Consort Liang had long been worried about the Eighth Prince's offspring. In the past, when Consort Hui was still Consort Hui, Guo Luoluo would listen to her.

Now, Consort Hui stays indoors and doesn't concern herself with anything.

Consort Liang tried to persuade her daughter-in-law every time, but while her daughter-in-law would agree on the surface, she never actually took any action. When she said too much, her daughter-in-law simply gave her the cold shoulder and left. Consort Liang, being of humble origin and of little influence, didn't want to cause discord between the Eighth Prince and his wife, so she could only endure it.

Over the years, I've been constantly getting internal heat and getting anxious.

Now that Emperor Kangxi had issued an imperial edict, Consort Liang was overjoyed. She took out her little notebook, which contained all the women she admired who had not yet been betrothed. Now she could choose a few more for the Eighth Prince.

Ideally, all her efforts would bear fruit, then her life would not have been in vain.

So, within two days, the Eighth Prince's wife's household had two more princesses and four more concubines.

The Eighth Prince had to obey the orders given by Emperor Kangxi. Therefore, he did not treat these six women with the same indifference as he treated the concubines he already had in the mansion. Instead, he would visit them every few days and then stay there for a while.

When she calculated at the end of the month, Lady Guoluo realized that she only had a few days to share a bed with the Eighth Prince, and the rest of the time she was alone in her room. This was unacceptable. She felt a pang of sadness. Although she knew that the Eighth Prince was putting on a show for the Emperor and that it was the right thing to do to protect herself, the thought of him becoming increasingly intimate with other women made Lady Guoluo begin to doubt herself.

Yinzhen's investigation yielded results. It was found that the Eighth Prince's wife did indeed have several maids who knew martial arts. The tall and thin one had not appeared since the Crown Prince's wedding banquet. Upon inquiry, it was said that she had returned to her hometown. Following the direction of her hometown, they searched all the way and only found some blood-stained strips of cloth. It was as if she had evaporated without a trace.

It is almost certain that the Eighth Prince's wife destroyed the body to cover up the crime, meaning that it was indeed the Eighth Prince's wife who did the dirty work at the palace banquet that day.

Although Yi Hua was not surprised by the investigation results, she couldn't understand the Eighth Prince's motive for doing this.

It was Yinzhen's words that awakened him from his dream.

“She did it for the Eighth Prince. This time, it was Your Majesty who dragged you and your daughter into this mess.” Yinzhen saw it clearly. “She considers herself and the Eighth Prince to be one, but the Eighth Prince was turned away by the Ninth and Tenth Princes. He’s probably furious behind the scenes. Since she can’t get her hands on Your Majesty, she naturally targets you women.”

"Huh?" Yi Hua's mouth dropped open. It was already difficult enough for Guo Luoluo to come up with such a convoluted and complicated idea, but it was amazing that Yinzhen could keep up with her train of thought.

Yinzhen popped a peeled lychee into Yihua's mouth: "How was the eldest princess's day?"

Yi Hua shook her head: "No doctor can give a definite answer. They all say that there will be a scar."

"I asked Lao Jiu to inquire in Jiangnan. It is a very wealthy place, and there may be some talented people living in seclusion there. Whether we can find them depends on the eldest princess's fate."

Yi Hua nodded, not looking at the eldest princess's fortune, but at Ninth Master's wealth.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men; this is an age-old truth.

******

Honghui was lying on the bed recovering from his injuries. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have gone to his mother to boast about his achievements.

Knowing that the Emperor had bestowed a princess upon his eighth uncle and that Consort Liang had also sent several others, Honghui realized that his words that day had had an effect. Sure enough, the Emperor could not tolerate the fact that the eighth prince's wife monopolized the eighth uncle's position and did not bear children, so he took direct action to deal with the situation.

Honghui felt a little smug. He had finally gotten revenge for his older sister, so he couldn't help but tell Yihua everything.

Yi Hua was stunned. She was still carefully planning how to respond when she didn't expect her son to be such a man of action: "Why did you come up with this plan?"

“Mother, you taught me that I must not lie in front of Grandfather, and I must not have any ulterior motives. What I said is all true and impartial. Grandfather is just overthinking it.” Honghui has thoroughly mastered Yihua’s teachings, and his methods are now far more sophisticated than when he was a child.

"Then why target Uncle and Aunt Eight?"

Honghui realized that Yihua was not happy, so he composed himself and answered honestly, "Eldest sister's face cannot be hurt for nothing. She can't be allowed to harm others but not be allowed to scheme against her. I was angry, so I found some things for Eighth Aunt to do so that she wouldn't always be watching our house. This time, eldest sister was by your side. If there is a next time, it will be Mother who is hurt. I really can't imagine it."

Yi Hua took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down: "Your mother has taught you to read and write for so many years, and taught you the principles of sages and saints. Is this all the scheming and trickery you have learned?"

Hearing this, Honghui felt hurt and raised his head indignantly: "Mother, I did something wrong by protecting you and my elder sister within my power."

"A gentleman is open and honest, while a petty person is always anxious and worried. Do you dare to say that these are the actions of a gentleman? Can you be open and honest in front of the Emperor in the future?" Yi Hua couldn't control her voice. "You took advantage of your elders' love for you, and you are not ashamed but proud of it. Have you ignored the words of Confucius?"

"Besides, when it comes to matters concerning the women of the inner quarters, with your mother here, do you think your mother is incapable of seeking justice for the eldest princess?"

This was the first time Honghui had ever felt such harsh words from Yihua, and he couldn't help but retort: ​​"My son just said a few things that everyone knows in front of Grandfather, how is that taking advantage of him?"

"You've not only failed to repent but also learned to talk back. You won't know the pain until you're punished today." Yi Hua gave the order, and right there in the main courtyard, she held down Hong Hui and gave him ten strokes of the cane.

Honghui gritted his teeth and remained silent. Hearing the sound of the paddle hitting someone, Yihua couldn't help but peek out, but couldn't bear to watch. After repeating this several times, Granny Chen mustered her courage and advised, "Madam, please calm down. The eldest prince is so filial, you can teach him slowly."

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