Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

The emperor was furious. He coughed violently and overturned the low table on the couch.

Amidst the crackling sounds, Hua Ershisan and the palace servants knelt in the hall, all calling out, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

"Bastards! A bunch of bastards!"

The emperor, breathless with rage, roared, "I've only been ill for a few days, and you dare... dare you think I'm about to die? You dare to disobey my orders so arbitrarily! I only sent Lin Qinglian to Jing'an Temple to cultivate herself, not to kill her! How could she suddenly... die like that?! Ah!"

No matter how bad Lin Qinglian was, she was still nominally Lin Rucong's illegitimate daughter. Most importantly, the emperor didn't even know that Lin Qinglian wasn't of the Lin family bloodline at all. It was like an arranged marriage where the in-laws had already come to the door, and then the daughter died inexplicably. How could the emperor and Shen Huai'an explain this to them?

Fortunately, she was a concubine's daughter. If she were a legitimate daughter, Lin Rucong would not have been kneeling outside the palace begging for an audience, but would have been holding the imperial sword bestowed by the founding emperor, carrying the imperial edict kept in the family, and leading the officials to remonstrate with the emperor to the death and force him to abdicate!

Hua Niansan never expected things to turn out this way. She was unsettled and couldn't figure out if Lin Wantang had acted recklessly and killed Lin Qinglian. In the past few days, rumors had circulated in the palace that Lin Wantang was arrogant and had often quarreled with Wei Wujiu.

"Your Majesty, this...this servant doesn't know either."

Hua Niansan was unaware of the details and dared not cover them up. "I heard from the servants of the Eastern Palace that Lin Qinglian was dissatisfied with the punishment and was on a hunger strike, refusing to eat or drink."

"When the Crown Prince tried to persuade her, she threw a tantrum like a shrew!"

"I just heard that Lin Wantang was also invited over to be persuaded, but before she could say more than a few words, Lin Qinglian kicked her out. She seemed to have lost her mind and was delirious. The servants said they wanted to obey the imperial decree and send her to Jing'an Temple, but she was dissatisfied and directly... ran into the wall and died."

"That's all?" The emperor was highly suspicious, coughing and scoffing, "Then her death was all too timely!"

The emperor had originally intended to use Lin Qinglian and had even secretly sent someone to advise her, suggesting that by bringing up the Lin family's imperial edict, she might be spared punishment and perhaps even reinstated as the Crown Princess in the future.

Lin Qinglian got an idea and started making a fuss, trying to please the emperor. No matter what Lin Rucong chose, the emperor could cleverly make Lin Rucong suffer in silence and hand over the imperial edict for nothing.

Without this concern, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for the emperor to deal with Lin Rucong again? When one is determined to find fault, one can always find a pretext.

Lin Rucong, Wei Wujiu...

And those former officials whom Lin Rucong risked his life to protect over the years—before the emperor's death, not a single one of them would be spared, otherwise how could he pave the way for Shen Huai'an's future imperial path?

This is why the emperor was furious with Shen Huai'an; he was an unfilial son, a complete waste!

But now, the plan has obviously been broken. Lin Qinglian has suddenly died. How can the emperor use this to coerce Lin Rucong into handing over the imperial edict to protect his daughter?

The emperor grew angrier and angrier, coughing so hard his lungs felt like they were about to explode. But after thinking it over and over, he couldn’t help but wonder if Lin Rucong and his daughter Lin Wantang had conspired to kill Lin Qinglian first.

Had he known this would happen, the Emperor should not have granted the marriage on the day he broke off the engagement; he should have executed him on the spot!

But there's no going back in life. The emperor was furious and didn't want to listen to Hua Twenty-Three and the palace servants' advice anymore. He waved for the servants to clean up the overturned low table and then ordered, "Go and summon Grand Tutor Lin."

"Here you are."

A moment later, Lin Rucong stepped into the hall, bowed, and kowtowed.

"Rise, my dear minister. My family has suffered misfortune, and I am deeply worried. However, it is not a good time to hold a funeral in these times..."

Before the emperor could finish speaking, Lin Rucong bowed in surprise and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to interrupt you. What are you referring to? I am ignorant and hope Your Majesty will explain."

The emperor glanced at Hua Ersan with suspicion, and Hua Ersan quickly understood and relayed the news of Lin Qinglian's death to Lin Rucong.

In an instant, Lin Rucong was shocked and heartbroken. He knelt down and cried out, "Your humble servant has been disrespectful..." He couldn't help but cover his face and shed tears.

This... doesn't seem like an act.

The emperor was even more puzzled, but he also frowned in confusion, thinking to himself, could it be that Lin Rucong and his daughter Lin Wantang conspired to kill Lin Qinglian?

Indeed, with such strict palace rules, how could Lin Wantang dare to act recklessly?

But... who killed Lin Qinglian? It couldn't have been that she really went crazy and deliberately killed herself, could it?

The emperor naturally did not believe this explanation, but regardless of his disbelief, Lin Rucong had done nothing wrong, and he could not disregard the emperor's authority and deliberately find fault to punish him.

The emperor said a few more words of comfort and advice to Lin Rucong, urging him not to grieve too much. He also said that the matter of the imperial edict could not be brought up again, and that the funeral would be held after the New Year, with the funeral rites being in accordance with those of a concubine.

After expressing his gratitude, Lin Rucong took his leave, but he couldn't help but wonder who would kill Lin Qinglian.

At the same time, Lin Wantang had just said goodbye to Yong'an and returned to Chentingxuan when she received the news of Lin Qinglian's sudden death. She was stunned and pondered.

The gold needles embedded in Lin Qinglian's body were neither poisonous nor fatal.

It was just to intimidate Lin Qinglian, to make others believe that she was truly mentally unstable and had lost her mind.

Even if Lin Wantang wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have chosen this time. How could she...?

She pondered the matter, but also began to suspect Shen Huai'an. After a moment's thought, she quickly instructed Jiang Fulu to inform Wei Wujiu, "Your Excellency doesn't need to say anything more, just tell the Governor that Lin Qinglian died suddenly."

Jiang Fulu didn't understand. Just that one sentence? But the news of Lin Qinglian's death should already be known throughout the palace. Why bother to spread it again?

Although he didn't understand, Jiang Fulu obediently did as he was told.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Wei Wujiu smiled coldly, avoided Jiang Fulu, and went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to meet the emperor. His few words of reason and emotion only made the emperor more suspicious, and he directly ordered Hua Ershisan to go to the Eastern Palace to deliver an imperial edict.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The virtue of the Crown Prince lies in self-cultivation and family management; now the Crown Prince is neglecting his duties and failing in his upbringing, drawing criticism from the court and the public, which pains me deeply; how can he be worthy of inheriting the legacy of our ancestors and failing the earnest expectations of the people?"

The following decree is hereby issued: Zhao Yuande and Wang Hong, the assistant ministers to the Crown Prince, are dismissed from their posts and sent to serve in other places, so that their future performance may be observed.

The Crown Prince was confined to the palace to reflect on his mistakes and was not allowed to leave without an imperial edict. His authority to review and approve memorials from the Grand Council was also suspended.

He was punished with twenty strokes of the cane, his expenses for the Crown Prince's palace were reduced, and he was ordered to hand-copy the "Cultivating Oneself" chapter of the Great Learning every ten days and submit it to the emperor.

Concubine Lin Qinglian suddenly passed away. The Crown Prince was so grief-stricken that he failed to pay attention to the situation. This is understandable, but he also made a mistake. Therefore, the Crown Prince is ordered to compose a eulogy himself, in accordance with the regulations for a concubine, to deeply mourn her and reflect on his own actions, so as to appease the Grand Tutor.

So be it.

After Hua Ershisan finished reciting, Shen Huai'an knelt on the ground and couldn't help but curl his lips in a sneer. He never dreamed that he had Lin Qinglian killed, intending to make the emperor suspicious and attack the Lin family, but instead he had become the one who trapped himself!