Qi Jinlan had once resented this so - called cousin who, though having no blood relation, had taken away all her father's love. But at the age of eleven that year, she was ultimately afraid. She was terrified that Wei Dongling might really fall and die.
Wei Dongling didn't know about this, and Qi Jinlan never intended to mention it to her.
Unexpectedly, Wei Dongling had never blamed her. Even when she was in danger, Wei Dongling didn't hesitate to jump down to save her!
When Qi Jinlan trembled and threw herself into Wei Dongling's arms and called her "cousin", it was truly from the bottom of her heart!
Lvkou helped Qi Jinlan change into clean clothes and fix her makeup. Then she led Qi Jinlan to meet Lin Baiwan and his son, as well as A Cheng, and introduced her to everyone, "This is Miss Qi Jinlan, Miss Wei's cousin."
When Qi Jinlan heard Lvkou announce her name, she couldn't help feeling a bit panicked. The Qi General's Mansion had just been raided. She wondered how these elders in the Su Mansion would look down on her. Would they arrest her and report her to the authorities for a reward?
Qi Jinlan's face froze. She was just about to blame Lvkou for being so straightforward when she saw everyone nodding and smiling at her. They surrounded her and chattered, "Hey! The cousin looks quite similar to Miss Wei!"
"Exactly! As beautiful as Miss Wei!"
Qi Jinlan: ……
Lin Baiwan happily took off a shiny gold ring from his fat finger and stuffed it into Qi Jinlan's hand. He laughed heartily, "Come here, Miss Qi. This is your greeting gift from your Uncle Lin. Quick, call me Uncle!"
Qi Jinlan held the heavy ring in her hand in surprise. A warm feeling gradually welled up in her heart.
The coffin containing Murong Yuchen's body was still placed in the main hall of the mansion. Everyone was in a bit of a dilemma. Logically speaking, the fall of a royal prince was a major event, and he should be buried in the imperial mausoleum. But now the palace was in a complete mess. It was likely that they couldn't even hold a funeral for the Ninth Prince.
Ruan Niang sighed repeatedly. After getting along with Murong Yuchen for so long, she truly liked this child from the bottom of her heart. Unfortunately, he had been poisoned for a long time, and it was too late when they discovered it. No matter how excellent Ruan Niang's medical skills were, she was unable to save him.
Wei Dongling sat in the room and carefully spread out the two halves of the imperial edict. She asked Cuihuan to make some paste, and now she was carefully gluing the broken imperial edict together bit by bit.
When Cuihuan saw that she finally put it together, she took a clean piece of white paper and carefully pasted the complete imperial edict onto it to make it more secure. Looking at Wei Dongling's red - frozen little hands, Cuihuan said in a low voice, "Miss, I think what Ruan Niang said makes sense. You don't have to be so hesitant. By now, we should bury the Ninth Prince's body in the imperial mausoleum, right?"
Wei Dongling remained silent.
Cuihuan continued, "Brother Long sent a letter saying that the Northwest Iron Cavalry and the Tianchao soldiers have joined forces. He asked when it would be appropriate for us to set off." Seeing that the food and supplies were running out, but Wei Dongling remained motionless and silent, Cuihuan was so anxious that she felt like her eyebrows were on fire.
Wei Dongling finally rolled up the imperial edict carefully and put it away. She said calmly, "Wait a little longer."
Cuihuan wanted to say something but held back. She sighed silently in her heart. Fortunately, it was the cold weather of the first lunar month. If it were the hot summer, the Ninth Prince's body might have rotted and stunk by now.
The Emperor's sudden death due to illness enraged the Tenth Prince, who was acting as the regent. He immediately arrested and beheaded several senior officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau. He also found a trumped - up charge to raid the Qi General's Mansion, which made the entire court tremble with fear.
Although it was already after the Beginning of Spring, Minister Liu of the Ministry of Rites, who was kneeling in front of the Taiji Hall, felt that the weather was extremely cold. The two vice - ministers kneeling silently behind him were even more panicked. They kowtowed their heads to the ground and didn't dare to look up.
The Tenth Prince was extremely violent. He had summoned them early in the morning and made them wait here. The Ministry of Rites hadn't even had the time to embalm the Emperor's body.
From time to time, the angry roars of the Tenth Prince came from inside the Taiji Hall, completely drowning out the mournful cries of the Empress Dowager.
Minister Liu of the Ministry of Rites trembled all over. Cold sweat was sliding down his forehead. Clearly, the Prince Rui and Minister Li of the Ministry of War were also in the hall. Why didn't they persuade the Tenth Prince? The Empress Dowager was old and already grief - stricken because of the Emperor's sudden death. If she had a conflict with the Tenth Prince, she might not be able to bear it!
Just as Minister Liu was anxiously thinking, the door of the Taiji Hall was opened. Minister Liu quickly looked up and saw Eunuch Cao walking out.
Behind Eunuch Cao was Minister Li of the Ministry of War. He nodded politely at Minister Liu and walked away.
Eunuch Cao immediately came over and bowed respectfully to the kneeling Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He said, "Minister Liu, His Highness the Tenth Prince has something important to discuss with you. Please come inside!"
Minister Liu quickly nodded in agreement. With the support of Eunuch Cao, he stood up and walked into the Taiji Hall with the two vice - ministers.
Maybe because he had been kneeling outside the door for too long, when Minister Liu looked up and saw the Tenth Prince's stern and cold face, his legs went weak. He lost his balance and fell to the ground on all fours. The two vice - ministers behind him were so shocked that they quickly followed and bowed deeply.
The Tenth Prince exuded an aura of authority even without getting angry. He waved his hand and said, "Minister Liu, there's no need for such a grand salute. Get up!"
Only then did Minister Liu stand up. He carefully raised his eyes and looked at everyone.
The Tenth Prince sat upright on the main seat. His long fingers tapped impatiently on the table.
The Empress Dowager sat on the side chair with red eyes. It seemed that she had been crying for a while.
The Prince Rui sat properly on the side of the Tenth Prince, with his head down. No one knew what he was thinking.
After a long time, the Tenth Prince glanced at Minister Liu and said coldly, "Father Emperor passed away so suddenly. A country can't be without a ruler for a single day. Minister Liu, I've just discussed with the Empress Dowager and Uncle Rui. The mourning period is too long, and leaving the throne vacant is not a solution. Your Ministry of Rites should make arrangements to issue an imperial edict in the name of the late Emperor, announcing that I will ascend the throne in front of the spirit tablet!"
Minister Liu had been kneeling outside the door for a long time and already knew what was going on. He quickly bowed and agreed.
Although Minister Liu had heard that the Ninth Prince, Murong Yuchen, had returned to the palace yesterday, according to the order of seniority, the throne should have gone to him. But at this moment, how dare he say anything! In the past few days, whenever there was any opposing voice in the court, the Tenth Prince had used his thunderous means to suppress it until no one dared to object anymore. The entire court was seething with anger but dared not speak out. He was just a low - ranking Minister of the Ministry of Rites. How could he speak his mind?
Seeing his respectful attitude, the Tenth Prince nodded and said, "Then your Ministry of Rites should start working on it immediately!"
Hold the funeral today? The three people from the Ministry of Rites couldn't help looking at each other in surprise.
Minister Liu stepped forward nervously and said, "Your Highness the Tenth Prince, the whole process of the funeral and the enthronement in front of the spirit tablet will take at least four hours. It might be too late today. How about holding the funeral early tomorrow morning instead..."
The Tenth Prince glanced at Minister Liu and said coldly, "What? Do you, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, think it can't be done today? Or does the entire Ministry of Rites think so?"