Chapter 329: Royal Annex

Feng Xuanrui wanted to read, and Feng Xuanbin also wanted to show himself.

Prince Qi didn't want to compete with the two children, so in the end the whole family gathered to read the letter.

Sun Ronglin is already eleven this year, so the letter was written by him himself; his handwriting is good, though his youth lacks a bit of vigor, but after a few more years of practice it should be fine.

Lian Ruoyi is young; although she has started studying, she knows few characters, and encountering unfamiliar ones makes writing letters troublesome.

Therefore, half of her letter was written by herself, and the other half was penned by her older brother on her behalf.

The two children's letters, free of adult concerns, mostly ask Sui Sui whether, after arriving in Jing, they have adapted, how they are doing, whether the family members get along, and whether they have made new friends.

Have you started studying yet?

…

The two asked many things, basically all everyday matters.

Lian Ruoyi sent Sui Sui two volumes of the popular dialogue books from Wen Zhou.

Sun Ronglin sent dried fruit from Qingzhou.

Besides these, there were some slightly valuable gifts prepared by the adults.

Gifts between the children were relatively simple.

The adults' gifts, Sui Sui and the others didn't care about.

After hearing the letters, the three children circled around the dried fruit for a while.

Finally Aunt Qiu stepped in, prepared tea snacks, and let the three children taste them.

Among the items sent were candied plums, which tasted sweet and sour and were quite good.

However, considering the children's teeth, they were not allowed to eat too much.

When Sui Sui drank the tea, the flavor of the plum lingered.

A bit sour, but after being coated with sugar, the taste was excellent.

It carried a hint of endless aftertaste.

Sun Ronglin's letter said that in a few days he would accompany his mother to find his father, and the family would be reunited.

Therefore, the next time a letter is sent to him, it must be mailed to Hezhou.

Sui Sui didn't know where Hezhou was, but the mailing itself originally didn't require her to worry.

After discussing with the older brothers for a while, whether Hezhou was farther than Qingzhou, the three children happily went off to play.

The sky shifted, yet it remained a sunny day.

Prince Qi and his party got up early, tidied up, ate a vegetarian meal, burned incense, and then set off toward the annex.

The Royal Annex is a bit far from Lanruo Si.

The carriage rocked for more than half a hour before arriving.

Riding a horse would probably be faster.

But the carriage went too fast; the nobles couldn't endure the jolts, and since they were not in a hurry, they let the carriage and horses sway slowly.

The Emperor hadn't brought anyone here for summer retreat, so there were few people at the annex.

However, Prince Qi sent someone early on to inform them, ordering the palace staff to ready the rooms.

Thus, many people knew that Prince Qi was also coming.

The palace staff, who had been somewhat lazy, instantly became busy.

When Prince Qi's party arrived, a chief steward had already led a line of people waiting.

Prince Qi's group brought their own attendants, so they didn't need these palace staff to serve them.

Following the chief steward to the place they would stay tonight, after a quick tidy-up, Prince Qi hugged Sui Sui and took the Feng Xuanrui brothers to look for Feng Xuanshang.

Princess Consort of Qi was not in a hurry to go.

Although the palace staff had already prepared the place.

But she was uneasy, needing to inspect it herself once more, and also ensure the tea snacks and such were ready, lest the children become hungry after playing.

While she was busy with the people, Prince Qi had already taken Sui Sui to the herb field.

The Royal Annex has particularly many herb fields.

However, they are not all in one spot; after all, many precious flowers and trees are also planted, with herb fields interspersed among them.

The daily care by the palace staff is fairly diligent, so the growth is good.

Prince Qi wasn't actually sure which herb field was ripe, so he randomly chose one, and then saw Feng Xuanshang lift his robe, roll up his trousers, and carefully inspect the herbs in the ground.

Hearing the movement, and with a young servant's reminder, Feng Xuanshang only then realized someone had arrived.

He hurriedly yet steadily tidied his clothes, returned to the field's edge, quickly rinsed his feet, put on his shoes, striving not to be impolite, and then stepped out.

After exchanging greetings, Prince Qi waved his hand: "Family, no need to be so formal. You do your thing; I'll just take the children for a walk. Since Sui Sui hasn't been here, I thought I'd bring the kids to see."

Recent rains have been good, so the medicinal herbs in the fields are thriving.

Feng Xuanshang estimated that in at most two more days they could be harvested.

Having heard Prince Qi's words, he promptly nodded and replied, "Understood, Uncle Wang."

After responding, Feng Xuanshang asked, "Do you have the medicine pouch I made? There are many mountain insects; you must be careful."

Prince Qi naturally didn't have one, so Feng Xuanshang quickly had someone bring the newly made one over and placed it on Uncle Wang.

Regarding the medicine pouch, the scented sachet…

Prince Qi still felt a slight aversion in his heart.

But after seeing Sui Sui look on curiously without any odd reaction, Prince Qi thought…

He can't always be like this.

Mountain insects are indeed many; he's not especially afraid.

But if he doesn't wear it and the insects bite the children, …

Thinking of this, Prince Qi thought that this medicinal fragrance wasn't entirely untakeable, huh? He just didn't know…

After all this turmoil for so many days, is the Che family still alive?

At this moment in the palace, the Emperor has just received a report from the Da Li Si.

The women of the Che household have already been cut down by more than half.

Although the Che household was never truly wealthy before, they hadn't suffered too much hardship either.

The pampered, high‑status women—how could they endure the suffering of Tianlao?

Therefore, after being locked up for only a few days, people began falling ill one after another.

Moreover, there is internal strife among them.

Car Maid blamed the family members for acting behind her back, giving the Prince a drug, causing her to fall to this state.

Brother, however, said they had other plans, and what concern does a woman have? Because of this, Car Maid scratched her sister‑in‑law's face, scratched the faces of three nieces—including Che Lingzhi—and also pulled out a lot of hair.

In short…

The fighting was especially ugly.

After investigation, it was discovered that the Che family had ties to the Su family of those years.

Without the Empress Dowager needing to say much, the Emperor has already arrested all the relevant personnel.

Although the nine clans weren't touched, all members of the Che clan have been arrested.

With many women, the prison became lively.

Every day there was this shouting, that uproar, this beating, that scratching…

In the end, after all the turmoil, the sick fell sick, the dead died.

Now, half have already been lost.

The remaining half also doesn't look very good.

The Da Li Si's report naturally wasn't out of pity for them, but to consult His Majesty's opinion.

These women, at a glance, can't hold out for long; should we intensify interrogation now, so that before they die they can spit out whatever they have?

Otherwise, dying would be in vain—a bit too wasteful.

Second watch.