"His words were that Princess Rong and Prince Rong passed away within a month of each other?" the Empress Dowager asked softly, turning her head.
Gu Jiangli and the Empress Dowager stood under a large tree. Looking up, they could see Prince An sitting upright in the house in front of them, copying scriptures.
They were not close to Prince An, so he could not hear their conversation.
The Empress Dowager's gaze remained fixed on Prince An, never wavering for a moment.
Unable to ascertain the meaning behind the Empress Dowager's question, Gu Jiangli went along with it:
"That's what His Majesty said, but is the truth not so?"
The Empress Dowager smiled, but Gu Jiangli couldn't decipher the meaning behind that smile.
"No, no, no, two people died within a month, that's true. But Heng'er didn't tell the whole story. In fact, the royal family held four funerals in that year."
Four games?
Besides Prince Rong and his wife, have any other members of the royal family passed away?
"Yes, four." The Empress Dowager nodded and slowly recounted the events of that year. "Besides Heng'er's elder brother and sister-in-law, there was the late Emperor, and... Heng'er's Empress. They all passed away in the same year, and their deaths were not far apart. Two months after the late Emperor's death, Prince Rong and his wife also passed away, and two months after that, Heng'er's Empress also passed away. In this way, the royal family held four funerals within a year."
The Empress Dowager's eyes darkened slightly, and her expression stiffened considerably. "If I were to say anything more, between those funerals, the royal family also held other important events, such as Heng'er's ascension to the throne and the empress's coronation ceremony."
Gu Jiangli's mind went blank for a moment.
Has such a major change occurred in the royal family in just under half a year?
Could these changes be related to Prince An's scheme?
And then there was the Empress Dowager, whom she hadn't heard much about.
But the timing of her death is too close to that of several other important figures, so perhaps it's related.
"Your Majesty, does this mean that the Empress only reigned for less than half a year before passing away?"
The Empress Dowager turned around to face Gu Jiangli and said:
"Yes, she was Heng'er's wife when he was still a prince. At that time, Heng'er didn't understand anything. The late emperor arranged it for him, and he accepted it. But this girl... sigh, Consort Yun, you can just listen to this and not let outsiders hear it."
"The Empress was in love with Prince Rong. After Prince Rong died, she no longer wanted to live, so she followed him in death. The Emperor kept this a secret from the world, telling the public that the Empress died of illness. Only a few of us knew the truth."
Gu Jiangli's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he showed a rare expression of surprise, as if he had just stumbled upon a shocking piece of gossip.
For a moment, she even forgot about asking for important information, focusing solely on getting the details of the matter.
Royal secrets are more interesting than those folk tales.
The Empress Dowager laughed when she saw her expression, and then said, "You're surprised? Would you be even more surprised if you knew that Heng'er's Empress and Princess Rong's wife are sisters?"
Gu Jiangli's mouth gaped open; without her saying a word, the Empress Dowager could see through her astonishment.
"It would be a wonderful thing if two sisters married two brothers. Unfortunately, the Empress was a few years older than Heng'er and had no romantic feelings for him. She only had eyes for the handsome and talented Prince Rong. The deaths of Prince Rong and Princess Rong were a great blow to her, and she even contemplated suicide."
"This woman just can't tell what's important. She's sitting comfortably on the throne, why is she so preoccupied with love and romance? Heng'er is broad-minded and doesn't care that she has someone else in her heart. He gives her fine clothes, sumptuous food, wealth and honor, and lets her enjoy the supreme status, isn't that enough?"
"The Empress is truly... persistent," Gu Jiangli echoed.
"That would be foolish," the Empress Dowager murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Isn't it good that they chose the right person?"
The Empress Dowager spoke her last words very softly, but Gu Jiangli still heard them.
"Choose the right person? What do you mean by that?" Gu Jiangli laughed jokingly. "Did they have the freedom to choose their husbands back then?"
The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, but did not deny it: "Yes, it is indeed an option."
"To be honest, back then many people were guessing whether Prince Rong or Heng'er would become the next monarch. Many noble families were also betting on it, planning to send their daughters to the side of the prince who might succeed to the throne."
"As long as they choose the right person, the entire family will surely be honored in the future."
"The Su family also came to the late emperor to request that he bestow a marriage upon their daughter."
"When the late emperor saw that the two daughters of the Su family had reached marriageable age, he came up with the absurd idea of marrying the two daughters to the two princes respectively."
"He gave the Su family a choice, letting them decide for themselves which daughter to marry which prince."
"I heard that the final choice was made by the daughter of the Su family herself, or more precisely, by the eldest daughter of the Su family."
"The eldest daughter of the Su family valued Prince Rong's abilities and believed that he was the most likely to eventually ascend the throne, so she chose him. The second daughter, who later became Heng'er's empress, although she liked Prince Rong, had no other choice."
"And so, the Su family's children all married into the royal family, and then..."
The Empress Dowager stopped speaking at this point.
Gu Jiangli asked, seemingly understanding but not quite, "Later, the result was that His Majesty became the Crown Prince, the eldest daughter of the Su family's wishes were dashed, and she unfortunately died in childbirth?"
The Empress Dowager's expression froze, and she shook her head. "Heng'er did not become the Crown Prince. It was only because the late Emperor left a will before his death that Heng'er was chosen to succeed him."
Gu Jiangli's mind went blank for a moment.
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