Chapter 288: Concubine Zhen passed away
After giving an order to the outside, Jia Cong said to Keqing, "Judging from the sound of the bell just now, I'm afraid a noble from the royal family has passed away!"
Keqing exclaimed when she heard this, "Will it be a hindrance to my husband?"
Jia Cong smiled and said, "Don't worry, at least it's not the Emperor or His Majesty who is in trouble. Otherwise, the entire Shenjing would have been under martial law by now."
Jia Cong had no time to sleep anyway. Keqing called Ruizhu over to help Jia Cong get dressed. Then Keqing said again, "Since this is a matter for the palace, my husband will probably be busy again. But it's so cold, you should take care of yourself."
"Well, it's alright! Don't you know whether your husband is in good health or not?"
After being teased by Jia Cong, Keqing tied the cloak on Jia Cong with a blushing face.
By the time Jia Cong was dressed, Jia Zhong also arrived.
"Master, the palace bell rang twenty-seven times just now. I'm afraid a noble has passed away!"
"I see. Send someone to tell the eldest sister-in-law and Yuanyang to put on their make-up, and then follow me to the West Mansion to meet the old lady! I guess that either the queen mother or the old concubine has passed away, and the old lady and the imperial edicts in the mansion also need to enter the palace."
After Jia Zhong left, Jia Cong said to Keqing, "I will go to the main hall first. After I leave, I will ask Lu Feng to bring people to guard the gate. If there is something wrong in the mansion, let Qin Lian go to find Jia Zhong. If he can't handle it, he will naturally send someone to send a message to me."
"My husband, just go!"
When Jia Cong returned to Ningzheng Hall, Qingwen had apparently heard the noise and woke up.
"Master, what happened?" Qingwen asked worriedly.
"Nothing!" Jia Cong said, "It's because I'm afraid that a noble lady in the palace has passed away, so I have to go to the palace. Wait until dawn. You all change into plain clothes. Don't drink and play in the house. Keep Xiao Que under control. Don't go to other rooms for the time being. Just stay in our room."
Qingwen nodded and wrote them down one by one.
After waiting for a while, Youshi and Yuanyang came over! Youshi was relatively calm. After all, as a royal concubine, she had seen many scenes when she entered the palace with the old lady. But Yuanyang had only entered the palace once to express gratitude during the New Year. This was her first time to encounter such a big event, so she looked a little nervous.
"Brother Cong, do you know which noble person in the palace this is?"
As Jia Cong led the two out of the door and headed straight for the West Mansion, he whispered, "It should be the old Concubine Zhen in the palace!"
There were only four and a half nobles in the palace who were qualified to ring the twenty-seven bells! The four of them were naturally the emperor and the empress, as well as the retired emperor and the empress dowager. As for the other half, it was because the old concubine Zhen had a higher generation and status, so it was not surprising that the retired emperor treated her like this.
Although the empress dowager was also not young, she was much younger than the old Concubine Zhen. Moreover, Jia Cong also met the empress dowager on New Year's Eve. The empress dowager 's face was rosy. Unless something unexpected happened, it would be impossible for her to die in less than half a month.
The West Palace was even busier than the East Palace, and almost all the masters in the palace were busy.
When Jia Cong and his party arrived at the old lady's room, except for the girls who had not come because the old lady had sent a message, only the two younger ones, Jia Huan and Jia Lan, were not there, while the rest were all present.
"Brother Cong is here?" Jia Zheng pulled Jia Cong to his side.
Jia Cong nodded, "Since the bell has rung, I think the palace will send an order soon. I will rush over to wait, and then our family can go together."
Fortunately, the old lady probably had some guesses in her mind, so she didn't look anxious or worried! With the current status and power of the Jia family, unless the emperor or His Majesty passed away, there would be no chaos at all.
Sure enough, not long after waiting, an imperial decree came from the palace saying that the old Concubine Zhen had passed away. All officials of the imperial court and officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing were required to go to the palace to mourn. The rest of the idle officials at all levels were to immediately return to their own offices and fast for 27 days.
In the palace, the emperor had to stop attending court for three days and wear mourning clothes for twenty-seven days. All other civil and military officials were not allowed to drink, have fun, or get married or have funerals before the fasting period was over. All the people in the capital also had to wear mourning clothes for twenty-seven days and were not allowed to drink or have fun in any way for a hundred days.
In addition, no slaughter is allowed within the 49 days, and all Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are to ring the rooster bell 30,000 times.
After receiving the imperial edict, the old lady asked Jia Cong, "Grandson, we will enter the palace later. Is there anything we need to pay attention to?"
Jia Cong closed his eyes and tapped lightly on the table beside him with his fingers. Everyone else's eyes were on him, waiting for him to speak.
After a while, Jia Cong finally opened his eyes and said, "Old Madam, you are bringing the two wives, the eldest sister-in-law, and Yuanyang into the palace, but no matter what, you cannot get too close to the women in Beijing Prince's Mansion. You just need to save face. If you mention anything else, you must not agree to it casually."
"The Zhen family is our old family, and Yuanchun was supported by the old Concubine Zhen in the palace. Now that the Concubine Zhen has passed away, our family has become so distant?" Wang frowned and said, "Doesn't this make our Jia family seem too cold and indifferent?"
Jia Cong sneered and said, "Even if I am labeled as cold and indifferent, it is better than dying with the Zhen family!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present changed color! The relationship between the Zhen family and the Jia family is not shallow, and how powerful is the Zhen family? How could they be buried with the Jia family when they have such great influence in Jiangnan?
"Grandson, have you heard any rumors?" asked Grandmother Jia in a serious tone.
Jia Cong rubbed his brows and shook his head, "Old lady, there is no need to think too much, it's just to be prepared. Besides, even if something really happens to the Zhen family, it won't affect our family."
After hearing this, Grandmother Jia finally felt relieved.
It is true that the Zhen family and the Jia family are old relatives. If it is a normal day, the two families will naturally help each other, but if it involves life and death, then of course they will look after themselves. With the old lady's personality, she can naturally think it through, and will never take any feelings into consideration at this time.
"Madams, Sister-in-law You, and Yuanyang, follow the old lady into the palace. If you can keep silent, do so. Stay by her side at all times. If there is something wrong, I will find a way to send you a message. As for the rest, ignore everything else."
Except for Wang who had a stern face, Mrs. Xing and the others all agreed! There is no trivial matter in the royal family, so they naturally dare not take it lightly .
"Second Brother Bao, although you don't need to enter the palace, you still need to go with us! These past few days, my second uncle and I have either been in the palace or in the government office. I'm afraid we don't have much free time, so I'll have to let Second Brother Bao work hard."
"There is nothing else to do in the first three days. All you need to do is wait outside the palace. If the old lady has any problems, Brother Bao can help her."
