After burning incense and paper money for the emperor, Yuan Yao greeted the crown prince, the empress, and Consort Lin, and then left Yong'an Palace with Yun Chan and Jing'er.
I hadn't gone far when I heard footsteps behind me.
The man followed closely, never getting too close or too far.
In the empty palace corridor, only the sound of footsteps could be heard.
Yuan Yao stopped and stood still.
As soon as she stopped, the man stopped too.
Yuan Yao paused for a moment, then turned around and curtsied politely: "Your Highness, Second Prince, is there something you wish to say to me?"
Xie Zhi: "..."
Your Highness the Second Prince?
It turns out that they could become so estranged overnight...
Xie Zhi stood still, his hands clenched into fists.
He was dressed in mourning clothes, standing in the sunlight.
Dressed in white, his unusually fair complexion was accentuated.
Only his eyes were dark and deep.
Yuan Yao sighed: "Xie Zhi, if you have nothing to say, I'll return to Qianhua Palace first?"
Xie Zhi then moved.
His voice was hoarse: "I heard that many assassins entered Qianhua Palace last night. Are you... injured?"
Yuan Yao looked at him quietly: "No."
Xie Zhi's expression was unreadable. After a long while, he finally said, "That's true..."
He left two words and turned to leave.
Looking at Xie Zhi's lonely figure, Yuan Yao felt a pang in her heart.
They can never go back to the way things were...
My eyes stung for no reason.
Suddenly, darkness fell overhead.
Yun Chan shielded her from the glaring autumn sun and comforted her, saying, "He'll come to his senses sooner or later."
Yuan Yao sniffed: "Hmm..."
Let's hope so.
I just hope Xie Zhi can get over it soon.
His ambition was to fight on the battlefield, make great achievements, and defend his country.
Ultimately, we were not on the same path...
Yuan Yao tugged at Yun Chan's soft sleeve: "I miss Father."
When her father wasn't around, only this person in front of her made her feel completely at ease...
Yun Chan looked down at her and said, "Let's go back to Qianhua Palace."
The autumn sun after the rain was exceptionally bright and radiant.
The weather, however, is much cooler than usual.
At Qianhua Palace, the bloodstains had been cleaned up, but the corpses were still piled up.
To prevent the blood from flowing out and producing a foul odor, the Imperial Guards brought large blocks of ice and piled them up to cool the area...
Before Yuan Yao even stepped into the gates of Qianhua Palace, she heard a voice behind her: "Princess..."
Yuan Yao paused for a moment, then turned around.
Danqing and Yu'er were dressed in white, with white flowers in their hair, and their eyes were red and swollen.
Upon seeing Yuan Yao, Danqing couldn't help but burst into tears: "Princess, I'm late..."
As he spoke, he knelt on the ground, his sobs making him tremble.
Seeing this, Yu'er also knelt down on the ground, crying until her voice was hoarse: "Princess, please accept my condolences..."
Yuan Yao: "..."
Looking at the two people crying their hearts out, her eyes also reddened.
She bent down and helped one of them up with each hand: "Sister Danqing, Sister Yu'er, please get up and talk."
Jing'er quickly came over to help them up: "Sister Danqing, Sister Yu'er, get up quickly, the ground is cold."
The two were helped up.
Yu'er's eyes were so red and swollen that she could barely open them: "Yesterday, when I went to see Sister Danqing, she was already lingering outside the palace gates."
However, the palace restrictions suddenly tightened, and we couldn't get through the palace gates at all.
Therefore, we waited outside the palace gates.
Fortunately, the Minister went out of the palace this morning and brought us in…”
Danqing, her eyes red, pulled Yuan Yao's hand and looked around: "Just now, we heard outside the palace gates that many assassins came to Qianhua Palace last night..."
"Princess, are you injured or frightened?"
Yuan Yao shook her head and sighed, "With the guards here, I'm fine. But you guys, why have you been standing guard outside the palace gates for so long like idiots?"
"What will happen to Lord Zheng, Uncle Bai, and the children if something goes wrong?"
Danqing said with tears in her eyes, "My life was given to me by His Highness."
Now that he is gone, this servant must still do her duty of filial piety...
But...Princess, what will you do now?"
As she spoke, Danqing burst into tears once again.
Yu'er also started crying...
The two of them burst into tears.
The fewer people who know about the Nine Thousand Years Old's feigned death and escape, the better.
For the sake of His Highness, and also for the sake of Danqing and Yu'er...
Yuan Yao's eyes were slightly red as she grasped Danqing and Yu'er's hands: "Father is gone, and I will definitely leave Daqi in the future..."
However, I will definitely be fine.
So even if I don't have time to say goodbye, you must live your lives well and don't need to worry about me.
Because, at that time, she had already happily gone sightseeing with her father...
Yu'er stopped crying and asked through tears, "Princess, can you not leave?"
Yuan Yao looked at her quietly.
At this moment, Yu'er truly realized that their little princess had grown up.
Once, she was small and soft, only a tiny bit big when held in your arms, just like a glutinous rice ball.
Now, she has grown into a confident, mature, and stable adult.
His every move and expression subtly carried the shadow of the Ninth Prince…
For a moment, Yu'er didn't know whether to feel gratified or heartbroken...
Danqing said in a hoarse voice from the side, "Silly Yu'er."
His Highness is gone, and the Princess remains in Qianhua Palace, where she is constantly reminded of him by familiar objects, only to be heartbroken in vain…
Yu'er almost burst into tears again.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao changed the subject: "Danqing, Yu'er, weren't you going to see my father?"
Danqing wiped her eyes and said, "Let's go."
Yu'er also hastily wiped her eyes and entered Qianhua Palace together.
Upon entering the gates of Qianhua Palace, the sight of the corpses in the square turned the two men pale.
Fortunately, both of them had served the Ninth Prince for many years and were used to grand occasions...
Upon entering the mourning hall, Danqing and Yu'er knelt side by side, devoutly lit incense, kowtowed, and then knelt to the side to burn paper money.
Looking at the person inside the coffin, the two couldn't stop their tears from flowing.
At this moment, a young eunuch entered and said in a low voice, "Princess, many imperial relatives and princes have come to Qianhua Palace to offer incense to His Highness."
Why are you only arriving now?
They're really good at staying calm.
Yuan Yao closed her eyelashes slightly: "Let them in."
The young eunuch responded and trotted out of the Moonflower Palace.
Yuan Yao glanced at the Ninth Prince in the coffin, straightened her mourning clothes, knelt on the prayer mat, took the paper money from the palace servants, and put it into the fire one by one.
The flames licked at the paper money, and the firelight made her pale face look exceptionally bright.
A pair of bright black eyes, cold as ice.
The young eunuch stood outside the Moonlit Palace, shouting the name of the newcomer—
"Prince Duankang has arrived..."
"The Prince of Yonghe has arrived..."
"Marquis Chen An has arrived..."
"..."
The people who came were either princes, dukes, marquises, or dukes...
These people had each lived in their own fiefdoms.
Huairou and Fengxun got married, and everyone came to the capital from their fiefdoms. Because the emperor's health was deteriorating day by day, they temporarily stayed in the capital's mansion.
Immediately afterwards, the emperor passed away...
Yuan Yao knelt before the coffin, tears welling in her eyes, and bent down to burn paper money.
One person after another came, offering their condolences to Yuan Yao, then kowtowing and offering incense...
The thin-looking Prince Duankang with a mustache asked, "Princess, may I go to the coffin to take a look at His Highness?"
"The Qian Sui is the backbone of our Great Qi, and now that he's gone, he's gone..."
As she spoke, two insincere tears fell.
Yuan Yao raised her sleeve and lightly wiped the corner of her eye, saying in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness, please proceed."
Prince Duankang and Marquis Chen An, who was standing to the side, exchanged a glance and walked together to the coffin of the Ninth Prince.
Yuan Yao raised her sleeve to cover half of her face and coldly stared at the two of them.
The two walked around the coffin once and then stood directly behind the Ninth Prince.
Chen Anhou was somewhat apprehensive, but he still raised his hand and, with trembling hands, probed for the carotid artery in the Ninth Prince's neck.
Concentrating intently, he didn't dare to even breathe.
The short knife trembled as he moved within his sleeve.
Caught off guard, Yuan Yao's soft voice rang in his ear—
"My lord, be careful with the knife in your sleeve. Don't let it fall out and slash my father's remains."
Marquis Chen An was greatly alarmed.
He hurriedly withdrew his hand from the Ninth Prince's neck and reached into his sleeve to feel for his knife...
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