Chapter 1097: Bury the Fourth Prince
Mu Xue’s request to be removed from the position of heir apparent was just an attack disguised as a retreat. This way, there would be the ministers to exert pressure on Ning Shu.
Ning Shu looked at these people, then said scornfully, “It’s our daughter that died. You people don’t feel the pain commenting on matters that don’t involve you. Mu Xue, your younger sister had died because of you. Could it be that you don’t feel any guilt?”
Mu Xue knocked her head against the ground and spoke in a low muffled voice that contained a hint of a nasally tone. “This subject daughter had never thought about killing Fourth Imperial Sister. This subject daughter isn’t worthy of being the heir apparent. Imperial Mother, please remove this subject daughter from this position.”
“Your Majesty, please reconsider!” The ministers immediately started crying out again.
Ning Shu’s face was filled with weariness. In the end, she waved her hand dismissively and said, “The crown prince is to reflect in isolation. Without our decree, she’s not to take a single step out of the crown prince’s residence.”
“This subject daughter kowtows in thanks to Imperial Mother’s grace.” Mu Xue kowtowed.
Ning Shu looked at Mu Yao who was on the stretcher. “Prepare a coffin for the fourth prince.”
Ning Shu was staggering even as she walked. If it weren’t for Court Lady Qiu supporting her, she probably would’ve already fallen.
Mu Xue looked at Ning Shu’s back, her gaze dark.
The moment Ning Shu got back to her resting palace, she collapsed on the bed weakly. It was a good while before she could say, “Bury the fourth prince as quickly as possible.”
Court Lady Qiu voiced her understanding.
However, since there was no ready-made coffin, Ning Shu gave Mu Nichang’s imperial coffin to Mu Yao. The ministers originally wanted to say that this didn’t correspond with the customs, but when they saw Ning Shu’s red eyes that were filled with cold anger, they didn’t dare to say anything.
From the start, the crown prince had been in the wrong in this matter. However, the crown prince was only under confinement while the fourth prince had died.
They were already in a dangerous position after speaking up for the crown prince, so they didn’t dare to provoke Ning Shu anymore.
The fourth prince’s corpse was loaded into the coffin at the fastest speed possible and the burial was to be held the next day.
What was spread was that the emperor couldn’t accept the fourth prince’s death and just wanted to her to be laid to rest as quickly as possible. The other rumor that went around was that she was doing this to protect the crown prince.
Late in the night, the main palace now had white clothes hung everywhere. The bean-sized flame of the weak oil lamp flickered occasionally.
A gorgeous coffin was placed in the center of the room, so it was slightly eerie. Ning Shu walked into the main palace and with great difficulty, pushed open the coffin. She reached out and patted Mu Yao’s face while saying, “Hey, wake up.”
Mu Yao’s face was ashen and she was dressed beautifully as she lay motionlessly in the coffin. Ning Shu impatiently pinched Mu Yao’s nose. At the start Mu Yao was still able to endure it, then in the end, she couldn’t help but open her mouth to breathe.
“Owww, my head.” Mu Yao struggled to sit up, then she rubbed the back of her head. “Imperial Mother, this subject daughter’s head hurts so bad. Why didn’t you wrap it for this subject daughter?”
“You’re already dead, so why waste the effort?” Ning Shu waved and hidden guards walked in from outside. They were carrying rocks which they quickly placed in the coffin.
“Nail the coffin shut,” instructed Ning Shu.
She leaned against a pillar in the palace, then looked towards Mu Yao who was still rubbing her head. “In the future, just live well with Yuan Jun.”
“He told us that he’d go to the imperial grave to watch over your spirit.” Ning Shu felt that the current Yuan Jun was not quite the same as the Yuan Jun in the original storyline. The current Yuan Jun suffered a lot of criticism wherever he went because he had lost his chastity. No matter how much ambition he had, it was bound to shrink in this kind of environment.
Furthermore, Ning Shu could tell that Mu Yao’s death had dealt Yuan Jun a heavy blow. After all, Mu Yao sincerely cared about Yuan Jun and during the time that Yuan Jun had been in despair, Mu Yao had stayed by his side without ever turning away.
He planned to spend the rest of his life in the desolate imperial graveyard to be a tomb guardsman.
“Thank you, Imperial Mother. This subject daughter understands,” said Mu Yao with a smile. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for this subject daughter.”
“This subject daughter is going to go travel the world now,” said Mu Yao. “This subject daughter will travel the world together with Yuan Jun and the other people that this subject daughter loves.”
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