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

Chapter 184 Bringing family home isn't something that needs to be hidden.

"reward?"

Jiang Jinshuang paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes, I just saw it all. Those gold, silver, jewels, and fabrics are all made according to the standards only found in the palace!"

It's impossible for the imperial family to bestow any rewards upon her.

For Jiang Huayan, bringing Prince Ruiyang's memorial tablet back into the temple was already a huge concession.

Saying "concession" might be too simplistic; "endurance" would be a more accurate description.

Pei Du made a brilliant move.

He did not ask the imperial court to overturn the verdict against Prince Ruiyang, because such an "excessive" request would only backfire, challenge the emperor's authority, and infuriate Jiang Huayan.

So he chose a compromise that was neither too easy nor too difficult.

—The memorial tablet of Prince Ruiyang was returned to the ancestral hall.

Regardless of Jiang Huayan's excuse, what Pei Du wanted was simply the result of Prince Ruiyang re-entering the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Although the imperial edict stated that Prince Ruiyang had been disobedient and offended the emperor in the past, Prince Ruiyang was still allowed to return to the Imperial Ancestral Temple regardless of the circumstances.

Such an outcome would lead many people to question whether there were any doubts about the case of Prince Ruiyang's rebellion.
Pei Du's request was indeed delicate; to do too much would be overstepping his bounds, while to do too little would be to suffer a loss.

This reward was undoubtedly a huge blow to Jiang Huayan.

Given this, Jiang Huayan was even less likely to bestow any further honors upon her.

Therefore, those so-called rewards from the palace were definitely not given to her by Jiang Huayan.

Filled with doubt, Jiang Jinshuang led Chuntao into the princess's residence.

In the courtyard of the princess's residence, four or five large chests could be seen from afar. In the hazy night, the lids of the chests were opened one by one, revealing the brocades and gold and silver jewelry inside, which shone with beautiful colors.

Gold, red pearls, coral trees from the South China Sea, imperial brocade, and countless Sichuan embroidered dragon-patterned satins...

Jiang Jinshuang raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately realized what was going on.

—This was bestowed upon Wenshan Pavilion by the imperial family.

How did it end up here with her?
Jiang Jinshuang frowned: Was it delivered to the wrong address?
People in the palace wouldn't be so careless.

Just then, a servant came from outside the door and reported: "Your Highness, Lord Jingmo outside has asked me to deliver a message to you."

Jiang Jinshuang turned around, somewhat puzzled: "Why didn't you come and say it yourself?"

"Lord Jingmo said he had to go back to serve the Grand Secretary his medicine."

Jiang Jinshuang smiled and asked, "What did he say?"

"Lord Jingmo said that these rewards were sent by the Grand Secretary."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang frowned slightly: "Why would he give these to me? I don't need his reward."

Upon hearing this, the servant smiled and said, "Your Highness, the Grand Secretary said that these are your rewards."

"A commendation?" Jiang Jinshuang raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Lord Jingmo conveyed a message that the Grand Secretary said that His Highness suffered an injustice but overcame the difficulties unscathed and should be rewarded."

Jiang Jinshuang was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then chuckled softly.

Does he think she's some kind of child begging for candy?
What further reward is needed?

Jiang Jinshuang turned around and looked at the valuable gold and silver jewelry, as well as a piece of Shu embroidered silk worth a thousand gold pieces.

Raising her eyebrows, Jiang Jinshuang gestured with her hand: "Put it in the storeroom."

It just so happens that Uncle Si is leaving the capital, and she hasn't decided what to send him yet.

……

Jiang Jinshuang was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Jiang Jinshuang finished washing up, changed into solemn clothes, rode a horse, and went alone to the mass grave.

She brought two jars of fine wine.

Upon arriving at the mass grave, they first opened an altar and offered it to all the corpses and wandering souls in the mass grave.

Then he took another jar of wine and poured it all over Uncle Wang's tombstone.

She knelt before the small grave, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Uncle Wang, Shuang'er has come to take you home." She was the one who dug Jiang Buhuo's coffin out of the grave.

A shovel dug from dawn until noon.

The coffin wasn't very big; Jiang Buhuo wasn't tall at all. If you really counted, he wasn't even as tall as Jiang Jinshuang.

After the coffin was unearthed, before Jiang Jinshuang could return to the city to call for help, Pei Du appeared outside the mass grave with more than a dozen tall and strong men.

The two exchanged a glance.

Jiang Jinshuang moved aside, and the burly men understood, shouting as they lifted the coffin out of the ground.

Very light.

In three years, you can't really leave anything behind.

Pei Du arrived by carriage.

On the way back, Jiang Jinshuang didn't ride a horse again, but instead took Pei Du's carriage to avoid the trouble.

A dozen or so burly men followed behind, and the carriage was deliberately slowed down so that the people behind could keep up.

These people must have been professionals at making these things. They covered the coffin with a yellow cloth and put up a canopy on top so that the coffin wouldn't get any sun.

Inside the carriage, Pei Du handed Jiang Jinshuang a damp towel so she could wipe the sweat from her hands and face.

The two did not exchange many words along the way, with Jiang Jinshuang's attention focused entirely on the coffin following behind them.

Shortly after the strong men carried the coffin out of the mass grave, they worked together to lift it onto a custom-made sedan chair.

Twelve strong men carried the sedan chair together, chanting a unified slogan, and followed Pei Du's carriage in an orderly fashion, entering the capital in a grand procession.

Upon entering the city gate.

Jiang Jinshuang noticed that outside the city gate, there were more than a dozen solemnly dressed men and women wearing white hemp hats, who followed the sedan chair in silence without saying a word.

Jiang Jinshuang frowned slightly, her eyes questioning Pei Du.

Pei Du explained softly, "It was at my request that several commoners who had previously received favors from His Highness Prince Ruiyang were invited."

Jiang Jinshuang asked, puzzled, "Why do this?"

Pei Du: "Because Your Highness's welcoming of Prince Ruiyang home is a solemn and serious matter that should be taken seriously."

Jiang Jinshuang said helplessly, "Pei Du, you know that if His Majesty knew that we were being so open and aboveboard, he would definitely be unhappy."

Pei Du said in a clear voice, "If you haven't done anything wrong, there's no need to cover it up or hide."

Pei Du looked at Jiang Jinshuang, his voice clear and his demeanor handsome: "Your Highness, bringing family home is not something that needs to be hidden."

"Neither His Highness Prince Ruiyang nor you need it."

They didn't do anything wrong.

She shouldn't be hiding and concealing herself.

With the carriage leading the way, the funeral procession entered the capital in a grand and imposing manner.

Pei Du's carriage was quite conspicuous, especially with a coffin palanquin following closely behind. Before long, word spread among the people, and countless citizens of the capital gathered on both sides of Chang'an Street to watch the entire procession go.

"This...this must be His Highness Prince Ruiyang's coffin?"

"Yes, this coffin... is too small."

"Don't you know? His Highness Prince Ruiyang was executed on the spot because of... because of that incident, and his remains were thrown into a mass grave by someone with malicious intent. They've been there for three years!"

"Alas, no matter what, His Highness Prince Ruiyang was a hero who protected Wan Jin for many years, and to end up like this is truly tragic..."

"Who can argue with that? If you ask me, with 300,000 Black Armor Cavalry under his command, if His Highness Prince Ruiyang had truly intended to rebel back then, who knows who might be sitting in the Mingtang Hall now!"

"You can't just say things like that!"

"Hmph! What's wrong with saying this? His Highness Prince Ruiyang is a man of both literary and military prowess, a genius beyond compare. When he was alive, when did the Northern Huai dare to invade our Wan Jin and act arrogantly towards us?"

"That's true, sigh! It's truly heartbreaking!"

"To be honest, I am from Baiyujing. I came to the capital to make a living. My parents told me that if it weren't for His Highness Prince Ruiyang guarding the border and repelling the enemy, they would have fled long ago."

"Putting everything else aside, His Highness Prince Ruiyang's return to the ancestral hall today is indeed a good thing!"

"That's good news, that's great news!"

"..."

The crowd was noisy, but everyone kept their voices down, and everyone's expression was solemn and dignified, without a trace of joking or frivolity.