After saying that, she walked out.
The door closed again, blocking out the faint morning light.
Outside the door, the Third Princess once again instructed the guards, "The Prince Consort is weak and needs to rest quietly. No one is allowed to visit him or disturb his peace."
"Yes, Princess," the guards responded in unison.
The Third Princess, supported by Caiyun's hand, walked out gracefully, as if she hadn't heard the sound of shattering coming from inside the house at all...
Inside and outside the palace, all the colors had faded last night, replaced by a pure white world.
Inside the new capital, all officials of the fifth rank and above wore mourning clothes, bowed their heads, and lined up outside the gate.
Although everyone already knew the Empress had passed away and that her body was probably already rotting, they all put on a dramatic act, pretending to be surprised.
Occasionally, a highly experienced official, with a mixture of surprise and sorrow, his eyes reddening, would make one secretly want to applaud and cheer for his dedication.
The women of the third rank and above lined up not far behind the officials, also dressed in mourning clothes, without any jewelry, their hair simply tied up with wooden hairpins.
With the addition of carriages and attendants from various families, there were as many as eight or nine hundred people gathered at the palace gate.
Even a fool would know not to stand out at this moment.
So, the crowd thronged, yet remained completely silent.
Soon, Steward Yi came out personally and led everyone inside to pay their respects and mourn.
The court officials knelt on the white marble square, while the noblewomen went to the Kunning Palace.
The normally clean and smooth white marble became like an oven in this weather, roasting the knees of all the court officials like meat.
Of course, when kowtowing, you also need to show your forehead with a red mark!
Inevitably, people began to envy the noblewomen in Kunning Palace.
In fact, the women of noble birth were also suffering terribly at this moment!
In such hot weather, unless the body is frozen in ice, there's no way to guarantee its preservation.
After so much time had passed, and countless cartloads of ice had been used, the Queen was still slowly rotting and becoming unrecognizable.
The noblewomen kneeling in the courtyard not only had to perform rituals and bow, enduring the scorching sun, but also had to suffer from the "poisonous gas," to the point that they almost wished they could just faint.
Jiayin knelt in the front row with her grandmother, suffering even more.
Fortunately, they were well-prepared.
When Jiayin left home in the morning, she gave herself and her grandmother two injections to temporarily block their sense of smell.
She also had frozen plum juice hidden in her bosom, and the plain purse tied around her waist contained medicinal herbs to remove impurities.
But even the best-laid plans can have flaws; the stench of decay was unbearable!
The grandmother and grandson didn't even need to wipe their eyes with a handkerchief soaked in ginger juice; their eyes were already red and swollen...
Jiayin calculated the time and realized that most of the morning had passed, so she quietly comforted her grandmother.
"Grandma, hang in there a little longer, we should be able to rest soon."
Grandma Li waved her hand weakly and secretly moved her legs to improve blood circulation in her knees.
"Don't worry, I can still manage. Don't speak, or someone might use it against you for being disrespectful."
Jiayin nodded, but couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Royals have always been the biggest hypocrites.
For the sake of the so-called greater good, the empress's body was allowed to rot here, and the news of her death was kept secret. No one thought that doing so was disrespectful to the deceased.
However, if the court officials and noblewomen who mourn at the funeral show the slightest dissatisfaction or negligence, they deserve to die!
After kneeling for a while, Jiayin pretended that her legs were numb and tilted her body. Taking this opportunity, she secretly slipped a mint from her sleeve and quickly stuffed it into her grandmother's mouth.
The cool and sweet taste instantly revitalized Grandma Li, and when she looked at her granddaughter with a reproachful expression, a smile couldn't help but appear in her eyes.
As Jiayin quietly stuck out her tongue and was about to stuff a piece into her own mouth, she heard someone next to her quietly gagging.
She gently turned her head to look over and saw an elderly woman with white hair, older than her own grandmother.
Perhaps it was too hot, and the stench was too strong, the old woman was finding it hard to bear, but she dared not keep gagging, which made her look even more pitiful and wretched.
Jiayin hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist her soft heart and gently tossed her a mint.
A peppermint candy landed on the old woman's skirt, startling her.
Jiayin coughed lightly, and the old woman understood. She immediately picked up the mint and put it in her mouth without making a sound.
The old woman stopped gagging after a short while.
Grandma Li saw all this and wanted to say something, but in the end she kept quiet and didn't blame her granddaughter for meddling...
At this moment, a young eunuch suddenly pushed through the crowd, quickly walked up to Old Madam Li, and whispered, "Old Madam Li, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Princess are considerate of your advanced age and have specially invited you to the side hall to chant scriptures and pray for the Empress."
After saying that, he smiled and bowed to Jiayin, adding, "Princess, please come to the side hall as well, so you can take care of the old lady nearby."
Jiayin was overjoyed, but when she looked up at the gazes of the crowd, she hesitated.
The problem is not scarcity, but inequality.
At times like this, everyone else is out in the sun, but the grandmother and granddaughter are the only ones who can rest. It's too conspicuous and arouses envy.
Of course, everyone knows that the Crown Prince grew up in Broken Gold Beach, and the Princess is as close to her as a sister, but this is not the time to reason with her...
Grandma Li also didn't get up, clearly out of consideration for this.
Seeing this, the young eunuch quickly moved to the white-haired old woman next to him and said, "Madam of the Duke of Zhenguo, the Crown Prince also invites you to the side hall to pray for blessings together."
Before the Duchess of Zhenguo could respond, he hurried off to another place.
Within moments, almost all the elderly ladies in the courtyard received extra care.
Jealousy and envy naturally disappear.
The old women got up one after another and followed the young eunuch to the side hall.
Jiayin helped her grandmother walk at the back, but they were stopped again before entering the house and led to a side room not far away.
The Crown Prince and the Third Princess were sitting opposite each other drinking tea, both dressed in mourning clothes, but neither of them showed any sadness.
Upon seeing the Li family grandfather and grandson, the two stood up and took a few steps to greet them.
Old Lady Li quickly pulled Jiayin to kneel down and pay her respects, but the Third Princess helped her up.
"Madam, there's no need for such formality. I invited you in precisely because I couldn't bear to see you suffer. If you keep kneeling around, it'll all be for nothing."
The Crown Prince also said, "Yes, Madam, please have a seat."
Grandma Li was too exhausted to refuse, so she sat down and rested for a while before drinking half a cup of herbal tea and feeling much better.
When Jiayin saw that apart from Caiyun, even Eunuch Feng was not in the room, she became even less polite.
She drank two cups of cold tea in one go, then grabbed the Third Princess's fan and waved it vigorously for a long while before asking, "Doesn't Your Highness the Crown Prince need to go to the front? And Princess, when noblewomen come to offer their condolences and mourn, don't you need to show up?"
A hint of sorrow flashed in the Third Princess's eyes, and a mocking smile played on her lips as she replied.
"People have been dead for so many days, and now you're only starting to cry? What's there to cry about? My mother's death is a relief; she should be reborn into an ordinary, wealthy family to enjoy a good life."
The Crown Prince was embarrassed, since keeping the death a secret was the Emperor's decision, but ultimately he benefited the most.
Jiayin quickly changed the subject, asking, "Didn't we say we were copying scriptures? Here, get paper and pen ready. I'll copy one before lunch!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com