Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine

“Your Highness, I’m not sure if the cat is well-behaved. I think we might need a few days to get used to each other. When I was young, my maternal grandfather gave me a similar cat. That cat was fierce. The first time I tried to hold it, it scratched me.” She said with a smile.

The crown prince’s eyes also carried a hint of a smile, and he asked, “What happened next?”

“Later? Well, later, I cried and went to my mother. She laughed at me for being timid and then applied some ointment to my scratches. I didn’t dare to provoke it again, but eventually, I grew to like it…” However, when she suffered grievances again and went to look for her mother, she was no longer there.

The hall fell quiet. Sun Yue’er sat gracefully in her chair, exuding a serene and gentle demeanor. It seemed she had recalled something, and her eyes became distant, as if filled with a nameless sadness.

Someone approached with light footsteps, but it startled the young woman, and she turned abruptly. The crown prince’s gaze immediately shifted, clear and piercing, causing the person to kneel.

“This servant deserves to die. This servant deserves to die.”

“Get up; it’s my fault. I got lost in my thoughts,” said Sun Yue’er. Then she realized she had overstepped her boundaries. “I hope Your Highness won’t blame me for being presumptuous.”

The crown prince offered a faint smile and spoke softly, “Since the crown princess has spoken, please don’t do it again.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” With that, the person left without lifting their head, retreating quickly.

But the atmosphere had been disrupted. Sun Yue’er had gathered the courage to speak with the crown prince, and now it was gone. With no mood left, she inquired about the crown prince’s health and meals before standing up to take her leave.

As she was about to leave, she hesitated for a moment and whispered, “Your Highness, I’m actually not upset.”

After saying this, she didn’t look back, and her steps hastened.

The hall returned to silence, but for some reason, the crown prince started to smile.

In truth, Sun Yue’er hadn’t been upset for a long time.

Upset about what? She had married the most esteemed person in the world, becoming the most esteemed woman in the world. The crown prince had given her everything she could want, and even if she was destined to be a widow, what did it matter to her? She had never wanted to marry in the first place.

But he seemed to care a lot, so ever since their wedding, precious items had been delivered to her as if they were flowing like water.

Once or twice, she didn’t understand, but as it happened more and more, she could begin to sense the meaning behind it. She had endured it for a long time. These were not things she should say, but today, she couldn’t help herself.

Returning to Shufang Palace, Sun Yue’er felt both embarrassed and annoyed, not knowing how the crown prince would react.

Setting aside these matters, ever since that incident, Sun Yue’er had gradually grown closer to the crown prince.

It started with the crown prince calling her for conversation, but she began seeking him out on her own. Later, these encounters became more frequent. They even spent nights in the Eastern Palace together, although nothing inappropriate happened. However, it was like sharing a bed as husband and wife.

Still, it didn’t happen often. Many times, Sun Yue’er could tell that the crown prince was reluctant to let her go, but he never explicitly asked her to stay. She knew why, and that made her heart ache.

Spring turned to autumn, and another year passed. The crown prince’s health deteriorated.

In her presence, he fainted twice. The second time, due to her frantic questioning, she managed to learn there were many such incidents she was unaware of.

The crown prince had been ill since birth, and he had consumed various rare medicines. The palace had invited renowned physicians from all over, but they all said he might not live past the age of twenty. Yet this year, he had turned twenty-two.

The resident imperial physicians at the eastern palace didn’t dare to leave, and the emperor visited repeatedly. His complexion grew increasingly grim, and fear permeated the entire eastern palace. They were afraid they might lose their heads at any moment.

Several eunuchs and maids of the eastern palace had been replaced, all falling victim to someone’s fury. Even Sun Yue’er did not escape the emperor’s wrath. It was the first time she had witnessed such anger and she prostrated herself in fear, not because she feared for her life, but because she feared they couldn’t save him.

At that moment, he woke up and called for his Father Emperor. The furious man turned away from her, and she collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat.

…

After that incident, Sun Yue’er only met the crown prince once. He assured her not to be afraid, but she was terrified.

It was probably the first time she had broken down, almost clinging to him, saying she still wanted to give him a son.

As a result, there were rumors in the eastern palace that the crown princess was afraid of living alone as a widow and attempted to secure her position at the last minute. In reality, she simply wanted to spend more time with him.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t keep him.

In the spring of the twenty-first year of Jing’an, the crown prince died in Fushou Palace, and the Emperor ordered a grand burial.

On the same day, Crown Princess Sun hanged herself in Shufang Palace.

Upon hearing the news, Emperor Jin’an remained silent and allowed her to be buried alongside the crown prince in the Yanshan Imperial Mausoleum.