Chapter 117: Alert

In the cold night, Wang Gui ordered the palace servants to quietly carry the Crown Princess's body out and hang it on a tree.

The cold wind was as sharp as a knife, and there was piled up snow under the tree. As the person hanging on the tree swayed, icicles on the treetops fell down and covered the palace lady.

Wang Gui stood a little further away, waiting for the palace servant to come over. He then warned with a stern face, "If you tell anyone a word about what happened today, I will kill you."

The palace maid who had just carried the Crown Princess's corpse trembled all over: "I dare not say anything!"

The frozen road was gradually left behind. Only after returning to the Crown Prince did Wang Gui feel alive again: "Your Highness, everything is done. Someone will find the Crown Princess who hanged herself soon..."

At this time, the prince finally felt afraid.

What he was afraid of was not the act of strangling the Crown Princess itself, but the reaction from Emperor Tai'an.

"Do you think my father would doubt the cause of the Crown Princess's death?" After walking around the room, the Crown Prince asked Wang Gui.

Wang Gui couldn't guarantee anything, but facing the Crown Prince on the verge of collapse, he could only comfort him: "As long as those who know about it keep their mouths shut, I think the problem won't be serious. You were assassinated at the Crown Princess's family home. Everyone in the court knows that the Wuning Marquisate will be punished. It's not surprising that the Crown Princess committed suicide out of fear and self-blame."

The prince listened and nodded.

Soon after, the sound of chaotic footsteps could be heard, and someone came running in with a report: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess has hanged herself!"

"Go and report to Father!"

There was chaos again in the East Palace.

What the prince didn't know was that Emperor Tai'an had already known about the Crown Princess's death, and even knew exactly which tree in the Eastern Palace the Crown Princess was hanged on.

It wasn't intentional surveillance, but the Crown Prince was emotionally unstable after the assassination, and Emperor Tai'an was worried, so he arranged for people to keep an eye on the movements in the Eastern Palace.

Unexpectedly, when he paid attention, the prince gave him a huge "surprise".

Emperor Tai'an went to the Eastern Palace, and Concubine Zhuang and others who got the news also went to the Eastern Palace together.

When the Crown Prince saw Emperor Tai'an, he burst into tears: "Father, the Crown Princess committed suicide."

"Suicide?"

"Wow, she came to see her son, but he scolded her and she went away. Unexpectedly, she hanged herself on the way back..."

Emperor Tai'an couldn't bear to watch the prince crying.

You don’t even know how to pretend to be convincing!

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Emperor Tai'an could not expose the Crown Prince, but was also somewhat annoyed. He asked coldly, "Are all the palace maids following the Crown Princess dead?"

The prince stopped crying and looked at Wang Gui.

Wang Gui lowered his head and said tremblingly, "When the Crown Princess came to visit the Crown Prince, she only brought a palace maid holding a lantern."

He leaned slightly to the side, and a palace maid fell to the ground and kowtowed: "This slave deserves death, this slave deserves death! I held a lantern to illuminate the Crown Princess, but when I turned around, she was gone. When I found her, she was already -"

Emperor Tai'an looked at the palace maid coldly for a moment and said lightly: "She really deserves to die."

Once these words were spoken, the palace maid was undoubtedly sentenced to death.

The palace maid shuddered and collapsed to the ground. Soon two palace servants came forward and dragged her away.

Wang Gui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately today, the Crown Princess only brought one palace maid with her, and this was the only one she needed to threaten.

The palace maid knew that she could not survive, but she still had a family. In order to keep her family safe, she would naturally say what he asked.

Now that the emperor has spoken, things will be much easier.

Glancing at the people present, Emperor Tai'an said to Concubine Zhuang, "Thank you for taking care of the Crown Princess' affairs."

Concubine Zhuang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will take care of it."

"You all should go back too."

"yes."

Then those who needed to take care of the funeral took care of the funeral, and those who needed to go back to sleep went back to sleep. Emperor Tai'an calmly asked the Crown Prince: "How did you and the Crown Princess end up in such a quarrel?"

The prince's heart tightened, and he said in frustration, "My son was unhappy because his left hand was not working properly, so he scolded the Crown Princess when he saw her. Who would have thought she would be so stubborn—"

Even without anyone else around, the prince still refused to acknowledge it, which made Emperor Tai'an look at him twice.

In my memory, the carefree little prince who would sweetly call him father finally had his own thoughts.

Looking at this face that was somewhat similar to his own, Emperor Tai'an found it hard to imagine that the prince had strangled his wife to death not long ago.

Emperor Tai'an was able to seize the throne, so he was a cruel and ruthless person. However, he didn't notice the cruelty of others, but when he found out that his son treated his wife like this, he became wary.

If he could kill his wife in a fit of rage, who knows what else he could do under the same impulse.

Of course, this trace of vigilance is currently like the inconspicuous spring grass that has just sprouted a little, and it cannot shake the prince's position in Emperor Tai'an's heart at all.

"Yuan'er, this also reminds you to keep calm in the future. Think carefully before you say anything, otherwise you may get into trouble." Emperor Tai'an warned meaningfully.

"My son knows."

After Emperor Tai'an left, the prince breathed a sigh of relief.

It was finally covered up.

"Wang Gui, keep a close eye on the palace servants preparing the Crown Princess' coffin, and don't let any more trouble arise."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Those responsible for these are trustworthy people."

The prince nodded, then felt tired and lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep, without any dreams that whole night.

The next day it started snowing again. Large flakes of snow fell on the ground, forming a silver carpet, which was quickly destroyed by the hurried people walking around.

Compared to the prince who had a good night's sleep, the Wuning Marquis' Mansion felt like it was in a dream after receiving the news of the princess' death.

The Crown Princess committed suicide?

The wife of Marquis Wuning rolled her eyes and fell down.

"Madam, Madam—" The maids were frightened and supported the person.

The wife of Marquis Wuning recovered her breath and burst into tears: "My Qiang'er——"

Marquis Wuning's lips trembled but he said nothing.

"My Lord and Madam Marquis, please accept my condolences." The messenger said this to comfort them and returned to the palace to report.

The wife of Marquis Wuning grabbed the Marquis's hand and cried heartbreakingly: "My Lord, why is Qiang'er so stupid? It's not her fault that the Crown Prince was assassinated..."

Marquis Wuning said in a sad tone: "Qiang'er did it for the Marquis' Mansion!"

The assassination of the crown prince was like a sharp knife hanging over the head of the Wuning Marquisate. They just waited for the knife to fall, to see if it would cause a superficial wound or a serious injury.

It all depends on the emperor's decision.

Now that Qiang'er has committed suicide out of self-blame, even if the emperor loves the prince very much, he will not deal with the marquis's mansion.

While Marquis Wuning was heartbroken by the tragic news of his eldest daughter, he also felt an unspeakable sense of relief deep in his heart.

The Wuning Marquis Mansion is fine, and Hua'er is fine too.

When the news of the Crown Princess' suicide spread, most people's reaction was the same as Marquis Wuning's: the Marquis Wuning's mansion was fine.

As expected, the Emperor not only did not issue an edict to reprimand the Wuning Marquisate, but also bestowed many gifts as a token of consolation. The incident of the Crown Prince being assassinated at Yue's house was forgotten along with the Crown Princess's death.

While the palace was busy with the funeral of the Crown Princess, Cheng Maoming, the commander of the Jinlin Guard, was in a dilemma after listening to the report of a centurion.