Chapter 23: The Crying Funeral Contest

Jiang Jiang Mingyu led a twenty-man Longyang Army squad, urging their horses at full gallop, and after exiting the Left Guard Command, raced westward toward the Eastern Palace.

By law, any troop unit moving swiftly within Jingcheng must carry military documents from the Ministry of War, an Imperial Edict, a Tiger Tally, or similar credentials; otherwise, checkpoints along the way would intercept them.

However, because Jiang Jiang Mingyu held the "Regent's Hand Order," the entire journey proceeded without obstruction!

Upon Jiang Jiang Mingyu's return to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was no longer there.

The Crown Princess stated that not long ago, palace attendants had sent a sixteen-palanquin imperial carriage procession to escort the Crown Prince into the palace!

"Jiang Da Ren, you must quickly lead the Longyang Army into the palace..."

The Crown Princess, her expression anxious, said, "The situation inside the palace is currently unclear; I fear... the Crown Prince may meet with misfortune?"

"What misfortune could befall the Crown Prince?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked, his face full of confusion. For in his understanding, the Crown Prince held a status second only to the Emperor and above ten thousand men; within the entire Great Feng Dynasty, who would dare touch a single hair on the Crown Prince's head?

The Crown Princess also knew that Jiang Jiang Mingyu was not from the palace, had only recently taken office, and was unfamiliar with the deep waters of court intrigue; yet, in this brief moment, it was very difficult to explain everything to him clearly.

"I have no time to explain..."

The Crown Princess urged, "You must enter the palace immediately with the Longyang Army, but under no circumstances take the Zhu Que Gate..."

Before the Crown Princess could finish speaking, Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked again, his face full of confusion.

"Not taking the Zhu Que Gate?" Because if he did not take the Zhu Que Gate, he would not know how to enter or exit the Imperial Palace.

The Crown Princess: "Yes... you must change course to the Bai Hu Gate, enter through the Bai Hu Gate; then find the Sea Prison, Eunuch Hai..."

As she spoke these words, she went to the desk behind her, retrieved a half-foot-long dark blue goose feather and an envelope containing three thousand taels of silver notes, and handed them to Jiang Jiang Mingyu.

Then she continued, "Hand these two items to him, and he will lead you into the Inner Palace."

Inside the Imperial Palace, there are two major areas: the Qiandian and the Hougong.

The Qiandian is for political deliberation, the area where the Emperor and civil and military officials hold court sessions and conduct official business. The Hougong is the residential area for the Empress and consorts; generally, external officials are not permitted to enter without authorization.

These two areas are separated by two city walls, with the "Qi Ye Gate" and the "Shang Mu Gate" serving as boundaries, where entry and exit are strictly controlled and the guards are heavily stationed.

After Jiang Jiang Mingyu accepted the goose feather and the envelope, he shyly asked, "But... I have never walked through the Bai Hu Gate and do not know how to get there!"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess nearly fainted from anger!

She pressed her hand to her forehead and said, somewhat helplessly, "The Longyang Army knows the way; you simply follow them."

A Wei from the Imperial Kitchen had sensed that the atmosphere within the palace was quite off since he arrived early that morning!

Not only were officials in various colored court robes filling the area outside the palace—purple, red, blue, and green—but the number of guards was also double the usual amount!

Had he not held the title of Second-Class Deputy Chef, he too would have been blocked outside the palace gates and unable to enter.

Today, Eunuch Hai's expression was particularly solemn; at the small palace gate on the south side of the Imperial Kitchen, eunuchs frequently ran out from within to whisper with Eunuch Hai, and no one knew what information they were exchanging!

Although A Wei was curious, he dared not ask, so he obediently followed the routine and performed the daily tasks he was supposed to do.

Suddenly, a small eunuch led a green-robed civil official, followed by a squad of Brocade-Clad Guards displaying the banner of the Left Guard Command, arriving at the Imperial Kitchen.

In the past, if A Wei had encountered such a scene in the market alleys outside the palace, he would certainly have been so frightened he would have wet his pants!

He would have instinctively wanted to flee or find a place to hide, not wanting to cause trouble and daring not to meddle. But now, working in the Imperial Kitchen and relying on the presence of Eunuch Hai, he watched them with boldness!

He felt not only curious but also wanted to find out exactly what was happening so he could brag about it to his friends later.

One saw Eunuch Hai accept a feather and an envelope from the green-robed official; after a brief conversation, he immediately entered the Imperial Kitchen with a solemn face and dismissed all assistant chefs, deputy chefs, including A Wei, sending them all home!

He also stated that until further notice, they did not need to return to the palace for duty, leaving only a few veteran chefs on shift.

A Wei, who did not understand the situation, seeing the rare heavy expression on Eunuch Hai's face, dared not ask more, so he quickly packed up his tools to go home with the others.

Before leaving, the curious A Wei glanced back twice. At that moment, Eunuch Hai, the green-robed official, and that squad of Brocade-Clad Guards were blocked before the small palace gate; the scene was somewhat stiff, as if in a standoff!

The two guards standing watch before the small palace gate, seeing Eunuch Hai leading a group trying to force their way into the palace, immediately called for reinforcements; within a short while, another batch of guards rushed out from inside the palace!

Thus, on both sides of the small palace gate, two groups gathered; the group outside was eager to enter, while the group inside stubbornly blocked them, refusing entry!

Tu Tu Kesiluo, who had just returned from outside the palace for duty, happened to pass by the small palace gate at that moment; as the Deputy Commander, he instinctively went forward to investigate.

At a glance, he recognized the green-robed official as none other than the Crown Prince's Lecturer, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, Jiang Da Ren, who had frequently entered and exited the Imperial Palace over the past year.

"What's going on, what's going on, all this noise and clamor? This is the forbidden Inner Palace; do you dare to make such a scene? If you disturb His Majesty, what will you do? Do you have enough heads for the executioner to chop?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo, a man of military background, assumed an air of superiority and reprimanded the two squads of guards before him!

At that moment, he still did not know what had happened inside the palace.

"Oh my, it is my lord Tu Tu Kesiluo!"

Eunuch Hai explained, "You must quickly... order these gate guards to let us pass so we can enter to protect the Emperor!"

Upon hearing the keyword "protect the Emperor," Tu Tu Kesiluo was instantly jolted awake!

Still not understanding the situation, he asked urgently, "What did you say? Protect the Emperor? Protect whose Emperor?"

Seeing that the soldiers before him would not be reasoned with in the short term, Jiang Jiang Mingyu...

Knowing well that a scholar meeting a soldier cannot make reason understood, he simply took out the Regent's Hand Order from his robe again, raised it high, and shouted.

"Acting by Imperial Decree; anyone blocking the road shall be executed!"

All the guards inside the gate, including Tu Tu Kesiluo, upon seeing the four characters "As if the Emperor himself were present"...

Instantly triggered their muscle memory; like a reflex action, they all knelt on one knee, heads bowed, and shouted in unison, "Pay respects to the Imperial Envoy!"

Having tasted the sweetness of this trick several times on his journey, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, full of spirit, ordered, "You all must quickly make way for this official!"

Upon these words, without needing an order from Tu Tu Kesiluo, the guards inside the gate automatically cleared a path for Jiang Jiang Mingyu and the squad behind him to pass!

Although Tu Tu Kesiluo knew Jiang Jiang Mingyu and was aware of his background, they were not on close terms; as Jiang Jiang Mingyu led his team through the small palace gate, Tu Tu Kesiluo kept a watchful eye!

He also led another squad to follow behind, ostensibly to provide support for protecting the Emperor, but actually to assist and coordinate.

After the Imperial Physicians had struggled through the night to save the Emperor, it was not until dawn that he was declared dead; at this time, the body still lay in the Lingxia Palace, and no one dared to move it.

The Crown Prince, riding in a sixteen-palankin imperial carriage, arrived at the Lingxia Palace with the procession; after alighting, he crawled on his knees, weeping and kneeling, into the Lingxia Palace.

When he saw the Emperor's body lying on the dragon bed in the Piandian, he quickly crawled over, wailing and crying out to heaven and earth all the way!

Seeing the Emperor's remains, the Crown Prince's heart was cut like a knife, and he was in such agony that he wished to die.

He wailed until his voice was hoarse, the sound filled with grief and despair, as if he were trying to bring the sky crashing down.

Tears flowed without cease, quickly soaking through his collar.

The Crown Prince lay beside the Emperor, clutching that already cold body, weeping uncontrollably.

The Crown Prince could not leave the Emperor's side for a moment; it was as if only by holding the Emperor tightly could his heart find even a shred of comfort.

Yet when he opened his eyes again, what he saw was still the Emperor's lifeless face.

The sorrow in his heart surged like a raging river, impossible to restrain.

Within the Lingxia Palace, the Crown Prince's cries were the most desolate.

Like a child who had lost his way, he shouted the two words "Father Emperor" with all his might, his voice breaking, yet receiving no answer in return; he could only bury those repeated cries of "Father Emperor" along with his tears deep within the cold palace walls.

The Crown Prince's grief nearly drowned him; looking at him, it seemed as though his own life had ended with the Emperor's passing.

He clung tightly to the Emperor's corpse, as if trying to keep the Emperor from leaving, or perhaps trying to merge their two lives into one.

Yet things did not go as he wished; he could only lose his bearings in boundless sorrow, drifting further and further away from those silent palace walls.

Inside the Lingxia Palace, everyone wept bitterly, with sobbing rising and falling in waves.

In a short while, Prime Minister He also arrived; just like the Crown Prince, he crawled on his knees all the way into the hall, crying and wailing, his voice hoarse, his grief no less than the Crown Prince's. At this moment, beside the Emperor's dragon bed, one saw the Crown Prince and Prime Minister He, one on the left and one on the right, wailing together, as if competing to see who could cry louder and more terribly!

They were like two fledglings who had lost their master, helplessly crying out and lamenting before the dragon bed, yet ultimately unable to win back a response from the living.

Lord Nine Thousand, citing the need to procure ice and a cold cellar for the Emperor's body, temporarily left the Lingxia Palace.

As soon as he stepped out of the Lingxia Palace, he saw Prime Minister Mei from afar, weeping and wailing.

Crawling on his knees all the way, bowing his head to the ground with each step while crying out the two words "Emperor," his pitiful appearance was like that of a child who had lost a relative, crawling toward him...