Chapter 425: Queen's Death
That night, the Emperor of Chu dealt with all the matters.
Prince Yi was naturally detained in a secret room temporarily. The Emperor of Great Chu would never let any of Shen Ning's affairs be revealed.
One is for the royal family's face, and the other is for the Shen family's face.
On the second day, news came out from the Jinxiu Palace.
Empress Shen Ning was stabbed by an assassin a few days ago and was poisoned. After several days of treatment, there was no effect and she has passed away.
The news spread in the harem.
The Emperor of Great Chu immediately ordered Meng Quande to go to the Shen Mansion to bring Lord Shen and Madam Shen to the palace.
Madam Shen looked at the lifeless empress in front of her, her eyes filled with sorrow.
She held the Queen's hand tightly, as if she could still feel her vitality.
Naturally, the person she held in her hand was Cheng.
Song Qingyan had been standing beside Madam Shen with Lu Xingwan. She wanted to go forward and comfort her, but she couldn't open her mouth, so she remained silent.
Song Qingyan actually still felt a little guilty.
I always felt that I had not told Mrs. Shen the truth and that I had deceived her.
It was Lu Xingwan's words that woke her up.
[Mother, please don't be too careless and think about telling Madam Shen the truth.]
[You think that for Mrs. Shen, it is easier for her to accept that her daughter was murdered and buried in the suburbs for more than a year.]
[Or should I die as a queen with dignity like I am doing now?]
Song Qingyan suddenly woke up.
Wanwan is very good at observing people's words and expressions. Sometimes Song Qingyan even wonders if Wanwan can hear her own thoughts.
Madam Shen did not shed tears. After a long silence, she turned to look at Song Qingyan: "Your Majesty, don't worry about Sister Ning..."
Having said this, Mrs. Shen turned around to look at "Shen Ning" who was lying quietly on the bed, and did not finish the next words.
She didn't know why, but ever since Shen Ning entered the palace, she felt as if she had lost her daughter.
I have also cried at home in the lonely night.
Now that I'm facing her death, I feel less sad.
Naturally, Shen Xiao got the news first and rushed back to the capital from the border. For safety reasons, Marquis Dingguo specially asked Song Zhuo to accompany him back to the capital.
The Emperor of Great Chu attached great importance to this matter. Not only did he catch the murderer as soon as possible, he also ordered a grand funeral for the empress.
The murderer was naturally "King Yi".
Prince Yi had been poisoned and rendered mute by the Emperor of Great Chu a long time ago, so it was naturally impossible for him to utter a word now.
Two days after the news of the Queen's poisoning came out, Prince Yi was beheaded in Caishikou for public display.
Perhaps everyone put all their attention on the Queen, and no one cared about the beheading of Prince Yi.
Three days later, Shen Xiao returned to the capital. According to the original plan, "Shen Ning" was buried in the imperial mausoleum, and the Emperor of Great Chu did hold a grand funeral for her.
As for the person who was buried, it was naturally the real Shen Ning.
As for Cheng, the Emperor of Chu ordered her to have her face secretly disfigured and then throw her into a mass burial mound.
The matter has finally come to an end.
But this incident had a significant impact in the harem.
On the second day after the empress's burial, Song Qingyan went to the empress dowager's palace early in the morning.
The Queen Mother has always been very fond of the Empress, so the Emperor of Great Chu and Song Qingyan did not intend to tell the Queen Mother about the previous carpet incident, including the Empress's true identity.
It also maintains the image of the real Shen Ning in the eyes of the Queen Mother.
As expected, the Queen Mother's condition today was indeed much worse than in previous days. She didn't even get out of bed today and just lay in bed refusing to get up.
"Grandmother..." Lu Xingwan came to the Queen Mother with great pity, wanting to rub against her.
[The Empress Dowager is so pitiful, she has always been deceived by Cheng.]
[However, fortunately, she is a good girl in the eyes of the Royal Grandmother, which also allows the Royal Grandmother to maintain a good impression of Shen Ning. ]
[If the truth of the matter were known, I’m afraid the Empress Dowager would really not be able to bear it! ]
Seeing the cute and lovely Lu Xingwan, the Queen Mother smiled and said, "We are here Wanwan."
Song Qingyan quickly spoke to comfort her, "Empress Dowager, the dead cannot be resurrected, and the Queen's death is truly unpredictable."
"Fortunately, your majesty caught the murderer in time and brought him to justice."
The Queen Mother was indeed extremely sad: "Shen Ning has only been in the palace for less than a year, and she has passed away like this. How can we be worthy of the Dali Temple Minister's family?"
Song Qingyan patted the Queen Mother's hand and soothed her softly, "Lord Shen and Madam Shen have already left the palace. His Majesty has specially allowed them to enter the palace to keep vigil."
"The Queen treated the Queen Mother so well when she was alive, she would not want to make her sad."
"Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself."
The Queen Mother nodded, and her mood seemed to improve a little.
Lu Xingwan and Song Qingyan stayed with the Queen Mother in Rongle Palace for an afternoon before returning to Qingyun Palace.
When they returned to Qingyun Palace, Concubine Lan and Concubine Wen were already waiting for Song Qingyan.
When Song Qingyan saw them, she smiled and joked, "Two sisters, is there no dinner in your palace? So you come to me?"
Concubine Lan naturally smiled and replied, "Since you returned to the palace, I have been busy running around and I don't have time to talk to you properly."
"Now this matter has come to an end."
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the cause of the empress's death was definitely not what His Majesty stated in the imperial edict, that she was assassinated by a member of Chengguo's royal family, but there were other reasons.
But everyone kept silent about the matter, leaving it as a foregone conclusion.
Concubine Wen, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up after hearing what Concubine Lan said: "I used to think that the empress was a scheming person, but now that she is gone, I realize that she was just a little girl who wanted to win favor."
[Does Concubine Wen really not know? 】
[Isn't Concubine Wen a princess of the Dali Kingdom? Are the vigilance of the harem struggles so low? ]
[It seems that Concubine Wen was also a child who grew up in a honey pot! ]
Song Qingyan did not take up the topic, but just grabbed Concubine Wen's hand and patted it: "It's over, Sister Wen, don't think about it anymore."
After saying this, Song Qingyan turned to look at Concubine Lan and said, "But now that the Empress is gone, I'm afraid the responsibility of managing the six palaces will fall on Sister Lan again."
Knowing that Song Qingyan had always been unwilling to get involved in these matters, Concubine Lan did not insist on dragging her into it. She just smiled and nodded at her: "You have always been a lazy person."
"Now that the queen is gone, I'm afraid the court officials will be busy again."
Song Qingyan shook her head: "I guess not."
"Why do you say that, sister?" Concubine Wen asked in surprise.
"My sister died of illness."
"Shen Ning's current life is not a happy one."
Concubine Wen nodded and continued, "If the court officials insist on your majesty taking a queen, it will also be inappropriate."