After the court session, Hongshi was very unhappy. The Fourth Prince praised him, but in the end, he did not receive any reward. What did that mean?

Hongshi then went to Jingren Palace because he was feeling really unwell and was going to pay his respects to his mother, the Empress.

Hongshi thought that his father was satisfied with him this time, but why was he being treated like this? Hongshi felt frustrated, but had no way to vent his anger.

When the maid at the door saw Hongshi arrive, she hurriedly went to inform the Empress.

When the Empress heard that Hongshi had come, she was overjoyed and quickly summoned him in.

"Hongshi, you're finally back! Come and let your mother see you!" The Empress took Hongshi's hand and examined him closely.

"Your Majesty, I have just come from court," Hongshi said with a smile to the Empress, and sat down with her.

The Empress saw that Hongshi had been away on disaster relief for more than a month, but he had not lost weight; on the contrary, he seemed much more energetic.

The Empress was very pleased to see this: "You've suffered so much out there!"

Hongshi shook his head: "Empress Mother, this is what I should do."

The Empress admired Hongshi greatly and nodded with a smile.

Then the Empress asked him about matters of the court. Hongshi began by recounting his performance, which the Empress found very impressive, even quite satisfactory. She looked at Hongshi with affection and said, "Very good. I'm sure your father is very pleased!"

Hongshi's expression was somewhat strange, and he sighed softly, "Father Emperor only praised me a few times."

The Empress paused without speaking. In fact, Hongshi was extremely confused and unwilling at this point. He looked directly at the Empress and asked, "What is Father Emperor's intention?"

Hongshi couldn't help but show some dissatisfaction on his face, which the Empress naturally noticed. She quickly comforted Hongshi, "Your Majesty's younger brother, the Duke of Yingguo, has spoken to the Emperor many times, but the Emperor has not responded. Don't worry, Your Majesty will speak to him on your behalf again!"

The Empress really couldn't figure out what the Emperor was planning. After all, he was the Emperor, and since ancient times, the hearts of emperors have been unfathomable.

However, Hongshi was somewhat unhappy. His father, the Emperor, was already satisfied with him and had praised him in front of so many ministers. Everyone thought he would be rewarded, but in the end he received nothing. What would others think of him?

It's no wonder that Hongshi felt resentful. The Emperor's actions this time were truly unexpected. The Empress wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't say anything. She could only tell Hongshi that she would continue to bring it up with the Emperor later, and that Hongshi shouldn't overthink things and risk falling into some kind of obsession. She wanted to comfort Hongshi's heart.

Hongshi sighed and agreed, "Empress Mother, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have bothered you! I was just a little confused and upset."

Hongshi whispered to the Empress, "The most important thing is that I want to know how my mother is doing lately. I haven't been able to visit her for so long, and I'm really missing her terribly. I'm sorry for being unfilial, please punish me, my mother!"

The Empress exclaimed and quickly helped Hongshi up, saying, "What are you saying? Your Majesty's mother misses you terribly, but how could she blame you? Don't worry, Your Majesty's mother will definitely help you!"

Hongshi nodded, exchanged a few more words with the Empress, and then left Jingren Palace.