Reborn as a concubine's sister, the eldest lady went crazy

Xu Yixing had a complicated expression. The emperor was almost fifty years old, and at this critical juncture he had to experience the pain of losing a son, and the son was the one who took the least worry out of all the princes. How could he not be miserable?

The emperor had it too easy when he was young. There were no competitive princes of his generation, and Prince Cheng and the empress dowager both favored him. After he ascended the throne, he fought several wars and gradually pacified the surrounding tribes. He was a successful man. There were countless beauties in his harem. Although the princes and princesses had different personalities, they were all capable. If he found out that someone was trying to murder his son now, he would be so angry and crazy.

Xu Yixing could only pray silently in his heart that this gentle eldest prince had really died of illness, otherwise both Lu Anyuan and Lu Chiyan would be affected by the emperor's wrath.

In the following days, the emperor claimed to be ill and cancelled court sessions. He waited silently in the palace, waiting for news from Tutor Liu and also waiting for his first son to return home.

Even when Lu Anyuan went to the palace these few days, he was unable to see his father. Everyone said that he was sad and sick, and now he refused to see anyone.

Helplessly, Lu Anyuan had no choice but to send out secret letters one after another, hoping that his people in Qinan could be a little faster than his father's. This little advantage was very important for him to decide whether to take self-rescue measures.

No one cared about the great victory in the war with the Song Kingdom. On the contrary, everyone even felt a little humiliated. The war that should have been a great victory ended with the death of the main general. The people of Daxia, who had always been proud, could not accept this fact.

The second prince, Lu Chiyan, chose a strategy completely opposite to Lu Anyuan's to some extent - pretending to be sick. He said that he was ill after hearing the bad news, and directly closed the door of the Qibei Palace, and by the way, cut off contact with Concubine Ying in the palace.

This can be considered a wise move. After all, when the emperor thinks of the death of his eldest son, he will remember that this matter was entirely caused by Concubine Ying's groundless accusation against his third son. How can he not vent his anger on his third son?

On February 15th, the eldest prince's coffin was escorted to the capital by the deputy general of the Longwu Guard.

At this time, white lanterns were hung high at the eight gates of the capital to welcome the first son of the current emperor who died on the battlefield in his twenty-plus years on the throne.

As the younger brother's wife, Lu Anyuan and Xu Yixing naturally wore plain clothes and greeted them at the city gate.

Only one month had passed since the eldest prince left for the war. I didn't expect that the next time we met, we would be separated forever.

Lu Anyuan received a reply yesterday. After confirmation by the coroner, his elder brother did die of severe dysentery and no signs of human error were found.

That's why he could come calmly to greet him today. Although the time for sadness had passed, when he saw the hearse passing by, Xu Yixing could still hear his uneven breathing and sobbing.

"Will the eldest prince's body be taken directly back to his palace?" The hearse had already gone far away. Xu Yixing looked at the white road paved with paper money in front of him and asked Lu Anyuan softly.

"Yes, my father asked the Ministry of Rites to treat him with respect and bury him directly in the imperial mausoleum after the funeral is completed."

"It should be." Most of the time, it is fate that plays tricks on people. In any case, among the ten thousand ways of death that Xu Yixing imagined, dying from diarrhea was not one of them.

"Let's go back."

"Aren't you going to worship now?"

"Big brother's mother has already left the palace and entered the mansion. There are too many people and it's chaotic over there now, so we don't need to go there to make up for the crowd."

"Okay." Xu Yixing followed Lu Anyuan into the car and returned home. The whole capital was filled with sadness today, which made people feel breathless.

"By the way, my father conferred the title of King of Pingsong on my eldest brother, and buried him with the rites of a prince."

"Why didn't I hear when the imperial decree was issued?"

"The Ministry of Rites had already drafted it on the way back to Beijing, and they are just waiting to be summoned today. I guess the eunuch has already gone to announce the decree."

Xu Yixing lowered his head and sighed. Apart from the "King of the Weeping North" that the second prince had proclaimed himself, this prince was now the first legitimate prince among the princes. However, the dead were gone, and these titles were ultimately empty.

"Yuan, then who do you think the emperor will vent his anger on for the death of the eldest prince?" The emperor was the main culprit in finding an excuse to attack the State of Song, but Lu Anyuan, the mastermind of the assassination, could not escape blame either.

Every time he thought of this incident, Xu Yixing would secretly be thankful that Lu Anyuan had done a clean job last time, but at the same time he would also be afraid that he had acted too impulsively.

"It's not us anyway."

"Aren't you afraid that the Second Prince will go to the Emperor and complain about you? If I were him, I wouldn't miss this good opportunity."

Lu Anyuan put down the ring in his hand and gently threw it into the small box in front of him. It contained things that his elder brother had given him since he was a child. Xu Yixing took a few glances and saw that they were nothing more than some children's toys, including slingshots, wooden birds, and some accessories.

It's hard for Lu Anyuan to collect them one by one, which is quite thoughtful.

"That's because you don't understand father. Father is only willing to believe the answer he has decided. If second brother were to gossip now, he would definitely become father's punching bag."

"Well... congratulations on escaping this disaster."

Lu Anyuan smiled bitterly. The way things had turned out today was not what he had planned. At least as for his eldest brother, he had never intended to harm him.

"Your Highness, Madam, the imperial edict has arrived!" After the announcement was made, the two of them perked up at the same time and went to the front yard to greet it.

What Li Shi brought was not an imperial edict, but an oral instruction: "The emperor has ordered the second prince Yan to take up his post in the north, to intimidate the southern barbarians, to contain the barbarians, and to be in charge of all important affairs within the fiefdom. He must leave the capital within three days. Inform all the prefectures of Yu, and I will order this!"

Huh? Xu Yixing hit his head on the ground, muffling his shock.

How do you explain this?

After sending the strongman away, she almost restlessly stepped on the door frame and pulled Lu Anyuan to ask, "It seems that your father has already made a decision. He wants to drive the second prince away. Do you think he will be desperate and force you out at this time?"

Lu Anyuan held her hand back and squeezed it gently, signaling her to be at ease.

"I don't think so. Although Father drove him out of the capital, the reason he used was respectable. It was not considered a criminal exile. But I don't understand. My eldest brother's coffin will be buried in seven days, and my second brother has not been to cause bad luck recently. Why would Father drive him away before my eldest brother's funeral..."

Lu Anyuan thought for a while, as if he had made up his mind: "Madam, you stay at home and I will go to the palace."

"What are you doing going into the palace now!" Concubine Ying knew that the Second Prince was leaving the capital, and she didn't know how to make a fuss. It would be too chaotic to go to the palace now!

"Go and plead for mercy for my second brother!" Lu Anyuan said, without bothering to explain, he hurriedly let go of Yixing's hand and rode his horse straight to the palace. If he guessed correctly, some of the other brothers might have arrived before him.