The half-dark candlelight in the mourning hall illuminated the prince's face, which was standing beside the coffin curtain, with a gloomy expression. He exuded the aura of a superior man who was unruffled and self-confident.
It's a pity that Ya'er couldn't see it at all because she was kneeling.
Instead, I only heard the prince's gentle voice: "Palace Steward, why do you want to kill you?"
"Slave!"
Ya'er started to speak but stopped.
At this time, there was a noise from outside: "He ran this way, search quickly!"
"It's the inner courtyard of the Forbidden Palace. Manager Zhou told you not to set foot inside."
"..."
The prince's wedding was approaching, and after Concubine Shu was buried, a lightly loaded carriage left Luoyang City.
Ya'er, who was dressed as the accompanying young eunuch, had been frightened these past few days in order to avoid the interrogation of the cold palace stewards. After getting on the carriage, she leaned against the wall and took a nap.
Hearing a faint sound coming from his side, the prince asked Xue Xiu, who was traveling with him: "How is the investigation going?"
"That steward Zhou once served the Queen, and he also collected valuable varieties of peonies in Luoyang for Prince Qi Guo Shouyi. It wasn't until Wang Shouyi was involved in the Wean Sheng Shu case that he broke off with Duke Qi Guo's government. We exchanged letters.”
Xue Xiu continued: "While the empress was buried in the palace, I sneaked into the residence of the palace maid and eunuch, and found out that it was indeed as Ya'er said, the life of empress Shu was not easy after she came to the palace."
"Those who have always been assigned to the Luoyang Palace are all abandoned by the emperor. According to what I heard, the meals sent by the steward to the empress are mostly cold food, and the tea given in portions is also moldy."
"The empress was secretly sent to the Luoyang palace by the emperor. She contracted a cold disease on the way. She was pampered in the Daming Palace. How could she endure all kinds of humiliation? Coupled with the harsh treatment by the stewards, her condition worsened."
As if he was complaining about Concubine Shu's experience, Xue Xiu's voice was mixed with vague anger: "In the last few days, the empress often had dizziness and headaches, nausea and bloating, and was so ill that she fell unconscious. Ya'er was begging Manager Zhou for help. I asked the imperial doctor for help, so he imprisoned me in anger."
After listening to what Xue Xi said, the prince was silent for a while.
After a while, he said in pain: "When I first arrived at Luoyang Palace, I opened the coffin to check whether my mother-in-law had died of poisoning. I thought she was really sick and died, but I didn't know that she had to die alone in the palace. , there are many ways."
"If I hadn't raised my eyebrows and met the maid who was serving my mother-in-law, I wouldn't have known that my mother-in-law was humiliated to death."
The prince spoke sadly: "Even if my mother was thrown into the cold palace because of my mother-in-law's trap, my mother-in-law has already met the end of being sent to the palace in Luoyang. Why did the empress do this?"
"I have always thought that my mother is the most virtuous and virtuous, but it turns out that she also has a side that no one knows about."
When the prince said this, he fell into deep disappointment.
Xue Xiu answered from the side: "I have long advised His Highness the Crown Prince not to trust the Queen and the Ten Princesses too credulously. Which of the princesses who can live with ease in the deep palace and the queen who can still return to favor after being thrown into the cold palace is the simplest one?" of?"
"Only if Concubine Shu dies, Your Highness will be the queen's legitimate son!"
The carriage driving in the night was silent for a long time.
Then, the prince murmured in pain: "It's extremely cold up here. My mother and concubine have gone, and I am alone again."
"Yun'er will marry into the East Palace soon. His Highness is survived by his ministers and the Xue family."
After Xue Xi comforted her, he looked at Ya'er who was curled up in a ball and leaning against the car wall and sleeping: "After returning to Chang'an, how will His Highness plan to arrange the maids serving beside the empress?"
"After all, she is an old friend of the mother-in-law. It is reasonable and reasonable for me to bring her back to the East Palace from Luoyang Palace and there is nothing wrong with it."
The prince sighed: "Let her stay with me as an errand!"
When the prince said this, Ya'er, who was leaning against the car wall, stopped sounding sleepy and her eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she finally felt at ease.
Because the carriage kept shaking while driving, and the light inside the carriage was dark, the prince and Xue Xiu, who were talking in low voices, were unaware of it.
Unlike the prince who was seriously ill and left Chang'an City more than ten days ago, after taking the medicine prescribed by Dr. Sun, the prince recovered early from his illness while staying at the palace in Luoyang.
Therefore, it only took two days to return to Chang'an from Luoyang in a simple car.
There were no twists and turns along the way, and it was quite smooth. The only troublesome thing was that Ya'er didn't sleep very peacefully and would always be woken up by shouting for her mother in her sleep.
Two days later in the morning, when the morning sun rose, the carriage slowly drove into Chang'an City.
Ya'er, who was taking a nap while leaning against the car wall, had her eyelashes wet with tears in her sleep, and cried out: "No, don't do this to your empress."
"Miss Ya'er, wake up quickly, we have arrived in Chang'an City."
At the prince's soft call, Ya'er opened her eyes. She wiped her tears sadly: "But did you wake up the prince? I had a nightmare again."
"My servant dreamed that Manager Zhou stuffed the queen with cold rice leftovers. The queen felt very uncomfortable and kept vomiting violently."
"My dear, she died so unjustly!"
As Ya'er spoke, her tears started to flow again: "I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to make the decision for your Majesty and to seek justice for Your Majesty's death."
"I know, but the carriage has just entered Chang'an City."
The prince reminded her in a cold voice: "Miss Ruo Ya'er is still crying like this. After following me back to the East Palace, people saw the clues. Not only can I not seek justice for my mother and concubine, I can't protect you either."
Ya'er tried her best to suppress herself and hiccupped from crying: "Slave, slave, stop crying!"
"Okay, let's calm down and calm down."
After a few words of comfort, the prince softened his tone and said, "My imperial sister is very smart. If you want to stay in the East Palace and serve me, don't show any clues in front of my imperial sister."
Hearing the prince mention Li Sixu, Ya'er immediately calmed down and stopped crying.
When the carriage arrived at the East Palace, as the prince expected, there was a small figure holding a rabbit sitting on the steps of the East Palace.
Seeing the prince get off the carriage, Li Sixu jumped up to greet him: "Brother Prince!"
The journey was tiring, and the prince looked tired.
"Why did the imperial sister come to the East Palace?"
"I guess the prince brother will come back from Luoyang today, and Sisi will come to pick him up."
Li Sixu opened her clear and translucent eyes and handed over the rabbit in her hand: "The rabbit raised by the mother-in-law gave birth to many cubs. Sisi gave one to the prince's brother to raise."
"Royal sister!"
The prince's tone was a little helpless, but he still took the rabbit she handed him.
But Li Sixu was about to follow him into the East Palace, and the prince was a little tired: "Thank you for the rabbit given by the imperial sister. The prince's brother has just come back and needs to wash up and change clothes first."
"Brother Prince is tired, Sisi knows."
Li Sixu patted the prince's hand comfortingly and said obediently: "Then Sisi will come to see the prince's brother tomorrow."
The prince responded warmly: "Okay!"
