Chapter 76 Suo'etu

"Greetings, Consort Shu."

"Please rise, sister."

Qi Yuebin smiled, looking quite radiant. He quickly helped Mei Qiyue, who was bowing, to her feet and said affectionately, "The house has been prepared. Sister, please settle in comfortably. These are the tonics I prepared for you. Sister, please rest well. We will take care of the young prince together in the future."

"Thank you, sister." Mei Qiyue's eyes were filled with tears, and she relaxed a lot when she saw Qi Yuebin's expression.

Mei Qiyue was aloof and intelligent, but she didn't like to compete with others. Although she had already guessed that she would not be able to raise the child, she couldn't help but feel fear and sadness when she learned that the child would be given to Qi Yuebin right after she finished her postpartum confinement.

Fortunately, seeing Qi Yuebin's demeanor, she realized he wasn't difficult to get along with and didn't seem to intend to prevent her from meeting the young prince. Relieved, Mei Qiyue said no more, respectfully bid farewell to Qi Yuebin, and returned to her new residence.

Watching Princess Mei's departing figure, Jixiang looked at Qi Yuebin with some confusion and cautiously asked, "Master, why..."

"Why are you being so polite to Princess Mei?" Qi Yuebin's smile hadn't faded when he gently continued Ji Xiang's words.

Jixiang nodded, genuinely puzzled. Shouldn't Princess Mei and the young prince be kept separate?

Ji Xiang's eyes were easy to read; knowing that she was thinking of him, Qi Yuebin explained softly, "I am already more than satisfied with having a little prince. It was Princess Mei who brought me this little prince, and I should thank her."

"Besides, now that I've raised the little prince and become his mother, I have to think about him. He'll grow up eventually, and I don't want him to be torn between his birth mother and his adoptive mother... Although the prince meant well, his decision to bring Princess Mei here suggests that he shares the same thoughts as me..."

Qi Yuebin's smile was faint. It would be a lie to say she hadn't considered separating the young prince from Madam Mei. For a fleeting moment, she even wondered if she should take action against Madam Mei so that the young prince would only have her as his mother.

But secrets are the hardest thing to hide in this world, and she didn't want the child she had raised with such care to develop a rift with her later because of his birth mother. She had put her heart into it, and she was determined to reap the rewards.

Rather than sowing seeds of future problems, it's better to raise the young prince together with Madam Mei now. Isn't that what the Prince hopes for and trusts her about? Therefore, Qi Yuebin wants both fame and maternal affection.

As long as she treats the young prince with sincerity, and as long as her status remains above that of Lady Mei, she believes that the young prince will know how to choose when he grows up...

"Let's go see if the little prince has woken up yet." Suppressing the myriad thoughts in her heart, Qi Yuebin smiled broadly. After only a short time apart, she had also developed a motherly heart full of longing and couldn't wait to see the little prince.

...

The atmosphere at the Hesheli residence was tense and stagnant.

Gerfin and Algishan stood motionless at the lower end, while Kolkun seemed particularly agitated, pacing back and forth in the study, sighing incessantly.

"Enough, Korkun, you're driving me crazy." Soetu couldn't help but speak up and stop his useless younger brother, who only knew how to keep pacing around.

"Third brother, I was just worried." Kolkun stopped and plopped down on a chair next to him, sighing involuntarily. Seeing the two Gerfin brothers standing there motionless as if being punished, he was annoyed and said, "What are you two doing standing there like pillars? It hurts my eyes."

"You two sit down too." Hearing Korkun say this, Soetu, who was also annoyed by his two dull sons, waved his hand and told them to take a seat as well.

Seeing the two obediently sit down without arguing at all, Suo'etu had a headache and couldn't help but question, "You're so obedient now, but how dare you neglect your duties when you're on duty?"

Gerfin hesitated, but Algishan, who was standing to the side, was not as cautious as his older brother and blurted out, "It's never been like this before, and it's fine."

"In the past, in the past... Is this the past now? Don't you have a brain at all?" Suo'etu gritted his teeth in anger. How could his son be so stupid and oblivious to politics? He was even worse than Mingzhu. Although his son died young, Nalan Xingde was at least a capable person.

Unlike these two brothers, who lived long but knew nothing and only knew how to act arrogantly because of the Hesheli surname.

"Tch." Korkun couldn't help but chuckle when he saw his nephew looking so wronged and afraid to speak, which immediately earned him a glare from Soetu.

"Didn't I say you were one of them? You're a spoiled brat who spends all day fooling around with cats and dogs. What can I expect from you?" Soetu got angrier and angrier, and now it was his turn to stand up and pace back and forth.

"That's good now. I've retired, and the three of you are now commoners. You can go back to Shengjing and farm!"

"Third Brother, why are you panicking? We still have Changtai and Xinyu," Kerkun comforted him softly.

“What do you know?” Soetu looked at Kerkun with exasperation. “Changtai and Changhai are just like our elder brother, they never get involved in anything, and Xinyu and Fabao are no better than them…”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His elder brother had passed away. Although he was Yinreng's maternal grandfather, he was always sickly and didn't like to cause trouble. His son was just like him and was unwilling to do anything for the crown prince.

The remaining brothers, starting with the fourth son, Korkun, were not particularly capable, and the Hesheli clan relied entirely on him. Now, because of Prince Yong's trip to the south, many of his men had been lost, and he had no one to consult with, not to mention dealing with the troubles caused by these fellows.

"Sigh..." The more Suo'etu thought about it, the more dejected he became. If the crown prince could not ascend the throne, what would become of the Hesheli clan?

"Third Brother..."

“Father…”

Seeing this, Korkun and Algishan wanted to offer some advice, but they didn't know what to say. Soetu shook his head helplessly. Seeing that his eldest son Gerfen seemed to have some suggestions, Soetu felt a rare sense of anticipation and gestured for him to speak.

"Father, in my opinion, this situation is entirely caused by Prince Yong, and we should teach him a lesson!"

"You..." Before Suo'etu could speak, the other two, as if their meridians had been opened, echoed in agreement.

“Brother is right. If it weren’t for Prince Yong, how could we have lost so many men and incurred the Emperor’s displeasure, resulting in our dismissal?”

"To be honest, the existence of Prince Yong is too disadvantageous. I know many people from all walks of life, so I'll go find someone..."

"Shut up!" Soetu shouted, rubbing his forehead. He shouldn't have had any expectations; they were all the same, brainless.

"Third Brother, when did you become so timid? I'll go find someone. Don't worry, it won't implicate the manor." Korkun waved his hand nonchalantly, not intimidated by Suo'etu's angry shout at all.

"Can't you use your brain? Don't we have enough trouble already? How could you target a prince in the capital? What were you thinking?" Soetu said angrily, pointing at Korkun and berating him.

"Then... then we're just going to let him go like this?" Kerkun asked, feeling wronged and unwilling.

"You...you, what use is it to target a mere Prince Yong? As long as the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he's just a prince, and we can do whatever we want with him."

“Third Brother…” Korkun’s eyes widened, realizing for the first time that his keen perception was ill-timed.

After exchanging surprised glances with the others, Suo'etu, now calm, sat down in his chair, his face deep and somber. "I've been an official for so many years, I'm not a fool... it's just that Heaven won't allow me to live..."