"I have never felt that way before, with such lofty ambitions. For the first time, I realized that I had been too cowardly. I was never inferior to any of my brothers. Why could my second brother, fourth brother, and eighth brother compete, but I couldn't? Just because my mother was an ordinary concubine? Just because I didn't have a powerful maternal family? But I quickly regained my senses, and I broke out in a cold sweat."

I hate myself for having such thoughts, and I hate myself for betraying my fourth brother's trust. The supreme position in the world belongs only to the capable. I never belittle myself, but I also don't think I can do better than my fourth brother. In fact, I think I'm not even as good as my second and eighth brothers.

At least they are all willing to pay the price for this position, but I am not willing to lose the happiness I have for this position.

Perhaps I really wasn't suited for that position. For the first time, I realized my place in the world, and while I felt regret, there was also a tinge of relief—relief that I was still able to stay clear-headed.

Thirteen kissed Heyue's temple, a smile playing on his lips: "Heyue, thank you for bringing me back to my senses, thank you for keeping me from losing my way."

He Yue raised an eyebrow: "What does this have to do with me?"

He found it somewhat amusing. It was only because Thirteen was clear-headed and determined that he was capable. Anyone else would probably have been overjoyed and wouldn't have thought of anything else.

After all, this is no ordinary thing; it is the supreme throne of the world, the only throne in the world.

"In any case, now that I've figured all this out, a huge weight has been lifted from my heart. In life, you always have to gain something and give something up. I have your unwavering love for me, and our child. What could compare to that?" Thirteen sighed contentedly, his expression relieved. "Whether Father Emperor's actions were genuinely intended for me to sit on that throne, or just a test, I won't dwell on it anymore. I just want to experience the life of a wife, children, and a warm bed. You don't think I lack ambition, do you?"

Seeing his cautious expression, He Yue chuckled, "If you don't even care about that position, why should I covet it? Besides, think about the Second Prince, what's so great about that position? Being showered with love and affection means being showered with jealousy and resentment..."

At this point, He Yue suddenly couldn't continue.

Thirteen seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed.

However, Thirteen quickly regained his composure and smiled with relief: "It's nothing. We won't think about things that don't belong to us. We'll just live our lives well."

Seeing that he wasn't upset about it, Heyue breathed a sigh of relief.

I had considered this answer before, but I thought that Kangxi just wanted to use the thirteenth prince as a target to prevent the other princes from always coveting the throne and doing something irreversible.

But I never thought of anything else.

Perhaps this is the true nature of imperial power: it's not that emperors don't love their sons, but rather that their love is always contingent on imperial authority.

In the face of imperial power, kinship always has to take a back seat.

It's just unknown who the person in Kangxi's heart truly was.

The ways of the emperor were beyond He Yue's comprehension, so she stopped thinking about it.

In the following days, Emperor Kangxi summoned the 13th prince to speak and dine in the Qianqing Palace every day.

Although it's unclear what they said, it clearly portrayed a deep father-son bond and the emperor's favor towards the thirteenth prince.

Such favor had only been enjoyed by the deposed crown prince before.

I imagine many people would be envious of such a sight.

That day, Hongchang mentioned that he wanted to go to Prince Yong's Mansion, saying that he missed his fourth uncle. Tongxuan also wanted to go.

After all, they have raised them for so many years, how could Heyue not allow it?

In the past few days, Hongchang seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness of that day and had become close to Heyue again.

This is also thanks to Heyue staying home these days, not going anywhere, and playing with building blocks and Huarong Road with the children.

Sharing common interests always makes it easier to build a deep bond with children; even the most unruly child can't resist playing wildly with Youyue.

Having witnessed Heyue's domineering behavior again, Hongchang is now completely obedient to Heyue and dares not displease her anymore. At least on the surface, he no longer harbors the same hostility towards Hongtun as before.

At most, she would only compete with Hongtun for favor, which was within Heyue's tolerance range.

Upon arriving at Prince Yong's residence, we found Prince Yong worshipping Buddha in the small Buddhist hall in the front courtyard.

I heard that this is what my fourth brother does most often in his residence after he is promoted to prince. Since he doesn't have many errands to run, he goes back to his residence after court and devotes himself to worshiping Buddha.

Sometimes, the fourth brother would take the women from his backyard to stay at the Yuanmingyuan Garden, which was bestowed by Emperor Kangxi, for a while, where they would grow vegetables and flowers, living a very leisurely life.

The fourth brother even gave himself the title of "Yuanming Jushi" and called himself "the number one idle person in the world".

This made He Yue extremely happy.

If Fourth Brother had been truly idle, he wouldn't have become the future Emperor Yongzheng.

Knowing in her heart that this was a power play by her fourth brother, Heyue said nothing more.

Sitting in her fourth sister-in-law's room, Heyue handed Hongchang and Tongxuan over to the eunuchs from the front courtyard, telling them to go see Prince Yong on their own.

Heyue is a woman, so it's not appropriate for her to frequently visit her fourth brother in the front yard.

Knowing that her fourth brother disliked Tonghui's identity and fearing that his attitude would affect her, Heyue didn't bring her along, leaving Hongtun and Tonghui at the mansion.

Originally, they were going to bring Hongtun to meet Fourth Brother, but if Tonghui was left alone, she would inevitably overthink things, so Heyue didn't bring Hongtun.

Don't ask why Heyue dislikes the Fourth Prince's wife's scheming and still comes to visit her, exchanging witty remarks with her.

Isn't this something we can only do out of necessity?

Since Ulanara was the wife of the fourth brother, they had to visit each other frequently, otherwise the two households would gradually become estranged.

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