Chapter 213 Suspicion (4)

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Days passed, and in the peaceful Ding capital, it seemed as if nothing had happened. As the New Year approached, people were busy buying New Year's goods, and even the poorest families seemed to be filled with a faint sense of joy.

However, no matter how happy the day is, there will always be people who are unhappy.

In the palace, Prince Li and Prince Xiang were walking in the garden.

Within Prince Li's faction, Prince Xiang and Prince Cheng were relatively weak, and they remained subservient to Prince Li with a respectful attitude. Compared to the Crown Prince's steadiness and the sharpness of Prince Zhou and Prince Jing, Prince Li treaded a more moderate path. His talent wasn't exceptional, nor was his mother the most favored, but he was incredibly smooth in his dealings with everyone, and both court officials and his brothers were willing to give him face. However, in private, he was a complete and utterly shrewd person.

"Sixth brother, I heard that the emperor has been very cold to my uncle recently." King Xiang said.

"You heard it too." Prince Li smiled. When he smiled, tiny wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, making him look very easygoing. His attitude was also very easygoing. He chatted with Prince Xiang: "Your Majesty has always valued your uncle. Recently, your uncle has asked for favors and has come to the palace several times, but your Majesty has declined on the grounds of being busy. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that your Majesty is deliberately leaving your uncle alone."

Emperor Wenhui treated Prince Yu with the utmost kindness and justice. Previously, when one of his favorite concubines had offended Prince Yu, and her family was quite powerful, Emperor Wenhui had her banished to the cold palace without a second thought. He even publicly warned everyone, "Eleventh Prince is my brother. Disrespecting him is disrespecting me!" It was precisely because Emperor Wenhui almost always granted Prince Yu's requests that this sudden change in attitude was noticed by everyone.

"But why is this?" Prince Xiang asked in confusion, "Did Uncle Wang do something to anger Father? But for all these years, even if Uncle Wang did something outrageous, Father never blamed him. I haven't heard of anything happening to Uncle Wang these days."

"Do you know what Uncle Wang came to the palace to ask Father for?"

King Xiang shook his head.

"Seventh brother," Prince Li patted his shoulder, as if an elder brother were admonishing his naive younger brother, "You still need to be more careful about everything in this palace. You are so honest, and I, your sixth brother, can't worry about everything for you."

Prince Xiang smiled shyly and said, "I follow my sixth brother. He is smarter than me. Whatever he says is what I will do."

"I heard that Uncle Wang came to the palace to seek the affairs of the Shen family."

"The Shen family?" Prince Xiang suddenly realized, "Could it be that Uncle Wang angered Father because of the Shen family?" He thought for a moment and said, "But Uncle Wang married the daughter of the Shen family's second branch. Father... wouldn't be angry about the Shen family's second branch, right?"

No one understood Emperor Wenhui better than his own son. If Prince Yu had angered Emperor Wenhui, it would have been because his request was outrageous. After so long in the imperial household, the emperor's bottom line was nothing more than power. Shen Gui, the second son of the Shen family, was a third-rank civil official with little real power, so it wouldn't affect the overall situation. Emperor Wenhui had no reason to be angry with Prince Yu over this.

“That’s right.” Prince Li said meaningfully, “But what Uncle Wang wants is to marry the eldest daughter of the Shen family, Shen Miao.”

"I see." Prince Xiang finally understood: "Chen Xin holds military power. Uncle Wang wants to marry the daughter of the Shen family. I'm afraid he has violated the taboo of the emperor. But why does Uncle Wang suddenly want to marry Shen Miao? Wasn't he planning to marry Shen Qing before? Even if the emperor lets him do whatever he wants, Uncle Wang shouldn't be so foolish as to make such a sensitive matter."

"I don't know either." Prince Li shook his head. "Although Uncle Wang has done some extraordinary things in recent years, he has always been a loyal subject. This time, he went too far..."