While the Fourth Prince was keeping his door closed to visitors, Consort De in the palace couldn't pretend not to know.
However, she did not receive any guests, and the reason she gave was impeccable: the Fourteenth Prince's marriage was approaching, and as his mother, Consort De naturally had to take it to heart, so it was understandable that she was too busy to see anyone.
However, after the daytime "busyness" was over, Consort De kept Zhao Mama in front of her to talk.
There was a slight breeze on the spring night. Consort De sat by the window, already having a plan in mind: "Tell He Zhongyi to go to the Imperial Kitchen and ask for a dish of pea flour cakes, and send it to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. His Majesty likes to eat that in the spring."
After receiving her instructions, Granny Zhao went ahead and returned shortly after. She brought back the bird's nest soup, placed it in front of Consort De, and then knelt down to gently massage Consort De's legs: "Your Highness is worried..."
Having served Consort De for many years, Granny Zhao dared to speak up because she could roughly guess what Consort De was worried about at this moment.
Consort De nodded slightly, then picked up the bowl of bird's nest soup again. The sound of the silver spoon touching the bowl was particularly crisp in the quiet palace.
"I'm not afraid that the fourth prince will attract attention because of this, but I'm afraid that he will become someone's stepping stone. Who knows if His Majesty's current arrangement is because there is someone else behind it, or if His Majesty is just pushing the fourth prince out as a decoy? With the precedents of Prince Zhi and Yinreng, I really can't rest easy."
"What does it matter if he's not the fourth prince in the end... I'm afraid that when a new emperor ascends the throne, who can say for sure that the fourth prince's current glory won't arouse the new emperor's suspicion?"
Consort De held the bowl of bird's nest, but didn't touch it.
Granny Zhao quickly said, "Your Highness!"
How could one casually utter words like "new emperor"? Although everyone in the harem knew that His Majesty's health was not good, no one dared to say it openly.
Consort De's gaze seemed to fall somewhere else: "It's just you and me here, what's there to be afraid of? You old codger, you're getting more and more timid as you get older?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Zhao said "yes" three times in a row, and then continued, "Your Highness also said that I am a servant, but aren't you the same?"
Yes, when it comes to matters concerning the children, Consort De is always the one who cares the most; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she's so concerned that she loses her composure.
Consort De smiled at Zhao Mama's words and put the bowl of bird's nest back on the small table: "Alright, alright, send that dish of pea flour cake to His Majesty. When He Zhongyi returns, he will be able to figure out His Majesty's attitude."
When He Zhongyi returned, the bowl of bird's nest soup in front of Consort De had been finished. She put down her handkerchief and let He Zhongyi in.
He Zhongyi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty said that the pea flour cakes you sent were fragrant and soft, and he also ordered Steward Liang to send some to the Empress Dowager as well."
Consort De was taken aback. She instinctively thought of something, but restrained herself from thinking too deeply and for a moment forgot to speak.
After a long pause, Consort De waved for He Zhongyi to leave and whispered, "It doesn't seem to have any deeper meaning..."
Granny Zhao chimed in, "It's inherently a matter of the Emperor's will being unpredictable."
Consort De pressed her brow, a little annoyed: "If we can't figure it out, so be it. Let's not panic and cause trouble for the Fourth Prince. Don't let the Fourteenth Prince be idle either. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong."
There were still a few days before the southern tour. During this time, the Fourth Prince went to the Ministry of Revenue during the day, but the Princess Consort did not see the ministers, imperial relatives and female relatives who came to visit. This was partly because the Fourth Prince had informed her in advance, and partly because the Princess Consort's health had indeed been poor lately.
She would get anxious if the Fourth Master didn't give her a definite answer for a day.
At the same time, she cherished the days when she could see Honghui. These days, the Fujin (principal wife) personally picked Honghui up from school every day.
The mother and daughter walked together. At first, the wife would be slightly out of breath halfway through, but now she doesn't.
"Honghui, if I asked you to leave your mother's side and go to your father's, would you be willing?" The Fujin's voice was calm, but her gaze was weak and worried.
Upon hearing this, Honghui first looked at his mother's expression, trying to discern something. He then asked, "Will I be able to see you again, Mother?"
The Fujin was speechless at the question. Facing Honghui's hopeful eyes, she moved her lips and said, "Mother has always been here. Mother will always be here whenever Honghui wants to see Mother."
Honghui nodded and took a few steps forward, faster than his wife. His wife instinctively wanted to chase after him, but Honghui suddenly stopped and looked back at her.
"Is it Mother who wants Honghui to go to Father's place? Then Honghui is willing to go."
He was backlit, so his wife couldn't see the expression on Honghui's face, but tears were already welling up in her eyes. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, and with great reluctance, she finally managed to utter a single, choked "okay."
"Good, good, Honghui is truly my good son." She stepped forward, took Honghui's hand, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
...
The weather was excellent on the day the Emperor set off on his southern tour in a grand procession. The sky was high and the clouds were light. His Majesty was accompanied by Yinreng and the Third Prince on either side. His Majesty seemed to be in good spirits. This time, His Majesty did not arrange for the young concubines to accompany him as in the past. This time, Consort Yi, Consort Rong, and Consort De were all included. The four consorts were originally supposed to accompany the Emperor, but Consort Hui was ill and did not go.
This time, most of the concubines accompanying the emperor were veterans of the palace, which was quite rare.
The Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince respectfully escorted the Emperor to the outskirts of the capital before stopping.
Fifth Master cupped his hands to Fourth Master: "Fourth Brother, so what are we now...?" He was really at a loss right now, just waiting for Fourth Master's instructions.
Fourth Master raised his hand, nonchalantly: "It's noon, let's go have lunch. Fifth Brother, would you like to come along?"
Fifth Master exclaimed "Ah," still somewhat bewildered, "Okay, I'll... I'll listen to Fourth Brother."
The Fourth Prince is indeed not in a hurry. His father has just left the capital. If he were to rush to take over, it would make him seem impatient. There is much more to learn about being a regent than the Fourth Prince learned in the Imperial Study.
Some knowledge cannot be learned in the Imperial Study.
On March 15th, His Majesty went south. After having lunch that day, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince went to the Southern Study. Later, they invited the Grand Secretaries and relatives to jointly create a painting of a hundred longevity characters, which was to be delivered to His Majesty on March 18th, His Majesty's birthday.
When the Fourth Prince was in charge of the country, he was mostly respectful and cautious. He had his own thoughts, but he would not state them in advance. Instead, he would ask for the opinions of Ma Qi and others before finally expressing his own attitude. When he presented his thoughts to His Majesty, he would say that he was dull-witted and that his father would have to go through the trouble of correcting him.
The most important thing for the Fourth Prince when he was in charge of the country was to prioritize the Emperor's ideas in everything. This was not because he lacked his own opinions; he did. However, since he was only in charge of the country now, he was aware of his position and was not afraid of others saying that he lacked his own opinions. He consulted the Emperor's opinion on everything.
Naturally, as the number of memorials increased, His Majesty also noticed. Did he not know his son's abilities? The memorials sent by the Fourth Prince were then returned to their original source, meaning that the Fourth Prince should be allowed to proceed freely.
The Fourth Prince loosened up a bit, but remained as respectful and courteous as ever.
During the southern tour, His Majesty's spirits seemed to improve, and within two days several imperial poems were sent back, which showed that His Majesty was in a good mood.
In April, the Fujin (principal wife) also took the initiative to suggest moving to the estate for a short stay, bringing Honghui with her.
The Fourth Prince agreed, but also requested that Lady Song, the First Princess, Lady Xu, and the Third Prince be included.
This avoids a lot of gossip.
The mansion suddenly became much emptier, and more peaceful.
At least that's how it is for Li Chenjiao.
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