The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 759 - 721: Succession Edict

Yuanbao has already personally escorted the funeral procession back to the capital, yet that old fox Yang still harbors wicked intentions and refuses to leave the corpse alone.

Wen Wan lifted her head and looked at Xu Shu, "Who are the people coming to exchange the coffin?"

"From the palace," Xu Shu replied.

"Very well, I’ll go out to meet them."

With that, Wen Wan turned around and stepped out the front door.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the stone steps was a golden silk nan coffin, flanked by eunuchs, led by none other than Mr. Cui.

Upon seeing Wen Wan, Mr. Cui respectfully bowed, "Your servant greets the Commandery Princess."

Wen Wan halted, her gaze sweeping over the coffin before finally settling on Mr. Cui, "The Song Mansion is holding a funeral. What brings you here, Mr. Cui?"

Mr. Cui sensed Wen Wan’s somewhat aloof attitude and said, "Mr. Song died in the line of duty while eradicating the cult, rendering great service to the people and to Great Chu. The Emperor specially bestowed the posthumous title of ’Wenzheng’ and ordered the funeral to be conducted as per the rank of a marquis. The coffin beside me is the new marquis-regulated coffin. Commandery Princess, when do you think it would be convenient to proceed with the exchange?"

Wen Wan wrapped her hands in her sleeves, her expression especially calm, "Are you acting on orders from the Emperor Uncle?"

Mr. Cui neither confirmed nor denied.

"I need to meet the Emperor Uncle."

Wen Wan did not directly agree to the coffin exchange.

Ever since returning to the capital, Emperor Guangxi had claimed illness and not attended court. Except for a few close eunuchs and the imperial physician who checked his pulse daily, no one knew his current condition.

Someone who ignored the Empress’s critical illness and the Crown Prince’s confinement in the Imperial Clan Court, how could he suddenly show concern for Song Wei’s afterlife affairs?

There must be something fishy.

Perhaps Mr. Cui was also bribed by Chief Minister Yang, and today he was just here to confirm whether Song Wei was truly dead.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Wen Wan sneered, "What’s this? The Emperor Uncle is too ill to meet outsiders?"

Mr. Cui did not respond.

"I don’t care whose edict you have or whose imperial decree you’re carrying. Unless I see the Emperor Uncle with my own eyes, none of it counts. Third Son is not blessed enough to endure this nanmu coffin. Mr. Cui, please leave."

Mr. Cui could hear that Wen Wan was genuinely angry and gently said, "Mr. Song had a mishap, and I understand the Commandery Princess’s grief. But the matter of exchanging the coffin did receive the Emperor’s approval. If not exchanged, I can’t report back to the court. I hope the Commandery Princess will accommodate us."

Wen Wan stood motionless, "These days, Mr. Cui has been saying the Emperor Uncle’s wounds have not healed, making it unsuitable for him to attend court or see anyone. Yet now he communicates an edict to posthumously honor the Third Son. Is it your words that contradict themselves, or have you gone to the wrong place?"

Mr. Cui maintained his stance, "I am following orders, and I hope the Commandery Princess can understand."

Wen Wan no longer wished to speak further, turning around and instructing the houseboy, "See the guest out!"

"Commandery Princess!" Mr. Cui called out to Wen Wan’s retreating figure, "Whether Young Master Yuanbao can be at peace in prison all depends on my words. Are you sure you won’t let me in?"

Wen Wan’s fingers curled.

She certainly wanted to save Yuanbao, but if she allowed them to open the coffin, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Before Wen Wan could speak, Mr. Cui emphasized again, "The edict in my hand is to confer a posthumous title. If it’s returned unchanged, the Song Family would be defying imperial orders."

Song Fang and several others followed out, hearing this, looked at Wen Wan, "Sister-in-law, since it is to confer a posthumous title to Third Brother, let them come in!"

"Yes, Third Aunt," Song Jiao also advised softly, "Elder Brother is still in the hands of the court. If we offend Mr. Cui now, Elder Brother is likely to suffer."

The Second Lang’s wife patted her hand, "Posthumously honoring Third Brother is a good thing. Don’t be stubborn. If you truly offend everyone, our family can’t handle the consequences."

Wen Wan couldn’t explain her reasons for not agreeing to open the coffin and made a final stand and struggle, "Leave the coffin; the Song Family will handle the exchange ourselves. I kindly ask Mr. Cui to thank the Emperor Uncle on my behalf."

"This..." Mr. Cui didn’t expect Wen Wan to be so stubborn, refusing to let them into the memorial hall no matter what.

"The Song Mansion is busy, so we won’t entertain Mr. Cui. Please take your time."

Mr. Cui’s brow furrowed slightly, and he turned to say a few words to the eunuchs. After leaving the coffin, they quickly departed.

Watching the people depart from afar, the Second Lang’s wife let out a sigh of relief, then looked worriedly at Wen Wan, "We can manage things here at the memorial hall. You should return to your room to rest!"

If you don’t rest, something big will truly happen. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The previous Third Sister-in-law Zhen Jing Rou Wan would never have spoken loudly to people, yet today she dared to openly contradict those from the palace, indicating she was venting all her anger on the eunuchs. How outrageous!

At such a critical moment, how could Wen Wan hide away in her room?

She guessed they all suspected her mental state wasn’t good because of Song Wei’s matter, and she shook her head, "I’m not tired, Second Sister-in-law. Arrange for some trustworthy houseboys right away to exchange the coffin."

There’s no time to lose; she couldn’t let those eunuchs cause more trouble, nor allow Chief Minister Yang to seize the opportunity.

The Second Lang’s wife quickly found some people.

They were all from the earlier batch of servants who entered the mansion, and were of honest character.

Wen Wan examined each one and, after confirming there were no issues, instructed them to carry the Nanmu Hall into the memorial hall, then dismissed the extra people inside.

Song Fang expressed a desire to see his third brother’s remains, but Wen Wan refused, saying that Song Wei’s death was unpleasant. After so many days, even if his face was not completely unrecognizable, it had already started to show corpse spots. Rather than view it and be left with a bad impression, it was better to remember his face and voice from when he was alive.

Under Wen Wan’s firm stance, ultimately, only those she arranged stayed inside, while the rest remained outside.

After closing the door, Wen Wan’s gaze lingered on the pitch-black coffin in the center.

A nearby servant asked, "Madam, we’ve prepared the tools. When should we open the coffin?"

Wen Wan took a deep breath, "Now."

A few servants, holding the tools for opening the coffin, walked over.

Wen Wan emphasized, "No matter what you see later, once you step out of this door, you must not disclose a single word. If you do, it’ll be immediate execution by beating!"

These words, spoken in the memorial hall, sent chills down people’s spines.

The servants nodded vigorously and began to remove the nails.

The light from the ever-burning lamps flickered dimly. Even with the doors closed, the interior of the memorial hall was not much warmer than outside.

Each of the seven Descendant Nails removed made Wen Wan’s heart clench a little.

When the last one fell, the memorial hall plunged into a brief silence.

Seeing the servants about to push aside the coffin lid, Wen Wan hurriedly stepped forward, "Wait a moment!"

"What other instructions does Madam have?"

Wen Wan stood in front of the coffin, exhaled a breath of white mist, composed herself, "Open it!"

Then came the rumbling sound of the coffin lid sliding, revealing the scene inside the coffin.

The body had been cleaned and dressed in clean robes. Though the wound was on the chest, the face, though free from corpse spots, had already started to swell slightly.

That face, everyone in the Song family could recognize.

"Master!"

Upon seeing the person inside the coffin, the servants fell to their knees with a thud, crying out loud.

Wen Wan felt weak, leaning against the coffin, staring at the person inside, unable to speak for a long time.

She was silent for so long that the servants noticed something amiss, and each stopped their cries, stood up to support her, "Madam, please restrain your grief!"

Wen Wan did not respond; she couldn’t even walk steadily, hollow eyes resembling a walking corpse, being half-dragged and half-supported out by the servants.

Song Fang and several others waited outside. Seeing her come out, they hurriedly asked if she had seen the body, if the coffin had been properly changed, and if more paper money was needed inside.

Wen Wan pushed everyone aside, staggering towards Qingteng Residence, immediately hiding under the covers upon entering.

After a long while, faint sobbing sounds came from within.

——

The initial intention was to use the coffin change as an opportunity to see if Song Wei was truly dead or merely faking it. Unexpectedly, those assigned to change the coffin never even set foot inside the Song family’s doors, forcing Chief Minister Yang to give up and go see Princess Consort Duan early the next morning.

"Song Wei is dead, the Empress is critically ill, and the Crown Prince is imprisoned. Now is the perfect opportunity; I hope you can seize it, Your Ladyship."

Princess Consort Duan had just coaxed Zhao Nuo to sleep. Upon hearing this, she looked up at him.

Chief Minister Yang smiled slightly, "The Emperor has not attended court for half a month since returning to the capital, indicating he is quite ill and needs Your Ladyship’s care."

Princess Consort Duan’s expression flickered, "I don’t understand why you, Uncle, are plotting this so meticulously. What is it all for?"

For what?

Naturally, to support a young emperor’s ascension and control the court’s affairs.

The Liang family’s grudge wasn’t worth such a back-and-forth effort.

Concealing his smile, Chief Minister Yang said, "Your Ladyship should understand that the struggle for imperial power is full of sword edges and shadows. The Second Prince is the son of the favorite concubine, and once the Crown Prince ascends, who do you think he would deal with first?"

"Nuonuo is still young," Princess Consort Duan said. "I don’t want him getting caught up in political struggles without understanding anything."

"Then he would inevitably become a casualty of such struggles," Chief Minister Yang looked at her. "Your Ladyship has only this one son. I trust you wouldn’t bear to see him die at Zhao Xi’s hands at such a tender age."

The struggle in Princess Consort Duan’s eyes dissipated instantly, "What do you want me to do?"

"The succession edict has already been drafted. Your Ladyship can serve the Emperor in Qianqing Palace while conveniently asking him to seal it, that’s all."