"Father, I am loyal to you. But the Seventh Brother..."

Kangdi's brows were filled with impatience, "Enough! I don't have the heart to listen to you quarreling now!"

Xiao Zhao opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

Emperor Kang was about to walk in when Xiao Xian's breath hitched. He said, "Father, I will accompany you in."

"Alright!"

Xiao Zhao glared at Kangdi's back with a vicious look.

Just then, Xiao Xian looked back and their eyes met. Xiao Zhao was actually shocked by the sharp light that burst out from his eyes. He felt as if he was cast under a spell of immobilization, and even his heartbeat stopped.

Xiao Xian glared at him with warning eyes and followed Kangdi.

Emperor Kang had already arrived in front of the wooden house, and Xiao Xian clenched his hands under his sleeves.

"emperor!"

Eunuch Fu caught up.

Kangdi frowned and looked over.

"The Princess of Changle County has been found."

A sharp light flashed across Kangdi's deep eyes, "Where did you find it?"

"The Princess of Changle left the palace midway."

Xiao Xian lifted his robe and knelt on one knee: "Father, Li'er and I have searched many places, but we never thought Changle would leave the palace!"

"It's not your fault, get up!"

As if knowing that Changle was not here, Kangdi's face, which had been gloomy all the way, softened a little.

"Prince Chen, now that Princess Changle has been found, would you like to go and take a look?" asked Eunuch Fu.

"Of course I have to go there. Does Father want to go back?"

Xiao Xian was eager for Emperor Kang to leave, but he couldn't show too much eagerness, for fear that he would suspect something.

Emperor Kang gave him an uncertain look and said, "I want to stay here for a while, you go back first!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pushed open the door of the wooden house.

Xiao Xian's eyebrows twitched sharply, and he raised his voice: "Father, the Queen Mother is still outside the Laiyi Palace. After all, the Queen Mother is not feeling well!"

The door had been pushed open a crack. Xiao Xian looked inside but did not see Qu Li, and the place where the painting should have been hung was still blank.

There was a hint of disgust in Emperor Kang's eyes. After a moment's silence, he said to Eunuch Fu, "Go tell the Queen that if she's not feeling well, she should rest in her own Kunning Palace!"

Eunuch Fu looked troubled and paused, "I will go tell the Empress now!"

"Father..."

Kangdi narrowed his eyes, emitting the pressure of a superior. "Ah Xian, have you really done something treasonous?"

Xiao Xian's eyes narrowed. "Father, I am loyal to you and to the entire Dagan. How could I possibly do something so treasonous? Furthermore, even if I really wanted to do something, I would never do it in Mother's Laiyi Palace, let alone this wooden house!"

He spoke clearly and his eyes were sincere, and it didn't sound like he was lying at all.

Emperor Kang relaxed his brows and sighed with a sense of loss, "I just miss your mother a little!"

"But Father, you have earnestly told me before that even though you have Mother in your heart, you still gave her respect! Now, in front of so many palace servants, if you send her away like this, I'm afraid it will damage the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress!"

Emperor Kang frowned and said, "Forget it, I will go and talk to the Queen myself!"

Looking at the bright yellow light gradually moving away, Xiao Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked inside through the crack in the door and was stunned.

That painting...

Afraid that he was dazzled, he closed his eyes tightly and looked again.

It is indeed a portrait of my mother!

Emperor Kang paused, and seeing Xiao Xian standing there motionless, a hint of suspicion appeared in his eyes.

"Ah Xian?"

"Father, I just miss Mother!"

When mentioning Concubine Rong, Emperor Kangdi's wrinkled face suddenly softened.

"Why wouldn't I want to?"

With a sigh, Kangdi walked away.

Outside the palace gate, the queen saw Emperor Kang coming out, and the bitterness in her heart eased a little.

"Changle has been found. The Queen is not feeling well. Please go back and rest first!"

"I am fine! Your Majesty, would you like to go with me to see the Queen Mother?"

Every time Emperor Kang entered the Laiyi Palace, he would stay alone for an hour or two.

That bitch Concubine Rong has been dead for so many years, but he still can't forget her!

"I still have some things to deal with. The Queen had a convulsion and a high fever before. What Queen Mother fears most now is fever. It's best that the Queen doesn't go to the Cining Palace. The thought is enough!"

The queen's face turned pale and blue, and she could hardly maintain any expression.

Xiao Xian thought that the painting had been hung up again and Qu Li might have left, so he didn't say much.

Xiao Zhao exclaimed: "Mother?"

Xiao Xian suddenly regained his composure and saw the empress swaying. He said to Emperor Kang, "Father, I am sending my mother back to Kunning Palace!"

"No need!" Xiao Zhao refused without mercy, signaling Huang Ma to help the Queen. He then knelt down with a solemn expression, "Please, Father, make the decision for Queen Mother!"

After such a commotion, Emperor Kang was in a very bad mood, and Xiao Zhao's action made him angry.

"Zhao'er, what are you doing? Get up quickly!" The queen broke free from Nanny Huang and was about to help Xiao Zhao up.

"Mother, please don't worry about this!"

"Zhao'er!" the queen shouted.

"Father, the Queen Mother was chanting sutras and praying for the Empress Dowager in the small Buddhist temple that night when a snake suddenly entered! At that time, a palace maid heard the sound of a nine-hole flute."

Xiao Xian's phoenix eyes flashed with a sharp and dark light, and he said in a cold voice: "Big Brother, what do you mean? The Royal Grandmother likes Li'er's flute music. Li'er plays the flute for the Royal Grandmother to help her sleep. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Just as Xiao Zhao was about to speak, Xiao Xian pressed him again, "Brother, are you trying to say that the sound of Li'er's flute will attract snakes?"

Kangdi said in a deep voice: "A Zhao?"

"Father, there is a kind of person who can control beasts with music, making birds and beasts move according to the music!"

Emperor Kang thought of Hai Lu's death, and his eyes looked less gentle when he looked at Xiao Xian.

"Father!" Xiao Xian knelt down. "Over the years, I have been taught by our mother and consider myself filial! I don't understand why my eldest brother would have such thoughts, thinking that Li'er would actually hurt our mother!"

Xiao Zhao sneered, "Seventh Brother, just now when Qu Li played the nine-hole flute in the Imperial Garden, all the palace servants saw with their own eyes how many birds were attracted!"

“Snap—”

A slapping sound was heard, and all the palace servants' eyebrows jumped violently.