Chapter 216: Chunniang's Final Affairs
"The Empress Dowager had no children in her early years. To consolidate her position, she adopted a prince born to a palace maid, who became the current Emperor. The first two years of love and filial piety between the mother and the son were truly a story."
"But later, the Queen Mother became pregnant and gave birth to her own prince, the former Crown Prince."
"After the death of the former Crown Prince, the Queen Mother was depressed for several years before she regained her spirits and helped His Majesty seize the throne of the Eastern Palace."
If the former crown prince had died of natural causes, it would have been fine. It would have been just bad luck and he couldn't blame anyone else.
But if the former crown prince died of poisoning, I dare not think too much about what happened behind it.
No wonder the Duke of Protectorate and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court changed color when talking about the "black mud". The royal family was not investigating just the death of Concubine Yu, they were clearly investigating the death of the former Crown Prince!
This involves the country's orthodoxy, and the truth behind it may cause great changes in the world.
Wen Wan frowned, her heart beating like a war drum.
There is a saying that the more you know, the faster you die.
She regretted so much that she shouldn't have accepted Chen Yu's order to be the head of the family for her greed. Now, she was in trouble!
The old lady sighed and said, "Perhaps the late Crown Prince is still alive. He has uncovered this case even after eighteen years. The Empress Dowager took the opportunity to investigate the inner palace and indeed discovered something unusual."
"When the late Crown Prince died, he was still very young. There was no Crown Princess in the palace, only a few concubines. After the late Crown Prince's death, the imperial physician examined the concubines' pulses and confirmed that they were not pregnant. Only then were they allowed to be buried with the late Crown Prince."
Having said that, the old lady looked up at Wen Wan meaningfully.
Wen Wan caught her gaze and her heart skipped a beat. She immediately knew that what the old lady was going to talk about next would probably be Zhou Lingling's life experience.
As expected, the old lady said, "The Empress Dowager remembered that there were six concubines in the Eastern Palace, but the book of burials only records five. Chen Yuanshi from the Imperial Hospital was responsible for taking the concubines' pulses. After tracing the matter all the way back, he discovered the existence of Prince Cang."
*
When Wen Wan came out of the old lady's yard, her mood became even heavier.
The moonlight was fragmented and the shadows of the trees were swaying. She walked dejectedly on the path in the backyard, her thoughts in a mess.
Wen Wan didn't believe that the former prince was still alive in heaven.
Rather than being suspicious, she would rather believe that all of this is man-made.
When Empress Yufei was being buried, what a coincidence that a wild dog bumped into the funeral procession?
Coincidentally, the soles of Empress Yufei's feet were exposed, allowing the accompanying Master Xuantong to see them?
There are standard funeral arrangements for imperial concubines. The clothes, shoes and socks worn by the corpse are all of palace standards. I don’t say how thick they are, but there must be a pair of socks, right?
When Concubine Yu's body rolled out of the coffin, it just happened that her shoes and socks were rubbed off?
"Aunt Wan."
Agui, holding a lantern, came from a distance and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wenwan's figure.
"Aunt Wan, you haven't returned to the courtyard yet, and we are all very worried."
Only then did Wen Wan realize that she had unknowingly walked to a remote place.
She forced a smile and said, "It's okay. After all, we are in the General's Mansion and won't get lost."
"That being said, the general's mansion today..." Agui didn't finish his words, but Wen Wan understood.
Even Chunniang, who was closest to her, was a spy sent by the Duke of Huguo, let alone the other people in the harem.
Thinking of Chunniang, Wen Wan couldn't help but sigh.
"By the way, how are Chunniang's funeral arrangements made?"
Agui led the way with a lantern in his hand, his voice sounding cold and dim in the night.
"Madam said that a traitor to the General's Mansion like Chunniang was not worthy of a proper burial, so she asked the steward to find a straw mat and wrap Chunniang's body. She also planned to send someone to find an open space on the outskirts of the city tomorrow, set up some dry firewood, and burn it all clean."
Hearing this, Wen Wan lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.
After a long time, she asked softly, "Chun Niang, do you have any relatives in your hometown?"
A Gui: "I knew Aunt Wan had a good heart and would definitely ask about this matter, so I asked the steward in advance."
"Chun Niang has a seventy-year-old grandmother and an eight-year-old brother in Linqiu City."
Wen Wan looked up in surprise, her expression froze, "There are old people above and young children below."
Agui remained noncommittal. "I heard that a few years ago, there was a major flood in Linqiu City, and the government office sent all the young men in the city to help with the flood relief. But who knew that the dam upstream would burst, and most of the people who were sent to help were swept away. Chunniang's parents were among them."
This was something Wen Wan had not expected, as Chunniang had never mentioned the situation at home before.
"Since it was organized by the government, they are all heroes who fought against the flood. Doesn't the government provide them with any compensation or anything?"
Agui shook his head. "I don't know about these things. It's been many years. The manager only got a rough idea of what happened when he helped Chunniang visit her grandmother and brother when he passed by Linqiu City."
The two walked for a while in the night, and Wen Wan stopped.
"I want to see Chunniang off for the last time tomorrow."
Agui was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay. When they leave tomorrow, I'll come and call you. I'll go with you."
Wenwan responded calmly.
*
That night, Wen Wan tossed and turned all night and hardly closed her eyes.
Whenever she closed her eyes, the scene of Chunniang's death would appear in her mind.
After three years of getting along, in her memory, Chunniang was just an ordinary girl with a timid personality, a girl who would gently blow air to comfort injured birds.
Therefore, Wen Wan found it hard to accept that Chunniang had done such a shocking thing.
At dawn, when Agui came to call her, he saw that she had two huge dark circles under her eyes.
Agui sighed helplessly and could only pick up a quilt and stuff it into the carriage so that she could take a nap in the carriage.
Wen Wan climbed onto the carriage in a daze and rested for a while in a half-asleep state. She didn't know how long she had been traveling. When the carriage stopped, Agui called her.
What comes into view is an open space at the foot of the mountain.
Several servants from the general's mansion piled up dry firewood in the open space. Next to the firewood was Chunniang wrapped in a straw mat, and a steward was preparing kerosene next to them.
There is no one else here except them.
Soon, the straw mat was lifted onto the dry firewood, and the steward poured kerosene on it and took out a fire starter and threw it on.
The flames shot up instantly, and in a short while a raging fire broke out.
The firelight fell on Wenwan's face, making her cheeks blush.
Agui turned his head and stared at Wen Wan, frowning slightly, "Auntie Wan, are you feeling unwell?"
Wen Wan was stunned, her thoughts seemed to be slowing down. "No? What's wrong?"
Agui couldn't explain it, he just felt that she looked a little different from usual.
Wen Wan raised her hand and touched her forehead. It felt warm. Could it be that she had a fever?
Ah Gui advised, "Why don't you see a doctor on the way back? You've been so stressed out these past few days, and a prescription to calm your nerves is just right."
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