Chapter 167 The Lesson of Growing Up

Yinzhen abruptly stopped speaking and looked up at the door. Hongzhao stood up and followed his gaze. His eyes swept across the hall, and only Hongli's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Hongzhao secretly raised an eyebrow. It seemed he was convinced that the Empress Dowager would protect him. It was obvious who had been whispering in the Empress Dowager's ear.

The Empress Dowager, supported by Zhu Xi's arm, entered the hall. Upon entering, she was visibly taken aback when she saw the Fourth Prince kneeling in the center.

"Your Majesty the Empress is here." Yinzhen made a move to get up, but the Empress Dowager quickly stepped forward and pressed his shoulder. "Your Majesty has just recovered from a serious illness. You should lie down and rest." After saying that, she waved to Hongzhao, who was bowing to her, and said, "Good child, get up quickly."

She sat down by the bedside with Zhu Xi's help. "I heard that the Emperor had finally woken up, so I thought I'd come and see him as soon as possible. Why are you getting angry so soon after waking up?"

Turning her head, she glanced at Hongli, then frowned slightly and spoke to Yinzhen, "Fourth Prince is worried about his father, so he wrote many letters and sent them in, just to see the Emperor from afar and pay his respects. I felt sorry for him and that's why I brought him in. How did he end up making the Emperor so angry?"

"Worried about me?" Yinzhen said as if he had heard a joke. "Your Majesty doesn't know that he just spoke so arrogantly, not even bothering to hide it in front of me in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He'll only be more arrogant in private."

Seeing the Emperor's genuine anger, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but feel uneasy. After all, the Fourth Prince she had met and heard about was a pitiful child who was ignored and unloved from beginning to end. Logically speaking, a child who was not favored by the Emperor would naturally face difficulties in the palace, and as the Empress Dowager, she had no need to get involved in this mess.

But as she had grown older, her heart softened. Qingying was right; this was, after all, the Emperor's child, and also her own grandson. If he couldn't even maintain a proper dignity, it would be a disgrace to the royal family.

Furthermore, she firmly believes that the key to stability and prosperity lies in checks and balances, both in the imperial court and the harem. If one family always holds absolute power, it is inevitable that the balance will be lost. This can be seen from the increasingly hard tone of Hongzhao. In this respect, the emperor has not done as well as the late emperor.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Fourth Prince misspoke in his haste and deserves punishment, but you must also take care of your health. How can you get so angry after just waking up?"

She waved to Zhou Qi, who had been waiting for a while, to come forward and take his pulse. Zhou Qi then took out his own hand pillow, and was about to ask the Emperor to help him when he saw the "dragon claw" of the bright yellow nightgown sweep past his eyes again, pointing straight at the Fourth Prince Hongli.

Zhou Qi pursed her lips, almost bursting out laughing... It's okay, I'm used to it.

"A moment of impatience? He speaks fluently and clearly, expressing resentment towards me and disdain for the Crown Prince's ambitions. Your Majesty, you didn't see his arrogant attitude. I think he's not just in a moment of impatience, but has long harbored rebellious intentions!"

These words, once spoken by the Emperor, were no longer minor squabbles. After all, the last prince with rebellious intentions was Aqina, and Seshei. Even the Empress Dowager frowned upon hearing this.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager could not persuade his father, Hongli felt his last glimmer of hope was about to vanish, and his legs went weak. "Father! Your son has no such intention! Your son was just... just now I was arguing with the Crown Prince, and in the heat of the argument I misspoke."

"Please, Father Emperor, have mercy on me this time, considering my young age." He pleaded for himself with tears streaming down his face, his sincerity so profound that it would move anyone who heard or saw him to tears, but this certainly did not include Yinzhen.

His dark eyes remained unmoved. Beyond exhaustion, his impatience was palpable; he was impatient to sit there any longer listening to others' pleas and cries—"You accuse me of favoritism, of disrespect towards the Crown Prince. If you don't want to be my son, nor the Crown Prince's brother, then..."

The Empress Dowager grew increasingly alarmed as she listened, and quickly reached out and pressed down on the Emperor's forearm with some force. "Your Majesty, I see that you look terrible. You should have the imperial physician examine you properly. The Fourth Prince is in the palace, and he will certainly be punished. Your health is the most important thing."

She turned her gaze to Hongzhao, who hadn't uttered a word since she entered the room—"The Crown Prince stays by the Emperor's side every day, and I've visibly lost weight. Don't make the child worry anymore."

As Yinzhen listened, he also looked at the Crown Prince to the side. He was so angry that he wanted to point his finger at Hongli and scold him as soon as he opened his eyes, and he didn't really notice whether Hongzhao looked haggard.

His still-angry gaze swept over Hongzhao from head to toe. Hongzhao instinctively stood at attention and returned the gaze with clear eyes.

Yes, you have definitely lost weight.

Seeing that the emperor had finally calmed down a bit, Zhou Qi quickly took the opportunity to check his pulse.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, and Crown Prince, judging from your pulse, Your Majesty's prolonged unconsciousness is due to stagnation of qi and blood. Now, your anger has unexpectedly broken through the blockage, so you must take good care of yourself and avoid anger that could harm your spirit. I will give the prescription to Eunuch Su to prepare and administer to Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, please listen to the imperial physician first. No matter how important other matters are, they are not as important as Your Majesty's health." She rarely showed maternal love, and pulled the brocade quilt over to help the Emperor lie down slowly. "If Your Majesty wants to punish your own son, there will be plenty of time to do so later. Today, please listen to me and rest well."

Yinzhen now understood that his mother had come today to protect the Fourth Prince. He pondered silently for a long time before turning his head away in tacit agreement.

He was also curious to see what method Hongli had used to win over the Empress Dowager's favor.

"Zhu Xi, take the Fourth Prince to the small Buddhist hall in Yongshou Palace to reflect on his mistakes. We will deal with his crimes and punishments after the Emperor recovers."

After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she gave Zhu Xi a wink, then gave the Emperor some more instructions before leaving with her entourage.

After everyone left, Hongzhao quietly peeked into the bed curtains and saw his father lying inside, deliberately turning his head away from looking out, looking like a child throwing a tantrum.

Normally, he wouldn't be so cold to me. Since waking up, he hasn't said a word except that I've lost weight. Now it seems he's just being stubborn with me, and the reason is obvious.

"Father Emperor," he called out tentatively, but as expected, he received no response.

Even Su Peisheng couldn't help but glance at him. What was wrong with the Emperor? Since his illness, his temper had become much worse than before. Previously, no matter the reason, the Crown Prince had never been angered. Not even in his most intense rage. Today...

He quickly stepped forward—"Your Highness, His Majesty should have already rested. Look at your dark circles under your eyes. You've been by His Majesty's side day and night for days on end. You must take care of your health. If you ruin your health, His Majesty will be heartbroken."

Yinzhen remained motionless.

When his father was throwing a tantrum and refusing to speak, Hongzhao had no choice but to bow and say, "Since Father has woken up and needs to rest, I will come to see Father again later. I will take my leave now."

He touched the heavy object in his arms, waited for a long time without any movement, then lowered his head and silently withdrew.

The training over the past few days had improved Yinzhen's hearing. As he listened to Hongzhao's footsteps gradually fading away, Yinzhen slowly opened his eyes.

"Go and make a calming soup for the Crown Prince, and tell him to rest well. No one is allowed to disturb the Crown Prince today, and his studies are also exempted."

After saying that, Yinzhen, still not entirely at ease, added, "Don't say it was my order."

That brat acted on his own initiative; he needs to be taught a lesson this time.