In the middle of the night, a sudden clap of thunder startled the geese returning south.
I wasn't afraid before, but if I was startled in my sleep, I would inevitably be frightened.
Shu Chengfeng quickly hugged her: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here. What would you do if I weren't here?"
Yan Nangui didn't speak, but just lay on him thinking, "It's only March and it's already thundering?"
With the thunder, the rain intensified.
Jiang Xiang came over and said, "Your Majesty and the Empress, please sleep peacefully. The Seventh Princess hasn't woken up yet."
Yan Nangui grunted and then buried his head.
Shu Chengfeng laughed: "This child is brave."
The next morning, it was a bit cold. When the Seventh Princess came to pay her respects, she was wearing a little jacket with fur trim.
"You're dressed so warmly, your wet nurse really put her heart into it."
"Thank you, Your Highness. It's all what I should do," said Nurse Yan hurriedly.
“You deserve praise for doing well. Over the years, you have served the princess with utmost care and dedication, which I have naturally witnessed.” Yan Nangui smiled.
"Yes, the Imperial Concubine is right. Yan Shi, is that it? I know you too. You did very well. Yunji, reward Nurse Yan with one hundred taels of silver and a pair of prayer beads. She must be even more diligent in the future," Shu Chengfeng said.
The wet nurse, Yan, hurriedly knelt down: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Highness. This servant will do my utmost to serve the Seventh Princess well."
“The other wet nurses also received ten taels of silver and a gold bracelet each. They all did their best,” Yan Nangui said.
Nurse Yan thanked Consort Chen on behalf of others.
Shu Chengfeng is not attending the morning court session today, but he is going to meet a group of people.
However, they also took the Seventh Princess to Nanxun Palace to study.
Now, the princesses who have grown up are all studying here.
Shu Chengfeng returned to Beichen Palace, and then all the officials went to the palace.
Ding Min also came in today.
"Yesterday, the Imperial Concubine praised your daughter for being well-raised, saying that if she had a son, she would have betrothed her to your daughter."
"Your Highness is too kind. It's all thanks to her mother's excellent upbringing. I'm just a rough man; how could I possibly discipline a child?"
"The Consort thought all the others she met were good. But I could tell she favored your family the most. What do you mean by that? There's no need to hide it from me," Shu Chengfeng said.
Ding Min hesitated for a moment before saying, "I will follow Your Majesty's wishes. I am loyal only to you."
"As I wish, I will betroth your daughter to my second son. The wedding will be two years later," Shu Chengfeng said.
"Yes, but my daughter is neither talented nor virtuous, is she worthy of him?" Ding Min chuckled.
“Since you are loyal to me, don’t worry about whether you are worthy or not. You know the Consort’s personality. Since she thinks highly of your daughter, she will treat her well in the future. The second son is stupid, but at least he is kind-hearted. Your daughter marrying him is him being lucky.”
"Oh dear, I dare not. I am always too kind as to accept this offer," Ding Min hurriedly replied.
"Since you have no objections, I've decided on this. There's no need to issue any paper for now. You know what you need to prepare for your daughter," Shu Chengfeng said.
Ding Min agreed, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.
The second prince is not the one who can inherit the throne, but he is still a prince. He will inevitably become a prince in the future, and his daughter will be a proper princess. There's nothing wrong with that.
Wouldn't it be perfect for the daughter of the Minister of War to marry a prince who doesn't vie for the throne?
This elevated the Second Prince's status and also confirmed his own loyalty.
Just thinking about it, which of the Xu family's granddaughter and the Yan family's daughter will marry the eldest prince, and which will be betrothed to the third prince? Tsk, this is going to be a fight to the death.
Alas, he had experienced what His Majesty went through back then, and he didn't want his daughter to suffer along with him.
The fact that the second prince came from a humble background is actually a good thing, an excellent thing.
Inside the Hall of Joyful Longevity, the eldest prince's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
On the red lacquered plate in front of him was a doll with Consort Chen's name and birth date on it, clearly belonging to the Consort herself. Its colorful appearance and head riddled with needles made it utterly bizarre.
"Your Highness, if we tell His Majesty about this, it will cause a huge uproar," said the eunuch Xu Fu, kneeling and trembling.
"Have you investigated this thoroughly? Who's courting death?"
"I've investigated, but there's still no result. We should deal with this quickly, otherwise, if this gets out, it'll be a bloodbath." Witchcraft has always been deadly.
Actually, nobody believes in this, but the imperial court absolutely forbids it.
The eldest prince picked it up with trembling hands: "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
The fact that this thing could be placed in his residence without him noticing suggests that the other party is probably just waiting for him to burn it.
"Let's go see Father Emperor."
"Your Highness! If you can't explain this clearly, it's...it's a serious crime!" Xu Fu cried, clinging to the eldest prince's leg.
"It's better than being pinned down here, isn't it? Let go." The eldest prince kicked him, then strode out and took the thing himself.
It was already night, and His Majesty had not visited the inner palace today.
Inside the Beichen Palace, he was still reading memorials. Yun Ji entered and said, "Your Majesty, the First Prince requests an audience; it seems to be urgent."
Shu Chengfeng frowned: "Bring him in."
The eldest prince knelt down as soon as he entered: "Father, I have come here late at night because of an urgent matter. I beg you to do me the right thing."
"What are you holding?" Shu Chengfeng noticed the colorful things at a glance.
The eldest prince hesitated for a moment but still held it up: "Father, this item appeared behind the flowerpot in my bedroom. I cannot find its origin for the time being. I am filled with fear and have no choice but to disturb you."
Yunji took the plate, accepted the item, and frowned.
I thought to myself, "Someone is going to die."
Shu Chengfeng picked it up and frowned after looking at it, then tossed it aside: "Yunji, send someone to seal off Leshou Palace immediately. Investigate thoroughly for me."
Yun Ji responded and left.
Naturally, nothing could be found that night.
The next morning, everyone in the inner palace knew that the Hall of Joyful Longevity had been sealed off.
Of course, the specifics of what happened are still unknown. The Empress Dowager sent someone early in the morning to inquire about Yan Nan's return.
Even the wild geese returning south didn't know, so they had no choice but to go to the Beichen Palace.
When Shu Chengfeng saw her after court, he said, "I was just about to go to your place."
"It's good that you've come. Send someone to invite Consort Xiangxian here."
Before long, Consort Xiangxian arrived.
"Yunji, you tell us about yesterday's events."
Yun Ji then recounted what had happened yesterday.
Yan Nangui frowned: "Is this aimed at the First Prince? What good will it do for the First Prince to harm me? I don't even have a son. I'm still busy arranging his marriage, would he be stupid to harm me?"
Shu Chengfeng smiled and said, "Last night I had all the people around him sent to the torture chamber. Yunji, how are their confessions going?"
"Your Majesty, there is no match. At first, no one confessed. Later, someone couldn't stand it and said they did it, but they couldn't explain themselves clearly. It doesn't match. In my opinion, none of them match up now."
"So, it wasn't done by someone close to the Crown Prince?" Consort Xiangxian asked.
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