Empress Ming, Empress Xiaochunxian, of the Gu'erjia clan, from the Manchu Plain White Banner, younger brother is Grand Scholar Gu'erjia Jiahuan. When Shizong Yongzheng was a prince, she gav...
As for the Fourth Prince, after leaving the Thirteenth Prince's place, he found a time when no one was paying attention and went to the place where the Crown Prince was being held captive.
He said, "Second Brother Crown Prince, this shouldn't have happened." Indeed, in the Fourth Prince's view, the Crown Prince shouldn't be that confused, and if he was being framed, it shouldn't have happened to someone who was loyal to the Crown Prince.
A flash of resentment and frustration crossed the Crown Prince's eyes, but he forced a smile and said, "But it has already happened! Just like it happened, the Thirteenth Brother, who shouldn't have come, still came."
Fourth Prince: "..." But when he saw the smile on the Crown Prince's face, he couldn't help but say, "Second Brother Crown Prince, you're still smiling!"
The crown prince continued to laugh, "If I don't laugh, should I cry? But I don't want to cry!"
Looking at the Crown Prince like this, the Fourth Prince couldn't help but turn his face away and whisper, "Second Brother, I will find out the truth!"
With his back to the Fourth Prince, the Crown Prince lowered his head and murmured, "Thank you, Fourth Brother!" At the same time, he thought to himself: Ever since that incident, I have understood that the position no longer belongs to me, but I hope that one day it will be you who ascends to that position.
Having cultivated the Shangqing Scripture, the Fourth Prince possessed keen senses. From his conversation and expressions with the Crown Prince, he realized that there was probably something fishy about the incident of spying on the imperial tent at night. Moreover, he had actually heard the Crown Prince's quiet thanks at the end.
Clearly, the Crown Prince's words weren't meant for him, but he hadn't expected to hear them, given how softly he'd murmured.
The Fourth Prince knew that even if the Crown Prince was framed, the imperial decree had been issued and nothing could be taken back. However, he wanted to know the truth, not only because he wanted to repay the Crown Prince for his kindness, but also because he feared that the mastermind behind it all might do the same to him when he was vying for the throne, which would be disastrous.
Soon, the Emperor set off to return to the capital, with the Fourth Prince and the First Prince responsible for escorting the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince back to the capital.
The news reached the capital before the emperor's arrival. When Hongxuan heard that his second uncle, the Crown Prince, had been deposed, he was stunned and refused to believe that his handsome and talented second uncle would do such a thing.
However, his father hadn't returned, and he never discussed such topics with his eldest and third brothers. As for Master Wu, he didn't want to talk to him about it, because he knew without a doubt that Master Wu would think he was naive for not believing that his second uncle, the Crown Prince, would do such a thing.
He could talk to his mother about it, but unfortunately, it's not his time to take a vacation yet; he still needs to continue studying in the front yard.
And so, Hongxuan endured and endured, pondering on his own, until finally the day came when he could return to Taoyuan.
But even after returning to Taoyuan, he still couldn't immediately discuss this with his mother.
After all, he had a clingy younger brother. After playing and making a fuss with his brother, having a meal, and putting his brother to sleep, he finally found some free time to chat with his mother.
"Mother, I don't believe that my second uncle, the Crown Prince, would spy on my grandfather at night. How stupid would he be to do something like that? Anyway, I don't believe it."
Jiaming shook her head.
Hongxuan frowned. "Mother, you don't believe me?"
Jiaming continued to shake her head, "It's not that I don't believe it, but I don't know your second uncle, the Crown Prince, so I don't know if he would actually do such a thing."
Hongxuan still frowned, "But Mother, you've heard some rumors about the Crown Prince's second uncle, haven't you? He's quite good in terms of talent, ability, and personal qualities. How could he do something so stupid? Even if he wanted to spy on Grandfather at night, he didn't have to be so direct. I don't believe he wouldn't have a more tactful way."
Jiaming rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and said, "What you said makes sense, but it's also possible that your second uncle, the Crown Prince, suddenly became stupid and did this stupid thing!"
"How could that be?" Hongxuan retorted, his neck stiff with disapproval.
“Why not!” Jiaming said, glancing at Hongxuan, and said indifferently, “Your mother has ways to make people stupid, such as, by drugging them.”
Hongxuan: "..." Mother's words make sense! Could it be that the Crown Prince's second uncle was really drugged!
"However, this part can probably be removed!"
"Sigh, why?" Hongxuan looked at Jiaming in confusion.
Jiaming patted Hongxuan's head and said, "You have keen senses. Before your second uncle, the Crown Prince, left the capital, you must have had contact with him, right? Since you didn't feel anything was wrong with him at the time, it's impossible that he was drugged."
After hearing this, Hongxuan still had objections: "Mother, couldn't it be that the Crown Prince's second uncle was drugged after he left the capital?"
“Impossible!” Jiaming gave Hongxuan a definite answer. “Because if the dosage of this kind of medicine is too large, the Crown Prince and his people would definitely notice the problem. But if the dosage is small and they rely on the accumulation over time, it will definitely take a long time. So if you didn’t notice anything wrong when you were in the capital, then it has nothing to do with being drugged.”
"Okay!" Hongxuan was a little dejected because he might be ruled out.
Seeing Hongxuan like this, Jiaming immediately patted his head comfortingly.
Comforted, Hongxuan immediately perked up and said to Jiaming, "Mother, I still trust my intuition. The Crown Prince's second uncle hasn't changed. It's the other uncles who have changed, like my eldest uncle. My eldest uncle has become somewhat annoying, my third uncle is also a bit annoying, and I don't like my eighth uncle very much either. I don't believe that the Crown Prince's second uncle, who hasn't changed at all, would do such a thing to Grandfather for the throne."
After listening to Hongxuan's words, Jiaming thought for a moment, put down her hand that was patting Hongxuan's head, and looked at Hongxuan seriously, saying, "Then you should trust your intuition and your heart. Often, many things that the eyes see and the ears hear are not to be trusted."
"Trust your intuition, trust my heart?" Hongxuan never expected his mother to say such a thing to him.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!