When the Fourth Prince requested to establish a secondary consort, Consort De asked a similar question, also asking the Fourth Prince's intention in requesting that Lady Wu be made a secondary consort.
At that time, Fourth Master refused without the slightest hesitation.
This is also true at this moment.
The Fourth Prince stood up again: "I have no intention of taking another concubine. Lady Wu has been working hard managing the household these past two years, so it's not good to let her get tired."
Consort De looked at her son, who seemed somewhat unfamiliar with her. She shook her head and said, "It's good that you have your own ideas. It's getting late, and your wife must have been waiting for a long time. By the way, I wonder what your fourteenth brother has been whispering about these days, being egged on by the eighth and ninth princes. Take advantage of the fourth prince's full moon celebration at your residence and tell him that he doesn't listen to me much these days."
The Fourth Prince frowned upon hearing this. He hadn't spoken much with the Fourteenth Prince these days, since he no longer lived in the palace and could only talk to him when he paid his respects to his mother.
However, I haven't had much free time lately.
The Fourth Prince made a mental note of this matter. After leaving the main hall, he did not linger and left the palace. He had important business to attend to at the Ministry of Revenue in the next two days, so his conversation with the Fourteenth Prince had to be postponed.
“I remember that the Fourteenth Prince has wanted a bow for a long time. Go to my storeroom and pick one out. I remember that Father Emperor once bestowed a fine bow upon him. You can deliver it to the Fourteenth Prince tomorrow.”
Fourteenth Prince is probably still in the study right now, which is one of the reasons why Fourth Prince is not looking for him. However, it's not that Fourth Prince doesn't care about his younger brother.
As for what his mother had said earlier, Fourth Prince turned around and saw Granny Yun already following behind him.
The Fourth Prince's eyes were cold and devoid of warmth, but this coldness was not directed at Granny Yun: "When you return to the manor at noon, you must personally work with Granny Yun to tidy up all of the Second Prince's belongings and make sure he is settled in the front courtyard before I return."
This is a tough job, Su Peisheng thought to himself, but he had no choice but to accept it.
This matter cannot be delayed, otherwise, even a single day of delay will cause the Princess Consort to come crying to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince naturally didn't want to see his wife at this moment, so Su Peisheng had to get this matter settled before the Fourth Prince returned to the mansion.
In Yonghe Palace, Consort De watched the Fourth Prince's figure disappear into the distance. When Granny Zhao led the Fujin in, her face still showed signs of weariness.
She didn't have a very pleasant expression on her face when facing the Fourth Prince's wife, Consort De. In the end, her fatigue was caused by Ulanara, the wife of the Fourth Prince, causing trouble in the harem.
"When the fourth prince came to pay his respects before, he said you were ill. What brings you to the palace to pay your respects to me now?"
In reality, the Fourth Prince never mentioned the word "Fujin" at all.
At the Empress Dowager's prompting, the Fujin (wife of the daughter-in-law) took her seat. She seemed somewhat ashamed: "As a mother, it is my duty to take care of my children. It is I who have neglected my duties and caused you worry. It is my fault."
The princess consort has now learned to keep a low profile again.
The time when the Princess Consort knew things were not going well was when she was most cunning. However, people can soften their hearts once because of this cunning, but they will not soften their hearts every time.
At least, given Consort De's personality, she wouldn't.
"I heard from the fourth prince that while you were ill, many affairs in the manor were handled by Princess Wu, which is not proper or legitimate."
The Fujin was surprised that before she could even complain about the old shrew Consort De, she was given a way out. She was both delighted and surprised. Soon, the Fujin couldn't help but say, "There have been some rumors in the mansion lately that your daughter-in-law is useless."
Consort De smiled, a very kind smile.
Zhao Mama, who was standing to the side, subconsciously shuddered.
"How can you blame yourself? No one is perfect and can handle everything perfectly. You have to manage the household and take care of the Second Prince, which is already quite difficult."
The Fujin still didn't understand what Consort De wanted to say, and she didn't dare to respond to Consort De's words. She lowered her head as if embarrassed and said, "Mother, you flatter me. Your daughter-in-law is unworthy of such praise."
"But you're currently too busy and it's not good for you to be ill. In that case, the Fourth Prince and I have discussed it, and it seems that you, the Princess Consort, should continue to manage the household affairs. As for the Second Prince, let's move him to the front courtyard for now. It will also allow the Fourth Prince and the Second Prince to get to know each other better."
The Fujin was delighted when she heard the first half of Consort De's words, but after hearing the rest, she swayed as if about to collapse.
“This… the Second Prince is still young and frail…”
The smile on Consort De's face disappeared: "It is precisely because the Second Prince is still young that I feel heartbroken every time I hear the imperial physicians report that the Second Prince is suffering from various illnesses. The child is in the front courtyard, and all the servants are taking good care of him. If the Princess Consort misses the Second Prince during the month, she can go to the front courtyard to see him."
The princess moved her lips, as if she wanted to explain something.
Consort De raised her hand directly: "The children in the palace are also about the same age as the Second Prince when they have to leave their birth mothers. The Fourth Prince was not raised by me, his own mother... The Fourth Prince's family, do you not trust the Fourth Prince?"
The princess had no words to express her suffering. The second prince was her own flesh and blood, whom she had carried for ten months. How could she bear to let her child leave her side?
Even if the child is sent to the front yard, it's still not as good as staying in her main yard...
However, Consort De would not give the Fujin another chance to speak: "Alright. Since you, Fourth Prince's wife, have nothing else to say, you may return now."
Consort De directly issued an order to leave, indicating that the matter was settled and could not be reversed.
When the princess left Yonghe Palace, she looked dazed and confused.
After seeing the person off, Granny Zhao couldn't help but say, "If you act like this, I'm afraid the Fourth Prince's wife will resent you even more."
Consort De snorted twice: "When she took other people's children's lives, did she not think this day would come? Once or twice, does she really think everyone else is stupid? It's not good for the Second Prince to continue to be raised by her. She should know what the pain of separation from her child is."
Consort De had also experienced this kind of suffering before.
However, it's still good that the Princess Consort is in this state; at least she can still see her children.
She used to pretend she didn't see the fourth prince even when she saw him.
Consort De was truly exhausted at this moment: "People, why do they always choose to make themselves unhappy when they could have a peaceful life? What's the point?"
Granny Zhao just smiled, saying that not everyone can see things so clearly.
...
When the Fujin returned to the mansion, Su Peisheng was having someone tidy up the Second Prince's things in the main courtyard with Granny Yun.
However, with Granny Qian stopping them, Su Peisheng hasn't sent anyone to cause trouble for the Second Prince yet.
He was doing his job, but he couldn't afford to offend his wife so badly.
However, before Su Peisheng could even utter the words he had been racking his brains for, the Fujin spoke up very politely.
“I understand why Eunuch Su has come, but it’s difficult to get things sorted out in a short time. Why don’t you wait a bit, Eunuch Su? I will personally take some people to escort the Second Prince to the front courtyard before evening, so as not to delay your work.”
As she spoke, the Princess Consort gestured for Granny Qian to leave.
The princess finally gave in.
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