When Wu received the news and went to check on him, her son Hongming had already passed away.
He was such a smart and sensible child.
When she was one year old, she started to speak, and the word "Ama" came out loud and clear. When she was learning to walk, even if she fell down, she rarely cried and stumbled all the way to her arms.
This was her first child, the child who came into her life smoothly, the child who was always healthy, and her only source of hope.
He was so small. When she went to the front yard to pick up Hongming at noon, he still said in a silly way that he would read to her. How come... he never smiles again?
Wu could not suppress her sobs. With each breath, her nasal cavity seemed to be filled with the smell of blood. Her teeth chattered, her head spun, and everything went black before her eyes.
She closed her eyes, and in her hazy state, she vaguely saw that autumn four years ago when she met Huai Hongming.
It was November. The eldest prince was very well-behaved in her womb. The osmanthus flowers in the courtyard seemed to be fading. Every time the imperial physician came to check her pulse, she could faintly hear the chirping of cicadas. She was so looking forward to the birth of the eldest prince.
The eldest prince's fourth birthday had just passed... Wu Hehui still remembered the promise she made to the eldest prince on his birthday: if the master returned and the eldest prince received praise from the master, she would allow the eldest prince to play in the garden for an extra half hour every day, and she would personally accompany him.
Wu coughed twice suddenly: "Mother's Hongming..."
Unfortunately, those promises can no longer be fulfilled.
A single tear rolled down her cheek. Wu Shi trembled all over, curled up in her knees, buried her head in them, and said, word by word, "Hongming, don't worry, your mother will definitely avenge you. No matter who it is."
She hated the useless servants, but she hated Hongming even more for plotting against her behind her back.
She didn't believe it was an accident. Her eldest prince wasn't stupid; would he really go into the pool on his own?
Whoever it is...
When Wu raised her hand again, her expression returned to its former calmness, only the red marks at the corners of her eyes indicated her unease. She raised her hand to wipe away the endless tears, and finally simply closed her eyes.
The next day, the Imperial Clan Court learned of the prince's passing. They first made annotations on the imperial genealogy and then sent it to His Majesty. His Majesty was busy, but he finally had time to hear Liang Jiugong's account around noon. He pondered for a moment.
"Have the Imperial Household Department handle this together. Isn't the Fourth Prince's eldest son involved?" The Emperor asked, while also looking at the urgent report from Dezhou.
Liang Jiugong said, "It was the eldest prince born to the princess. I heard he drowned. The Fourth Prince sent someone to check on him today, but the news hasn't come back yet."
His Majesty waved his hand: "If the backyard is filthy, then clean it up directly."
Liang Jiugong hesitated for two seconds: "Yes... This time, the accompanying party consists of Consort Li and two princesses. There aren't many people left in the mansion."
This is the art of Liang Jiugong's speech. He only mentioned who was not at the residence when the eldest prince was traveling with him, but he did not mention who was at the fourth prince's residence when the eldest prince had his accident.
The Emperor was already displeased with urgent reports, and upon hearing Liang Jiugong's words, he snorted coldly, "All of them are restless. None of them are easy to deal with."
The Emperor did not explicitly name anyone when he said this, and Liang Jiugong simply lowered his head even further.
After a moment, the Emperor crumpled the urgent report in his hand into a ball and asked, "What else did the Fourth Prince do today?"
Liang Jiugong replied, "I only summoned the imperial physician and inquired with the head of the Imperial Household Department about the funeral arrangements. As for the Ministry of Revenue... I requested leave."
The Emperor remained silent for a long time, then raised his hand.
Liang Jiugong understood and opened the pile of memorials that stood to the side.
When His Majesty had finished reviewing half of the memorial, he suddenly said, "When the general election comes next year, I will have Consort De take the lead in choosing two more suitable women for the Fourth Prince's harem."
Before Baoqing, now known as Prince Zhi, grew up safely, His Majesty's harem had lost many children. But once a child was gone, another would come.
The Emperor wouldn't blame the fourth prince; he only thought the people in the fourth prince's backyard were useless.
His Majesty has more pressing matters to attend to right now. He closed the memorial and tapped the table lightly: "Summon Longkodo to the Southern Study for a meeting."
The matter of the Fourth Master losing his son was glossed over lightly by him.
At the residence, Li Chenjiao was summoned to the palace by Consort De early in the morning.
While the Princess Consort was busy with the eldest prince's funeral, Li Chenjiao happened to see Su Peisheng personally leading several imperial physicians into the mansion when she left.
When Consort De arrived at Yonghe Palace, she greeted Li Chenjiao with the same indifferent attitude, asking if she had been well at the imperial palace before asking, "Things haven't been very peaceful in the manor these days?"
Li Chenjiao stood to the side and humbly agreed.
Consort De hummed in agreement: "You were personally appointed as a secondary consort by the Fourth Prince. Now that there are many things to do in the household, you, as a secondary consort, should no longer shirk your duties. I have no other requests than to see the Fourth Prince's harem peaceful and quiet. Li Shi, do you understand what I mean?"
Li Chenjiao was silent for a moment, then repeated "yes".
Consort De looked at Li Chenjiao and said, "The death of the First Prince has been a great blow to the Fourth Prince. You have always been wise, so it is your duty to make him happy. As for the rest, the Fourth Prince and I will settle the score."
Li Chenjiao agreed again.
Consort De looked at her and said, "The Fourth Prince can walk now, right? Bring him to the palace for me to see during the Golden Festival. If anything happens, send someone to the palace to report back."
Consort De had doubts in mind when she summoned Li Chenjiao today. She suspected the Fujin (the primary consort), but she also suspected others, including Li Chenjiao, the secondary Fujin.
After Li Chenjiao left Yonghe Palace, Granny Zhao came in from outside carrying a wide-mouthed Ruyang celadon vase with a few simple flowers inside.
Consort De fiddled with one of the flowers: "The flower is too tender; I'm afraid it won't last long."
Granny Zhao advised, "There will always be new ones."
Consort De plucked that flower: "It is indeed different. It's a pity, it's also because I didn't take good care of it."
Even Granny Zhao couldn't help but sigh: "There's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days, only to be a thief for a thousand days. Even the most meticulous plans can have oversights."
Consort De put the flower back in the vase and said, "Take good care of it. What if it comes back to life? Don't let it grow crooked."
Granny Zhao respectfully agreed.
When Li Chenjiao returned to the mansion, Xiao Luzi reported again: "The imperial physician and the coroner have examined him and said that the eldest prince drowned after choking on water. There were slight signs of struggle, but there were no injuries on his body."
That must have been a real accident?
To be honest, Li Chenjiao really didn't believe in the idea of an accident.
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