"What?" The princess almost lost her voice, but her whole body trembled like a leaf, and her eyes turned red in an instant.
"How could this be? Father has always been healthy, how could he suddenly pass away? How could this be? Who sent the message? Where is Mother? How is the household now?"
Granny Qian was already sobbing uncontrollably, and her voice trembled as she said, "It's Granny Xilin from the Madam's side. She was just asking the Fujin for her opinion. The Madam was instigated by those little sluts, Yu and Yi, and she has already fainted."
The princess nearly fainted upon hearing this.
Yu Ru managed to calm herself down and pinched the Fujin's arm again: "Fujin, don't panic. You are the Fujin of a prince. How can you just come back to the manor and make decisions like this? What about the Fujin of young master Xinghui? What about the Fujin of young master Fuchang and Fucun?"
Hearing this, the Fujin managed to compose herself. Supported by Yuru, she steadied herself and continued, "Yes, that's exactly right. Yuru is right. The household cannot be left unattended. The Second Prince is still ill, and the concubine is pregnant; they all need constant care. I cannot return—"
The Fujin closed her eyes, clearly struggling with her inner turmoil: "In that case, Granny Qian doesn't need to serve me here these days. You go back to the manor and help manage things by Mother's side. Yu Ru, you go too, and check on things every other day. Also, have Wang Jinzhong keep in touch with everyone every day."
After finally calming herself down and giving these instructions, the Fujin was exhausted. Yu Ru quickly helped her back to the soft couch to sit down.
"Although I cannot return to the manor, the manor must not be in chaos. Tomorrow, the matron will personally return with my nameplate, so that everyone in the manor will remain calm. By the way, Father's health has always been quite robust, how could he suddenly—pass away?"
The princess first made arrangements for the servants around her, and then she thought about her father's sudden death.
The relationship between the Fujin and her father, Fiyanggu, was not deep. She had several older brothers and younger brothers, and the Fujin was caught in the middle. Moreover, she was born when her father had many wives and concubines, so she was even less valued by him.
From a young age, she was carefully cared for by her mother, Lady Gioro. It was only after her husband was betrothed to the Fourth Prince that Fei Yanggu began to pay more attention to her.
The reason why the Fujin was flustered just now was because her father had passed away, so she lost the support of her maternal family, which was what made her most flustered.
More than Ama's passing, she was concerned about her future.
Granny Qian slowly stopped crying: "It was an old injury sustained during the suppression of Galdan's rebellion. Last year, when we went north, Master's leg ailment flared up. These past few days, with the autumn weather turning cooler, his chronic leg pain flared up again. This morning, he fell and hurt a vital spot. Before the imperial physician could even arrive, Master—Master passed away—"
The princess closed her eyes, never expecting this to be the case. She gritted her teeth, her voice trembling, "How are the people around Father serving him?"
The perfectly healthy Minister of the Imperial Guard died inexplicably in his own residence—
Granny Qian kept her head bowed low, unable to utter a word.
The princess held Yu Ru's hand and breathed slowly, clearly still somewhat dazed by the news.
"Go, have Wang Jinzhong invite Fourth Master and inform him first. Then—do as I said before. Get up quickly, Granny. Right now, the only people I can trust are you and Yuru. Thank you for your hard work these past few days. When your grandson is about to start school, I will personally find him an old scholar to be his tutor. Yuru, you too, I will definitely arrange a good marriage for you in the future."
Yu Ru quickly curtsied and said she dared not.
Only then did Granny Qian get up as instructed, finally calming down.
The death of Master Fei Yanggu was nothing short of a devastating blow to the Ulanara clan. Granny Qian, an old servant in the Ulanara household, was understandably shocked and disoriented upon hearing such news.
Now that she had calmed down, she was still a little embarrassed. She apologized and quickly comforted the princess: "Princess, please don't be too sad and hurt yourself. I will do my best to handle things in the manor. But you can't leave me alone. Miss Yuru, you don't need to go back and forth to the manor. This old servant and Jinzhong will take care of it."
After giving all these instructions, the princess was already too exhausted to think about anything else. She was feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and in the end, she just waved her hand dismissively.
"Let everything be arranged by Granny. I'm a little tired right now and want to rest for a while."
Indeed, at this moment, the princess's face had turned deathly pale.
Even the most indifferent and cold-hearted person would find it difficult to accept such a sudden reality.
Qian Mama's eyes welled up with tears again, but she knew in her heart that this was not the time to shed tears. She could only raise her hand to cover her face with her handkerchief and respectfully bow: "Princess Madam, please rest assured that everything in the mansion is in order. This old servant will accompany you to arrange the master's funeral."
Exhausted, the Princess Consort raised her hand again, signaling that Granny Qian could leave.
——
The princess did not try to hide it, after all, this was no small matter. By evening, almost everyone in the household knew that the princess's father, Fei Yanggu, had passed away.
Li Chenjiao didn't say much after receiving the news. She just asked Qiu Hu to put away all the brightly colored clothes in her autumn wardrobe. It wasn't that she respected the Fujin's father that much, but rather that she was being a little cautious.
It must be said, however, that this really came very suddenly.
The Fourth Prince returned in the evening. It is said that although he did not go to the Ulanara family mansion in person, he still sent Su Peisheng, who was by his side, to visit and comfort her.
Naturally, the Fourth Prince also stayed in the main courtyard of his wife that night.
Li Chenjiao wasn't surprised by this. For the Fujin, this matter came suddenly, and it would indeed be too cold-hearted of the Fourth Prince not even to look at it.
Because of the sudden death of the Fujin (Prince Consort) and her father, Fei Yanggu, the excitement of the Fourth Prince's return to the mansion finally subsided. Everyone was on edge, afraid of angering the Fujin and incurring her wrath.
However, although the Fujin did not leave the mansion to personally oversee the affairs of the Ulanara clan, she still couldn't help but keep an eye on Fei Yanggu's funeral arrangements at the Ulanara clan's residence.
Fortunately, His Majesty found out later and specially instructed the Imperial Household Department to help share some of the burden; otherwise, the Princess Consort would have been in even more trouble for a while.
However, the Fujin is busy enough right now, and she doesn't have much free time to worry about Li Chenjiao's pregnancy.
The princess's lips and tongue were dry all day long, and she didn't even have time to ask a single question.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com