The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 182 You can trust me a little more.

"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"I, the Emperor, bear the weight of the ancestral temple and am constantly vigilant, always mindful that the foundation laid by our ancestors must not be neglected and that the bloodline must not be severed."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang frowned slightly, as if realizing something, and suddenly looked up at Eunuch Kang.

At that moment, Eunuch Kang held the imperial edict and continued reading it slowly and deliberately:
"Now there is the case of Prince Ruiyang. Although he was rebellious and offended the Emperor in the past, at its core, he was a descendant of the late Emperor and shared the ancestral worship with me. I have been studying history and reflecting deeply on the bond of blood. Even if he committed a transgression, I cannot bear to leave his soul without a home."

"Princess Zhaoming Jiang Jinshuang is of a virtuous and quiet nature, and is loyal and filial. I hereby inform you that although Prince Ruiyang has been stripped of his title and honors, his remains still bear the bloodline of the royal family."

"It is hereby permitted that his spirit tablet be moved to the East Annex Hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple in accordance with the rites for a prince, and that he be offered sacrifices of three kinds of sacrificial animals and nine kinds of wine. His mausoleum shall be rebuilt in accordance with the rites for a marquis, and a stele with a dragon head inscription shall be engraved. This is not to cover up his mistakes, but to demonstrate the utmost fairness of heavenly principles and human ethics, and to comfort the spirits of our ancestors."

"You should understand the painstaking efforts of your sovereign and father, carefully uphold the principles of filial piety and brotherly love, and personally supervise the ceremonies to maintain the proper order of the clan."

"This proclamation shall be made known both at home and abroad. This is the imperial decree."

Jiang Jinshuang didn't move.

She stared intently at Eunuch Kang—

Look at the imperial edict in his hand.

A moment of confusion crossed my mind.

Jiang Jinshuang opened her mouth as if she were hearing a buzzing sound and auditory hallucinations. She wanted to say something.

But when the words reached his lips, he found that his voice was hoarse.

She tilted her head in a daze and watched as Eunuch Kang walked step by step to her side and respectfully handed the imperial edict to her.

"Your Highness, His Majesty spent the entire night writing this imperial edict."

Jiang Jinshuang's hand trembled slightly as she received the imperial edict; her knuckles gripped the scroll, turning slightly white.

what.

That's right.

It turned out to be the case.

Pitiful are the bones by the Wuding River.

Jiang Jinshuang originally thought that Uncle Wang would be nameless and faceless forever, living in that mass grave inhabited by jackals.

Uncle Wang actually cares a lot about these things.

He was a very particular person. Even when he was on the frontier, he would drink the finest snow mountain pine needle tea, drink the strongest and most fragrant thousand-day wine, and even his armor had to be the most dazzling and imposing.

—He actually cares about these things.

Sometimes Jiang Jinshuang even thought that if Uncle Wang knew that after his death he would be buried in a dark, shabby mass grave with a very simple tombstone, where no one would pay respects to him year after year, and he wouldn't even be allowed to enter temples or ancestral halls, he would be so angry that his beard would be crooked.

He was a man of great taste and integrity. Having spent his life fighting on the battlefield, he naturally felt that he should be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and worshipped by civil and military officials.

But he was left with only his clothes, which, along with his body, were buried in that simple and dirty cemetery.

It is said that people buried in mass graves become wandering ghosts after death, without even the chance of reincarnation.

Jiang Jinshuang didn't believe in these things.

But she felt guilty.

Uncle Wang had been with her for over a decade, but in the end, she couldn't even get him buried in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

And now.

Jiang Jinshuang squeezed the imperial edict in her hand, feeling lightheaded, and it took her a while to regain her sense of reality.

The emperor said that he was permitted to be buried in the Imperial Ancestral Temple with the rites due to a prince.

With her eyes fixed on the imperial edict in her hand, Jiang Jinshuang stiffly looked up at Eunuch Kang after a long while and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Kang."

Kang Gonggong twitched the corners of his mouth, his expression looking somewhat troubled.

He glanced at Pei Du beside Jiang Jinshuang before speaking to her again: "His Majesty, moved by Your Highness's loyalty and filial piety, wrote this edict."

That's not the truth.

Jiang Jinshuang knew perfectly well how this imperial edict had come about.

“Your Highness, allow me to say a few words. Your release from prison was, in essence, a… prison escape,” Kang Gonggong paused, then said in a low voice, “Your Highness should go to the palace as soon as possible and explain things to His Majesty.”

“Eunuch Kang, I have already explained this matter to His Majesty,” Pei Du said before Jiang Jinshuang could speak. “I heard that the prison guards were abusing their power and bending the law for personal gain, so I sent people to the prison to rescue His Highness and provide him with timely medical treatment.”

"Your Highness was on the verge of death at the time, covered in blood. If we are to be honest, it is I who should be punished for disobeying Your Majesty, not Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Kang opened his mouth, then said helplessly, "Sir, you know how His Majesty could possibly punish you."

Pei Du frowned in displeasure: "Your Highness has done nothing wrong and should not be punished."

Eunuch Kang wanted to say something more, but in the end he simply cupped his hands and said, "Then this old servant will take his leave."

After saying this, Eunuch Kang raised the whisk in his hand, turned around and left.

Watching Eunuch Kang's departing figure, Jiang Jinshuang still held the imperial edict in her hand, completely bewildered.

Then, he heard Pei Du's clear voice from above: "Your Highness, you can try to trust me a little more."

Jiang Jinshuang turned around and met Pei Du's eyes.

The man stood tall and handsome, his posture upright, and looked down at her.

Jiang Jinshuang's eyes flickered a few times, still somewhat dazed.

"Pei Du, I don't understand."

After a long while, she finally spoke, her gaze towards him blank and puzzled.

“You knelt outside the palace for three days and three nights just to get your uncle a chance to return to the Imperial Ancestral Temple,” Jiang Jinshuang said doubtfully. “Pei Du, there’s no need to go to such lengths to curry favor.”

In the past, many people tried to please her.

But that's just icing on the cake.

Those who offer help in times of need are few and far between.

She had never seen anyone like Pei Du, who nearly froze to death while trying to deliver charcoal.

So, she doesn't understand.

I don't understand why he went to such lengths.

The man's eyes were dark, and a breeze blew by, causing the stray hairs on his forehead to sway in the wind, carrying a whiff of sandalwood fragrance, as if he wanted to pull her into his arms.

“Jiang Jinshuang,” Pei Du’s eyes churned with emotion, “this is my way of ingratiating myself.”

"I am very useful."

Jiang Jinshuang frowned: "Pei Du, you've been acting a little different lately."

Upon hearing this, Pei Du finally managed a slight smile, "How is it different?"

Jiang Jinshuang gestured, finding it difficult to describe: "You wouldn't have done this before... lowered yourself like this, and you wouldn't have said things like 'flattery'."

Pei Du was a man of noble character and clear-headedness; the word "flattery" seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Pei Du looked at her and said, "You never had anyone else by your side before."

Those favors and protections were clearly, openly, and even undisguisedly bestowed upon him.

No exceptions.

He was raised by her to be refined and noble, and his pride and arrogance were dazzling.

But she takes back her privileges, and he will fall from that dazzling cloud into the mud.

She said he was a little bodhisattva.

However, the Bodhisattva was bathed in golden light because of her gaze.

What bestows upon him his golden radiance and dazzling presence has never been power or status.

—It was her gaze.

"Jiang Jinshuang, I am more useful than those people."