HBWnovel Chapter 490: The Imperial Concubine is Pure and Elegant (24)
Chapter 490: The Imperial Concubine is Pure and Elegant (24)
Chapter 490 The Imperial Concubine is Pure and Elegant (Two Hundred and Forty)
The King of Ji State did not expect that he was just worried that his fourth son still had no wife. The wife he personally arranged for marriage died tragically in her boudoir. This was all thanks to his son, the crown prince.
The king felt that the crown prince was being unfair to his younger brother. The crown prince himself had two sons and one daughter, and many wives and concubines, but he did not allow his younger brother to marry. So the king, as a father, wanted to compensate his fourth son. Seeing that Li Dandan liked the fourth prince, and the fourth prince was not opposed to Li Dandan, he granted the two of them a marriage. He never thought that his action was equivalent to tying King Lounan and the fourth prince together.
When the second princess married Prince Lounan, the crown prince was not panicked. After all, he had a good relationship with the second princess. In the past, the second princess always stayed with his sister Ji Mingyue, and the two sisters often played together. The crown prince was confident that Prince Lounan would stand on his side. And now, Prince Lounan's most beloved sister is marrying the fourth prince as his principal wife. Doesn't that mean that the Lounan tribe will become the fourth prince's helper?
The Crown Princess is the daughter of the Grand Tutor, and her family has some influence among the civil officials, but her influence on the military generals is far less than that of Prince Lounan.
There are many mountains and forests in the Ji Kingdom, and the tribes are scattered among the mountains. King Lounan is the leader of several large tribes, and the military force he represents should not be underestimated.
Ji Mingjie was under house arrest by the king, but his spies were still able to report the news in time. There was singing and dancing at the palace banquet, but the atmosphere in the East Palace was stagnant. The Crown Princess personally delivered dinner, but before she had time to comfort the depressed Crown Prince, she was sent away by the Crown Prince.
Ji Mingjie stayed awake all night. The next day, he finally made up his mind and sent for Mosh.
"Brother Mo, I have something to entrust to you."
"Your Highness, please give me your orders."
Ji Mingjie stood up, patted Mo Shi on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Mo, I am not going to sit idly by and let my fourth brother's power grow, so I want you..."
The two of them whispered to each other, and finally Mosh said goodbye to the prince with a serious expression.
After leaving the Crown Prince's study, Moshi summoned his men and instructed them, "The Crown Prince has ordered that you all proceed to Wu Valley immediately. If any members of the Wu tribe attempt to leave the valley to contact the Fourth Prince, keep them under close surveillance. Also, send someone to closely monitor the whereabouts of Prince Lounan."
Monitoring the movements of the Wu people and King Lounan was just one of the many orders given by the Crown Prince, and it was not a very significant one.
As for other orders, they are even harsher than surveillance.
Since marriages in the Ji Kingdom were not complicated and did not require three matchmakers and six betrothals, the fourth prince's wedding was held the following month.
The joy of the day was palpable, but the next day, shocking news spread throughout the court and the nation: the Fourth Prince's wife had murdered him! The bridal chamber had become a murder scene. Upon hearing the tragic news about her son, the Imperial Concubine immediately left the palace and went to the Fourth Prince's residence. Upon learning that her daughter-in-law had murdered her son, she screamed for Li Dandan's life, but was stopped by Prince Lounan, who claimed his sister was innocent and hoped the truth could be clarified.
But in the end, they found out that Li Dandan and the Fourth Prince had been drugged. Li Dandan fell into an illusion, and the Fourth Prince could not speak or move, and had to watch his newly married wife kill him.
As for who had administered the poison, it was traced back to a maid in the old dowager's palace. It was said that she was in love with the Fourth Prince, who had promised to marry her if she would keep him informed of the old dowager's movements and help him please her. But now, he had married someone else, seeking revenge for the Fourth Prince's cruelty and deception. After uttering these words, the maid vomited blood and died, having already taken the poison.
At this point, there were no more useful clues. It seemed that the Fourth Prince's death was the result of a woman's revenge after a broken heart. The Imperial Concubine naturally did not believe it and thought that the Crown Prince had killed her son. However, after hearing this, the Queen asked the Imperial Concubine to produce evidence, otherwise she would be punished for slandering the Crown Prince.
Although the Queen and the woman before her were sisters, years of living in the imperial harem, driven by their son's succession to the throne and their husband's favor, had long since turned against each other. Only the King still believed the two sisters were as close as they had been in their youth, feeling fortunate to have two sisters, one to handle palace affairs for him and the other to share his romantic moments.
The Imperial Noble Consort could not produce any evidence that the Crown Prince had murdered anyone. She hated her sister and the Crown Prince to death, and was heartbroken over her son's tragic death. She asked her daughter-in-law to be buried with her son so that he would have company on his journey to the underworld.