As the Fourth Prince watched the departing figure of the Prince of Zhi, a strange feeling welled up inside him.
The pain of losing a wife is something the Fourth Prince cannot comprehend now. But if one were to put oneself in his shoes, the pain would be unbearable for anyone if their own spouse were to pass away.
The Fourth Master seemed to be thinking about something, and when he lowered his eyes again, he was silent for two seconds. When he finally went to eat the xiaolongbao, he almost burned his mouth.
When the Fourth Prince arrived at Yuqing Palace, he was still somewhat absent-minded.
However, the Fourth Prince was delayed for a while today because he was talking with the Prince of Zhi. The Fourth Prince arrived at Yuqing Palace much later than usual today, but when the Fourth Prince arrived, the Crown Prince did not seem to have gotten up yet.
The Fourth Master waited in the outer room for a while, still somewhat uneasy: "How is Master Li doing?"
Fortunately, Su Peisheng had sent someone to the East Courtyard to inquire early this morning, and he answered the Fourth Prince's question readily: "These past few days, the kitchen has been stewing fritillaria and snow pear soup for the Consort. Her throat felt much better this morning, but she still coughs occasionally. This servant has already asked the imperial physician to see her at noon."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince nodded slightly. Just as he was about to say something more, the chief eunuch from the Crown Prince's side came forward with a smile to greet him: "Fourth Prince, you've been waiting a long time. The Crown Prince invites you to come over for a meeting."
The Fourth Prince went to see the Crown Prince, who only said that he had gone to bed late the night before, but he didn't ask a single question about the Fourth Prince arriving later than usual today.
With Prince Zhi's return to the capital, the situation there suddenly became unpredictable once again.
However, not long after the Fourth Prince stood beside the Crown Prince, he heard the voice of a young eunuch outside: "Your Highness, the Third Prince has arrived."
Although the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Fifth Prince have all been granted the title of Prince of the County, everyone still seems to habitually call them the Third Prince and Fourth Prince, rather than Prince Cheng or Prince Yong.
It always seems more intimate to call someone "Master".
Although the Fourth Prince was somewhat surprised by the eunuch's summons, he was immediately relieved.
This time, Third Brother did not go north with Father Emperor. However, the task of assisting the Crown Prince in overseeing the country did not fall to Third Brother. These days, Third Brother has been doing some unimportant tasks at the Ministry of Rites. However, Third Brother has put in a lot of effort at the Ministry of Rites for the funeral of the First Princess.
Seeing this, the Crown Prince explained, "Don't you know? When Prince Zhi returned to the capital, he brought back the Emperor's decree. Third Prince and Fourth Prince, you will assist me in overseeing the country."
Fourth Master really didn't know about this.
It's likely that the imperial edict didn't spread, and neither Zuo Youfu nor Fulu sent back any such news.
However, this did clear up some of the Fourth Master's doubts.
This is not hard to understand. The Emperor would not neglect his third brother forever. It's a simple principle, just as the Fourth Prince would not neglect his wife forever.
But what about the eldest brother, Prince Zhi?
Fourth Master lowered his eyes and did not ask a question.
At this moment, the Crown Prince spoke up again: "Father said that Prince Zhi has just experienced the pain of losing his wife and may not be able to get over it for a while. These days, Prince Zhi has only been allowed to rest in his residence and no extra duties have been arranged for him."
However, Prince Zhi was not stripped of his original post in the Ministry of War.
When Prince Zhi left earlier, he also said he was going to the Ministry of War.
As the two were talking, Third Master came in. He looked thinner, and Fourth Master himself had also lost weight. However, Fourth Master didn't realize it at the moment. But when he looked back at the Crown Prince, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.
Why does the Crown Prince look fatter than thinner? He also looks very energetic.
Fourth Master suppressed his doubts and nodded to Third Master.
When Third Master saw Fourth Master, something seemed to change in his eyes, but in the end, he just smiled at Fourth Master as usual.
After the addition of a third brother, the fourth prince noticed that the crown prince seemed less talkative than usual, and his speech became more concise.
Of all the people who talked the most during the day, it was Third Brother.
However, perhaps because he had been neglected for so many days, Third Brother no longer pressed for details like he used to, but only asked about things that were unclear in the report.
Only after leaving Yuqing Palace with the Fourth Prince did she bow to him again, saying, "I forgot to congratulate you, Fourth Prince, a few days ago."
The matter of being granted a title had been over for a month or two, and the fact that the Third Master brought it up again now only showed that he hadn't forgotten about it. The Fourth Master's reaction was much colder; he simply bowed to the Third Master as usual, but had nothing else to say.
Seeing this, Third Master laughed and walked alongside Fourth Master, asking, "You've been busy these days, have you seen Eldest Brother?"
Before today, the Fourth Prince had only met the Prince of Zhi once or twice, but they had never spoken. In response to the Third Prince's question, the Fourth Prince answered truthfully: "I have met him a few times, but we have never spoken."
Hearing this, Third Master breathed a sigh of relief again: "I saw Eldest Brother yesterday too, but Eldest Brother's situation is also very troublesome..."
Seeing that Third Master was about to ramble on about somewhere else, Fourth Master cupped his hands again and said, "I have other business to attend to at the Ministry of Revenue, so I'll take my leave now."
Sometimes he wasn't quite sure what his third brother wanted to know, but he figured it was always right to say he didn't know.
With Third Master's arrival, Fourth Master's burden has become lighter.
You no longer need to spend most of the day at Yuqing Palace.
Within three to five days, the Third Prince became familiar with his daily duties, which consisted of reviewing the memorials that the Crown Prince had reviewed on his behalf, making annotations on any inappropriate parts, and sending some unimportant greetings. These greetings were mostly written by old officials who had left the court or old princes from the imperial family.
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