......
The cause of the Fifth Prince's sudden death has been found.
Meanwhile, the Emperor suddenly remembered that he had previously instructed Consort Zhang to receive Princess Caiyi, and it seemed that Consort Zhang quite liked the princess. He then suddenly summoned Princess Caiyi to the palace to keep Consort Zhang company.
Jiang Changtian learned of this news and felt a bit angry.
Your son is gone, and you want my daughter to console you.
Can that really console you?
Isn't that just inviting bad luck?
Sometimes, being a subject is really frustrating.
You just have to do whatever the Emperor tells you to do.
Fortunately, Third Son is in the palace and should be able to take care of things.
Third Son really likes Elder Sister Yu, so at least she won't be mistreated.
Although Jiang Changtian can enter the palace, he cannot casually approach the consorts without reason.
He can only rely on Eunuch Yan.
Aunt Yin accompanied her on the journey.
Jiang Yu didn't expect it.
She was curiously eating melon (gossiping) about the big event that had occurred.
She was listening intently as her mother-in-law explained the relationships between the people in the capital.
She was just curious about how someone could suddenly die after going out for a drink.
Luckily, her father was fine.
The one who died was also her relative, someone she should call uncle?
She never thought that suddenly in the capital, she had gained many relatives, except these relatives were not very resilient.
As a result, she ended up eating melon about herself.
The Emperor summoned Princess Caiyi to keep Consort Zhang company.
Indeed, any unexpected benefits come with a price to pay.
Although she didn't want to be this princess, now that she is, she has to do the work.
On this day, she dressed very plainly.
She couldn't directly wear mourning clothes, as that would likely upset Consort Zhang.
But wearing something colorful certainly wouldn't do either; dressing in bright colors at such a time would be asking for trouble.
Madam Meng and Old Madam Meng were also unhappy.
Their daughter-in-law was very good, but going to comfort Consort Zhang was an extremely high-risk task.
Who could be happy after losing a son?
It's a thankless task, and she might even be resented.
The Emperor is not acting like a human.
Old Madam Meng wished she could throw a ladle of dung at the Emperor to wake him up.
Angry as she was, when the Emperor summoned her, Jiang Yu had to go.
At least as Princess Caiyi, she had a rank, and entering the palace, besides seeing Consort Zhang, she shouldn't be easily mistreated.
When Jiang Yu saw Consort Zhang, she was shocked.
Not long ago, they had just met, and Consort Zhang was a spirited and beautiful woman, glowing with health. Now, upon meeting again, she looked aged.
Last time she looked as young as her mother-in-law, but now she looked like a grandmother.
Jiang Yu, with her shallow tear ducts, hadn't even said anything when she saw Consort Zhang's appearance, and her tears started falling.
Aunt Yin was taken aback; was this her teaching? How did the girl suddenly become so skilled?
Consort Zhang had a tantrum with the Emperor, who then ordered a thorough investigation, and she also learned about the words Second son of Jiang family had advised the Emperor.
As an old hand in the palace, Consort Zhang had her own sources of information.
She felt grateful towards Second son of Jiang family.
She knew that the Emperor probably didn't feel much sorrow over the death of the Fifth Prince. The Emperor's heart was hard; even when his favorite son, the Crown Prince, died, he didn't grieve much. He was obsessed with cultivating immortality and believed that to achieve immortality, one must sever emotions, thinking it was natural for him to live longer than his sons.
At least Second son of Jiang family made the Emperor show some sympathy for the Fifth Prince.
But the case was solved so quickly that Consort Zhang felt things weren't that simple.
People in the palace believed that the outcome was what mattered.
The Sixth Prince was so highly regarded; what could he gain by killing the Fifth Prince except ruining himself? And it was too coincidental that it was so easily uncovered.
But the Sixth Prince wasn't entirely innocent.
Consort Zhang naturally wouldn't plead for the Sixth Prince, but she wanted to know who the real culprit was.
Her emotions had been tightly strung, and she hadn't even dared to look at her son.
As if not looking meant he was still alive.
Saying he was dead was just a rumor.
At this moment, seeing Jiang Yu cry,
Consort Zhang also hugged her and wailed.
An old woman, having lost her son, what hope did she have left in this life, what hope did she have left?
Jiang Yu wailed, and while crying, she noticed three little girls and a toddler sitting in the room.
She said, "Auntie, I brought some good food, let them eat some, children get hungry easily, eating will keep them full, and you should eat too, okay?"
Jiang Yu let go of Consort Zhang, blew her nose, wiped her hands, and had Aunt Yin help set out the food.
"Eat, everyone try it, it's delicious," she said, taking a piece of sweet cake herself.
While eating, she choked out, "Eat more sweet things, and you won't feel life is so bitter."
Consort Zhang hadn't eaten much in the past few days, and the children naturally hadn't eaten much either. On one hand, they were suddenly brought to the palace and were scared, and on the other hand, hearing that their father had been poisoned made them wary of food.
Now, seeing Princess Caiyi eat first,
Consort Zhang's mouth was stuffed with a piece of cake, sweet and cloying, and she chewed it with tears streaming down her face. It was indeed very sweet.
Then she smiled and distributed the cake to the children.
Seeing the adults eat, the children started grabbing and eating.
Hungry and scared,
Perhaps, for the first time in their lives, these children who had never experienced hardship would remember this meal of cakes, very sweet, very cloying, able to cover the bitterness of life.
......
