Chapter 226 Hatred

After the two entered the Duke of Qi's mansion together, Shangguan Jin discovered that the people in charge were all from the inner palace.

As for the stewards of the Duke of Qi's own household, it seems that none of them were seen.

They originally intended to make a show of burning some paper money and shedding a few tears, but when they saw the scene before them, Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu were dumbfounded.

Inside the mourning hall, where the descendants should have been kneeling and weeping with the family and burning paper money, the Duchess of Qi was sitting upright.

Next to her was a small bed, where the young prince was sleeping soundly.

As for those who were wailing and chanting sutras, she sent them all outside.

Inside the room, besides the Duke of Qi lying in his coffin, the Duchess of Qi and her young heir sitting to the side, there were only paper effigies...

It feels so weird...

When Lady Qi saw Shangguan Jin and Lady Huangfu enter, she actually stood up and smiled.

"I figured you two should be here by now."

If they hadn't come today, I would have gone to ask them to come.

Shangguan Jin, Lady Huangfu...

What? Do you want to chat with us here?

As soon as the Duchess of Qi finished speaking, she handed several sheets of paper money to Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu.

"Just burn a few, no need to burn too many. There are so many mountains of gold and silver down there, they have enough to spend."

Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu exchanged a glance, and then threw the paper money into the brazier in front of the hall.

Looking at the luxurious coffin, Shangguan Jin didn't know why, but she couldn't shed a tear.

I was too hasty. I should have asked Dongmai to prepare a handkerchief soaked in ginger juice...

"Come, sit down! I'm feeling really bored," said the Duchess of Qi, gesturing to the stools beside her.

Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu exchanged another glance.

Well, there's basically no need to comfort her or offer condolences...

"The young prince seems to have grown a little taller since he was a month old," Shangguan Jin said with a smile.

"Yes, her little face is so rosy, Madam is taking such good care of her!" Madam Huangfu quickly added.

The smile on the face of the Duchess of Qi became more genuine.

These are the only two people in the past few days who, instead of comforting me, praised the young prince upon meeting me...

"Do Madam Shen and Madam Huangfu think I went a bit too far?" the Duchess of Qi suddenly asked.

Shangguan Jin shook her head, and Madam Huangfu followed suit.

How are they supposed to respond to that?

No, you did a great job! Keep up the good work next time!

"Those who are alive must continue living their lives. Those who have passed away are gone. We can't stop living just because one of them is gone," said Madam Huangfu.

“Alas, don’t advise others to be kind if you haven’t experienced their suffering. Everyone has their own troubles,” Shangguan Jin also advised.

Upon hearing these words, the Duchess of Qi's eyes reddened, and she finally shed her first tear since the Duke of Qi left.

She looked at the coffin of the Duke of Qi with icy eyes.

Shangguan Jin could sense the hatred in his eyes.

"Yes, every family has its own problems."

Madam Shen, Madam Huangfu, everyone says I'm pretentious? Does anyone know why I'm so pretentious?

Those two beasts poisoned the young prince's wet nurse's food, trying to kill my grandson.

I wanted to punish him, but that old man actually stopped me.

They even said that they only had these two sons left, and that the Duke of Qi's mansion would have to rely on those two beasts in the future.

"Heh, those are his two little beasts, not mine," the Duchess of Qi said coldly.

What could Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu say? They simply patted her hand gently.

Lady Qi turned her head and glanced again at the young prince who was fast asleep.

"Those two beasts, they actually want to keep vigil for this old man?"

"Heh, don't you even consider whether you're worthy?" The Duchess of Qi continued to sneer.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jin hurriedly asked, "What about the other two?"

"Those who dared to cause trouble in front of the mourning hall were each given thirty strokes of the cane by my order and thrown into their respective courtyards," said the Duchess of Qi calmly.

Shangguan Jin silently cursed in her heart.

Thirty strokes of the cane? The person who did that must have used their full strength.

This means they don't intend to let those two illegitimate sons see the Duke of Qi off on his final journey...

"Good for you. You have to be beaten if you don't listen to others."

Their father has only been gone for a short time, yet they dare to cause trouble in front of the mourning hall. Isn't that showing them no respect?

"However, you should still be careful. Be wary of people complaining about these things that are being handled by the inner palace." Lady Huangfu reminded her softly.

The Duchess of Qi's lips curled into a cold smile, and then she looked in the direction of the palace.

"You're accusing me?"

"I'm not afraid. That person owes me their life!"

Seeing that the Duchess of Qi's eyes were red, Shangguan Jin felt that the Duchess of Qi must know something...

Although Madam Huangfu did not know the inside story, she felt that there must be something very important going on.

You should still take care of your health.

The young prince is counting on you. If you fall, how can the young prince possibly be alright?

Don't overthink it. Just focus on raising the heir apparent. He'll inherit the title later.

"Didn't the imperial family say that the title of Duke of Qi will be reserved for the young heir? Just get through these years," Lady Huangfu continued to comfort him.

The Duchess of Qi nodded and said nothing more, only looking at the young prince with affection.

Shangguan Jin sighed inwardly.

Yes, it would be fine once we got through it, but it took eighteen years!

"Madam, didn't we say that such young children shouldn't come to the mourning hall? Didn't those masters say anything?" Shangguan Jin made conversation.

"I already said it! I said the mourning hall is filled with yin energy, which is bad for the young master."

But as I said, I'm not even afraid of living people, so why would I be afraid of ghosts?

"If that old bastard dares to do anything to my grandson, I'll grind him to dust!" the Duchess of Qi said bitterly.

Shangguan Jin, Lady Huangfu...

That's ruthless!

The Duke of Qi must have done many things that broke the heart of the Duchess of Qi!

Previously, the Duchess of Qi had to consider the overall situation and think about the crown prince, but now she doesn't have to think about anything anymore, so she can definitely let her true nature shine through!

How could the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Xu be easy to get along with?

Just look at Empress Xu in the palace; the girls of the Xu family have plenty of tricks up their sleeves...

After leaving the Duke of Qi's mansion, neither Shangguan Jin nor Madam Huangfu spoke.

They could sense that the Duchess of Qi was going a little mad.

“Actually… men only behave when they’re lying in a coffin,” Madam Huangfu suddenly said.

Shangguan Jin...

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you! Your Duke is an exception; you can’t find another one like him in the entire capital,” Madam Huangfu added.

Shangguan Jin smiled and was about to say that her husband was not bad either.

Several horses suddenly galloped past the carriage they were riding in.

The dust kicked up by the horse's hooves flew high, and some roadside vendors' stalls were overturned by the rider's whip.

Lady Huangfu was about to peek out to scold him, but when she saw the leader of the horsemen, she pulled her head back in.

"Forget it, we can't afford to offend them!" Madam Huangfu said angrily.

"Who is it? Is there someone in the capital you can't afford to offend?" Shangguan Jin was even more curious.

"Who else could it be but the King of Qin!" Lady Huangfu whispered.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jin also felt that she couldn't afford to offend them.

"That's not right. Doesn't the King of Qin always travel in his own carriage? Why is he riding a horse? He can't ride a horse into the palace."

"The direction he came from is the Duke of Anguo's residence, so he must have come from the Duke of Anguo's residence!"

"Judging from how she looked just now, she must have been in a very bad mood..." Madam Huangfu continued.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jin exclaimed, "Oh! The King of Qin is in a bad mood!"

She must be in a pretty good mood!