Chapter 69 What I advised you to do, I made it seem like I did it.

Qi Jinghong, unaware of what had happened, entered the room and, as usual, sat down without paying his respects to Consort Hui. After drinking a cup of tea, he asked, "Mother, what has happened in the palace recently? Why did Father summon me to the palace so urgently, yet refuse to see me?"

Consort Hui didn't respond to that, but looked at him lovingly. Seeing that he seemed very thirsty, she quickly finished her cup of tea and then personally refilled it for him, saying gently, "The Di people have invaded, and the border war has started again. Your father is busy right now, but he will see you when he is done."

Qi Jinghong frowned and muttered, "What does the border war have to do with me? Why did they call me back?"

But thinking that the emperor might have been looking for him about something else and was too busy with the war to pay attention to him, he let it go. He casually complained that the eunuch who delivered the decree was very neglectful to him and was rushing him back to the capital like a death knell, not even giving him time to change his clothes.

Consort Hui listened silently, but unlike before, she didn't ask him which eunuch had treated him that way and promise to help him get revenge. Instead, she gently advised him not to bother with those palace servants and to try to win over the people around the emperor and offend them as much as possible.

Qi Jinghong had no patience for such talk. He gave a perfunctory reply with a stiff face, but inwardly he was quite disapproving. They were nothing more than servants; instead of fawning over him, they expected him, a member of the imperial family, to bow down and curry favor. Wasn't that going against the natural order?

Although the Emperor had Consort Hui imprisoned, he did not deprive her of her food and drink. Consort Hui had the palace servants bring some more tea and snacks and asked if Qi Jinghong had visited the He family recently.

Qi Jinghong's face showed even more disgust: "I went there once before, and my grandfather scolded me again."

"I really don't understand. The Crown Prince and Prince Ning's maternal grandparents are extremely kind to them. They send all the good things to the Eastern Palace and Prince Ning's residence first. They treat them kindly and discuss everything with them. But when it comes to me, my maternal grandparents are always lecturing me. They insist that I listen to everything they say, and if I do anything wrong, I get another scolding."

"Sometimes I even doubt whether I'm really his biological grandson, otherwise why would he treat me like this?"

Consort Hui listened from the side, her smile gradually fading, and her voice carrying a hint of coldness: "The He family is indeed not worth relying on. Hong'er, you should never trust them so easily in the future."

Qi Jinghong nodded in agreement, but only halfway through did he realize something was amiss.

Even though his mother had some dissatisfaction with the He family in the past, she rarely mentioned it to him and always told him to get along well with the He family so that he wouldn't lose support in court in the future. Why did she suddenly change her tune today?

A sudden chill ran through him as memories of yesterday and today flooded his mind. He frowned and asked, "Mother, is it really nothing that has happened in the palace?"

Consort Hui simply smiled and shook her head: "No."

Then she changed the subject, stroking Qi Jinghong's head and saying, "Hong'er, your mother has a few words to tell you, and you must remember them well."

Qi Jinghong was suspicious, but he still nodded: "Please go ahead."

"Although your father has many children, he doesn't value you much. But even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. No matter how much he dislikes you, he will only treat you coldly. As long as you don't provoke him or touch his sore spot, he won't do anything to you."

"You are almost eighteen now, and next month will be your birthday. On that day, don't run around. Remember to come to the palace to find your father and ask him to choose a better fief for you so that you can be granted the fief."

"If you voluntarily propose to be enfeoffed outside the capital, your father will be pleased and will certainly grant it. The place he chooses for you then won't be too bad..."

"Mother!"

Qi Jinghong suddenly stood up from his chair and interrupted sharply.

"What are you talking about? Why should I leave the capital? Father has so many sons, all of them are in the capital, even the seventh prince hasn't left, so why do you insist on making me leave?"

Consort Hui's eyes reddened as she reached out to take his hand: "It's different, Hong'er, you are different. Qi Jingxuan hasn't left because your father can't bear to part with him and doesn't want him to leave the capital so soon. But besides him, only Prince Ning can make him feel any reluctance. If it were any of your other older princes, he would be eager for you to go to your fiefdoms as soon as possible, but he just doesn't say it to appear like a loving father. Your mother is letting you leave for your own good, otherwise in the future..."

"If you really care about me, you should do everything you can to keep me in the capital, instead of kicking me out and making me the first prince to leave!"

Qi Jinghong slapped her hand away, his face full of anger.

Consort Hui grew anxious and grabbed his arm again, even harder than before: "Hong'er, wake up! What use are you if you stay in the capital?"

"With the Crown Prince and Prince Ning in the past, and Qi Jingxuan in the future, that position is bound to be yours no matter what. If you leave the capital now, you can still escape unscathed. But if the Crown Prince and Prince Ning start fighting in the future, and it affects you, you might not even have the chance to leave the capital!"

Qi Jinghong was utterly baffled: "What does their fighting have to do with me? I can just sit back and watch them fight it out, and maybe even reap the benefits. Isn't that what you used to tell me, Mother? Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

Although he had five older brothers, only the Crown Prince and Prince Ning survived. If those two also died, he would become the eldest son.

Although the He family's status in the court cannot compare to that of the Empress and the Imperial Concubine's families, they are not entirely without power. Once he becomes the eldest son, the He family will surely mobilize the entire clan to support his ascension to the throne, and the position of Crown Prince may then be his.

As for Qi Jingxuan, he never regarded him as an adversary.

Consort Shu was all alone; no matter how favored she was, she was merely a concubine in the harem with no power in the court. This meant that Qi Jingxuan was weak and powerless, possessing nothing but the emperor's favor. The matter of choosing an heir could not be based solely on the emperor's personal preferences; otherwise, he could have chosen Prince Ning instead of the second prince born to the empress.

Qi Jinghong knew he had no power to compete with the Crown Prince and Prince Ning, but he still held onto a sliver of hope, hoping to gain an advantage while the two were locked in a life-or-death struggle.

If a windfall were to fall from the sky in the future, and he were granted a fiefdom immediately upon leaving the capital, and this windfall landed on Qi Jingxuan's head, he would probably be furious.

Consort Hui could no longer hold back her tears, which flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.

She resented herself for having been wronged by the He family, yet still harboring some trust in them because of that thin kinship, believing they would wholeheartedly help Hong'er. If not for that, Hong'er wouldn't have been influenced by her to have such unrealistic thoughts, and still wouldn't be able to see the situation clearly.

“Hong’er,” she choked out, “you trust your mother, I won’t harm you. It’s no use for you to stay in the capital now; you’ll only become a victim in other people’s struggles. Rather than that, you should leave the capital and be enfeoffed as soon as possible, away from this place of trouble.”

Qi Jinghong had already sensed something was wrong, and now, hearing what he said, he was even more surprised and asked again, "Mother, what exactly happened? Tell me clearly!"

As he spoke, he looked around and found that there were no servants in the room; everyone had retreated outside the door, something that had never happened before.

"You...you've angered Father again, haven't you?"

He asked aloud.

Consort Hui shook her head with a wry smile: "It has nothing to do with your father, I just..."

How could it be unrelated?

Qi Jinghong said angrily, "You are my mother. If you anger my father, he will definitely take his anger out on me! Tell me quickly, what have you done to anger him this time?"

Consort Hui was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes as she remained silent for a long time, a bitter feeling surging in her heart that almost overwhelmed her.

After her eldest son's death, she felt extremely guilty, believing that she hadn't been a good mother and that someone had taken advantage of her, causing the child to be born prematurely and sickly, ultimately dying from illness. Therefore, she later treated Qi Jinghong very well, wishing she could make up for all the regrets and guilt she felt towards her eldest son by taking care of him. She always went along with him and indulged him, never uttering a single harsh word.

She used to think nothing of it; as a descendant of the imperial family, she was entitled to enjoy all the riches and honors. But now, looking at her son, who was nearly eighteen yet still dull-witted, she felt an unprecedented sense of regret and helplessness.

She wanted to explain the current situation to Qi Jinghong in detail, but Qi Jinghong had no patience for it. He shook her off, walked to the door, pushed it open, and dragged in a palace maid who was guarding the door.

"Speak! What has happened in the palace these past few days? Why has His Majesty summoned me?"

Consort Hui's capable associates either perished in the Imperial Prison or were taken away for interrogation by the Emperor after Lin Si's death. Now, those remaining around her are mostly people who don't usually manage affairs.

The young palace maid was startled, glanced at Consort Hui with a timid expression, and dared not speak.

Seeing this, Qi Jinghong raised his hand and slapped her, knocking her to the ground. He then kicked her twice more, shouting sternly, "Will you talk or not? Will you talk or not!"

The young palace maid was kicked until her vision went black. She dared not hide anything anymore, so she curled up, covered her head, and told him about Lin Si's death.

Qi Jinghong was shocked upon hearing this and turned around in disbelief: "Mother, why did you do this?"

Consort Hui, tears streaming down her face, opened her mouth, but ultimately offered no explanation. She only said, "This matter isn't important. What's important is that you leave the capital as soon as possible and don't get involved in this mess anymore. We, mother and son, are destined not to be the ones who reap the benefits; we must act quickly..."

How could it not be important?

Qi Jinghong interrupted her angrily, turned back to her, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her violently.

"The Seventh Prince had an incident at the Cheng'an Marquis's spring banquet, and Lin Si is the suspect. If you kill him, wouldn't that be taking the blame upon yourself, saying 'You did it, you did it,' which makes it seem like I did it?"

Honestly, he had absolutely nothing to do with this. Just yesterday, he was at the villa laughing at Qi Jingxuan with his cronies. How did he end up being blamed for this?

“No wonder,” he murmured, “no wonder you insisted that I leave the capital, no wonder you said I was not destined for the position of crown prince.”

"With a mother like you, I am truly destined to be without that position! Not only am I destined, I'm lucky if I'm not implicated by you!"

"Why...why did you do this to me?"

His eyes reddened. He couldn't understand why other women's mothers were always a help to their sons, while his mother only seemed to be a burden. First, she caused trouble in the palace, angering his father and being demoted. Now, she inexplicably meddled in matters that had nothing to do with him, dragging him into other people's disputes.

No wonder the Emperor summoned him to the palace so urgently, yet refused to see him; it turns out he was taking his anger out on him because of his mother!