Wan was moving into the palace, she still followed the previous plan and bought houses for Yin Shuang, Chen Feng, Hai Tang, and Chen Yu near the palace. The two maids would accompany her into the palace, but since they were married, they couldn't always be by her side. They needed their own houses outside the palace.

In addition to the three-courtyard house, Shen Wan also prepared two sets of jewelry for each of her two maids, one set of pure gold and one set of gold inlaid with jade, as well as a thousand taels of silver as a treasure chest, sixteen bolts of silk, and fifty acres of fertile land.

The dowry was so generous that every maid and servant in the Ling Prince's mansion would be envious.

After the wedding, they started moving into the palace. There was a lot to move; just the Emperor's gifts alone would take a whole day to move.

It took seven or eight days to finally move everything.

The happiest person about Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan moving into the East Palace was the Emperor, who could now see his three little grandsons more often.

Especially Jin'er, who can walk now and say a few simple words, the Emperor is extremely fond of her.

What pleased the Emperor most was—

Although Jin'er looks like Shen Jing, her intelligence is exactly the same as Xie Jingyan's when he was a child.

The country was handed over to Xie Jingyan, and then to Jin'er.

He's not worried.