"Master, should we just let this go?"

Chunyu hesitated. She could imagine how big the Crown Prince's plan was and how much turmoil it would cause.

At the same time, Chunyu understood that even with the Crown Prince and Suo'etu outside the palace, they could not control the potential negative impact of such a powerful force.

The most likely scenario is that the two of them will completely mess things up, and both the harem and the court will suffer the consequences.

"Manage? How do you manage it?"

Xiu Ning calmly shook her head, not because she was dissatisfied with managing the matter, but simply because she felt she couldn't manage it.

"We learned about the Yuqing Palace incident late, and the information you've gathered now may become outdated at any time."

The Crown Prince's earlier search of the palace caused a great commotion.

But look at the current situation. Besides the palace servants sent over, who else has paid attention to what's happening at Yuqing Palace?

None.

What does that mean? It means that this operation by Yuqing Palace was well-prepared.

The Crown Prince and Suo'etu's schemes are bigger than before, so they deliberately concealed the news, preparing to deliver a thunderous blow to everyone in the harem.

Chunyu's body stiffened, and her tone became urgent, "This matter is of no benefit to us."

"Master, should I spread the news as soon as possible?"

Telling the others in the harem could at least disrupt some of the Crown Prince's plans.

Chunyu knew she couldn't stop them, but she also couldn't let them control them so easily.

"Need not"

Xiuning raised her arm and waved it as she got up from the couch.

"I guessed correctly, the Crown Prince wants to conduct another palace search."

As for the purpose, it must be because they didn't catch enough people before. She knew that many of the letters sent to the Emperor were complaints and attempts to sow discord.

The Crown Prince could naturally send a letter to defend himself, but the trouble he caused to the harem was obvious. Once Kangxi returned to the palace and entered the harem, all the aftereffects of these troubles would fall on the Crown Prince's shoulders.

People are vengeful. The Crown Prince dared to use brutal methods against the women of the harem when Kangxi was not around, so he naturally had to bear the retaliation from them after Kangxi returned.

Therefore, this incident is very likely a self-rescue measure by the Crown Prince.

The more people arrested during the palace search, the more concubines would be implicated, and the safer the Crown Prince would be after Kangxi's return.

This "safety" refers to the situation where Emperor Kangxi was too busy to care for him, and the women in the harem were preoccupied with their own problems.

It feels like a scheme that Suo'etu would come up with. The Crown Prince doesn't have that kind of brain. Otherwise, the previous search of the palace wouldn't have caused such a stir. A few people were caught, but all the concubines who were offended were also caught.

"Chunyu, give the order to send the people the Emperor has placed in our palace to the Crown Prince under this pretext."

Xiuning was worried about how to deal with the spies that Kangxi had planted in her palace; she couldn't be too lenient or too harsh.

As her children grow older, their lives will certainly not be as easy as they are now.

If, because of these people, she accidentally reveals some secrets to Emperor Kangxi, it would be a great loss for Xiuning.

Taking advantage of the Crown Prince's current troubles, Xiuning might as well just throw these people out.

Moreover, the Crown Prince's arrests were definitely aimed at rounding up all these high-ranking concubines.

The reason is simple: these women all have sons to support.

When these princes grow up, eight or nine out of ten will become competitors for the crown prince position.

Would the Crown Prince be so soft-hearted as to spare his competitors? Certainly not.

"I will not attack unless attacked."

It would be best if the Crown Prince didn't have this idea, but if he did, we can't just sit and wait to die.

The best course of action is to retaliate directly, to fight fire with fire, and see who wins and who loses.

Chunyu nodded in agreement. No matter what happened, no matter how big the problem was, their master could always find a way to solve it perfectly.

Spring Rain calmed her nerves and immediately began arranging the next steps.

This includes what the master said about sending certain people out to be handed over to the Crown Prince who was waiting on the side.

...

Another search of the palace took place two days after the rain stopped.

Xiuning clearly remembers that the temperature that day was neither too high nor too low; it was a rare cool day.

The Crown Prince led his men into Qixiang Palace, and Xiuning was also brought out.

Upon seeing the seventeen-year-old prince again, Xiu Ning remained indifferent, having no interest in engaging in pretense or scheming with him.

As soon as the imperial decree to search the palace was issued, Qixiang Palace descended into chaos.

Xiu Ning frowned as she listened to the various shouts coming from not far away.

"Let's go take a look."

Fearing that the Crown Prince's men might be unaware of the gravity of the situation and cause her trouble, Xiu Ning gestured for Chun Yu to go and 'help'.

The spring rain prevented a major disturbance, but when the Crown Prince left, he still ordered many panicked palace servants to be taken away.

The remaining palace maids trembled with fear and unease, unable to comprehend how the Crown Prince dared to be so audacious in the inner palace.

Only Xiuning understood that if the Crown Prince didn't arrest these people, things would get even more difficult in the future.

This is the price of one wrong step leading to a series of wrong steps.

The Crown Prince made a mistake from the very beginning, but he had to persist in order to maintain his position. The Hesheli clan behind him could not back down, and when Kangxi saw this, he supported Mingzhu and the First Prince to fight against the Crown Prince and Suo'etu... When will this end? Perhaps only when the new emperor ascends the throne.

Xiu Ning was uncertain. She watched the Crown Prince leave with a smug look on his face, and found it more amusing than anything else.

It is only the 29th year of the Kangxi reign, and there are still 32 years left until the day Kangxi died in the original timeline.

Even though Xiuning had secretly planned to send Kangxi off the road ahead of time, she wouldn't consider it until Kangxi deposed the crown prince.

Given the current situation, would Kangxi still depose the crown prince within the originally planned timeline? Could the crown prince hold out until the forty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign?

Xiuning shook her head, a variety of questions popping into her mind.

She couldn't guarantee that all plans would go as she wished; the only thing she could do was prepare several backup plans in advance and adapt to changing circumstances.

Because Xiuning didn't pursue the matter, the Crown Prince's search of the palace didn't escalate into a major scandal.

But for others, especially Consort Jia and Consort Hui, who were not known for their good tempers, the Crown Prince had become mortal enemies.

Consort Jia, who was on the verge of death, considered that Yin'e was still alive, so she kept her mouth shut when she spoke. Although the scene was very ugly, the Crown Prince still managed to arrest her and leave smoothly.

Consort Hui's situation was not easy. Not only did she prevent the Crown Prince from leaving with his entourage, but the Crown Prince also directly arrested Consort Hui's personal maid, Chengxin.

Wow, putting aside whether there's anything wrong with Chengxin, just the fact that this person has served Consort Hui for over twenty years means that her status in Consort Hui's heart is incomparable to that of an ordinary palace servant.

As a result, the Crown Prince actually wanted to arrest Chengxin and even fabricated a charge that Consort Hui thought was completely impossible, which was utterly ridiculous and a huge slap in Consort Hui's face.

Consort Hui refused, and the two argued directly in Chuxiu Palace, making a scene that everyone knew about.