Emperor Kangxi thought to himself that he already had more than a dozen sons, and the Crown Prince was his son, so in theory he shouldn't be too bad off. But who could blame him for having such a strange illness?

Among the concubines in the harem, Consort Rong gave birth to the most children, but only the Third Prince and Princess Rongxian survived. This can be considered as having quantity but not quality, and Consort Rong could not pass on any knowledge to Hexue.

What about Consort Hui? She gave birth to two children, but one of them, a rebellious son, survived, and his quality was even worse than Consort Rong's! What if his grandson is like the eldest prince? How could he possibly face the ancestors of the Aisin Gioro family?

Yes, and there's Consort Yi. Consort Yi also gave birth to three sons. The Fifth Prince seems interested in leading troops into battle, the Ninth Prince is interested in gold and silver, and the Eleventh Prince seems to particularly like woodworking. These three unfilial sons are quite a headache for him. He'd better just let them go. What if his grandson resembles one of these three unfilial sons? He wouldn't be able to face his ancestors then.

Emperor Kangxi stroked his chin in deep thought. He then realized that none of his sons, except for the Crown Prince, were easy to manage. In order to ensure the future succession of the Aisin Gioro family, should he consider selecting some more young women to enter the palace?

If he has more sons, it can make up for the shortcomings that the Crown Prince brought to the Aisin Gioro family. It seems that the continuation of the Aisin Gioro family line ultimately depends on him.

When the Crown Prince returned to Yuqing Palace, he saw that the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Tenth Prince were all there.

He Zhu was overjoyed to see the Crown Prince return. "Your Highness, you're finally back!"

The princes kept pressing him for an explanation: Who was injured in Yuqing Palace? Why had Yuqing Palace summoned the imperial physician? If he didn't give them a proper answer, the Tenth Prince was about to beat him.

"What's going on?" the Crown Prince asked, for he saw that if he didn't show up soon, the Tenth Prince's fist would probably strike He Zhu.

"Tenth Brother, have you come to Yuqing Palace to beat people up?" the Crown Prince asked with a gloomy face.

The Tenth Prince chuckled awkwardly, "Second Brother, you're joking! I was just worried about you. He Zhu hasn't said what happened, that's why I got anxious!"

"Second Brother, Tenth Brother has a bad temper to begin with, and He Zhu kept dawdling, so Tenth Brother took action. Don't hold it against him!" Ninth Prince also pleaded for Tenth Brother.

The Fifth Prince also stepped forward to plead for the Tenth Prince, saying, "Second Brother, the Tenth Brother acted rashly; please forgive him!"

The Crown Prince looked at the Tenth Prince, who kept his head down, and said sternly, "This is a one-time exception!"

"Understood, thank you, Second Brother!" the Tenth Prince immediately assured him.

"Second Brother, are you injured? Why did Yuqing Palace summon the imperial physician? Even Eldest Brother came to the palace!" the Eighth Prince asked worriedly.

"Eighth Brother, you're quite well-informed!" the Crown Prince said with a smile, looking at the Eighth Prince.

"Second Brother, even Father Emperor has been alerted, how could we not know?" Ninth Prince defended Eighth Prince.

"Second Brother, what exactly happened? Please tell us quickly!" the Ninth Prince asked.

Because the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were usually close to He Xue, the Crown Prince took good care of them, so the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were quite at ease in front of the Crown Prince.

"Someone has poisoned Yuqing Palace!" After saying this, the Crown Prince secretly observed everyone's expressions.

Everyone was incredulous; who would be so bold as to poison Yuqing Palace?

"Second Brother, are you alright?" the Ninth Prince asked worriedly. Should he tell his elder sister about this? His elder sister and second brother had a very good relationship!

"It's alright!" the crown prince said.

"Second Brother, how did you know someone poisoned him? Has the poisoner been caught?" the Eighth Prince asked curiously. The Crown Prince wasn't poisoned, so how did he discover someone had poisoned him? Or was someone else the one who was poisoned?

"The one who poisoned me was a little eunuch from Yuqing Palace. He has already been dealt with. I was lucky this time; someone took the pain for me!" The Crown Prince thought of He Xue, who was still unconscious, and felt full of self-blame.

The Eighth Prince noticed the self-reproach in the Crown Prince's eyes. There were very few palace maids in Yuqing Palace. If an ordinary eunuch had been poisoned, the Crown Prince should not have had such an expression.

Combined with the previous statement that the Crown Prince had a penchant for homosexuality, could there really be someone in Yuqing Palace who is not in the public eye?