When a concubine of the previous emperor passed away, no one in the former dynasty or the harem cared about it until Emperor Longfeng posthumously conferred the title of Jinggui Concubine on her. Then more and more people began to go to Concubine Zhao's mourning hall to pay their respects.
However, the ones who were truly sad about the passing of Concubine Zhao were the old concubines who lived in the Concubine Palace.
Normally people were not allowed to cry in the palace, but only in front of Concubine Zhao's mourning hall did they dare to cry loudly.
They cried for Concubine Zhao, and also for themselves.
Jiuzhu and Prince Chen changed into plain white clothes and went to the funeral hall to burn incense and bid farewell to her.
"The funeral specifications for the noble concubine have been determined." Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and said, "She will be buried in the concubine's mausoleum, not with the late emperor."
"That's good." Jiuzhu turned around to look at the monks who were chanting scriptures in the mourning hall, and held Prince Chen's fingers tightly in his palm.
The late emperor forced women from the common people into the palace during his lifetime; at least he could give these women peace after his death.
"My Lord, my Princess, please stay."
Jiuzhu turned around and saw the old nanny who served Concubine Zhao.
The nanny had a white linen belt tied around her waist and looked very haggard. She walked up to the two of them and bowed: "Before the noble concubine died, she wanted me to give something to the princess. If the princess is willing to accept it, please follow me."
"Please lead the way, Madam."
The yard without its owner became much quieter, and the white paper lanterns hanging under the eaves looked dull and cold in the vibrant spring.
The nanny brought Jiuzhu and Prince Chen into the house. She took out a box from inside the house and said, "The things in here were prepared by the noble concubine for several days. It should have been given to you on the Qingming Festival, but it was delayed."
Jiuzhu knew why there was a delay. The things she brought back for the noble concubine two days ago made her forget everything else.
Taking the heavy wooden box, Jiuzhu whispered thank you.
"Princess." The nanny took three steps back and knelt down towards Jiuzhu. The other palace maids and eunuchs in the room also knelt down.
"Mammy." Jiuzhu quickly reached out to help her.
"Princess, please allow me to complete this ceremony." The nanny's eyes were firm, and Jiuzhu slowly withdrew her hand.
The nanny led the palace maids in the room to kowtow three times to Jiuzhu, and Jiuzhu heard the little palace maid sobbing.
"The noble concubine left with a smile on her face, very peacefully." The nanny stood up with the help of the little palace maid. "The princess and the master met by chance, but the master specially crossed half of the capital city for her during the Qingming Festival to burn incense and worship a person who had passed away many years ago. If it weren't for you, the master would have left with regrets."
So she could accept this gift.
The imperial palace is the most prestigious place in the world, and it contains things that people all over the world dream of.
Power, status, money, beauty.
The only thing missing is the human heart.
Princess Chen arrived gracefully, seeming like an alien in this harem full of desires, but not out of place.
It's like a light appears in the darkness.
There was a gust of wind on the scorching summer night.
She was so different, so the Concubine Dowager, who was unwilling to interfere in anything, dragged her sick body and insisted on going to the peach blossom forest to remind her and Prince Chen.
The concubine dowager showed mercy for a moment, and Princess Chen returned her love with sincerity, and brought back the things left by Changsheng for the concubine dowager.
There were faint sounds of cats meowing. Jiuzhu saw that the cat raised by Toffee Zhao was squatting at the foot of the bed, looking up at the bed from time to time, as if wondering why its owner was not in bed.
"After the master left, the cat just lay in the house waiting for the master to come back." Mammy burst into tears again: "We feed it, but it doesn't like to eat. At night, it looks for the master everywhere in the yard."
Little did the cat know that its owner would never come back.
Jiuzhu handed the wooden box in his hand to King Chen beside him, squatted in front of the cat and stretched out his hand to it.
The fat cat meowed, turned around in the room for many times, and slowly jumped into Jiuzhu's arms.
However, just as Jiuzhu was carrying the cat out of the yard, the cat struggled for a while and finally jumped out of her arms.
"Princess, I will help you catch the cat." Seeing this, Yang Yidu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to catch the cat.
"No need." Jiuzhu shook her head: "Go and tell the nanny, I'll come back to pick it up after some time."
"I obey your orders."
"Want to raise a cat?" Prince Chen turned his head and asked her.
Jiuzhu shook her head: "The Queen Mother is no longer here. This cat has no master in the harem and may not survive."
When it accidentally ran to Zhangliu Palace, both of its legs were broken, not to mention the days when it had no owner to take care of it.
"Don't worry, the old ladies in the West Palace will take good care of it." Prince Chen took her hand again: "If you are worried, come back in a few days."
"Yes." Jiuzhu nodded. She always believed what His Highness said.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere." Seeing that Jiuzhu was still a little depressed, Prince Chen whispered in her ear, "Your Highness will take you out of the palace."
"Now?" Jiuzhu asked.
"Yes, right now." Prince Chen stretched out his hand and pinched her nose: "Do you want to go?"
"I do." Jiuzhu nodded.
"You can go if you want. Just smile at me." He handed the wooden box to the attendant specially assigned to him by his father, and rubbed her face with his hands: "You are so young, how can you look so sad?"
After rubbing it twice, the feeling was so good that Prince Chen couldn't help but rub it twice more.
This time Jiuzhu not only stopped smiling at him, but was also angry with him.
Upon seeing this, Prince Chen quickly withdrew his hand and said, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, we will leave now."
Seeing that Jiuzhu ignored him, he reached out and pulled Jiuzhu into his arms: "I was wrong, don't be angry, okay?"
Jiuzhu raised her head and stepped on her feet, taking the opportunity to rub the Prince's face. In the stunned expression of the Prince, she nodded with satisfaction: "Well, I'm not angry anymore."
"Ming little pig, you have learned bad things by hanging out with your sisters-in-law." Prince Chen came to his senses. His little pig used to be so well-behaved, but now, after only being in the palace for a short time, he has learned to cheat.
Sure enough, the palace was a big melting pot, turning his pure white and tender little pig into a sea of colors.
The two of them rode out of the palace in a carriage. When Jiuzhu got off the carriage, she found out where the prince had been waiting for her.
Originally the Tomb of Immortality was just a mound of earth, but now even the mound is gone and it has become a big pit.
Jiuzhu turned to look at Prince Chen: "Your Highness?"
If an ordinary person saw such a scene, he would definitely suspect that Prince Chen had destroyed someone else's grave, but Jiuzhu's first reaction was, Your Highness wants to build a grave for Changsheng?
Looking at her trusting eyes, Prince Chen smiled. It was a good thing that he met such a little fool.
Fortunately, it was her, so that his efforts to seek grace from his father, the emperor, and his mother were not in vain.
"Take the things off the carriage." Prince Chen said, "Jinggui Taifei was a concubine of the previous emperor who was listed in the imperial canon. Her funeral was jointly managed by the Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites. I cannot transport her body out of the palace. I can only take some of her daily jewelry and clothes and build a tomb to bury her with Changsheng."
His grandfather had committed many evil things. As a grandson, if he gave his grandfather a colorful hat, his ancestors would probably turn a blind eye and not hold it against him.
"This matter cannot be done in a grand manner, so we have to keep it simple." Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and whispered, "Let's hurry up and don't let anyone find out."
"Do father and mother agree to this?" Even though Jiuzhu grew up in a Taoist temple and didn't know much about worldly affairs, she knew that this was not in line with the principles of filial piety.
"Oh, it cannot be said, it cannot be said." Prince Chen took out the tablet hidden under the carriage. The name written on it was not Mr. So-and-so, but Zhao Taohua.
According to folk customs, the bones must be washed and the time must be chosen for the joint burial. However, Jiuzhu knew that if Changsheng and Concubine Jinggui were still alive, they would not mind that the joint burial ceremony was not grand enough.
Warm the grave with paper money, then sweep the bottom with clothes to fan out all the paper money ashes on the grave.
This should have been done by their children and grandchildren, but Concubine Zhao and Changsheng had no descendants, so Jiuzhu and Prince Chen took the outer robes they had worn and fanned them for a long time, finally fanning out all the ashes of the burnt paper money at the bottom of the grave.
The two of them had their heads and faces covered in flying paper money dust, and their white clothes turned into black, white and gray.
"I asked someone before coming here, this step is essential." Prince Chen pulled Jiuzhu out of the pit: "This means that they will have no worries about food and clothing in their next life, and they will live a safe and smooth life."
"Oh." Jiuzhu nodded, confusedly: "What do we do next?"
"Put Aunt Zhao's clothes and hat in the grave." Prince Chen put his hands behind his back and said, "The rest of the burial rules are for the benefit of their descendants. Since they have no descendants, why bother them?"
As the coffin was lowered into the ground and covered with soil, Jiuzhu's depressed mood began to gradually improve.
When the Prince of Chen asked his attendants to place the newly carved tombstone in front of the tomb, Jiuzhu smiled.
"Are you finally not sad anymore?" Prince Chen took out a handkerchief and wiped Jiuzhu's dusty face, even though his hands were not very clean.
"Yes." Jiuzhu nodded: "Since they couldn't be together in life, it would be good if they could be buried together in death."
"Come, light a stick of incense for them, and then we will go home." Prince Chen handed the incense to Jiuzhu and bowed three times towards the tombstone.
A gentle breeze blew, the incense smoke swirled in the air and flew up into the blue sky.
Longevity, peach blossom.
May they live long and have a life as colorful as fire in their next life.
The two returned to the carriage and saw each other's muddy feet, dirty faces and dirty clothes, and they laughed out loud.
"That's right. The little girl looks so beautiful when she smiles." Prince Chen stretched out his hand and pinched Jiuzhu's face. Two black fingerprints appeared on her already scratchy face.
He looked away with a guilty look, coughed and said, "It will be dark soon, and the palace maids and eunuchs will not dare to look directly at our faces. If we walk fast enough, no one will notice that our clothes are dirty."
Of course, the focus is really on the face.
But he didn't dare to say it.
They were covered in money and paper ashes, and changing clothes outside the palace would easily arouse others' speculation. It would be better for them to return to the palace openly so that others would not think too much.
"What if someone sees us?"
"If you see it, just tell us that I took you out of the palace to grill fish, but we accidentally fell into the ash pile." Prince Chen said calmly, "Don't worry, as long as we tell the answer, no one will dare to ask any more questions."
Based on his past behavior, perhaps no one would suspect that he was lying.
As night fell, Prince Chen took two thin black cloaks, put them on himself and Jiuzhu, and strode along the palace road with a righteous but confident look.
"You're pregnant before your mother's body is even cold. What do you mean by filial piety? I think you were just pretending."
"Since my mother is like that, it's natural for me as a son to pretend to be like her."
The eunuchs' voices could be heard from behind the palace gates. Their harsh tones seemed to carry a hint of excitement.
When Jiuzhu heard this conversation, he immediately stopped and Prince Chen frowned and looked behind the door.
Some people are born to enjoy watching others suffer misfortune.
There is never a shortage of people in this world who take advantage of others' misfortunes.
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