This was the first time the Fourth Prince had seen Consort De like this. Even his mother, who was always noble, aloof, and distant, had looked at him with such a dazed expression.

"Fourteenth Brother has never been close to me since childhood, so it's uncertain whether he'll do a good job working by my side. That's one reason. Secondly, I've been favored by Father Emperor and specially kept here to assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country. So many people are watching, and there's no room for error. Fourteenth Brother is impetuous and still young; he can't handle things. Thirdly, Fourteenth Brother has always been close to Eighth and Ninth Princes, and I can't fully trust him to be a true brother to me." In the end, Fourth Prince couldn't bear to see Consort De heartbroken, so he had no choice but to reveal the reasons he would never have been able to explain aloud.

Consort De frowned slightly, still puzzled, and said, "Thirteenth is not much older than Fourteenth, so why do you always think of promoting him? Fourteenth is your own brother."

The Fourth Prince sighed inwardly and said, "The Thirteenth Prince is also my younger brother. He is fourteen years older than me, and we have always been on the same page. He is also straightforward and honest. I trust him with certain matters." The Fourth Prince knew that saying this would displease Consort De, but he had no choice but to say it.

As expected, the calm in Consort De's eyes concealed the calm before the storm. Suddenly, she burst out, "Go away. I'll pretend I never had a son like you."

The Fourth Prince's hands unconsciously clenched again. Seeing Consort De turn her face away and refuse to look at him again, he felt a pang of sadness. However, he couldn't bring himself to force the Fourteenth Prince to work for him just to please Consort De. That would be a blunder. Whether the Fourteenth Prince would perform well or not was another matter; the relationship between the Fourteenth Prince and the Eighth and Ninth Princes was something the Fourth Prince feared most.

"Your son takes his leave. Please take good care of yourself, Mother. I will come to see you again after this busy period." Fourth Master said calmly and rationally, without any arrogance or impatience.

Consort De kept her face turned away, refusing to look at the Fourth Prince again. She refused to accept his bow until his figure disappeared through the doorway, at which point she finally turned her face away.

“Your Highness, it is unfair of you to be so harsh on the Fourth Prince. He has not done anything to harm the Fourteenth Prince; he simply cannot agree to what you expect him to do,” Granny De finally spoke up. She hadn't dared to intervene after the mother and son had been at loggerheads.

"Alas, Granny De, the Fourth Prince can never truly be close to me. In fact, over the years, I have been trying my best to reconcile with him, but why is his heart so cold and hard?" Consort De said self-righteously.

Looking at Consort De's profile, Granny De hesitated to speak her mind. She could see that Consort De was overly biased towards her younger son, neglecting her elder son's feelings. Their mother-son relationship was already strained, yet Consort De, for the sake of her younger son, repeatedly said hurtful things to the Fourth Prince. And yet, she herself didn't realize it, instead believing the Fourth Prince was cold and heartless.

On the other side, Fourth Master walked with incredible speed, and Su Peisheng could only keep up by jogging.

He dared not offer any words of comfort, for no one in the world could console this mother and son, who were like two brothers separated by an invisible barrier.

The Fourth Prince suddenly felt hungry, so he paused and said to Su Peisheng, "Let's go straight to the kitchen. I'm very hungry. Let's eat there."

So the two of them, who had originally planned to go back the way they came, changed direction and turned to walk towards the kitchen, which was located at the very back of the East Palace.

The Fourth Prince also lived here when he was a child. He was very familiar with every palace road in the palace. He knew which road he could turn at and where he could get to his destination, and where he could take a shortcut.

So, our Fourth Master started taking a shortcut to the kitchen.

He and Su Peisheng walked through the narrow passages between the palaces, quickly passing through several. In the bright moonlight, Su Peisheng felt a sense of unease and fear, but the Fourth Prince remained unmoved, seemingly in high spirits. Just moments ago, in Consort De's palace, the mother and son had almost come to blows, yet the Fourth Prince, upon leaving, showed no displeasure, instead wandering through the maze-like harem like a child.

Suddenly, a figure flashed past the palace path in front of the Fourth Prince. However, he still recognized the figure clearly—it was the Crown Prince!

Su Peisheng also saw it. Seeing that the Fourth Master had stopped and was quietly thinking about something, he didn't dare to speak.

"Let's go take a look!" Fourth Master said, and hurriedly followed.

My God, Fourth Master is going to follow the Crown Prince! Su Peisheng was so shocked that he didn't know what to say, so he could only follow Fourth Master and the two figures in front of him.

The Fourth Prince knew that if the Crown Prince discovered his stalking of the Crown Prince, the consequences would be severe. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, the future emperor, and offending him at this time would be extremely unwise.

But why would the Crown Prince be heading into the inner palace at this time? What was he planning to do? The Fourth Prince's doubts grew stronger, and he couldn't control his steps. Every path in this palace was intimately familiar to him. And for the Crown Prince, who had always lived here, it was as familiar as his own backyard.

The crown prince kept walking through the alley and avoiding the palace servants. Was he afraid of being discovered?

The Fourth Prince followed the Crown Prince all the way through countless palace alleys until they arrived at the Shufangzhai in the Western Six Palaces.

The crown prince stood at the door for a while, then turned and headed back towards Chonghua Palace.

As the Fourth Prince watched the Crown Prince and his servant enter Chonghua Palace, he felt a sense of relief; so that's why the Crown Prince had come to Chonghua Palace. The Fourth Prince stood just a few steps away from the gate of Chonghua Palace, about to turn and leave, when he saw two slender figures walking towards him from the other side.

The Fourth Prince and Su Peisheng stood in the shadows, unseen by the newcomers. However, the Fourth Prince could see the two people clearly by the light of the lanterns at the entrance of Chonghua Palace; they were Consort Zheng from Shufangzhai and her maid.

Upon seeing the woman's appearance and the fact that she was dressed as a flowerpot disciple, Su Peisheng knew that she was a mistress of the palace. At this moment, she was actually wearing a cloak and helping her maid into Chonghua Palace!

Fourth Master stared intently at the closed door, so shocked that he seemed rooted to the spot and unable to move.

"Master, what about us?" Su Peisheng whispered from the side.

"What you saw today is not to be mentioned to anyone without my permission." For the first time, Fourth Master forgot to call himself "Master" in front of Su Peisheng.

"This servant didn't see anything. Whatever Master tells me to say, this servant will say," Su Peisheng immediately said, bowing his head, a sudden surge of nervousness rising within him.