Chapter 468 The Crown Prince Dies

Meanwhile, the second prince asked his wife about what happened at the banquet.

The Second Prince's wife replied, "Nothing special happened, but I did run into the Lady of Changxing Marquis and had some contact with her."

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince sat up straight and asked, "How so?"

The Second Prince's wife shook her head slightly and said truthfully, "Madam Gu seems to be approachable and easy to get along with, but she is not. She is always polite and distant, yet she is impeccable. She is intelligent and cautious, and her skill in playing the game is superb. She is completely different from what I imagined."

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure appearing on his handsome face. He then scoffed, "The Marquis of Changxing is the same; the temperaments of the couple are quite similar."

The Second Prince's wife sighed and said regretfully, "The Marquis of Changxing is a minister valued by Father, but we are afraid we cannot win over the Marquis of Changxing's family."

The second prince frowned even more deeply and said in a deep voice, "It doesn't matter whether we can win him over or not, as long as he hasn't been won over by my brothers."

The Second Prince's wife nodded slightly in agreement.

The second prince fiddled with the jade pendant at his waist, half-closed his eyes, and said in a low voice, "The imperial physician said that my elder brother probably won't make it to New Year's Eve."

The Second Prince's wife glanced at her husband and said, "Sixth Brother is also a legitimate son and is greatly favored by Father. If Eldest Brother were to pass away, Father would certainly make Sixth Brother the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince's expression stiffened slightly. According to the rules of the Zhao Kingdom, if there is a legitimate son, he should be the heir; if there is no legitimate son, the most virtuous should be chosen. As long as there is an eldest legitimate son, it is not the turn of a son born out of wedlock to become the crown prince, unless the legitimate son is wicked and incompetent, in which case the legitimate son should be deposed and the most virtuous should be chosen. However, there have never been many crown princes who have been able to ascend the throne smoothly. Even his grandfather was not the crown prince back then, but he became the ruler of this world.

The Second Prince's wife knew her husband's ambitions. In fact, not only her husband, but other princes also coveted that position. Unless they were like the Third Prince, who was of mediocre talent and whose maternal family background was also ordinary, or like the Fourth Prince, who was sickly and unable to live without medicine, who would be willing to give up without fighting for it?

-

The next day.

Meng Jinyao then instructed Chunliu to take charge of the porridge distribution. Chunliu was calm and quick-witted, so she trusted Chunliu. She also sent Ningdong to assist her, and she was to follow Chunliu's instructions and learn from her.

Besides them, some of the maids, old women, and servants in the mansion were also selected to participate in this matter.

When Zhang and Chen learned that she was going to distribute porridge in the city, they both approached her, saying they wanted to participate, and Meng Jinyao readily agreed.

Therefore, both Zhang and Chen sent a capable maid to help, and each contributed their share of money according to their own means, helping others while also earning a good reputation for themselves.

Several wives of the Marquis of Changxing distributed porridge in the city to help beggars and poor people who were starving. The news spread quickly, and other wives also sent people to set up sheds to distribute porridge. Wealthy merchants in the city also participated, earning a reputation for being charitable. In any case, the amount of money spent on distributing porridge was not much for them.

With their help, the beggars in the city saw hope for survival. In the freezing winter, it was difficult for them to beg for food and they had to withstand the cold. If they had no food, they would die of cold and hunger. With food to fill their stomachs, they could find ways to keep warm and get through the winter, and then they would be fine when the weather warmed up in the spring.

Time flies, and it's already the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. There are only half a month left until the New Year.

At night, the moon hangs high in the sky like a white jade plate, but the weather is bitterly cold, and few people admire it; everyone goes to bed early.

Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi were no exception; they undressed and went to bed at 7:45 PM.

The first half of the night was peaceful, but around midnight, a deep, muffled bell rang out from the direction of the palace, waking everyone from their sleep.

Gu Jingxi, who was in a light sleep, woke up instantly.

Meng Jinyao also opened her eyes groggily, looking somewhat bewildered.

Soon, the second bell rang out, and Meng Jinyao was instantly wide awake, shocked: "Husband, this...this is a death knell?"

Gu Jingxi gave a soft "hmm," sat up, and listened to the muffled and desolate tolling of the bell. His brows furrowed, and his expression grew increasingly grave. When the bell stopped, he immediately got out of bed and went to get dressed.

It is His Highness the Crown Prince.

His Highness the Crown Prince has passed away.

Meng Jinyao's expression was also extremely grave. Last month, His Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated and fell into a coma. Even after he woke up, he was in danger of dying at any moment due to the poison invading his lungs. He had been kept alive by medicine all day, but he still couldn't make it through the year.

Gu Jingxi dressed neatly, washed up, and went out.

Meng Jinyao had no desire to continue sleeping. She felt sorry for the Crown Prince's passing. His Highness was a virtuous and capable heir apparent with a very high reputation in the court, but he was gone just like that.

After daybreak, Meng Jinyao got up and deliberately put on rather plain clothes. Not only her, but no one else in the mansion dared to dress up in a flamboyant way at this time, otherwise the Changxing Marquis's mansion would be in big trouble if they were impeached.

Zhang was whispering to her two sisters-in-law, "There were rumors that His Highness the Crown Prince might not live past next year. I thought it was just a rumor, but it turns out to be true."

Madam Chen said regretfully, "His Highness the Crown Prince is the most outstanding among all the princes. I've also heard that he is the most like the Emperor, both in appearance and in his manner of doing things."

Madam Zhang sighed softly: "When His Highness the Crown Prince passes away and the Emperor appoints a new Crown Prince, the Crown Princess's situation will be quite awkward."

Madam Chen replied, "It's more than just embarrassing; it's also quite pitiful. She's not even twenty years old yet and she's already a widow. As the Crown Princess, she can't remarry, and she'll have to spend the rest of her life keeping her chastity for the Crown Prince."

After saying this, both Madam Chen and Madam Zhang sighed.

Meng Jinyao didn't interrupt, her heart filled with worry for her husband. The Crown Prince had been assassinated, and the Emperor had ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the matter, but they had found nothing. It was alright when the Crown Prince was alive, but now that the Crown Prince was dead, she wondered if the Emperor would take his anger out on her husband.

Seeing her furrowed brows and preoccupied expression, Zhang felt somewhat puzzled. It was the Crown Princess who was widowed and had to remain a widow, not her. Why did she have this expression?

However, Madam Zhang seemed thoughtful, assuming that she was just being sentimental because of her pregnancy. She recalled that she herself had also experienced melancholy during her pregnancy, so she comforted her, saying, "Third sister-in-law, that's a matter for the royal family, it has nothing to do with us. The emperor has more than one son, the crown prince, and a new heir will be appointed soon. Although the crown princess is pitiful, she still has a son, so she has hope for the rest of her life."

Meng Jinyao shook her head slightly and said softly, "His Highness was assassinated, and the truth has not yet been found. The Marquis is one of the officials in charge of investigating this case."

Upon hearing this, Zhang and Chen's expressions changed, and they both became nervous. Even though it was their third brother's matter, they understood that they could only benefit if their third brother recovered. If their third brother lost the emperor's favor and incurred the emperor's wrath, their eldest and second branches of the family would be affected.

A family may bicker and tease each other at home, but when something big happens, they share the same fate and suffer together, requiring unity and solidarity.

-

My darlings, I'm so sorry for the break. I've been so busy during the Chinese New Year holiday. I was either entertaining guests when they came to my house or going to visit relatives with my elders. I was going to two or three houses a day, and there was traffic on the way. By the time I got home, it was already around 11 p.m., so I just washed up and went to bed.