"Get up. I understand your fatherly heart and will not blame you." Kangxi waved his hand, quite helpless.

Marhan then stood up again.

Heyue blinked, suddenly realizing that her father had hit her on purpose because he cared about her. Her depressed and aggrieved mood improved, and she smiled with her eyes crinkling.

When Kangxi saw her radiant appearance, although her cheeks were red and swollen, she still looked innocent and cute, and he liked her quite a bit.

"What? You're not angry now?" Kangxi teased her with a smile.

He Yue hadn't expected Kangxi to be so kind and gentle, not at all as serious as she had imagined. Yet, she still suppressed her smile, waved her hand, and shook her head: "No, no."

Emperor Kangxi stroked his beard and chuckled, "Marhan, you are truly blessed to have such a lovely daughter. I am rather envious of you."

"My daughter is unruly and unworthy of the Emperor's praise," Marhan said humbly, bowing his head.

“If I say I deserve it, then I deserve it. As a Manchu son and daughter, one should be so straightforward and honest.” Kangxi feigned displeasure, then turned to a more amiable tone, “Little Seven, is it? Don’t be afraid, I won’t punish you. On the contrary, I’m very pleased that you helped me discipline my son for his wrongdoing. I had him taught the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and etiquette, but I didn’t teach him propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, which led him to do such a thing. I won’t side with my own son. Marhan hit you for this, and I will punish him too. I will make him face the wall in repentance and copy the Classic of Filial Piety one hundred times, how about that?”

The Thirteenth Prince lowered his head in shame, biting his lip. Was it really necessary to humiliate his own son like this in front of this little girl? At this moment, the Thirteenth Prince felt extremely wronged.

Ever since I met this brat, I've been incredibly unlucky. I don't know what tricks I used, but not only did I manage to win over my fourth brother and sister-in-law, but even my father, the Emperor, loves her so much.

Heyue glanced at the Thirteenth Prince, noticing his sullen expression, and spoke again with a smile: "Your Majesty is fair in your dealings, and I am deeply grateful. However, the Thirteenth Prince did not mean it that day; I was just a momentary lapse of judgment and misunderstood him, which is why I struck him. Back at the Fourth Prince's residence, the Thirteenth Prince sincerely apologized and explained everything, so the matter is over. In truth, the Thirteenth Prince is quite a gentleman. I am but a mere amateur; how could I possibly defeat him? It was just that the Thirteenth Prince didn't want to stoop to my level and deliberately let me win. In the end, it was the Thirteenth Prince who suffered the loss, and I beg Your Majesty to pardon the Thirteenth Prince."

The thirteenth prince suddenly looked up at her, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The Fourth Prince also glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Oh?" Kangxi raised an eyebrow in surprise, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes: "You really think so?"

He Yue nodded heavily: "Of course, the Thirteenth Prince is kind-hearted, simple and straightforward, and would never do such a thing. It was all a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I would really feel bad to punish the Thirteenth Prince again."

"In that case, I will grant your request and will not punish the Thirteenth Prince." Kangxi nodded and laughed heartily.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He Yue smiled broadly, raised her eyebrows and glanced triumphantly at the Thirteenth Prince, as if to say, "You owe me a favor this time."

This time, the Thirteenth Prince was not angry; he simply lowered his head, lost in thought.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Marhan breathed a sigh of relief, pleased with his daughter's words. He stroked her soft hair and said, "It is truly remarkable that Xiaoqi was able to put aside her prejudice against the Thirteenth Prince and say such things. I am very happy."

Heyue chuckled: "As long as Father doesn't blame Xiaoqi for acting impulsively before, that's fine. Besides, although the Thirteenth Prince's words are a bit annoying, he can't be considered a truly wicked person. At least he has a pure heart. Xiaoqi isn't someone who can't distinguish right from wrong. It's fine if they bicker in private, but if he really gets punished, Xiaoqi will feel bad."

Marhan nodded slightly, stroking his beard with satisfaction: "It's good that you think that way." Seeing her swollen left cheek, he looked at her with concern: "Did Father hurt you just now?"

Heyue chuckled, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all." Knowing that her father wasn't angry with her, Heyue was no longer angry at all.

She's suffered countless injuries since childhood, so this one is nothing to her.

Just then, someone quickly caught up from behind and called out, "Lord Marhan, please wait."

Marhan stopped in his tracks, turned around and bowed deeply: "This servant greets the Thirteenth Prince."

The Thirteenth Prince said, "No need for formalities," and Marhan stood up and asked, "What are your orders, Thirteenth Prince?"

The Thirteenth Prince pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "Lord Marhan, could you excuse us for a moment? I have a few words to say to your daughter."

Marhan glanced at Heyue, readily agreed, and left first.

The Thirteenth Prince looked at Heyue, his expression slightly unnatural. He only managed to say "you" before he didn't know how to continue.

He Yue looked up at him, puzzled: "What does Thirteenth Master want to say?"

"Thank you for today, and I'm sorry." The Thirteenth Prince looked up and met her gaze earnestly. When his eyes fell on the red and swollen patch on her delicate face, he felt a pang of guilt and heartache.

After all, he was a prince; how could he be so humble as to thank and apologize to his subordinates? As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his eyes in embarrassment.

He Yue smiled, tilted her head and blinked: "Thirteenth Prince, there's no need for that. In the end, I have no major grudges with you, so there's no need to pursue this so relentlessly. The grudges between me and you have already been settled, and there's no need for an apology."

“I never expected you to say this. I thought you…” The Thirteenth Prince was filled with shame. He never expected her to say such a thing. He realized that he had always misunderstood her and caused her a lot of grievances.

He Yue snorted, somewhat displeased: "What do you think? Do you think I'm unruly and rude? Arrogant and domineering? Anyway, whatever Thirteenth Prince thinks, I have no relationship with you, nor any major grudges. I don't care what you think. I just hope that after this, you won't dwell on past grievances anymore. Just treat each other like strangers."

“A stranger?” The Thirteenth Prince’s eyes darkened. He muttered to himself, stared at her for a while, and forced a smile: “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore. I was wrong in the past, and I apologize to you. But, I just hope that you won’t speak coldly to me anymore. After all, we have known each other for a while, so it’s better to treat each other like ordinary friends.”

He Yue chuckled as if she had heard something ridiculous, and waved her hand: "Thirteenth Master is joking. I dare not be friends with you, nor do I like to be friends with Thirteenth Master. It's good enough that we can live in peace like this."

She was trying to avoid him, so how could she dare to spend more time with him?

"You!" The Thirteenth Prince felt very uncomfortable with her coldness. He was displeased, and also felt inexplicably wronged and confused. He wanted to ask why, but he didn't want the relationship that had been so hard to improve to deteriorate again, so he swallowed his dissatisfaction.

"If there's nothing else, Your Highness, I must leave the palace now. After all, we have nothing more to say to each other." Heyue bowed to him, then skipped and hopped towards Marhan, leaving the palace.

The thirteenth prince stood there stunned for a long time, then lowered his head in dejection.