Chapter 53 Demoted to Commoner

However, the proud little tyrant remained reserved, took the small jar of honey, and said with a forced smile, "Oh, okay then. But I'm usually very busy. If it weren't for your sincere invitation, I wouldn't have gone fishing."

"Hehe, yes, yes, Sheng Sheng really wants to go fishing with Fifth Brother."

Xie Yunqi was quite pleased: "Hmm."

Xie Yunchuan and Xie Yunyang were both amused and exasperated, wondering who this little tyrant had learned his arrogant manner from.

"Oh dear, but I heard from my mother yesterday that someone in the palace was supposedly assassinated. Remember to bring more people with you when you go out tomorrow!"

Sheng Sheng said "Oh," and then added, "That person is Sheng Sheng."

"Huh?" Little Tyrant asked in confusion, "What?"

"It's alright." She looked at him with concern.

After returning to Yuqing Palace, Xie Yunchuan did not directly ask about Xie Yubin, but instead inquired about the hairband first.

Sheng Sheng never intended to hide it from him; even if she hadn't said anything, Xie Yunchuan would have asked Zhui Feng anyway.

Zhui Feng was Xie Yunchuan's bodyguard sent to protect her, so Zhui Feng must have seen everything.

So Sheng Sheng told the truth, and angrily rebuked those纨绔 (spoiled brats): "Even if Fourth Brother wasn't Fourth Brother, I would have done the same. What they did was really too much of a bully! If I hadn't happened to be passing by today, Fourth Brother would definitely have been...bullied again."

Sheng Sheng felt upset whenever she thought of what Li Cheng had said, such as taking Xie Yunwen's wheelchair away and making him crawl on the ground.

This is absolutely outrageous. Even if they were just bullying any ordinary person, it's still incredibly insulting.

Xie Yunchuan had never known about this before, and his expression was somewhat surprised and solemn.

Sheng Sheng, afraid he wouldn't believe her, quickly said, "Brother, if you don't believe me, you can ask Brother Zhui Feng. He definitely saw it!"

The little girl was a bit anxious. Xie Yunchuan gently stroked her hair and helped her remove the last remaining bow hairband: "I believe you. How could your brother not believe you?"

She was his most precious sister, and he would always believe her no matter what she said.

"I'm just wondering, why is it that the Fourth Prince..."

Xie Yunchuan paused, lost in thought.

"Why didn't you speak up and seek help?" Sheng Sheng interjected. "Brother, what kind of person do you think Fourth Prince is?"

Xie Yunchuan thought about it carefully: "My fourth brother is diligent and inquisitive, and has a wealth of knowledge. He actually has very thorough insights into many things. It's just that my fourth brother doesn't like to talk much and rarely gets close to us. To be honest, among my brothers, apart from my eldest brother who has already gone to his fiefdom of Xinyang, my fourth brother is the one who is furthest away from me."

"Since the fourth prince is skilled in literature, he has the pride of a scholar. As a prince, his pride will naturally be even greater. However, this fourth prince, who should have been shining brightly, was born with a disability, so he will naturally feel inferior."

Xie Yunchuan was silent for a moment: "When my fourth brother was diagnosed with a leg ailment at birth, Consort Liang did not visit him for a year. During that time, he was taken care of by the palace's wet nurse."

Sheng Sheng nodded: "Brother, you should also know that when Fourth Prince was first bullied, he went to Consort Liang for help, and the result was..."

Xie Yunchuan sighed.

Aside from Xie Yunwen's own reasons, a large part of the problem stemmed from Consort Liang's indifference and resentment.

No, even as the elder brother, he failed to notice these things.

He also bears responsibility.

“I will tell my father about this,” Xie Yunchuan said.

In any case, the Yong Prince's Mansion and those spoiled brats who bullied Xie Yunwen need to be properly disciplined.

What the two didn't know was that when Xie Yunchuan learned about this, Xie Yuxiao also learned about it from Zhu Yue.

Xie Yuxiao was furious: "What!"

Zhu Yue knelt in the center of the hall, extremely respectful: "Your subordinate and the Second Prince's secret guards witnessed the entire process in secret, and not a single word was concealed from Your Majesty."

The memorial in Xie Yuxiao's hand was slammed onto the table, and then fell to the ground.

Xie Yuxiao stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp and imposing.

"How did Prince Yong raise his son? Is it because I have spoiled Prince Yong's family too much?"

Eunuch Hou strode over, picked up the memorial from the ground, and carefully placed it on the table. He tried to calm him down, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Judging from what you've said, the Prince of Yong's heir did not personally carry out the act; he mostly instigated and indulged those young masters."

Xie Yuxiao rubbed his temples. Prince Yong was his elder brother, and Xie Yubin was his nephew.

Xie Yuxiao deserves punishment both publicly and privately.

Princes are subject to the same laws as commoners, and nephews who commit crimes should be severely punished.

But Prince Yong is, after all, his own elder brother and currently his only brother, so he should at least give Prince Yong this face.

Having served Xie Yuxiao for many years, Eunuch Hou naturally knew his thoughts.

His Majesty needed someone to offer a way out, so Eunuch Hou said, "Your Majesty, this old servant dares to be bold. Although the Prince of Yong's son is indulging the young princes' dissolute behavior, they all study under Grand Tutor Liu in the Wenhua Hall. Surely they understand the principles of being a decent person."

Xie Yuxiao's expression softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Issue my decree: Li Cheng, Qin Xiang, and Ye Zhongshu have committed insubordination, an unforgivable crime, and have further betrayed my expectations of allowing them to study in the Wenhua Hall. They should be demoted to commoners and exiled to the border, but considering the hard work and dedication of their fathers to the Great Yu Kingdom, they are spared exile. The rest, you can figure out for yourselves!"

Eunuch Hou received the decree and withdrew, saying, "This old servant obeys the decree!"

Xie Yuxiao asked again about what had happened in Wenhua Hall, and said with a smile, "Empress Mother's cats are not very close to me, but they are close to Sheng'er."

Zhu Yue touched the bouquet of flowers at her waist and replied honestly, "The Second Princess is so innocent and adorable that even animals would find her irresistible."

Xie Yuxiao liked hearing this.

"How can Consort Liang be so lenient with people! She should have been promoted to the rank of Consort after giving birth to a prince, but she didn't even care about her own son. So what if the fourth prince was born with a leg ailment? He's still her own flesh and blood! How can she treat him like this! Considering the hardships she endured during childbirth, the imperial decree to promote her to Consort was rescinded. I thought that not promoting her rank would make her understand her place. I never expected..."

Zhu Yue: "Your Majesty, according to the Second Princess, the Fourth Prince probably doesn't want this matter to escalate. After all, the Fourth Prince has his own pride, and this matter is somewhat..."

Xie Yuxiao sighed with a headache: "In that case, let's ignore Consort Liang for now, but the Second Princess's reward cannot be reduced."

Xie Yuxiao turned back to his desk, picked up his pen, and wrote an imperial edict.

"Someone, take him to Yuqing Palace!"

That night, an imperial edict and two loads of rewards entered the gates of Yuqing Palace. The little dumpling, who was sleeping soundly, was pulled up by Zijuan in a daze to receive the reward.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Princess Xie Yunsheng is pure and kind, a blessing to the royal family. She is hereby bestowed with one South Sea pearl, one jade bracelet, ten bolts of brocade, and other gifts totaling two loads, as a reward!"