When he saw Jiuzhu appear, Prince Chen turned around and glared at the eunuchs who were attending him. He told them to help the person back as soon as possible. How was he going to explain this to Ming Xiaozhu now?
"Did this maid fall down?" Jiuzhu noticed that there were two eunuchs standing next to the maid, and smiled and whispered to praise the King Chen: "Your Highness is so kind. When he saw the maid fall down, he specially arranged for someone to help her up."
"Of course I am not the kind of person who would stand by and watch someone die without helping." The Prince straightened his back and raised his chin slightly, showing his gentlemanly demeanor. He saw Jiuzhu was wearing a simple outfit and asked, "Why are you here to pay your respects?"
"Mother said that we didn't have to come, but I'm engaged to His Highness, so we're different from other families." Jiuzhu glanced at the palace maid who was still lying on the ground: "Mother is well-versed in poetry, so I'm sure I'll listen to her."
Hearing the word "engagement", Prince Chen turned away uncomfortably: "Then, then I'll take you there. Concubine Yang's funeral will be simple. Just come with me to burn some incense."
"Wait a minute." Jiuzhu grabbed King Chen's sleeve.
Prince Chen turned around to look at her, thinking that she was unwilling to go with him: "You want to go with your mother?"
"No." Jiuzhu pointed at his waist and said, "Your Highness, take off this jade pendant first."
There was nothing special about the jade pendant, except that the knot and the tassels were both bright red.
Prince Chen wanted to say that for a concubine whom he had rarely seen, he was already giving face to the deceased by changing into plain clothes to burn incense, and there was no need for him to pay attention to even the red string on a jade pendant.
When he met Jiuzhu's dark eyes, he sighed, untied the jade pendant in a few seconds, and put it in Jiuzhu's hand: "Help me hold it."
"Okay." Jiuzhu nodded with a smile and put the jade pendant into her white purse.
The Prince of Chen walked forward and was nearly tripped by something. He looked down and saw the palace maid still lying on the ground.
What's going on? If you want to accuse him of pushing a woman, you don't have to be so obvious?
"Miss, are you okay?" Jiuzhu bent down and pulled the maid up from the ground with one hand.
Palace maid: “…”
How come she stood up involuntarily?
"Are you hurt?" Jiuzhu bent down and helped her brush off the dust on her skirt.
The palace maid shook her head blankly.
"Ming Xiaozhu, let's go." Prince Chen stood a few steps away, hooking his fingers behind his back at Jiuzhu.
"I'm coming." Jiuzhu responded to the King of Chen, lowered her head and said to the palace maid, "Watch your step when you walk."
After saying this, he trotted to the side of Prince Chen and walked side by side with him.
The palace maid stared at the two people's backs in a daze. It turned out that they were not a domineering prince and a pretty palace maid, but a domineering prince and a beautiful lady.
She looked down at the hem of her skirt that had been hit by Jiuzhu, her cheeks slightly red. She didn't need anyone to help her, she covered her face and trotted away.
Concubine Yang's mourning hall was set up in the hall to the west of the imperial palace. The ladies who had come to pay their respects had already left, leaving only a handful of royal relatives, who were standing nonchalantly outside the hall, apparently just there for the formality.
Jiuzhu didn't understand the funeral etiquette in the palace, so she didn't know that according to common practice, after a concubine's death, the funeral specifications would be one level higher than her own rank, or she would be directly granted a higher rank.
However, there was no special favor given to Concubine Yang at her funeral, not even a posthumous title.
The Ministry of Rites drafted a posthumous title, but it was rejected by the Emperor on the grounds that Concubine Yang liked quietness and her funeral should be simple.
In this way, who doesn't understand that His Majesty does not value Concubine Yang?
It was cold in front of the mourning hall. Prince Chen lowered his head and asked Jiuzhu, "Are you cold?"
Jiuzhu shook her head. She took the incense, bowed respectfully in front of the mourning hall, and inserted the incense into the incense burner.
The palace maid, who was kneeling on the ground and crying quietly, kowtowed to her and Prince Chen.
After taking a look at the spirit tablet enshrined above, Prince Chen lit the incense. In his impression, Concubine Yang was not talkative and was in poor health. She never showed up at many gatherings in the palace.
The wind blew the spiritual flag, and he turned around, twisted up a small piece of Jiu Zhu's sleeve, and led the person out of the mourning hall.
"Come on, I'll take you to Mingyue Palace to change clothes." The little girl can't wear ugly white clothes, which looks ugly.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu said hesitantly, "Mother is still waiting for me outside..."
"Don't worry, Fugui has already passed the message to Madam Ming." Prince Chen continued to pull Jiuzhu forward: "After lunch at Mingyue Palace, I will take you back."
"Your Highness, you don't have to go to the Ministry of Rites?" Jiuzhu hesitated: "Will this delay your work?"
"Today, a memorial service will be held for Concubine Yang. All the princes and princesses in the capital will come to the palace to pay their respects. I have already asked the Minister of Rites for leave, so I don't have to go to the Ministry of Rites today." Prince Chen looked up at the sky and said, "Ming Xiaozhu, it is not appropriate to discuss official business today."
"Fifth brother."
"Hello, His Royal Highness Prince Chen. Hello, Miss Ming."
King Chen let go of his hand twisting the corner of Jiuzhu's clothes, raised his eyebrows and looked at King Qi and Sun Caiyao: "It's the fourth brother."
Since the last time he forced the King of Qi to avoid the trip, the two have not spoken to each other in private except for meeting in the court.
Jiuzhu knelt down and saluted the King of Qi, who nodded slightly to her. He glanced at the clothes they were wearing and asked, "Has Fifth Brother finished offering incense to Concubine Yang?"
He didn't see any bright colors on Yun Duqing, which was completely different from his usual attire.
"Fourth brother, you are a little late today." Noticing Yun Yanze glanced at Jiuzhu, Prince Chen pulled Jiuzhu behind him as if no one was around: "You guys go, I will take Miss Ming back to Mingyue Palace."
Back?
Sun Caiyao noticed this word. She looked up at Prince Chen and took Ming Jiuzhu to see Concubine Su Guifei. She used the word "return"?
Even she had heard the stories about the overbearing prince that were popular in the capital in recent days. Perhaps it was because the Prince was too arrogant and domineering on weekdays, and when people saw him on weekdays, they were filled with awe and fear, and had no time to pay attention to his appearance.
It was not until today that Sun Caiyao discovered that Prince Chen had a very handsome face. He almost perfectly inherited all the advantages of the emperor and Concubine Su's facial features. Even when wearing plain clothes, he was still very bold and dazzling.
"Fifth brother, please feel free to do as you please." King Qi retracted his gaze, turned his head and smiled tenderly at Sun Caiyao: "Miss Sun, let's go in."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of clapping from not far away. The King of Qi looked frightened and stepped aside with his head down.
Jiuzhu secretly glanced in the direction where the high-five sound came from, and quickly lowered her head.
It’s the emperor.
Emperor Longfeng saw his two sons getting off the dragon chariot.
Without waiting for his two sons to salute, Emperor Longfeng raised his hand and exempted them from the ceremony: "Why are you all standing in the wind? Aren't you cold?"
The eunuch behind him tactfully brought two cloaks and prepared to help the two princes put them on.
Prince Chen took the cloak and put it on Jiuzhu directly, then turned to Emperor Longfeng and said, "Father, why didn't you bring two cloaks that girls can wear when you go out? Look, they are all dragging on the ground."
King Qi looked down at the cloak he had just put on, then glanced at Sun Caiyao beside him, and his hands, which were adjusting the cloak, stiffened slightly.
Emperor Longfeng was amused by his words: "This is a new cloak sent by the Palace Department. I haven't worn it yet, but you are complaining about it."
Jiuzhu was wrapped in a furry cloak, with only half of her little face showing. She pulled the cloak twice with her hands, like a little turtle trapped in a shell.
Seeing her like this, Prince Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu heard Prince Chen laughing at her and her eyes widened, looking at him pitifully.
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at others." Prince Chen coughed dryly and helped Jiuzhu fix her cloak, finally revealing her entire face.
Jiuzhu muttered quietly: "Your Highness, this lie is not clever at all."
Even a fool could tell that he was laughing at her.
Emperor Longfeng pretended not to notice the two young men whispering to each other. He turned to look at Prince Qi and said, "Yan Ze, your wedding is coming soon, so it is not appropriate to see the mourners. You can pay your respects outside the palace and then go back."
"Yes, father." Prince Qi bowed.
His wedding with Sun Caiyao was to take place in seven days, and Concubine Yang's death at this critical moment seemed to add an ominous shadow to the wedding.
However, the wedding date was already set by Qin Tianjian, and changing it would be unlucky. Both he and the Sun family could only pretend not to care about Yangpin. Fortunately, Yangpin was not of high rank, so her funeral was not grand.
My mother said that my father was reluctant to hold a grand funeral for Concubine Yang because he was concerned about his upcoming marriage to Sun Caiyao.
He didn't know whether what his mother said was true or not, but since his father mentioned the wedding now, it at least showed that he cared about it.
"Du Qing, where are you going with the little girl from the Ming family?" Seeing that the two children were still whispering, Emperor Longfeng simply interrupted them.
"Father, I am going to take Miss Ming... to Mingyue Palace to change clothes." Prince Chen put his hands behind his back, with an expression that said, "I'm just taking care of the girl."
"It just so happens that I also have to go to your mother's place. You two should accompany me." Emperor Longfeng glanced at the spirit banners hanging outside the mourning hall, quickly retracted his gaze, and never looked at the mourning hall again.
"If you ride on a sedan chair, your son and Miss Ming will not be able to catch up with you even if we walk." Prince Chen looked down at Jiuzhu's large and long cloak and said shamelessly, "How about you show your favor and let your son and Miss Ming ride on a sedan chair as well?"
"You have loved to be lazy since you were little." Emperor Longfeng smiled helplessly and said, "Let's go, let the two of you sit in the sedan chair."
"Thank you, Father."
When Jiuzhu saw the King thanking her, she quickly knelt down and saluted to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Prince Chen reached out and grabbed her arm, fearing that she would fall to the ground.
Soon, a powerful eunuch brought sedan chairs. The Prince helped Jiuzhu sit on one of the sedan chairs before turning to the other one.
Emperor Long Feng watched this scene with a smile. This arrogant child also knew how to care about the little girl.
"Farewell, father." The Prince of Qi bowed and watched the imperial procession leave. Then he took off his cloak and handed it to the eunuch who was accompanying him.
“Your Highness…”
"I'm not cold." He turned and looked at Sun Caiyao tenderly: "Miss Sun, after you burn incense, I'll take you back home."
Looking into the gentle eyes of the King of Qi, Sun Caiyao smiled shyly: "Thank you, Your Highness."
The sedan chair stopped at Mingyue Palace. Prince Chen walked out of the sedan chair in a leisurely manner and extended his arm to Jiuzhu: "Help me walk."
The palace maid standing beside him silently took a step back. Your Highness should just pretend that she doesn't exist.
Jiuzhu held the Prince's arm, stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear: "Your Highness, I feel a little hot."
Prince Chen glanced at Emperor Longfeng who was walking in front of him and said, "Just bear with it for now. I'll help you take it off once we get into the house."
Jiuzhu nodded quickly and quickened her pace unconsciously.
Concubine Su was dozing off in the room. When she saw the three men coming in, she stood up with a smile. Emperor Longfeng quickly stepped forward and held her hand without letting her salute.
"Why did your Majesty bring Du Qing and Jiu Zhu here together?"
"We met them both on the road and brought them here." Emperor Longfeng took Concubine Su by the hand and sat down on the Concubine's couch.
Concubine Su Gui took a look at the clothes they were wearing and knew where they had gone.
"I brought Miss Ming to your place to eat." Prince Chen helped Jiuzhu take off her heavy cloak and handed it to the maidservant beside her: "By the way, please find some clothes suitable for the little girl for her to change into."
Concubine Su smiled and said, "I was wondering why you came here. It turns out you wanted to eat and drink for free. If Jiuzhu hadn't come today, I wouldn't have kept you. For Jiuzhu's sake, I'll let you have a meal."
Jiuzhu knew that the Royal Concubine was joking, so she covered her mouth and laughed secretly. However, because she had not changed her plain clothes yet, she did not dare to get close to the Royal Concubine.
"Xiangxian, take Jiuzhu to wash and change clothes." Concubine Su stood up and walked to Jiuzhu, shaking her hand: "I don't care about those things here. How did you come here in the past? Do the same today."
After saying that, she looked at Prince Chen and said, "Go change your clothes."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave first." Jiuzhu smelled the faint fragrance from the concubine and smiled sweetly at her.
Concubine Su Gui couldn't help but pinch her cheeks. How could there be such a lovely girl?
Xiang Xian brought Jiuzhu into the house and took out a brand new set of clothes: "Miss Ming, this dress was made for you by the Empress at the Palace Department's request. Please try it on to see if it fits you well."
"Thank you, aunt." Jiuzhu put on new clothes, and the maid brought water for her to wash. Xiangshen took out the silver hairpin from her hair and tied her hair up again: "You look really good, young lady."
"It's the beautiful clothes that Your Majesty prepared for me." Jiuzhu smiled at herself in the mirror.
"Beautiful clothes match beautiful women, just right." Xiangshen put down the comb, "Miss, take a look, is there anything inappropriate?"
"Aunt has very skillful hands." Jiuzhu tilted her head, and the hair in her hair swayed slightly.
"Aunt, how is the aunt who fainted a few days ago?" Jiuzhu thought of the palace maid she met with Aunt Xiangjun a few days ago.
Xiang Jin was slightly stunned. She helped Jiuzhu adjust her hairpin and said with a smile, "Don't worry, young lady. She is not in danger of death."
"I'm glad you're okay." Jiuzhu felt relieved. Seeing that the palace maid was covered in blood, she almost thought she could not be saved.
"The girl was kind-hearted. She asked someone to go to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine for her. She woke up the next day after taking the medicine." Xiang Jun and Bai Shao each served their own master, and their relationship was not really good, but she could never have imagined that Bai Shao, as the chief maid of Lanxu Palace, would be injured so badly.
In the harem, palace maids dared not say a word when they were injured. There was only one possibility: the one who hurt them was their master.
She did not tell the naive Miss Ming about the secrets of the palace so as not to scare her.
After changing his clothes, Prince Chen walked out the door and happened to meet Jiuzhu who was walking from the opposite side. Looking at the aqua blue dress on her, he nodded with satisfaction, that's right, the little girl looks so good in these colors.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu smiled broadly the moment she saw Prince Chen.
Prince Chen tried to hold back, but finally couldn't help it. He walked up to Jiuzhu and stretched out his hand to pinch the cute-looking hair bun on her head.
"Your Highness, this is the new bun that my aunt specially combed for me." Jiuzhu was very satisfied with the new bun. Seeing His Highness reaching out to pinch it, she felt a little distressed but did not dodge.
"The craftsmanship of the fragrant silk has improved." Seeing Jiuzhu's distressed look, Prince Chen withdrew his hand.
"Your Highness, thank you for your compliment." Xiang Xian smiled, "The young lady is pretty, and she will look good in any hairstyle."
After hearing this, Prince Chen took a step back, looked at Jiuzhu carefully, and nodded thoughtfully. This little girl was indeed very pretty.
Jiuzhu looked at him in confusion. Why was His Highness looking at her in such a strange way?
"Yeah, it's really good."
Just as he finished speaking, he noticed that there were some palace maids secretly looking at him in the corner. When they saw that he had discovered them, they all retracted their heads.
What's wrong with these palace maids today? Each and every one of them seems so weird.
"Fragrant silk." Prince Chen asked, "Are there any strange rumors about me in the palace recently?"
Hearing His Highness' question, Xiang Xian couldn't help but laugh: "There are indeed a few strange rumors, but they didn't come from the palace, they came from outside the palace."
Prince Chen frowned: "Outside the palace?"
Xiang Xian suppressed her smile and nodded: "If your highness is curious, just go to the teahouse outside and you will know."
"Do you know?" Prince Chen looked at Jiuzhu.
Jiuzhu looked down at the tip of her shoe, as if... maybe... possibly... it might have something to do with her?
"Ming Xiaozhu?" Prince Chen squinted at her.
"Your Highness, I know nothing." Jiuzhu shook her head violently: "I haven't heard anything."
"Really don't know?" Prince Chen looked at Jiuzhu with a guilty look on her face and almost laughed out of anger. She almost had the words "I'm lying" written on her face.
Jiuzhu shook her head vigorously.
Oh, she actually lied to the gentle and kind prince.
She is guilty!
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