Chapter 329 Restoring the Second Prince's Status
Although Xiao Hong couldn't refuse, he was really unwilling to give in. His eyes moved very quickly at this moment, trying to find an excuse.
Xiao Ji didn't give him a chance and asked directly: "Why? Second brother is unwilling to take care of father?"
Xiao Hong gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence, "My royal brother is really good at joking. How could I be unwilling?"
"I am just... so happy!"
Xiao Ji nodded, "I'm very happy that you think so. I feel relieved to have you taking care of my father."
A farce ended just like that.
Xiao Ji had almost finished discussing matters with Cheng Fengqi and others, so he asked everyone to leave.
Only Xie Yao was left.
Xie Yao noticed that when Li Dajian left, his expression was a little complicated, as if he was worried about something, and there was a hint of deep meaning in his eyes.
"Yaoyao."
Her thoughts were pulled back by Xiao Ji's voice, "I'm sorry for wronging you."
Xie Yao quickly understood that Xiao Ji was probably talking about Xiao Hong. She shook her head slightly, "What does this have to do with Your Highness? What is Your Highness apologizing for?"
Xiao Ji looked frank, "I failed to vent my anger for Yaoyao..."
If it was someone else, he would have dealt with him directly, but for Xiao Hong... at least he couldn't do it openly.
Xie Yao smiled, "It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge, and it won't take us ten years, right?"
Xiao Ji nodded, "Yaoyao, wait a minute."
Xiao Hong's behavior clearly showed that he did not take his brother seriously and had no respect for either him or Yaoyao.
In that case, he doesn't need to show mercy!
"Okay." Xie Yao smiled and took Xiao Ji's arm, "I'll wait for Your Highness to help me vent my anger."
Judging from Xiao Hong's performance today, he was extremely proud of himself. If he had a tail, it would probably be in the sky right now.
But the Emperor's move...
Xie Yao said, "Your Highness, judging from the expression on Li Dajian's face just now, I'm afraid he really doesn't know about this."
Li Dajian, as the chief eunuch of the emperor's side and a confidant who had served him for decades, did not know that the emperor had prepared such an order in private. Instead, another young eunuch in front of the emperor knew...
This is very interesting.
Xiao Ji nodded, "I also discovered that it seems that our father does not completely trust Li Dajian."
Xie Yao thought the same thing, and she also thought of another thing, "Your Highness, perhaps this matter... is also related to us."
"When you were unconscious for three days, my father proposed to bring Zhao Zhao Sui Sui into the palace. It was Li Dajian who gave me the advantage that time, allowing me to ask my aunt for help and keep Zhao Zhao Sui Sui."
"Could it be... that the Emperor knows about this?"
Xie Yao continued, "Li Dajian said he would help us because of his relationship with our mother."
Regardless of whether the emperor knew about the incident or not, it was true that he no longer trusted Li Dajian as much.
"Your Highness." Xie Yao said, "This is also an opportunity."
Xiao Ji understood what Xie Yao meant from her few words. He nodded and said, "I will pay attention."
Xie Yao hummed, and then said, "Someone went to the Second Prince's mansion late last night, met with the Second Prince in secret, and gave the Second Prince something that he really wanted."
"This is the news I received when I returned to the Prince's Mansion today. Now it seems that the extremely rare thing is the imperial edict." Xie Yao's voice was a little regretful, "If I had known it earlier, perhaps..."
"Yaoyao." Xiao Ji held Xie Yao's hand, "It's good that I didn't know it earlier."
"ah?"
Xie Yao was a little confused.
Xiao Ji said: "Does Yaoyao really think that the imperial edict was written a month in advance?"
Xie Yao suddenly looked at Xiao Ji, "Your Highness means..."
"It's just a guess." Xiao Ji said, "Now is not the time."
Xie Yao nodded, "I understand."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I won't do anything rash." Xie Yao said, then looked at Xiao Ji and said, "Your Highness, I'm not in a hurry."
Xiao Ji looked at Xie Yao's serious look, his heart softened, he lowered his head and kissed her forehead, "Okay, I'll listen to you Yaoyao."
…
at the same time.
Since Xiao Hong entered the palace, Xiao Ji did not let him sit idle and directly had someone take him to the main hall of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.
There is no need to waste time on such an important matter as taking care of the emperor, start now.
Hall of Mental Cultivation, the main hall.
The emperor was still lying in bed. Xiao Hong could no longer laugh after being arranged by Xiao Ji to do this.
He sat down beside the emperor's bed with a stern face.
"Father, oh father." Xiao Hong sighed, holding the emperor's hand and asked, "When will you wake up?"
"It's not a good idea for you to lie down like this all the time." Xiao Hong himself didn't realize that his voice had already been filled with complaints. "You don't know how arrogant Xiao Ji was after you fell into a coma. He actually asked me, your most beloved son, to serve you..."
Xiao Hong paused when he said this, and seemed to feel something was wrong. "I'm not saying that I can't serve you, but... I'm the one who should do big things."
"I also want to share your worries..."
Xiao Hong stopped talking as he thought of another thing.
He looked at the unconscious emperor, his eyes turned, and he stood up and walked out, even forgetting that the emperor's hand, which he had pulled out, was still outside the quilt.
Xiao Hong had a clear goal and headed straight for Weiyang Palace.
He came here naturally to visit Concubine Li, but he was stopped before he could even enter the palace gate.
"Second Prince, Weiyang Palace has been sealed off. No one is allowed to enter or leave without the order of the eldest princess."
Xiao Hong has always been arrogant, so how could he take these people seriously?
He immediately shouted angrily: "Get out of here!"
He was about to break into the Weiyang Palace.
But the guards had already received the death order from the eldest princess, and considering the current situation in the palace...how could they dare to let Xiao Hong in?
Even though Xiao Hong was very angry, he was still not allowed to step beyond the palace gate.
After all, Xiao Hong was alone and weak, and he was not in the right. After a burst of impotent rage, he could only give up. He did not forget to make harsh words to the guards, "You, you all... wait for me, I will remember you!"
After Xiao Hong finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Xiao Hong left angrily, and the guards looked at each other, feeling a little nervous for a moment.
Xiao Hong rushed directly to the side hall of the Yangxin Palace, walked past Li Dajian and swaggered into the palace. He said to Xiao Ji very impolitely: "I want to see my mother, why don't you let me see my mother?"
"Brother Crown Prince, my mother was personally appointed as a first-rank concubine by our father. Even you do not have the right to put her under house arrest!"
Xiao Ji raised his eyes coldly and glanced at Xiao Hong, "Concubine Li is suspected of murdering my father. The evidence is irrefutable. We will punish her after my father wakes up."
"Impossible!" Xiao Hong denied, "These are all slanders. My mother would never do such a thing!"
If his mother becomes a guilty concubine, how can he inherit the throne in the future?
Xiao Hong's eyes turned, and he said, "I want to re-investigate this matter!"
Clear his mother's name!
He didn't believe that his mother would do such a thing... Even if his mother really did it, this crime could never be proven.
Since my father has high hopes for him and loves him so much, I think he will not argue with my mother for his sake.
"no."
Xiao Ji refused directly, his brows full of coldness, "The evidence is conclusive, there is no need to re-investigate this matter."
He looked directly at Xiao Hong, "You can't investigate this either."
His meaning was direct and it was clear that he did not trust Xiao Hong.
Xiao Hong was so angry that he was about to lose his temper at Xiao Ji, but when he looked up and met Xiao Ji's eyes...
Calm down instantly.
He was originally full of anger, but he suddenly calmed down, and his confidence was obviously lacking. "Brother Crown Prince, don't you believe me? I just want to clear my mother's name..."
Xiao Ji just looked at Xiao Hong without saying anything.
Of course he didn't believe Xiao Hong, there was no doubt about that.
What Xiao Hong said at this moment was already very biased. He cleared Concubine Li's name, which meant that in his heart, Concubine Li was innocent.
Then what else is there to check?
Xiao Hong's voice gradually became lower, and finally he said: "Then let me see my mother, that's fine."
This is his real purpose.
Xiao Hong was very pleased with himself, thinking this was his strategy.
First put forward a condition that Xiao Ji would never agree to, and then after Xiao Ji refuses, put forward a relatively simpler condition... which will be easily agreed to.
But Xiao Ji just glanced at Xiao Hong indifferently and said mercilessly: "No."
"Okay, then I...what did you say?!" Xiao Hong never expected Xiao Ji to object, and he was completely unable to react for a moment.
Xiao Ji was already a little annoyed.
He still had a lot of government affairs to deal with, and he wanted to finish them as soon as possible and return home to be with Yaoyao and their children.
Because of Xie Yao's pregnancy, all the knowledge about pregnant women in his mind that he had previously thought was inexplicable and useless suddenly became valuable.
He still had to organize everything in his mind and really didn't want to waste time with Xiao Hong.
"No, get out."
After Xiao Ji finished speaking, he ignored Xiao Hong.
His indifference made Xiao Hong furious. He wanted to lose his temper but didn't dare to. He seemed cowardly and depressed.
In this regard, Xiao Ji felt that Xiao Hong was right in one thing. Being locked up in the mansion for such a long time, his temperament had indeed become more steadier.
At least I can bear it more.
Xiao Ji did not give Xiao Hong a way out, and Si Nan stood aside pretending he saw and heard nothing.
Li Dajian had no choice but to step forward and said with an apologetic smile, "Second Prince, please."
Xiao Hong's expression softened a little. He snorted, flicked his sleeves and turned away.
Today he has regained his status as a prince, and this is just the beginning.
It doesn't matter if Xiao Ji embarrasses him now, his father will make the decision for him when he wakes up. He will let this short-lived ghost Xiao Ji be proud for a few more days, whoever laughs last will be the winner!
Li Dajian personally sent Xiao Hong out.
Xiao Hong's eyes turned and he said, "Li Dajian, the prince... is it difficult to serve him? With his bad temper, he is not like father at all..."
Li Dajian smiled gently and did not respond to Xiao Hong's words.
Whether it was the prince's temper or the emperor's temper... it was not something he could judge. However, Xiao Hong became more and more excited as he spoke, "Li Dajian, I have really wronged you these days."
"But don't worry, when the emperor wakes up, I will plead with him for all the hardships and grievances you have suffered these days."
Xiao Hong's words clearly had a hidden meaning.
Li Dajian's heart tightened, but his smile remained unchanged. "Second Prince, you are too kind."
"Eunuch Li, don't forget your identity." Xiao Hong raised his hand, patted Eunuch Li's shoulder, and left.
Li Dajian stood there, with his head slightly lowered, and remained silent for a long time...
.
The next day, early in the morning.
As soon as Xie Yao got up, Zhu Qing walked in quickly, smiling and saying, "Crown Princess, something happened to the Second Prince."
So fast?!
Xie Yao was slightly startled, "What's going on?"
She just told His Highness yesterday not to act too hastily... Could it be His Highness?
Zhu Qing said, "The Second Prince held a banquet at a restaurant in the city last night. He was too happy at the banquet and drank too much. He accidentally fell down when he came downstairs."
"He's not seriously injured, just a broken arm, and a bruised face..."
What a coincidence?
Xie Yao raised her eyebrows. Although His Highness didn't say anything, she always felt that this matter might be related to His Highness.
After all, this injury...is not very harmful, but it is extremely insulting.
but……
"The Second Prince held a banquet yesterday? Who did he invite?" Was Xiao Hong's house arrest too harsh? He just regained his status yesterday, but he couldn't wait to hold a banquet last night.
Zhu Qing's smile faded slightly, and he solemnly announced the surnames and official titles of several court officials, and then mentioned some others, "The Second Prince also invited these adults, but these adults did not go."
Zhu Qing then pointed out a few more people, "These gentlemen have sent people to deliver messages."
What’s interesting is that some of the adults who delivered the message went to the banquet, while some did not.
Everyone had different reactions to the second prince's invitation.
We were all smart people, so we all naturally understood what the Second Prince meant by his invitation yesterday.
Now that Xiao Hong has regained his status as a prince, he naturally wants to go further. After all, he still has some advantages over the third prince Xiao An.
"Does Your Highness know?" Xie Yao asked.
Zhu Qing nodded, "Replying to the Crown Princess, Si Nan has already known the news and will report it to His Highness."
Xie Yao pondered for a moment and said, "The news about the Second Prince cannot be kept to us alone. Send the news about the Second Prince... to the Third Prince's mansion."
At the same time, in the Second Prince’s Mansion.
Xiao Hong's actual condition was even more tragic than Zhu Qing described. His nose and face were bruised and swollen, and his hands were wrapped in gauze and hung around his neck.
It looks pathetic and ridiculous.
"Your Highness." Lin Shuang naturally didn't dare to laugh. She snuggled in Xiao Hong's arms, her eyes full of heartache. "Your Highness, you've suffered. Does it hurt? Jiujiu will blow on you..."
Xiao Hong put his arm around Lin Shuang's shoulders and hugged her tighter, with an angry look on his face, "Someone must be plotting against me behind my back this time. Just wait for me!"
Lin Shuang's heart moved, "Your Highness, who dares to be so bold?"
"Humph." Xiao Hong sneered, his tone very firm, "Who else could it be except Xiao Ji?!"
"Xiao Ji is just jealous of me!" Xiao Hong snorted coldly, "He is jealous that my father values me, so he deliberately embarrasses me. But he doesn't know that the more he does this... the more my father will feel sorry for me in the future."
"Just wait until my father wakes up, and he will make the decision for me."
Lin Shuang lowered her eyes slightly to hide the cruelty in them, but her voice was still gentle, "Your Highness is right, Your Highness has been wronged..."
Xiao Hong snorted softly.
Lin Shuangcai said again: "Your Highness, didn't you say that you would take care of His Majesty and you would not enter the palace today?"
Xiao Hong sighed, "I asked yesterday that it will take more than a month for my father to wake up. Why are you in such a hurry to go to the palace now?"
"I will be here for a few days until the emperor wakes up..."
Lin Shuang immediately praised: "Your Highness is wise! This way, Your Highness can spend more time with Jiujiu..."
Xiao Hong was very pleased with the compliment, "So, you women are just stupid..."
For three consecutive days, Xiao Hong did not even leave the Second Prince's Mansion and stayed in the mansion all day. Overnight, the Second Prince's Mansion regained its former liveliness and prosperity, with music and dance every night and a constant stream of people.
Xiao Ji didn't take this matter to heart, but this news severely stimulated others!
For example, the third prince Xiao An.
Everything Xiao Hong had done in the past few days was told to him in detail.
Xiao An wasn't just jealous... he was extremely jealous!
He had never been as reckless as Xiao Hong, even when Xiao Hong was demoted and he was placed with high hopes.
He was always worried, always fearing that he would be rejected at any time... Just like Xiao Hong, whom he looked up to in the past. Although he was very favored, he was still demoted.
But this time, Xiao Hong's restored identity shocked him again!
After he was injured, the emperor didn't even visit him once. Not to mention the emperor himself, he didn't even send anyone to show any concern for him. He just abandoned him.
However, the emperor actually wrote an imperial edict to restore Xiao Hong's status a month in advance.
As soon as Xiao Hong regained his identity, he became so arrogant...
Why?
Is this why those who are favored are fearless?
In the eyes of the emperor...he had never been the favored one.
But Xiao Hong is!
After hearing Xiao Hong's news for the umpteenth time, Xiao An exploded! He smashed everything in the house in anger...
After venting his anger, he looked at Master Xuan who was standing aside and watching all this in silence. He saw Master Xuan standing there motionless, not even looking at Xiao An.
"Why?" Xiao An looked at Master Xuan, his voice suppressing his anger, "Aren't you going to scold me?"
"In the past, when Xuan Shu lost her temper, you would scold her and teach her a lesson." Xiao An stepped closer to Master Xuan, "Why don't you scold me and teach me a lesson?"
Master Xuan lowered his eyes, his expression calm and composed, "Your Highness, I dare not interfere in your affairs."
He was very serious and his voice was steady and calm, without any emotion.
This made Xiao An even angrier!
But even though he was angry, facing the person in front of him, Xiao An just felt powerless. He... didn't know what to do!
He knew that if he attacked Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu, it would definitely make the people in front of him emotionally unstable. But... he didn't want the people in front of him to really hate him.
"Get out, get out!" Xiao An roared twice, shouting at Master Xuan to get out.
Master Xuan's expression remained unchanged as he turned and left in silence.
After Master Xuan left, another figure walked out of the compartment in the house. This person was tall and was Xiao An's former bodyguard, but now he had changed his clothes.
He was no longer wearing the simple black cloth clothes as before, but had changed into black brocade clothes, with his hair tied up high, and he looked very manly when he walked!
He walked to Xiao An's side, hugged Xiao An from behind very naturally, lowered his head and said: "Your Highness, why are you angry?"
"Since he has angered Your Highness... why not just kill him?"
Bang!
Xiao An raised his hand and slapped the guard in the face, "When did it become your turn to make decisions about my affairs?"
The guard's head was knocked to one side, but he was not angry at all. He turned his head and licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. He looked at Xiao An with gentle eyes, "Your Highness, don't be angry. If Your Highness doesn't like it, I won't say anything."
The guard's hands gradually became restless, "Why not... let me give Your Highness pleasure..."
Xiao An pushed him away and said, "If you want me to be happy... then you can help me do another thing..."
The guard looked at Xiao An with a bit of obsession in his eyes, "As long as it can make Your Highness happy, I am willing to do anything."
…
Xiao Hong did not move during these three days, but Xie Yao went to the palace every day to visit both the emperor and the eldest princess.
But after three days of rest, the eldest princess' condition still did not improve.
That day, just as the princess asked Xuan Yue to send Xie Yao away, Su Qin came over and asked, "How is the Yangxin Palace doing these days?"
Suqin nodded, "Don't worry, Princess. Concubine Shu is taking care of His Majesty very attentively and doing everything herself."
"The Fifth Prince is also very filial. He goes to the Yangxin Palace to read to Your Majesty every day." When Suqin mentioned this, her voice was a little emotional.
"Where is the second son?" asked the eldest princess.
"Second Prince..." Suqin hesitated. She was wondering whether to tell the truth. After all, the eldest princess was very weak at the moment. What if she was angered by the second prince's behavior again?
"Speak." How could the princess not understand Suqin? She spoke immediately.
Suqin then said, "The Second Prince has not entered the palace in the past few days. I heard that he has been entertaining court officials in the Second Prince's mansion all day long, and the sound of wind music never stops."
"Cough, cough, cough!" The eldest princess was so angry that she coughed, and her already pale face turned red because of the coughing.
Suqin was startled, and quickly stepped forward to pat the princess on the back to comfort her, "Princess, calm down!"
"Well, he is really good!" The eldest princess sneered.
Xuan Yue had just seen Xie Yao off when she heard the princess cough and hurried in with medicine in her hand, "Princess, the imperial physician said you shouldn't get too excited."
"Please take the medicine first."
The eldest princess looked at the black medicine in Xuan Yue's hand, and a hint of pain flashed in her eyes.
She picked up the medicine bowl, brought it to her mouth, then put it down again, and said to Suqin in a deep voice, "Pack up and leave the palace and go home."
Suqin and Xuanyue looked at each other, although they didn't know why the princess made such a decision.
But the two of them chose to execute it as soon as possible.
But Suqin still asked one more question, "Princess, then... do I still need to go to the Yangxin Palace?"
If she wanted to go again, she would have to go in and out of the palace every day...
“No need.”
The princess' voice was cold as she rejected the request directly: "Since someone thinks I am in the way, then I don't need to care."
The eldest princess has always been a decisive person. Once she made the decision, she had packed up everything in just half an hour.
By the time Xiao Ji and Xie Yao learned the news, the eldest princess had already boarded the sedan chair to leave the palace.
"aunt."
Xie Yao and Xiao Ji hurried over, but they didn't see the eldest princess. Xuan Yue came forward on behalf of the eldest princess and said, "Your Highness, Crown Princess, the eldest princess is not in good health and needs to rest. That's why she wanted to go back to the princess's mansion to recuperate. Please don't worry, Crown Prince and Crown Princess."
Xuan Yue bowed and Xie Yao immediately went to help him, and then she noticed a piece of paper in her palm...
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