Baixi arrived at the ancestral hall and saw her grandmother lying quietly on a cushion, without any changes.

"Huh?" Baixi scratched her head, confused. When her mother bit her ear, she pretended to be in pain and yelled a few times, but her grandmother didn't react.

It must be because she had spent too much time "eating" with her mother last night. At least, that's what Baixi thought.

"Grandmother, wake up." Baixi walked to Lilia's side and gently pushed her body, but there was no response.

Is she pretending to sleep? Her grandmother really is like a child.

"Wake up, grandmother. Mother wants to go shopping with you, she just told me."

However, Lilia still remained motionless.

When Baixi touched Lilia's hand, her heart sank with a "thud". Her trembling hand reached out to feel Lilia's breath, but she couldn't feel the warmth of breath on her fingertips.

She turned Lilia's body over and looked at her grandmother's face, which had once been fair and delicate but now looked ugly, stiff, and lifeless.

Her face was a bit blackened, with teeth exposed, and her mouth was slightly crooked, resembling a zombie.

Baixi looked at her grandmother in extreme shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. She couldn't connect the cold and stiff body in front of her with the memory of her grandmother. Just yesterday, she had seen her grandmother watering flowers in the backyard. How could she be like this overnight?

Last night, her mother had been in the ancestral hall all night. Could it be that she had used some kind of resurrection technique, but it failed and made her weakened?

Baixi linked her mother's condition with her grandmother's death.

What happened last night? Why was there no sound? Could it be because she had slept too deeply?

Hmm... that seems to be the case.

Apart from sleeping too deeply, she needed to know that this was the palace, and security had been heightened recently. One had to answer questions to enter, and answering incorrectly would result in execution.

To infiltrate the palace and commit a crime silently, one must be courageous, powerful, and possess exceptional stealth. This indicated that the perpetrator was no ordinary person.

What worried Baixi even more was that her mother had been in the ancestral hall all night, and when she saw her, she was weak, as if she were out of breath. This undoubtedly proved that her mother had been performing some kind of resurrection technique, which had caused her physical exhaustion.

There was no such thing as resurrection in the world. Her mother's actions could only be explained by her suppression of grief and irrational behavior after losing her loved one.

Baixi held her grandmother's cold and stiff hand, and tears gradually blurred her eyes.

"Grandmother, your granddaughter will comfort mother." Baixi gently released Lilia's cold and stiff hand. She knew that this moment was goodbye.

Baixi left the ancestral hall and began to contemplate the arrangements for her grandmother's funeral. This was something her mother and aunt should have taken care of, but her aunt was still young and her mother was weak. All the responsibilities fell on her shoulders.

Baixi found the head maid, Candace, and instructed her to bring a coffin and the best embalmer into the palace.

"Princess, what do you need a coffin and an embalmer for?" Candace looked at Baixi in confusion.

Baixi looked at Candace and calmly said, "Grandmother has passed away... I need to prepare her funeral."

Candace was shocked. She had served the Queen Mother for many years, and for a moment, she couldn't accept this bad news. Just yesterday, she saw the Queen Mother in good health. How could she suddenly pass away today?

"My grandmother was attacked by a criminal and died tragically. Please do as I said as soon as possible," Baixi's tone was filled with grief, and her words were moving.

"Your Highness, you are unaware. Embalmers are not allowed to apply makeup to deceased members of the royal family. These tasks can only be completed by offspring or relatives. As for the coffin, it is stored in the underground chamber of the palace and can only be accessed with royal blood," Candace said.

"Underground chamber? There is a chamber in the palace?" Baixi was shocked. She had never heard her mother or grandmother mention it before, and this was the first she had heard of it.

"I accompanied Her Majesty into the underground chamber once, but I had to wait outside the whole time. The chamber is in a secluded corner on the east side of the palace," Candace replied truthfully.

"You go find Aunt Lanzu and have her open the entrance to the underground chamber to retrieve the coffin. As for the embalming, I will go find Aunt Yimu," Baixi said, about to go find Lanzu, but stopped by Candace.

"These matters should be handled personally by the Queen..." Candace wanted to continue, but was interrupted by Baixi, "I know it should be my mother who does these things, but she is extremely weak now, and even standing up is a problem."

Candace looked at Baixi and nodded. She knew there had been some commotion last night, and she wanted to go see, but was stopped by a group of guards in black armor.

The two separated, with Baixi heading to Lanzu's chamber. She pushed the door open and saw her aunt sitting in a chair, seemingly waiting for something.

Seeing this, Baixi quickly bowed, "Greetings..."

Before Baixi could finish bowing, a chill filled the room.

Baixi trembled, feeling a strong sense of hatred in the air. She looked up at her aunt.

Her aunt sat in the chair, dressed in a white robe and black leather pants.

She looked gloomy, without a hint of a smile, emanating a low pressure.

Seeing this, Baixi felt uneasy. In her impression, her aunt was cold, but still cared for her family. She had never seen her aunt so gloomy before.

Before Baixi could speak, Lanzu opened her eyes and asked, "It has been a night. What did Iris instruct me?"

Instruct? What instruction? Did her mother promise something to her aunt? But she didn't tell Baixi anything.

"My mother... my mother is supposed to make arrangements with my aunt. However, she is currently too weak, even standing up is a problem. We still need your help to prepare grandmother's funeral," most importantly, Baixi didn't know how to prepare the body, otherwise she would have done it herself.

Upon hearing Baixi's words, Lanzu's anger increased! Rest at a time like this? What is there to rest about?

Her hand rested on the table and instantly froze into an ice block. With a forceful slap from Lanzu, it shattered into pieces.

Baixi realized she might have said something wrong and quickly explained, "Last night, it seems my mother used some kind of resurrection magic and ended up weakening herself."

"Hypocrisy! If I had known, I would have sent the shapeshifter away so my sister wouldn't have died!" Lanzu slowly stood up and walked towards the ancestral hall, "After my sister's burial, I will hold Iris accountable."

Baixi followed behind Lanzu, guessing what happened last night: her grandmother was taken hostage by a criminal, and her mother insisted on killing the criminal, ultimately facing a dead end.

If Aunt Lanzu finds out about this, will she hate her mother? Then a plot will be formed where the sister resents the sister.

Upon careful consideration, it is unlikely that such a storyline would occur. Auntie is very sensible and should be able to understand Mother's perspective.

Lanzu arrived at the ancestral hall and began to prepare her sister's body for the funeral, with Baixi assisting by her side.

Lanzu silently carried out the embalming process, and Baixi could sense the sorrow in her aunt as she remained quiet, unable to speak up and could only silently lend a hand.

...