The following day, the Crown Prince brought Hongxi to Yonghe Palace and asked Hongxi to explain things to Consort De in person.
"Greetings to Consort De!" The Crown Prince remained respectful before Consort De. After all, Consort De was a concubine entrusted with important responsibilities by Emperor Kangxi and was the head of the four consorts. Although Emperor Kangxi had not explicitly stated it, Consort De's position among the four consorts was still the first, which was an indisputable fact.
"Your Highness, no need for formalities! Please sit down!" Consort De greeted politely, glancing a few more times at the child following behind the Crown Prince—Hongxi.
"Your Majesty, I will not sit today. I have no face to sit before you. Because of Hongxi, Hongjun slipped and fell into Jieyu Abyss. This is why Hongjun is gone, and I am deeply grieved." The Crown Prince spoke, almost in tears. Hongxi beside him was already sobbing uncontrollably. He was so shocked, and with so many people asking him about what happened at Jieyu Abyss, that Hongxi seemed somewhat dazed.
"Hongxi greets Demafa. It's all Hongxi's fault. I shouldn't have fooled around with Hongjun, and I shouldn't have gone to Jieyu Abyss, which led to him slipping and drowning. Hongxi knows his sins are grave, and I beg Demafa to punish him!" Hongxi cried as he spoke to Defei. He was only a twelve-year-old child, and after such repeated blows, he seemed incredibly fragile.
“Granny De, go and help Hongxi. It was just an accident, Hongxi didn’t want it to happen. Your Highness, there’s no need to blame yourself too much. No one wanted to see Hongjun get into trouble, but he was just so unlucky. It’s already a miracle that Hongxi escaped this calamity. Your father will be very sad when he finds out, but thankfully one of them was saved, otherwise your father would be even more grief-stricken,” Consort De said.
"Thank you for your understanding, Consort De." The Crown Prince cupped his hands and said, "I heard that my fourth brother is with Consort De. May I apologize to him in person? In any case, Hongjun's matter is related to Hongxi. My fourth brother and I are very close, and I really don't want to become estranged because of this. I would like to talk to him in person."
Consort De quickly said, "Your fourth brother is too heartbroken and hasn't gotten up yet. Why don't you let him think about it himself?"
These words were spoken very tactfully, and how could the Crown Prince not understand them! Immediately, he cupped his hands and said to Consort De, "Let me and Hongxi see Hongjun off!"
"The Crown Prince is the heir apparent and should not be taken lightly. Hongxi is already too frightened to withstand any further shock! It would be better to burn some paper money in the palace and offer prayers!"
"What Consort De said is very true! I will take Hongxi back to pay my respects right away!" The Crown Prince's words were just a casual remark, and he had only spoken so far.
"Your Highness, please return!" said Consort De.
As the Crown Prince and Hongxi stepped out of the main hall of Yonghe Palace, the Fourth Prince emerged from his hiding place! He had overheard the conversation between Consort De and the Crown Prince.
“Mother!” Fourth Master said.
"Fourth Prince, it was the right thing for you not to come out! There's no point in questioning the Crown Prince now; you won't find anything out!" Consort De said.
"Yes, that's why I'm holding back! I'll wait until I find out who's behind Shi Junyan before I go!" Fourth Master said.
After Hongjun's body lay in state for a day in the Fourth Prince's front courtyard, the funeral was held. Because Emperor Kangxi and several princes were not in the capital, Hongjun's funeral was conducted quickly. Furthermore, since he was just a child and not yet of age, the ceremony was not elaborate.
When Emperor Kangxi and his entourage, far away in Rehe, learned of what had happened in the palace, they posthumously conferred upon Hongjun the title of Beizi and ordered that the Fourth Prince bury him with the rites due to a Beizi. Hongjun was finally laid to rest, and Lanqin followed the Fourth Prince in handling his funeral arrangements. Only after everything was completed could Lanqin finally rest.
"My lady, please rest. These past few days, I've been busy with the Third Prince's funeral arrangements and haven't had a proper night's sleep," said Cui Niang.
"Hmm, I'm really sleepy. Sigh. Quite a few people have come. And that's even with Father Emperor, Third Prince, Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, and Tenth Prince all absent." Lanqin's face looked ashen, clearly from not having slept well for several days.
“Although they are not here, our master has many officials he is on good terms with. So many family members have come to pay their respects, it must be exhausting,” said Cui Niang.
"Alas, this is all I can do for Hongjun. I never expected that he would actually do this!" Lanqin knew that Hongjun had not been raised, but she never expected that he would drown in the palace.
“It’s all fate. Perhaps the Third Prince is destined for this. Your Highness, you don’t need to be too sad. The Fourth Princess, the Fifth Princess, and the Sixth Prince are still waiting for your care,” said Cui Niang.
"I know. Go wash your face with water, then go get some sleep," Lanqin said.
Just after Cui Niang left, Fourth Master came in, lifting the corner of his robe, and bumped into Cui Niang.
"My master is in his bedroom and has asked me to fetch some water for him to wash his face," Cui Niang said immediately.
Fourth Master gestured for her to go, while he himself walked towards Lanqin's bedroom. He knew that Lanqin and Madam Nian had been taking care of the families who had come from various households these past few days, and they had been quite tired.
"The water's gone so quickly..." Lanqin was sitting in front of her dressing table when she heard footsteps and immediately turned around.
"You haven't had dinner yet, are you going to bed so soon?" Fourth Master said.
"My lord, I am truly exhausted. I just want to sleep. If you would like dinner, you can simply have Chef Niu prepare it for you," Lanqin said to the Fourth Prince. She didn't know exactly what the Fourth Prince had asked when he entered the palace that day, but in any case, Hongjun's death was ruled as an accidental drowning.
"I'm a little tired too, so I wanted to come here to rest for a while, is that not allowed?" Fourth Master said, slightly "hurt" when he saw that Lanqin was trying to send him away.
Seeing the Fourth Prince's submissive demeanor, Lanqin couldn't bring herself to be tough, so she said, "I have no intention of kicking you out. If you're tired, let's take a short rest together."
Cui Niang brought water and helped Lanqin and Fourth Master wash their faces, then helped them remove their outer clothes and loosen their hair. Then they went to bed together. Because it was almost May, the weather was quite hot. It wasn't time to use an ice basin yet, so Fourth Master and Lanqin felt a little warm lying in bed together.
"Your Majesty, did the Third Prince really fall into the water by accident?" Lanqin asked, lying next to the Fourth Prince with her eyes closed.
The Fourth Prince did not answer Lanqin's question immediately, but remained silent for a while before saying, "I have always had doubts about the Third Prince's matter, but this is all I can do for now."
Lanqin sighed and said, "Master, go to sleep. When you are able to take charge of the Third Prince's affairs in the future, you will give him justice."
Fourth Master was surprised that Lanqin understood him so well, and couldn't help but raise his hand to support Lanqin.
"Stop fooling around! Go to sleep!" Lanqin muttered.
"Hmm. Go to sleep!" Fourth Master said.
The two of them soon fell asleep, they were both too exhausted. The three days of funeral arrangements had drained Fourth Master and Lanqin, and now they slept in each other's arms.
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