The Fourth Prince's mind calmed down, but he didn't fall asleep quickly.
He had great respect for his wife when they got married, but now, all he seems to feel when he thinks of her is impatience and disappointment.
That's enough. The proper etiquette has been given. As for anything else, the Fourth Prince won't have any other thoughts about his wife.
These days, ever since the Crown Prince fell ill after returning to Yuqing Palace, although no imperial physician was summoned to Yuqing Palace, the Emperor still ordered the Crown Prince to stay in Yuqing Palace to quietly reflect on his mistakes.
There was an early court session tomorrow, and the Fourth Prince couldn't fall asleep. He just kept his eyes half-closed, going over the events of the past few days in his mind like unraveling a mystery.
Before dawn, Fourth Master got up.
He hadn't slept all night, but he was still quite energetic.
There were no clean clothes for the Fourth Master on the estate, so after getting up, he returned to his residence and changed his clothes in the front yard.
Su Peisheng stood by, holding a tray of sachets and pouches. Fourth Master picked one up and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Did your Master Li send these?"
Su Peisheng said, "The day before yesterday, my concubine had someone send it over. It looks brand new, so I put it on for you, sir."
Fourth Master first put down the sachet, then picked up another sachet beside him and slapped it at Su Peisheng: "You're getting better and better at handling things these days. Your mistress, Li, is in her postpartum period, and you're making sure to put her body through the wringer..."
Su Peisheng knelt down abruptly and begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. When I went to deliver the message, I said to ask the Consort to finish her confinement period to avoid damaging her eyes. But the Consort is worried about you, so I..."
He looked up and his expression turned bitter.
Actually, it was Fourth Master who was somewhat inappropriate in this matter. After hearing Su Peisheng's words, his expression did not improve much. He put the sachet on his waist and then strode outside.
"What are you still kneeling for?"
Su Peisheng quickly got up.
Hearing the Fourth Master's tone, he finally felt a little relieved. As a servant, he naturally had to think about how to please his master.
The Crown Prince was absent from the morning court session. Among the princes, Prince Zhi stood at the very front. In the past, the Crown Prince always stood at the front, followed by Prince Zhi, with the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and so on.
The Fourth Prince and the Third Prince stood in front of each other, with the Prince Zhi in front of them.
Before attending the morning court session, the Fourth Prince didn't feel anything amiss, but once the session began, he became somewhat sleepy, and the downsides of not having slept all night were finally apparent.
However, the morning court session was just something they were used to hearing about, and they rarely had a chance to speak. The Fourth Prince closed his eyes slightly, but his posture remained upright, and he looked like he was listening very attentively.
Third Master originally wanted to say something to Fourth Master, but seeing Fourth Master's cold expression out of the corner of his eye, he silently shut up.
The Fourth Prince didn't really hear what the six ministries were saying. A moment later, when a voice said, "Your subject has something to report," the Fourth Prince's eyelids twitched, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he quickly opened his eyes.
The voice sounded somewhat aged; it was Suo Xiang's voice.
Suoxiang Suo'etu was from the same clan as the late Empress Hesheli. The Crown Prince was his cousin's grandson, and he had always been the Crown Prince's biggest supporter, or rather, the entire Hesheli clan were supporters of the Crown Prince.
Fourth Master finally regained some of his senses.
At this moment, Suo Xiang wanted to say something.
Suo'etu stood up shakily from among the court officials, his graying temples a testament to his advanced age.
"I know that I am old and useless, and have done nothing to serve the country. I request to retire home to live out my days. Please grant my request."
The once peaceful court was suddenly thrown into chaos by Suo'etu's words.
Fourth Prince didn't dare to look up at his father's face, but he did notice the slight furrowing of his brows when his elder brother, Prince Zhi, turned to look at Mingzhu.
Clearly, what Songgotu did today was not what Prince Zhi and others expected.
Fourth Master remained standing ramrod straight, his thoughts completely concealed, not revealing a single detail.
After a moment, the Emperor on the throne seemed to sigh: "As a subject, only the experienced and capable Chen can share the burden of the emperor. I cannot lose such a pillar of the state as Prime Minister Suo by my side."
This means it's not allowed.
Li Guangdi stepped forward from among the court officials: "Your Majesty is wise."
The Yongding River project was not yet completed, and Li Guangdi, who was in charge of the project, had to return to Beijing because there were urgent matters to report.
He was recommended by Songgotu, so it's understandable that he would stand up for Songgotu now.
Upon seeing this, the court officials immediately echoed in unison, "Your Majesty is wise."
The princes, including the Fourth Prince, naturally followed suit.
Fourth Master lowered his head slightly. Was Suo'etu's resignation today a tactic of retreating to advance, or did he truly have a purpose?
Even the Fourth Prince couldn't figure it out at first.
The political situation was complex. On the surface, it seemed that Prime Minister Ming and Prime Minister Suo were evenly matched, but the underlying conflicts were not as clear as they appeared.
However, if the Prime Minister were to retire, the result would obviously be that Prince Zhi would become the most powerful, which is definitely not what Father Emperor wants to see.
Fourth Master seems to have figured out something, but the rest will have to wait until he returns to the manor to discuss it with Dai Duo, and perhaps then he will know more.
After this ordeal, Fourth Master became much more sober.
After the court session ended, Soetu was also kept behind by his father, the Emperor.
Fourth Master didn't linger and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue, but was stopped halfway by Third Master.
"What's wrong with Big Brother lately? Fourth Brother, do you know why his face is so dark all the time? It's almost as dark as yours."
Third Brother's mouth is always full of these random things.
Fourth Master remained silent and walked with Third Master.
Both of them were going to the Sixth Department.
"Why haven't you gone to see the Crown Prince these past few days while he's been ill?" The Third Master's mouth never stopped.
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