The crown prince calmly got up and followed the guards who had come in to leave.

When the Crown Prince passed by the First Prince, he smiled and shook his head at him.

"Your subjects take their leave!" the eldest prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince said, bowing their heads.

Kangxi waved to the three princes without even looking up.

"Father, I have something to say!" The Eighth Prince knelt before Emperor Kangxi.

"Speak!" Kangxi sighed. Having too many sons was a burden!

"Father, I do not wish to marry Princess Tana. I beg you to rescind your decree!" The Eighth Prince said, then kowtowed with his hands on the ground.

As the eldest, third, and fourth princes reached the door, they all looked at the eighth prince simultaneously. They didn't know what the eighth prince was up to, but they couldn't care less about him now; they were anxious to find the crown prince.

"Do you even know what you're saying?!" Emperor Kangxi rubbed his forehead, his head aching.

"Father, I do not like Princess Tana. I want to marry the woman I love!" The Eighth Prince knew it was inappropriate to say this at this time, but he had to do it before the Crown Prince.

"Get out! Get out and kneel down for me. You can get up when you've figured things out!" Kangxi didn't want to hear the Eighth Prince say any more.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" The Eighth Prince knew he couldn't say any more. After kowtowing to Emperor Kangxi, he went out and knelt at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace.

After the Crown Prince finished his punishment, he was carried over by the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, and there he saw the Eighth Prince's current state.

The eldest prince said to the crown prince, "He wanted to annul the engagement, so he must have been punished by Father Emperor!"

The Crown Prince nodded and kowtowed three times to the tightly closed doors of the Qianqing Palace. "Your subject thanks Your Majesty!"

Liang Jiugong stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that you be confined to Yuqing Palace to reflect on your mistakes!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" The Crown Prince's face was already somewhat pale.

When the Crown Prince passed by the Eighth Prince, he stopped and said to him, "Eighth Brother, let me give you some advice: some people are not for you to covet. People should know their own limitations!"

The Eighth Prince's hands, hanging limply at his sides, clenched tightly. "Second Brother, no one knows the outcome until the very end!"

The crown prince smiled dismissively, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi asked casually, "How is the Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince doesn't look well. Blood is seeping from his back! He can barely stand, and it's only with the support of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince that he can stand!" Liang Jiugong deliberately made the Crown Prince's condition sound terrible.

"Quickly send Imperial Physician Liu to Yuqing Palace to wait!" Kangxi threw down his pen and said worriedly. Were the executioners pig-brains? They actually dared to hit the Crown Prince. If it weren't for the fact that it was his order, he would have really beaten those two executioners.

Emperor Kangxi was considering whether he should secretly visit the Crown Prince at Yuqing Palace.

Kangxi picked up Zhao Chang's investigation results, which stated that Ren Dong, who served the Imperial Noble Consort, had visited Yuqing Palace last night, but she left before even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The Crown Prince did leave Yuqing Palace, but it was after Ren Dong left. The Crown Prince left alone and returned to Yuqing Palace soon after. It is unknown whether the Crown Prince met anyone during this time. Could it be that someone is trying to frame the Crown Prince again?

Emperor Kangxi was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he hoped that the Crown Prince had indeed secretly met with a palace maid, which would mean that the Crown Prince's illness had been cured. On the other hand, he did not want the Crown Prince to do such a thing.

"Liang Jiugong, prepare the carriage for the Chengqian Palace!" Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong.

“Yes, sir!” Liang Jiugong replied.

When the Imperial Noble Consort heard the news of Kangxi's arrival, she felt it was expected; he had probably come about the Crown Prince's matter.

Kangxi should have already found out that Ren Dong went to Yuqing Palace last night. Fortunately, Ren Dong returned immediately, and a palace maid followed her back, so no one would notice anything unusual.

"Greetings, cousin!" The Imperial Noble Consort bowed to Emperor Kangxi.

"Cousin, please get up!" Emperor Kangxi helped the Imperial Noble Consort to sit down.

The Imperial Noble Consort personally served tea to Emperor Kangxi. "Cousin, are you troubled by the Crown Prince's affairs?"

"Does my cousin already know?" Kangxi asked.

“This morning when I was paying my respects, Consort Min overheard the palace maids and eunuchs gossiping about her, so she detained them. I also sent them to the Ministry of Justice, but we couldn’t get any information out of them!” the Imperial Noble Consort said.

"Thank you for your hard work, cousin!" Since the last time the Imperial Noble Consort was seriously ill, Emperor Kangxi did not want her to be too overworked, so he assigned palace affairs to Consort Hui and others.

In previous years, when the weather got cold, the Imperial Noble Consort would go to the Summer Palace. In the last year or two, she felt much better and didn't go. Otherwise, she would have already gone to the Summer Palace by this time of year.