one thousand taels of silver. The families in the village could scrape together over two hundred taels, and our family has another hundred taels, but it's still not enough.”Young Master Ye said, "Aun...As night deepened, silence enveloped the world.

The once-boisterous cicadas seemed to have vanished into thin air, even from Kunning Palace.

The Third Princess knelt before her mother's coffin, mechanically adding paper money to the basin.

She wasn't sure if these paper money would actually be helpful for her mother, nor did she know if there was truly a Nai He Bridge and a Hall of the King of Hell.

She only knew that from now on, she had no mother.

Actually, since she was young, she had a vague understanding that compared to her as a daughter, her mother valued the Emperor more.

Where the emperor spends his nights with which concubine, who the emperor hugs, and which palace maid he takes into his study to serve him, all will make the empress furious.

Even when she occasionally fell ill with a fever, her mother felt more joy than worry.

Because of this, the emperor would come to visit her and then stay in Kunning Palace...

But as a young girl, she did not know how to express the grievances of being ignored, so she would throw tantrums and beat maidservants and eunuchs.

Only she made mistakes, caused trouble, that's why her mother paid more attention to her...

It wasn't until she grew up and started to understand things that she realized how unreasonable her mother had been.

She also intentionally estranged herself from her mother.

But now, her mother has passed away, lying alone in the coffin.

All resentment and dissatisfaction suddenly vanished, leaving only regret and confusion...

Jia Yin changed into a moon-white dress and hurried to Kunning Palace. As soon as she entered, she saw the lonely Princess and couldn't help but burst into tears.

The girl who always wore a dazzling smile, at this moment looked like a forsaken little creature, lonely and pitiful.

"Princess, I'm here!"

Jia Yin stepped forward and tightly hugged her in his arms.

The Third Princess' eyes were still a little dazed. She turned her head and saw Jia Yin, tears streaming down her face. It took her a long time to come to her senses before she gave a wry smile.

"Jia Yin, you shouldn't have come here. This palace is like hell, and Kun Ning Palace is even worse - it's a prison! Anyone who enters is doomed!"

"No, you've got it wrong. I'm the one who brings misfortune. My mother is dead, my father is heartless, and my fiancé doesn't like me either. My life is a failure, utterly useless."

"Don't say that," Jia Yin said, her heart aching like a knife. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable for everyone. We can't escape them or stop them. The bad things just happened to coincide, they have nothing to do with you."

You are Princess Tianwu, the third daughter of the Tianwu Emperor. You are beautiful and fiery, noble and elegant. Everyone envies you and can't even begin to compare. How could you be a plague god

"Everything will pass, very soon, it will get better."

"Will you" The third princess remained still, leaning against Jia Yin's arms. A pallor had fallen over her once bright and youthful face.

With a heavy heart, Jia Yin could only take out a handkerchief from her purse and gently wipe the tears off the Third Princess's face.

The Third Princess tried to speak, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until she soon fell fast asleep.

Caiyun's eyes were red and swollen from crying. Seeing her master like this, she hurriedly knelt and walked forward.

Jia Yin motioned for her to be quiet, then whispered, "Is there a suitable room Please tidy it up so that the Third Princess can have a good sleep. Otherwise, with her grief like this, she could easily fall ill from holding it all in."

Cai Yun glanced around and asked, "Are we staying here"

"Well," Jia Yin nodded, "at this time, the princess probably doesn't want to leave Kunning Palace." Of course, even if she wanted to leave, it would be difficult.

This sentence, a beautiful sound, remained in her heart unspoken.

The Emperor clearly wants to keep this a secret, letting the dead make way for the living. This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Kunning Palace is now a place of entry only, no exit allowed!

Cai Yun immediately took the maids to clean the side hall. Fortunately, this place was originally where the third princess lived as a child.

Although it had been a long time since the last inhabitant moved out, the basic bed frame and chairs were still there. Finding the head eunuch and asking for bedding and other necessities, one could move in.

Shuiling's power was great, she carried the Third Princess and placed her on the bed.

Cai Yun waited on her master, helping him take off his shoes, wipe his hands and face, and drink some warm water. Only then did she feel at ease.

Jia Yin sat outside, casually asking about past events before comforting Cai Yun and the maidservants.

"Don't worry, the Third Princess is too tired and heartbroken. It's a good thing for her to have a good sleep right now."

"You should keep vigil if you must, and rest if you need to. We'll hear from the princess tomorrow morning."

Cai Yun and the others quickly agreed, although there was still a trace of fear in their expressions, it was much better than before.

You see, the Third Princess wasn't fond of mundane affairs. When Jia Yin lived in Zhi Lan Palace before, she was practically in charge of everything, big or small. The Third Princess didn't bother with any of it.

Compared to the dignified Third Princess, the palace maids and eunuchs were more accustomed to taking orders from Jiāo Yīn.

At this time, she rushed over again, naturally becoming the backbone of everyone.

Jia Yin turned back to look at the Third Princess, but a white shadow flashed across the courtyard, causing the timid eunuch to scream in fright.

"Oh, there's a ghost!"

Everyone was terrified by the shout and ran around like headless flies. After all, there was still a coffin filled with a corpse lying in the main hall, and everyone thought it was a case of faking death!

Jia Yin frowned, just about to open her mouth to scold, when Xiao Hu Li's three jumped into her arms.

Jia Yin let out a long sigh of relief, couldn't help but pat this mischievous little guy's head, "Next time, don't disappear and reappear like that. If you dare scare people again, I'll turn you into a fox fur scarf!"

The little fox felt the master's anger and shrank its neck, too afraid to speak.

As sound could not be conveyed, she turned to the crowd in the courtyard and shouted, "Who was it that was shouting just now Each of you, slap yourself twenty times and go back to your rooms for reflection! Should anyone dare to speak carelessly again and disturb the peace of the departed, they will face severe punishment!"

The timid eunuch was immediately pulled out and before he could beg for mercy, he was slapped twenty times. Then, he was dragged away crying.

Everyone else became very cautious and careful, working hard and no one dared to speak easily.

Jiayin hugged the little fox and sat at the door, allowing everyone to see her at any time and report anything to her.

Seeing this, everyone was naturally very reassured.

Thus, the copper basin in front of the empress's coffin continuously burned paper money, while incense candles and white lanterns remained lit everywhere.

The ice blocks used to cool the coffin need to be replaced every hour without any delay.

Jia Yin stroked the little fox in her hands, her heart feeling a mixture of emotions.

She got along well with the Third Princess, but the Empress... it was far from any affection. One could even say that they had deep animosity towards each other.

Unexpectedly, the Empress died like that. Even in death, her dignity had to be maintained by her own efforts.

It has to be said, life is unpredictable...

In Xilong Pavilion, the prince was still sorting through documents. Feng Gonggong stood bowing at the doorway, secretly pulling his sleeve to cover his face and yawning.

He pondered for a moment, then diligently stepped forward and added another candlestick to the table, carefully persuading, "Your Highness, it's already past midnight. It's time to rest."

The Crown Prince raised his head, glanced at the entrance, and asked, "Any news yet"

Feng Gonggong jumped in fright, his mind spinning wildly. After much effort, he finally understood and quickly replied, "Your Highness, please wait a moment, this old slave will go take a look."

Having said that, he quickly retreated and rushed towards Kunning Palace as soon as he stepped out the door.

Well, that's a slip-up!

He had just brought the county princess over, thinking that with the county princess accompanying the third princess, everything would be fine. Little did he expect that His Royal Highness the Prince would still be concerned about what happened next.

Error, error!eng had already climbed frantically to the threshold, yelling at the top of her lungs."Uncle Li, please save me! Ohhh, your daughter-in-law is going to kill me! I came as a guest, and she wants to mur...