vrcanaries Chapter 501: The prince is dead?
Chapter 501: The prince is dead?
"Your portrait is posted in almost every town in Shu County of Western Shu Kingdom. It is not difficult to find it."
After Ji Yuntang finished speaking, she immediately realized something and said in surprise:
"We just walked through almost half of Mingyue Town, including the most prosperous and bustling streets, but we didn't see a single portrait of you."
"If this is really the only fortress road leading to the capital, then this is very unreasonable."
Mingyue Town is connected to the capital of Western Shu. Although it is far less prosperous than the capital, it is a place that merchants from all over the world pass through on their way to the capital, and it is also the place where news is transmitted the fastest.
Empress Dowager Yuan searched everywhere for Chu Yi, so there should be no lack of his portrait here.
At this time, the three of them had already walked into the restaurant's private room. Xie Liuzheng ordered a large table of dishes. He first pulled a chicken leg for Ji Yuntang and put it in the bowl, then pulled a chicken leg for himself and gnawed on it.
He ate while mumbling, "What's unreasonable about this? The Queen Mother Yuan sent troops to hunt him for two years but couldn't find him. That means she's tired of hunting him and gave up!"
Just now on the road, he had already learned about Hua Feixue's true identity and current situation, and also knew the real reason why he dressed as a woman.
Xie Liuzheng expressed deep sympathy for him.
He was clearly the crown prince of a country, but he could only survive by pretending to be crazy and stupid. His brothers, sisters and mother all died at the hands of Empress Dowager Yuan, and his father was too ill to attend court. The entire Western Shu royal family was completely controlled by Empress Dowager Yuan, and there was no place for the Chu family anymore.
Such a prince may seem glorious, but in fact he is very cowardly.
The most infuriating thing is that Hua Feixue wants to take revenge on her own, which in principle is a very difficult thing to do.
After all, how could one person defeat the thousands of troops under Yuanshi's command?
It's a blessing in disguise that he's alive!
Hua Feixue kept silent with a tense face. Ji Yuntang also realized that something was wrong. She said solemnly: "It's not that simple."
"Empress Dowager Yuan has been looking for the prince for two years. How could she just give up like that?"
At this moment, Ji Yuntang caught a glimpse of a clerk from the clothing store downstairs hanging a white lantern at the door of the store.
The lantern is very unique in appearance, with six angular sides and a dragon, phoenix and eight trigrams pattern painted on the surface, and a government seal on the lower corner.
Looking around, within a quarter of an hour, identical white lanterns were hung in front of the shops on the entire street.
Just then, the waiter of the restaurant came in to serve wine. Ji Yuntang stopped him and asked curiously: "Young man, today is not a festival, why are you all hanging white lanterns at the door of the store?"
When the waiter saw that the person asking him the question was a young lady, he stopped and explained: "Are you from other places?"
"You may not know this yet. This is the dragon and phoenix boneless lamp that only our Western Shu Kingdom has. It is specially used to commemorate the deceased members of the royal family."
Xie Liuzheng interrupted curiously, "Who died? Could it be Empress Dowager Yuan?"
The waiter immediately said in panic: "Hey, young master, you can't say such things carelessly. The Empress Dowager Yuan is in good health and has great blessings. She will definitely live a long life."
"Not all members of the royal family are qualified to use this dragon and phoenix boneless lantern. Only the emperor, empress, and their legitimate son, the crown prince, can use it three days before their burial when they pass away. The purpose is to allow the common people to mourn them."
Ji Yuntang frowned and said, "As far as I know, Empress Chu has passed away for many years. Could it be that Emperor Chu has also..."
However, when she was in Dongchen Kingdom, she did not hear the news of Emperor Chu's death.
If Emperor Chu really passed away, the Kingdom of West Shu would definitely host a banquet for the Kingdom of East Chen, and Emperor Jingyang would also send envoys to attend the funeral.
I haven't heard of it, which means it wasn't Emperor Chu who died.
The waiter's answer told several people the answer.
He lowered his voice and said: "It's not Emperor Chu, it's the Crown Prince."
Hearing this, the three of them were shocked at the same time, and the chicken leg in Xie Liuzheng's mouth fell directly into the bowl.
He looked at the waiter in shock, then at Hua Feixue.
The prince of Western Shu Kingdom died. Who was sitting opposite him at dinner?
At this time, the waiter saw the wedding invitation that Ji Yuntang had forged and placed on the table.
He said, "I guess you guys are going to the capital to attend a wedding banquet. To tell you the truth, all wedding and birthday banquets in the capital will be cancelled in the next few days until the body of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is buried in the imperial mausoleum."
"This dragon and phoenix boneless lamp was ordered by Empress Dowager Yuan, specifically for commemorating our Crown Prince, who is the only living son of Emperor Chu and Empress Chu."
"Who would have thought that two years ago, the Crown Prince was so playful that he actually ran away from the palace. The Empress Dowager Yuan sent people to search the entire Western Shu Kingdom, but they couldn't find him for two whole years. It was only recently that we found some information about his whereabouts."
"By the time Empress Dowager Yuan sent people to rush over, the Crown Prince had already been burned to death in his bed. He was completely disfigured and even his original appearance could not be seen!"
Xie Liuzheng asked in confusion, "Then how can you be sure that he is the Crown Prince?"
The waiter said, "Of course he carried with him the badge proving his identity as the Crown Prince!"
Xie Liuzheng sneered, "Your Majesty is too careless to judge someone's identity based on just a badge!"
The waiter was immediately displeased when he heard this. "You are so bold that you have repeatedly made up stories about our Queen Mother and said bad things about her. Do you know how much effort she has put in for our Western Shu Kingdom over the years?"
"The emperor is seriously ill, the prince is missing, and almost all the important affairs of the court are placed on the shoulders of Empress Dowager Yuan. As a woman in the harem, she has to bear these responsibilities that do not belong to her, and also bear the huge pressure from the outside world, and she has to support the entire Western Shu Kingdom."
"In the eyes of ordinary people like us, she is a person who is comparable to the queen. What a remarkable person she is. If it weren't for her, the Western Shu Kingdom would have been divided up by the other three kingdoms long ago. How could ordinary people like us live and work in peace?"
After the waiter finished speaking, he put down the wine bottle in his hand and was about to leave angrily, but was stopped by Ji Yuntang in time.
"Hey, young man, don't be in such a hurry to leave. My brother speaks like this. He is used to being unruly. Don't bother with him."
"We still have some questions to ask you. Please help us answer them."
As Ji Yuntang spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his bosom and stuffed it into the waiter's hand.
She smiled and said, "It's just a little gift, I hope you will accept it."
The waiter rolled his eyes at Xie Liuzheng but still accepted the silver.
"This girl is sensible and reasonable. She is pleasant to listen to."
"I wonder what else the girl wants to know?"