In the palace.
Consort Zhang was a plump, easygoing woman with a bit of extra weight.
Without pressure to advance in rank or attend to the Emperor, she simply took it easy.
As a long-time employee, she had dividends and salary, living quite comfortably.
Though her son wasn't very capable, at least he didn't cause trouble and was living properly, which was good enough.
She didn't ask for anything more, as food and drink were never a concern.
But she never expected that in her old age, she would receive news of someone's death.
The Fifth Prince had passed away.
When Consort Zhang heard this, she was in the middle of drinking soup.
She didn't even hear clearly at first, and took another sip.
Only after finishing did she ask, "Where did Little Five go?"
Consort Zhang stared blankly at the table. On it was a small vase, a gift from Little Five.
On the wall were paintings that Little Five had brought.
In the corners were piles of stones that Little Five had gathered.
This was just his personality. Since he was young, he liked to take random little things he found or made himself and stuff them in her room, put them on her table, in her cabinets, in every nook and cranny. Whenever she looked around, she could see his things everywhere.
In the past, he did the same at the Emperor's place too, leaving things scattered about.
Later he was punished for it once, so he never dared to do it again there.
But in her quarters, he still kept up this habit.
Every time he came, he would leave behind one or two of his random things.
In all aspects of life, you could see his things, full of his marks.
Like a little puppy.
Leaving his things was like marking his territory.
Even in his forties, he started distributing Buddhist scriptures everywhere.
On the wall was still a stack of Buddhist scriptures he had copied.
Consort Zhang's hand trembled as she held her bowl, drinking the soup in one gulp before standing up. She felt unsteady, swaying for a while before regaining her balance.
"Go, go find the Emperor."
Death was not uncommon in the palace. Many young, vibrant girls died here.
Many children who couldn't be raised also died.
Many greedy maids and eunuchs who did wrong things also died.
This was an extremely competitive and twisted place.
Consort Zhang had fought her way through, and now recited Buddhist scriptures three times morning and evening, perhaps to atone for her past self.
But Little Five, he was dead.
Indeed, when it's not your own people who die, you don't feel it.
When her good friend the Empress died, she wiped away tears.
When the Crown Prince died, she wiped away tears.
When her son died, she couldn't even shed a tear.
She was too angry, too upset, too agitated.
At this moment, she wanted to kill heaven and earth, to destroy everything, to die together.
She had no more inhibitions, no more restraints.
The Ministry of Justice, entering the New Year state.
Early in the morning, they received a big case - the Fifth Prince was dead.
Well, looks like they won't be celebrating the New Year.
If an ordinary person died at home, the Ministry of Justice would just investigate the case normally.
In fact, when someone dies, it's usually not that complicated. The people closest to them are often the most suspicious.
Except for a few rare mysterious cases, like random killings, but these are quite uncommon.
The Ministry of Justice solves cases year-round, handling dozens or hundreds of cases each year.
As long as a crime is committed, there will inevitably be traces.
Those who have risen to high positions in the Ministry of Justice all have some level of skill.
But this case involves the royal family.
It will add many difficulties.
For example, for ordinary people, the coroner can examine the body, cut it open for research.
Can they do that with a prince?
Who dares to cut?
If they really want to cut, don't they need to apply for permission? Who wants to risk offending someone?
Just like when the former Crown Prince died, they simply reported it as a sudden death. How he actually died, they didn't dare to ask or investigate deeply.
Sometimes solving a case isn't difficult; what's difficult is the things behind the case.
When Jiang Changtian was notified.
Jiang Changtian had just finished his breakfast.
When he heard the news, he was also stunned for a moment.
This Fifth Prince, just last night had his arm around his shoulder, cheerfully saying he needed his help with something.
Today he was dead.
Life is unpredictable.
So we must cherish every day.
He was originally planning to go to the office, but he stopped in his tracks and decided to stay home with his family first.
Early in the morning, Mianmian was dragging her grandmother Princess Huiyun to play skateboard together.
Princess Huiyun said she didn't want to, but actually found it quite interesting. As long as it was on flat ground it was fine, no need for an ice surface. She was a bit worried about the ice cracking anyway.
Flat ground was much more convenient, and if you fell at least there was no danger to life.
Besides, Mianmian was more likely to fall when playing alone, so it was better to have an elder accompany her.
Both had good athletic talent and quickly got the hang of it.
Wearing traditional clothes while riding a skateboard, flying with the wind - it was quite cool, to be honest.
This feeling of flying was very special and enjoyable.
Mianmian said, "We could also make a big dip to slide down and fly up, even cooler, but Dad probably wouldn't allow that. Let's just play like this for now.
But if there's snow, we could go skiing."
Princess Huiyun was someone who was very pure when playing, and felt somewhat longing.
No wonder she was her own granddaughter, she really knew how to have fun.
Jiang Changtian could hear his daughter's laughter from afar, loud and bright, laughing very happily.
Perhaps he would never have forgiven Princess Huiyun originally.
But at this moment, seeing her seriously playing with Mianmian, it was as if he had forgiven her, let it go.
Because even though she wasn't good to her own child, she was good to his child.
He loved children more than he loved himself.
Mianmian and Princess Huiyun were playing skateboard, Cong Brother was reading, and Sister Xia was training in martial arts.
"I found the stories Mianmian told quite interesting, so I'm just trying to figure it out and practice on my own," Qin Luoxia said sheepishly.
She thought her husband had already left.
She was a bit worried her husband would say it wasn't appropriate.
But for her, the household chores weren't much, as the servants did most of it.
Currently there weren't any banquets for noble ladies or anything, and after meeting her in-laws Madam Meng and Madam Dong, Qin Luoxia wasn't so afraid of socializing in the capital anymore. She felt it was alright, they all had one nose, two eyes, and one mouth just like anyone else.
Besides, the most impressive legendary figure in the capital, Princess Huiyun, was in her own home, so what did she have to worry about?
She was more concerned about Feng and son-in-law Shao Xia now.
She wished she could go to battle in their place.
But thinking about it, that wasn't possible. The army even thought it was unlucky for women to come near, let alone allowing women to join the military.
Qin Luoxia felt it was useless to worry needlessly, so she decided to calm down and hone her martial arts skills.
Everyone had their own things to do.
Qin Luoxia looked down most on those women who could only live by clinging to others every day.
So in her heart, she agreed with her husband's view and felt that her mother-in-law was a bit useless.
She was already a princess, yet she still couldn't get over that thing with a man, what was the point?
If she were a princess and really liked someone, she would kidnap him and ask, will you marry me or not? If yes, then stay together; if not, then get lost. How could there be so much drama afterwards?
Although she also loved her husband very much and was clingy with him, she always insisted on doing things, doing useful things, being a useful person. This way, even if her husband wasn't around, she wouldn't panic. At any time, she could be a strong support for her husband.
So she wanted to practice martial arts.
Now she couldn't go hunting in the mountains, but their home had a large estate, so she could practice martial arts at home just the same.
Qin Luoxia didn't know many characters, but she was very dedicated.
She asked her daughter about the martial arts that Duan Yu picked up in the story, wondering if there was any real basis to it. Her daughter, not knowing whether to make it up or what, actually came up with a seemingly plausible set of martial arts moves.
Whether it worked or not, she would practice first and see. In order to practice martial arts, Qin Luoxia had recently been learning to read, at least to understand the characters in martial arts manuals.
Previously she had only practiced the three basic moves her son-in-law taught her, and she had done quite well with those.
Qin Luoxia planned to practice and explore at the same time.
Qin Luoxia practiced with her sword, each move like flowers blooming, like falling snow, like the clear light of the cold moon, like the blazing sun, ever-changing.
Jiang Changtian watched attentively from the side.
It was wonderful.
His Xia had walked this path with him all along, never retreating a step, always moving forward.
How fortunate he was.
To have her companionship for half a lifetime.
After watching his family, Jiang Changtian went to the office.
They had just made New Year plans last night, and today they had to change those plans.
Plans really can't keep up with changes.
Regarding the Fifth Prince's matter, he couldn't get involved. The capital had the Ministry of Justice, and besides, no one wanted to touch such a royal death case and risk offending anyone.
It was troublesome.
He hesitated for a while, but still decided to go to the palace to see the Emperor.
The road to the deep palace was long and arduous.
