Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite-Chapter 367 Sudden Passing

"Your Grace, you have been so considerate, but this servant does not know much about this matter. I’m afraid I must report back to Princess Consort Yi to decide. As for the Princess’s marriage, that’s beyond my control. I beg Your Grace to forgive me."

Ruan Ming’s words did not deter Imperial Concubine Lin.

Instead, she added another sentence.

"My health, I suppose, might not last through this winter. Hence, if Princess Consort Yi truly has this wish, it would be best to decide quickly. Otherwise, once I relinquish this position of Imperial Concubine, who knows who might take this place? After all, some concubines are deeply favored by the Emperor!"

Her words did not spell it out, but the meaning was clear.

Ruan Ming understood well.

Thus, he nodded and said.

"I will definitely convey this message, and I beg Imperial Concubine to remain calm and do not worry."

Throughout the whole process, there was no definite answer. Until Ruan Ming left, Lin Guifei finally let her body relax.

Leaning against that jeweled throne.

Tearfully touching the throne, symbolizing the power of Imperial Consort, she shed two streams of tears.

Reflecting on all these years, her painstaking efforts seemed wasted.

Her most wrong decision was agreeing to send Lin Wanyi into the palace.

Causing herself to end up in such a situation.

However, there is no regret medicine to swallow in this world.

Since there was no way to regret, even if she died, she intended to create some troubles for Lin Wanyi.

Only watching her suffer in the underworld could bring comfort and joy.

She was unaware, however, that palace news could not be concealed.

Just after finishing the conversation with Ruan Ming, the news was already delivered to the Emperor by Geng Caiyou of the Classical Examination Department.

Perhaps Lin Guifei had forgotten that ultimately, the Emperor was the one calling the shots in the palace.

Therefore, upon learning of Lin Guifei and Princess Consort Yi’s plan to ally with the Zeng family into the Third Prince’s faction, the Emperor felt a tinge of anger.

The struggle for power among the Princes could fundamentally be attributed to their upbringing.

If not for their maternal families constantly instilling such notions, it wouldn’t have escalated to the point of fratricidal strife and royal infighting.

Thus, the Emperor would not allow his sons to follow this path.

He then signaled to Dong Yuzhong.

"Go make the arrangements, keeping her is of no great use anymore."

Dong Yuzhong quickly understood the Emperor’s intention.

Nodding and responding, "Yes," then hurriedly went to make arrangements.

Perhaps Lin Guifei herself did not expect her words to become the poison sending her away.

Without even waiting for a response from Princess Consort Yi, she was already eternally asleep in the palace.

The medicine that Lin Guifei drank that day was more bitter than before.

But since she had been consuming so much bitter medicine recently, she didn’t notice anything different.

After drinking it, she fell asleep.

Little did she know, this sleep would be eternal.

On April 16, in the 19th year of Yuanhe, Lin Guifei, bedridden for half a year, suddenly passed away.

She was twenty-seven years old.

In Linzi Palace, Chief Palace Maid Qin Liu, Qin He, Qin Qin Bamboo, Qin Rong, and Chief Eunuch Jiang Heqing all followed their master in poisoning themselves.

Such a major incident caused rampant rumors outside.

It was said that Lin Guifei harbored deep resentment, hence wanted to take her close ones with her.

So they could serve her in the underworld!

But before the rumor could spread further, it was suppressed by Dong Yuzhong.

As for those servants and palace maids gossiping in private, they were all doing hard labor in Yeyou Court at the moment. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

For a time, no one dared to speak recklessly anymore.

The Inner Court Department acted swiftly; the news of Lin Guifei’s death hadn’t been out long before.

Everything was arranged in perfect order.

Chief Quan Fu looked at the once glorious Linzi Palace and couldn’t help but sigh.

The wind in the palace always blows oddly.

Sometimes the east wind overpowers the west wind, sometimes the west wind overpowers the east wind.

What they could do was see clearly in advance where the wind was blowing, and then move accordingly.

Either avoid the wind or ride it.

These are matters he needed to consider soon.

When the news of Lin Guifei’s death reached Yihua Palace, Lin Wanyi was sewing incense bags for the children for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Upon hearing it, her needle paused.

Then she looked up at Xia An, her eyes showing some disbelief.

"Really dead?"

"Replying to Your Grace, Lin Guifei has indeed passed away. The message was sent by Mr. Qin’s men, and the Inner Court Department is rushing to set up her funeral rites."

Such words naturally meant her death was thorough.

Otherwise, there would be no mention of setting up funeral rites.

Upon suddenly hearing the news, Lin Wanyi couldn’t quite articulate her emotions.

Just like when she learned that Princess Rongkang, along with the family of the Second House, was gone, it wasn’t joy, but a certain indescribable complexity.

To speak of hatred, Lin Wanyi did indeed hate.

Especially when her brother was injured to the point of near death, she wished to set a great fire to burn those who harmed him.

But now, with them truly dead, the resentment in her heart seemed to dissipate.

The dead are gone.

In this life, they enjoyed wealth and glory and suffered pain and torment.

Even they probably didn’t expect it to end this way.

Those past loves and hatreds, grudges, and resentments seemed trivial in the face of life and death.

When will vengeance ever end? Even if Lin Wanyi wanted to pursue it further, there seemed no one to pursue anymore.

She couldn’t possibly go to her hometown and end the entire family of Prime Minister Lin and Mr. Lin?

So, she stopped her needlework.

After a moment of silence, Lin Wanyi spoke.

"Instruct everyone in our palace to guard their tongues, don’t ask around blindly outside. The funeral rites for Linzi Palace will naturally be presided over by Princess Consort Yi. We will send our condolences. The grievances with them end here. Her death doesn’t bring me joy, but I can’t feign sadness. Once the message from the Emperor comes, we will make a visit. As for the rest, let it be."

Upon hearing Lin Wanyi’s instructions, Xia An nodded and then said.

"Understood, Your Grace. I will make the arrangements immediately."

The mourning rituals between the concubines had established protocols; how it was done in Princess Consort Yi’s palace would be similarly done in Yihua Palace.

It’s not a difficult task.

However, controlling the servants’ tongues was more challenging.

But with Qiu Ming present, handing the task to him was rather simple.

Thus, with the death of Lin Guifei, it was Yihua Palace that tightened security.

Thankfully, the people inside were carefully selected by Qin An and meticulously trained by Qiu Ming, thus nothing went amiss.

It was just that Princess Ming Ruo, upon hearing the news, fainted from crying in the Empress Dowager’s Palace.

And Lin Wanyi, upon hearing this, did not say another word.

She was kind-hearted but that didn’t mean she was a Bodhisattva.

She had previously declared that she wouldn’t involve herself with Ming Ruo, and today she felt the same way.