HLnovel Chapter 396 The Crown Prince Dies 2
Chapter 396 The Crown Prince Dies 2
Fu Jiezhi looked in surprise as a small hand passed across his leash. He turned back coldly, but met Wang Jinyi's astonished gaze.
His cold eyes calmed down instantly, and he just shook the whip in his right hand, which was about to be swung, as a greeting.
After their eyes met, Wang Jinyi suddenly came to his senses and for a moment he even forgot to take his hand back.
The coldness that just flashed across Fu Jiezhi's eyes was almost enough to destroy him, and he even raised the whip!
I dare not think about it. Fortunately, he recognized me as Miss Wang, otherwise I would be asking for trouble!
Different complex emotions planted seeds in the hearts of the two people who passed by in a hurry.
Needless to say, Wang Jinyi was only worried and anxious.
Mo Feng raised his head and neighed softly, as if urging the convoy to move forward.
Wang Jinyi retreated back into the car, looked down at her hand that had caused the trouble, feeling neither amused nor helpless.
On the official road, Xue Chengji's cavalry formed sentry posts along the road and lined up on both sides of the road. Many royal guards either led the way or followed behind the coffin. By the time Wang Jinyi's car started on the road, half an hour had passed.
Yuqing reminded, "Miss, the prince has passed away, we must change our clothes according to etiquette!"
Wang Jinyi's fingertips still felt the cool touch of the shin guards. After Yuqing's reminder, he immediately reacted and ordered:
"Zhu Yu, did I bring plain clothes? Find them out. Everyone change into clothes as soon as possible, quick!"
She lifted the fluttering curtain and looked outside. In a short period of time, everyone in the team covered their colorful armbands with dark cloths, and the military flags were replaced with plain soul-calling banners. Everyone had a serious look on their faces and the team was silent.
Retracting into the car and taking off the colorful rope that secured the crossbow on his wrist, Zhu Yu took off the pearl decoration on the lady's head and replaced the colorful hair rope.
Wang Jinyi had already grabbed a handkerchief and dipped it in clean water to wash her face again. She caught a glimpse of the shoe uppers embroidered with colorful peonies and hurriedly kicked off the embroidered shoes.
When three women in plain clothes appeared in the mirror, they checked each other again before they were satisfied and had time to pay attention to the outside of the car.
Outside the carriage curtain, Xue Chengji took off his red cloak and put on a dark-black robe. His face looked a little colder and more serious. He looked half as thin as before, and a solemn sadness lingered around him.
From this moment on, the caravan never stopped again, and traveled day and night. Even their meals were eaten on the chariots by each person, and the few times they took a break during the day were also hurried.
Later, I couldn’t remember exactly which sunrise and which sunset it was, but finally the carriage stopped.
The alert Yuqing reminded the exhausted Wang Jinyi beside her,
"Miss, someone is here."
Soon there were rhythmic knocks on the car door.
The afterglow of the setting sun outside the door had not yet faded, and three men were standing in front of the car.
One was in front, two were behind, and all three were in casual clothes.
The middle-aged man in front was wearing a dark-colored scholar's robe, a hemp rope tied around his waist, and a white mourning dress. His half-white gray hair was draped over his shoulders, slightly messy in the cold wind of early winter.
Although he looked tired, he could not hide the sadness between his eyebrows. He looked deeply at Wang Jinyi and introduced himself:
"I am Lu Ziyou, the attendant of the Eastern Palace. I am sorry for disturbing the young lady's carriage."
"Hello, Mr. Lu."
Wang Jinyi hurried out of the car and was about to get off when Lu Ziyu stopped her.
"Miss, wait a minute."
"Since Miss Wang calls me sir, I am ashamed to accept it. May I ask if Miss Wang still remembers the prince's entrustment?"
After asking the question, Lu Ziyu stared at the girl in front of him with burning eyes, not wanting to miss any changes in her facial expression.
Wang Jinyi didn't seem to feel the scrutiny from the other person. In his mind, he suddenly saw the scene more than 10 days ago when the prince coughed up blood and weakly uttered two words.
"Please..."
That look full of expectation is unforgettable. I knelt down and promised at that time.
"Nothing entrusted to a person will be lost, and I will definitely fulfill your Highness' wish!"
While the imperial physician was busy trying to save the patient, I knelt down and kowtowed three times before I withdrew.
Today, Lu Ziyou asked Wang Jinyi if he remembered the promise he made. Wang Jinyi raised his eyebrows and replied:
"Mr. Lu was not present at the time, so he didn't know that I had promised him that I would fulfill his wish and live up to the trust of the Crown Prince!"
"Miss, do you know that the things you entrusted to me have to be kept in the Pure Land Temple for a hundred days, waiting for the right person to come and take them?!"
Wang Jinyi pondered as he watched Lu Ziyou take something out of his sleeve and split it in two. He held a lotus-shaped jade pendant in his hand and said:
"The person who comes here must bring half of the lotus jade pendant to match the half in your hand before I can hand it over."
As he spoke, he handed the entire lotus jade pendant in his hand to Yuqing, who then handed it to the young lady for her inspection.
After Wang Jinyi read it carefully, he kept half of it, which meant that he agreed to the handover procedure.
"Lu has another favor to ask of you."
When Wang Jinyi heard the word "please", she subconsciously felt her whole body tense up.
I thought to myself: What do you want me to do again?
Lu Ziyou took back half of the jade pendant and hid it in his sleeve pocket, then took a slender ebony box from the person behind him. The box was completely sealed and there were two pieces of sealing wax on the front and back of the lid.
He held the box solemnly in his hands and said with some emotion:
"There is a family letter in this box. Please keep it for me. When you meet the Lotus Jade Pendant in the future, you can give this family letter to me at the same time!"
Wang Jinyi's heart sank, and she felt that she was being drawn more and more into the royal family's disputes. It was really not a good feeling to be in a situation where she had no choice but to be unable to escape.
Naturally, there was a hint of reluctance on his expression.
How could Lu Ziyou, the experienced counselor of the Eastern Palace, not see the unhappiness of the person in front of him, so he said politely with a gentle expression without showing any emotion:
"The Wang family has produced many famous people, including great scholars and a family tradition of calligraphy, which really makes me admire them."
Wang Jinyi was puzzled as to why he was given such a high honor by his family, but he knew that the person in front of him must have something to say, so he heard Lu Ziyu change the subject and said:
"I think the young lady will definitely inherit the Wang family's tradition of keeping promises and valuing trust. The Wang family has a tradition of keeping a promise..."
Lu Ziyou was still talking, but Wang Jinyi had already understood his intention and shook her head slightly, somewhat displeased. Lu Ziyou actually hinted that if they couldn't keep their promise, the Wang family would be implicated.
Feeling unhappy, Wang Jinyi blurted out directly when the two looked at each other again:
"Mr. Lu, I think you'd better forget about your letter. I only promised the prince to go to the Pure Land Temple to offer sacrifices, and I didn't promise anything else. So there's no need for me to accept the letter from you."
Wang Jinyi's straightforward refusal was beyond Lu Ziyu's expectations. He didn't expect that the young lady from a noble family would not play by the rules, and he sighed in his heart.
It turns out that the Miss Wang that Eastern Palace strategist Wei Wuji always talked about was indeed different. She had personality and temper, and did not follow the rules. This made him somewhat believe why they called her a "literary monster".
It seemed that the little girl from the Wang family understood his intentions and even guessed the deep meaning of offering sacrifices at the Pure Land Temple...