"Do you feel the ginger isn't enough?"
"I'm afraid that when I enter the palace to et the Crown Prince brother, I might burst out laughing if I can't hold it in, thinking that he failed to get married again."
"Pfft..."
The fourth prince, who had just applied ginger, almost laughed out loud,
but there were servants around,
so the fourth prince imdiately said:
"Mother Empress, why didn't you wait for your son to see you one last ti?"
The fifth prince secretly tugged the fourth prince's sleeve and said,
"That's too much, brother, that's too much, brother."
Right at this mont,
the fourth and fifth princes stood at the gate of the prince's residence,
watching Chengjue being helped out by two eunuchs,
at this ti Chengjue looked,
pathetically sorrowful,
emotionally drained,
with weary eyes,
and there were faint traces of tears on his face,
even walking was unsteady, resembling the best illustration of "grief from a broken heart."
The fourth and fifth princes simultaneously swallowed their saliva,
and said:
"This is too exaggerated, isn't it?"
...
The Empress passed away, His Majesty canceled the morning court today.
The palace donned white mourning clothes; even though court wasn't held today, the officials still ca one by one to pay their respects.
anwhile, all ladies with an imperial mandate in the capital entered from another palace gate, and their cries were the most distinct and clear along this path.
The princes entered the inner hall early,
the Crown Prince was already there, kneeling and crying loudly,
"Mother Empress, mother Empress, why have you abandoned your son like this, mother Empress, wake up, wake up."
The other princes,
The Eldest Prince Ji Wujiang was leading troops outside, unable to return, the third prince was at the lakeside pavilion.
So, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and Ji Chengsu all knelt behind the Crown Prince.
The fourth and fifth princes were sowhat surprised that Ji Chengjue, who earlier seed ready to "put on a great show," actually knelt down on the mat and directly rested his forehead on the floor without much movent.
Though this appeared sorrowful, compared to the previous setup, it seed a bit of "much ado about nothing."
In reality,
Ji Chengjue was too exhausted,
having been ntally tortured all night, he felt completely drained, and entering here and being enveloped by the scent of incense made him feel like he would follow the deceased Empress himself.
The other three brothers just silently knelt there.
It's said there's no affection in the Royal Family, but the Crown Prince and the Empress indeed shared deep familial bonds, and the Crown Prince had already lost his matriarchal clan, now losing his mother, no wonder he was emotionally overwheld.
Ji Chengjue, in a haze, fell asleep, remaining in a "forehead-to-floor" position.
Thankfully, with people constantly coming and going, creating much commotion, his slight snoring didn't catch attention.
Though the Empress gave birth to only one Crown Prince, she was still the mother of all the princes, and strictly speaking, the other princes were her illegitimate sons.
The Crown Prince continued to mourn bitterly;
Ji Chengsu, bewildered and unsure of how to handle the situation.
Chengjue remained there like a corpse, motionless.
Thus, the fourth and fifth princes had to assu the role of "dutiful sons," respectfully greeting the incoming officials and imperial madas.
Not knowing how much ti had passed or what hour it was.
The eunuch announcing nas called out:
"Earl of North's princess to pay respects!"
The princess arrived.
Despite preparations for marriage three tis,
the princess remained a princess,
unable to take the Crown Princess's position.
But as Ji Chengjue ntioned to the Seventh Uncle that morning, when the princess wearing a white flower entered, many eyes inside and outside the hall were on her.
Where is the logic in preparing for marriage and imdiately encountering a disaster?
At that mont, Ji Chengjue, who was asleep,
heard the eunuch's announcent,
his body instinctively trembled,
not knowing if he awoke or remained asleep, or if his already fragile spirit suffered another shock,
nevertheless,
Ji Chengjue's neck tilted,
his whole body turned aside, and rolled to the ground.
A nearby eunuch imdiately shouted:
"Oh no, the Sixth Prince is too grief-stricken and fainted, fetch the imperial doctor quickly, fetch the imperial doctor!"
...
Ji Chengjue woke up when the sun was setting in the west.
The dical officer, who had been accompanying him, promptly rose to inform the imperial doctor.
"Your Highness, you are fatigued and overwheld by sorrow, you need to recuperate well. I have already prepared a prescription and handed it over to Master Zhang outside."
"Thank you, Doctor Zhao."
"It is my duty; there is no need for thanks."
Resting in an adjoining chamber, indeed, sleeping well had restored his spirits considerably, but thinking of how he would have to spend the night with his brothers keeping vigil again made Ji Chengjue uneasy.
Since becoming a father, he eagerly listened to his wife's belly movents every night, yesterday was already a missed night, and tonight would be lost too.
However, just as he crossed the threshold, Ji Chengjue saw the princess standing there, alone facing a small pond, her face filled with sorrow.
Ji Chengjue couldn't believe the princess would truly grieve deeply over the Empress's passing,
because she most likely wouldn't marry the Crown Prince,
even if she did, losing a mother-in-law the mont she entered the family could be considered good fortune.
Yet this madwoman, although acting obsessively crazy, appeared dignified, elegant, and well-behaved externally.
The princess reached out, took a hairpin from her coiffure, and held it in her hand.
Ji Chengjue instinctively reacted, believing this madwoman intended to personally take his life after her uncle failed to do so, chasing him all the way to the imperial palace.
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