Yin Hui raised her head in shock and saw that while Wei Luo’s eyes were rimmed with red, his gaze remained as steady as ever.
Next door, in the Grand Princess Mansion…
As the bell rang, the Eldest Princess wept uncontrollably. She quickly changed into the sackcloth she had worn during Empress Renxiao’s mourning and prepared to enter the palace alongside the children.
Amidst her tears, the ringing ceased. Although she didn’t count herself, a wet nurse beside her did. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her voice trembling as she stuttered, “Princess… it’s… it’s six…”
The Eldest Princess broke down in tears.
She stared blankly at the wet nurse, who knelt before her, sobbing, “It’s the Crown Prince… the Crown Prince is dead!”
Despite the tears still staining her eyes, a whirlwind of emotions swept through the Eldest Princess’s mind.
How could it be the Crown Prince?
Meanwhile, in Prince Chu’s Mansion…
Wei Yan had fallen into a deep slumber, and the first two bells failed to wake him up. It wasn’t until Ji Xianxian woke him that he realized what was happening, and he wept bitterly while holding her close.
Both husband and wife were under the impression that tragedy had struck their family. Fortunately, a servant girl counted the bells and arrived in time to provide a report.
The Crown Prince?
Wei Yan looked at Ji Xianxian, who also looked at him. At that moment, a light flashed in the eyes of the couple.
Prince Chu, the Eldest Princess, and Prince Shu emerged from their mansions almost simultaneously.
In such solemn circumstances, it was best to remain silent. The three families exchanged glances before boarding their carriages one after the other.
Inside the carriages, the three children of the Shu Mansion looked at each other, then turned their gaze to their parents.
When Empress Renxiao passed away from illness, the three children had all wept. However, when their eldest uncle died, their tears were fewer.
For one, they had never been particularly close to their uncle. Their fourth and fifth uncles had been the ones to play with them in their youth, while their eldest and second uncles only exchanged a few words with them during holidays. Naturally, their bond had weakened over time.
Furthermore, their uncle’s sudden death at such a young age left them perplexed. Half of their thoughts were consumed by speculation about the cause of his death rather than by grief.
Yet, they knew it was improper to dwell on such thoughts, so they maintained silence upon entering the carriage.
Wei Luo, too, refrained from shedding tears. He sat in the main seat with lowered eyes, his thoughts veiled from the outside world.
Yin Hui glanced around. When the death bell had rang earlier, everyone had mistakenly believed that the Emperor had passed away, prompting tears from the entire family. Even those who hadn’t shed tears still bore expressions of sadness. No one would criticize them for appearing indifferent.
Like the children, Yin Hui couldn’t bring herself to cry. Her mind was consumed by thoughts surrounding the Crown Prince’s death.
All the Emperor’s relatives arrived at the palace almost simultaneously. The Third Princess, Wei Ying, arrived alone on horseback, having no family to accompany her. She had already made her way to the East Hall.
The Eldest Princess and the Second Princess were supported by their respective children as they entered, tears streaming down their faces.
Ji Xianxian raised her sleeves, fanning herself with pepper water to make her red eyes, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.
Yin Hui, Fu Shan, and Wang Junfang also shed tears as they followed the four princes, making their way towards the East Hall together.
Wei Yan’s eyes were red, his voice choked with emotion as he spoke alongside his three younger brothers, “Brother was in the prime of his life… how could he be gone?”
Though tinged with selfishness, his sorrow was genuine. Among the five brothers, he had grown up closest to the Crown Prince. His third brother was reserved, while the fourth and fifth were too young to engage with. After years of companionship, Wei Yan initially shed tears out of obligation, but soon found himself genuinely grieving as the reality sank in.
Wei Luo, too, felt the weight of sadness, but his tears refused to come.
In their youth, Wei Xuan and Wei Jing had received guidance from the Crown Prince, studying and practicing martial arts together. Though their memories were brief, they now found themselves moved to tears by those moments. Despite the Crown Prince’s flaws, in this moment of loss, his goodness overshadowed everything else in the minds of his brothers.
The group hadn’t yet reached the East Hall when Wei Mei arrived. The sight of the daughter crying for her father was heart-wrenching. Infected by Wei Mei’s tears, even Wei Ning leaned in, her sobs breaking out on her mother’s shoulder.
In the East Hall…
The Crown Prince’s body had been brought to his residence and adorned with his crown.
Emperor Yongping sat aside, observing as his children and grandchildren streamed in one after another, their cries echoing through the hall.
After the initial shock and anger subsided, he was left to confront the reality of bidding farewell to the young man before him, now gone, while he himself, with his white hair, remained.
That young man was his and Empress Renxiao’s child. He still remembered the moment he cradled the newborn, so light that he worried whether the child would even be able to support his own weight.
That child was also the first to call him ‘Father’, and the first to soil him with urine.
Despite the tears that flowed freely, Emperor Yongping found himself smiling.
In the midst of the smile, tears rolled down his cheeks. Finally, he turned his gaze to his eldest son, who appeared as if in peaceful slumber. With a silent nod to himself, he allowed everyone else to depart.
He needed no words of comfort, no attempts to console him in his grief. Such gestures were meaningless—nonsense, unworthy of his attention.
The Crown Prince had passed away, succumbing to overwork.
On the night of the Crown Prince’s death, his concubine, Madam Meng, overwhelmed with grief, took her own life, choosing to follow him into the afterlife.