Hongshi had long understood that the Empress's help was solely for her own future as Empress Dowager, not for his own good. However, at this moment, Hongshi had no other choice but to rely on the Empress. So, he knelt down on the ground with a pleading voice, his heart filled with anxiety, and tears streamed down his face.

"Your Majesty, you must help me. Your fate is intertwined with mine. I will do anything for you, but if Your Majesty suffers any injustice in the future, I will be guilty of a capital offense..."

The Empress glanced at Hongshi, but did not let him get up, saying, "My son will surely be the future monarch!"

Hongshi kept his head down. The Empress reached out her hand, and Hongshi looked up as she helped him up. The Empress then said, "Rest assured, I will join forces with the Ulanara family to do everything in my power to help and assist you..."

Hongshi said happily, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I will remember this and repay your kindness many times over in the future..."

The Empress then smiled slightly and said to Hongshi, "You should also try to prove yourself and show your father that you are the most capable and competent of all his sons..."

Hongshi nodded thoughtfully.

After leaving Jingren Palace, Hongshi was at a loss, overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Although the Empress had promised to join forces with the Ulanara family to help him, he still felt uneasy, as he knew perfectly well what the Empress was thinking. Her words, "My son will surely be the future emperor," only made Hongshi more anxious and uneasy.

If he were to make any mistakes on his path to the throne, given the Empress's personality, she would surely abandon him for the greater good and would never waste her time and emotions on him. The more Hongshi thought about it, the more frightened and worried he became. Suddenly remembering the promise the Eighth Prince had made to him, Hongshi immediately decided to turn around and go to the Ministry of Works to find the Eighth Prince.

Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The Fourth Prince looked at the memorials presented by the ministers with annoyance, glanced at them casually, and then angrily threw them aside. The Thirteenth Prince had no choice but to stand to the side and patiently pick them all up and put them away.

The Fourth Prince slammed the memorials shut, closed his eyes to rest, and said, "These are all memorials opposing my conferment of the title of Imperial Concubine for various reasons. I might as well not read them..."

The Thirteenth Prince comforted him, "Your Majesty, since you've already made up your mind, there's no need to get angry over these memorials. All this talk of status, family background, rules, and etiquette is just an excuse to make Your Majesty give up. If it were me, I'd just find an excuse and strike first to shut them up..."

Upon hearing this, Fourth Master opened his eyes, pointed at Thirteenth Master, and laughed, "You're so clever..."

Fourth Master saw that Thirteenth Master had been there for quite some time and had been hesitant to speak, so he asked, "Speak, what brings you here? You didn't come just to hear me complain about these troublesome things, did you?"

The Thirteenth Prince chuckled, "Nothing can escape the Emperor's eyes. He's been worried about my sister-in-law's situation, so I haven't bothered him. But now I feel it's necessary to inform him..."

Fourth Master sat up straight, his eyes darkening as he asked, "What is it?"

Thirteenth Master said, "It's Hongshi. At the last flower-viewing banquet, I saw Hongshi and Eighth Brother talking privately. It seemed like it wasn't their first conversation; they were quite familiar with each other... At first, I just thought it was polite greetings, but later I noticed they exchanged a lot of glances in private. I'm afraid it's not as simple as I thought... I'm worried..."

Fourth Master raised his hand to stop Thirteenth Master from continuing, nodded slowly, and said in a low voice, "I understand about this matter..."