The Thirteenth Prince was taken directly to the Fourth Prince's residence by his personal attendants.

There was nothing that could be done. The Thirteenth Prince had not yet been assigned a residence and was still living in the Princes' Quarters in the palace. Given his current miserable state, if he were to return to the palace, it would surely cause a huge uproar.

The attendants dared not risk being beheaded for failing to protect them properly.

Now the only place he can go is the Fourth Prince's residence, and the only one who can make decisions for the Thirteenth Prince is this Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince had not yet returned to his residence. It was the Fourth Princess Consort who received the Thirteenth Prince. Upon seeing the Thirteenth Prince's appearance, she quickly covered her mouth and gasped, "Heavens! What happened?"

"Fourth Sister-in-law!" The Thirteenth Prince, with a swollen face, saw his Fourth Sister-in-law, his eyes filled with tears, and called out aggrievedly. Then, he pulled at his wound and hissed.

Thirteenth Prince's attendant, Li Shun'er, helped him carefully sit down in a chair. With a mournful face, he knelt down in front of Fourth Prince's wife with a thud: "Fourth Prince's wife, you must do justice for our master!"

"Let's talk about this slowly. First, help the thirteenth prince to his room." The fourth princess regained her composure and hurriedly ordered people to prepare a room for the thirteenth prince to rest in, and also sent someone to fetch a doctor.

After settling the Thirteenth Prince in the side room, the Fourth Princess Consort sat on an armchair in the main hall of the side room, her face sullen, listening to Li Shun'er's detailed explanation.

The Fourth Princess's face grew increasingly grim, and she frowned angrily, shouting, "What a bold and unruly commoner!"

Li Shun'er glanced at the Fourth Prince's wife's angry eyes, hesitated, and ultimately did not explain why the Thirteenth Prince had been beaten, since it involved the other two princes, and the matter was indeed not a good thing.

The doctor examined the Thirteenth Prince's injury and took his pulse, saying it was just a superficial wound and nothing serious. He only needed to apply some medicine to remove blood stasis and reduce swelling and rest for a few days. Only then did the Fourth Princess Consort feel relieved.

"You should take good care of the thirteenth prince. We'll discuss this further with the prince when he returns." The fourth princess consort felt it inappropriate to stay in her brother-in-law's room, so she instructed Li Shun'er to assign two more maids to look after the thirteenth prince before returning to her own room.

At the end of the day, the Fourth Prince returned to his residence from the palace. Upon receiving the news, the Fourth Princess Consort, hearing that her husband had gone to the Thirteenth Prince's room, hurried over there.

Upon entering, one sees Li Shun'er kneeling on the ground, while the Fourth Prince sits in the main seat, his face clouded with gloom, looking quite frightening.

“Master, Thirteenth Brother has been beaten to this state. That person should indeed be taught a lesson. We cannot let Thirteenth Brother suffer this injustice for nothing.” Fourth Princess Consort entered the room with her maid’s help, greeted the maid, and her face was filled with worry and indignation.

The Fourth Prince frowned in thought, ignoring his Fourth Princess Consort, his deep, cold eyes fixed on Li Shun'er for a moment: "Who hit the Thirteenth Brother? What was the reason?"

Li Shun'er opened her mouth, but hesitated and couldn't speak.

The Fourth Prince slammed his hand on the table and coldly rebuked, "You'd better tell the truth!"

Li Shun'er was startled and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, blurting out, "Reporting to Fourth Master, this servant does not know who the other party is. I only know that they are an eight or nine-year-old girl and an eleven or twelve-year-old girl. Master, Master... Fourth Master, our master did not do it on purpose. It was... it was Ninth Master and Tenth Master. Our master lost and was forced to harass that girl. It had nothing to do with our master. That girl beat our master up in front of everyone."

The Fourth Prince's face instantly turned terrifyingly gloomy, emanating endless coldness. Li Shun'er trembled and dared not raise her head.

After Li Shun'er finished speaking, the Fourth Prince slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and angrily shouted, "You scoundrel!" It was unclear whether he was referring to the Thirteenth Prince, the Ninth Prince, or the Tenth Prince, but Li Shun'er was so frightened that he dared not breathe.

The Fourth Prince's wife was also taken aback when she heard the Fourth Prince's angry rebuke. She quickly and gently comforted him, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. The Thirteenth Prince is a kind and virtuous man. He would never do such a thing. He was probably instigated by someone. You can't blame the Thirteenth Prince."

"How old is he? How could he be so easily instigated? Can't he use his brain? Letting people play with him like this?" The Fourth Prince's eyes blazed with anger, utterly disappointed.

Faced with the master's anger, the fourth wife remained silent.

The Fourth Prince summoned his steward and said, "Go and find out the other party's identity immediately."

The steward, Liu Fu, hurriedly replied "Yes," and retreated tremblingly.

At that moment, the sound of the Thirteenth Prince sobbing came from inside the house.

The Fourth Prince's anger dissipated by half, and he entered the side room with a furrowed brow.

"Waaah, Fourth Brother, I was wrong. Please don't blame Li Shun'er. It was me, it was my fault." The Thirteenth Prince cried, his cheeks swollen, making his words unclear, but the Fourth Prince still heard him clearly.

The Fourth Prince's expression softened slightly. He leaned down and gently patted the man's shoulder, whispering words of comfort: "Rest first. No matter what, your fourth brother will stand up for you. Consider this a lesson."

The thirteenth prince nodded obediently, his eyes blurry with tears.

The Fourth Prince left the side room and went to his wife's place for a meal.

After the meal, seeing that the master's expression was still not good, the Fourth Prince's wife cautiously said, "Master, are you going to blame those two girls? In my opinion, they are young and do not know the identity of the Thirteenth Brother. Although their reaction to this incident was a bit excessive, it is understandable. Why not make a big deal out of it?"

"I have my own plans for this matter. You should rest well." The Fourth Prince frowned in displeasure, got up and left the main room.

Fourth Princess Consort hurriedly rose to see him off.

“Madam, why do you say such things that would upset the master? He has always doted on the Thirteenth Prince, and he is currently very angry. How can he swallow this insult? If you ask me, it is the other party who is despicable. How dare they lay a hand on a son of the Emperor? They really have no regard for their lives.” Granny Sun, who served the Fourth Madam, advised with dissatisfaction.

The Fourth Prince's wife sat down and sighed softly: "How do you know? How could I be the kind of person to make things difficult for a young girl? Besides, it was the Thirteenth Brother who was in the wrong first."

※

Last night, I talked with my sixth sister until very late before we both went to bed. I got up early this morning, greeted my mother, went back to my room and took a nap. When I woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

The summer sun was scorching. Heyue sat on a bench in the shade under the eaves, fanning herself with a round fan, but it didn't help much. So she asked Yuying to make a bowl of sour plum soup. The drink was refreshing and cool, relieving some of the heat.

Just then, a maidservant ran up, panting, and reported, "Princess, Madam requests your presence."

He Yue was puzzled. She had just paid her respects. What was going on?

After entering the house, I changed my clothes and slowly walked towards the main room. On the way, I met my sixth sister, who was also heading towards the main room.

"Huh? Seventh Sister, you're going to Mother's too?" Yan Yue asked in surprise.

Heyue nodded, thinking to herself that this matter was a bit mysterious. She looked puzzled and asked, "Mother called us over, but I don't know why?"

"I don't know either. Maybe Mother was bored and wanted to talk to us sisters." Yan Yue looked relaxed and didn't take it to heart. She affectionately took He Yue's little hand.

Heyue didn't think so. She glanced up at the scorching sun. Her mother always pitied her for being weak, and she had just suffered from heatstroke a few days ago. Why would she suddenly ask her to go too?

Upon reaching the outside of the main room, Granny Wang lifted the curtain and, with a smile, invited the two inside.

Heyue and Yanyue entered the room, greeted the master, and looked up to see their mother sitting in the main seat, with an unfamiliar nanny sitting below her, wearing a kind smile.