The following day, Prince Zhi entered the palace before the morning court session. As a prince, he had once received an exemption token from Emperor Kangxi, meaning he held a golden token. By presenting this token, Prince Zhi could freely enter and leave the Forbidden City. This was the greatest honor bestowed upon a prince besides the Crown Prince, and it also demonstrated the extent of Emperor Kangxi's favor towards his eldest son. Therefore, Prince Zhi dared to return to the capital without Emperor Kangxi's summons.
He first arrived at Zhongcui Palace. At this time, Consort Hui was still asleep, unlike Consort De, who always rose at almost the same time as Emperor Kangxi. The palace maids, however, were already up very early. When Prince Zhi arrived, the cleaning maids saw him and quickly bowed.
As Prince Zhi entered Zhongcui Palace, Consort Hui's personal maid, Cuiping, saw him and quickly stepped forward to greet him, bowing and saying, "This servant greets Prince Zhi!"
"Where is Mother? Is she awake yet?" asked the Prince Zhi.
"Your Highness has woken up, but she hasn't gotten up yet. This servant will go and tell Your Highness that the Prince has arrived." Cuiping hurriedly called the other palace maids to help the Prince sit down.
Upon hearing that Prince Zhi was in her outer palace, Consort Hui was so startled that she sat up from under the covers. Having lived deep within the palace for so long, she was unaware that Prince Zhi had returned to the capital without permission.
"What? Yinti is right outside?" Consort Hui pulled back the curtain and stared at Cuiping.
"Yes, Prince Zhi is right outside, Your Highness!" Cuiping said to Consort Hui with delight. She knew that Consort Hui had been eagerly awaiting Prince Zhi's return to the capital these past few days.
Consort Hui immediately got out of bed without caring about her image, eager to rush out to see Prince Zhi, but was stopped by Cuiping. After dressing, combing her hair, and washing her hands and face, she finally came out to see Prince Zhi with Cuiping's help.
"Mother!" Prince Zhi immediately stood up and went to greet her.
"Yinti, you, why are you back?" Consort Hui was both surprised and delighted. She knew that Emperor Kangxi had not ordered Prince Zhi to return, but she hoped that he would come back. After all, the Crown Prince was about to be deposed, and this was a great opportunity for the princes to show their abilities in front of Emperor Kangxi.
“Your son misses his mother. Also, his wife is ill, and I was really worried about her, so I came back,” said Prince Zhi.
"I'm afraid your father will blame you. Why don't you go and apologize to him?" Consort Hui said worriedly. "The Crown Prince has been imprisoned by your father, and it's said he's going to be deposed!"
Prince Zhi's eyes gleamed with a deep light, and he secretly rejoiced. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and now he finally had his chance.
"Mother, I will go to Father Emperor to apologize later. I wanted to come and pay my respects to you first. How are you, Mother?" Prince Zhi took Consort Hui's hand and walked towards the main bed in the palace.
"What else can I do? I'll just take it one day at a time. But no one dares to mess with your mother, after all, my son is the Emperor's eldest son!" Consort Hui said proudly.
"Mother, I've come today to tell you that I'm determined to compete." Prince Zhi didn't mince words with Consort Hui; mother and son were one. A mother's status rose with her son's, and conversely, a son needed the power of his mother's family to succeed.
Consort Hui's eyes shone with pride. She took Prince Zhi's hand and said excitedly, "Back then, if Empress Xiaochengren Hesheli hadn't given birth to Yinreng due to a difficult childbirth, the Emperor wouldn't have agreed to make her son the Crown Prince at that time. You must know, you are the Emperor's eldest son."
Prince Zhi nodded and said, "I have never forgotten my mother's teachings. Now that the crown prince is about to be deposed, I finally have the opportunity to make my mark. Mother, you must support me!"
With tears in her eyes, Consort Hui said, “Of course. It’s a pity your uncle is no longer here. Otherwise, with his support, half of the officials in the court would probably be on your side. Although the Nalan family is not as powerful as before, your uncle’s protégés and former subordinates are all over the court. As long as you secretly contact them, it will definitely be of great benefit to you.”
Prince Zhi nodded, took Consort Hui's hand and said, "Mother, I will do everything in my power to fight for it. Then you won't have to stay in Zhongcui Palace."
After the mother and son finished their conversation, Prince Zhi went to Kangxi's Qianqing Palace.
Because it was still early, the eunuchs sweeping and cleaning in various parts of the palace were all working with their heads down and did not pay much attention to Prince Zhi.
At this moment, Emperor Kangxi had already risen and was being helped to undress by Liang Jiugong. When Prince Zhi arrived at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace, the eunuch guarding the gate immediately turned and went inside to announce his arrival.
Emperor Kangxi naturally knew that Prince Zhi had returned to the capital, but he was in no hurry to express any opinion. Kangxi knew that Prince Zhi would eventually come to him with his reasons, so he waited for his son to come on his own.
Now, it has indeed arrived.
"Let him wait outside." Kangxi opened his arms, and a pretty lady-in-waiting was hanging court beads around his neck.
Liang Jiugong immediately responded and left. The woman serving Kangxi as he changed his clothes was the same one Consort De had seen that day; she had already been favored by Kangxi. During this period, Kangxi had not summoned anyone else to his bedchamber, and she was the one who usually served him.
"Mei'er, how do the elders in your hometown punish disobedient sons?" Kangxi asked expressionlessly.
The woman called "Mei'er" always had a gentle smile on her face. At this moment, she was adjusting the belt around Kangxi's waist. When Kangxi asked her a question, she said, "In my hometown, if a son is disobedient, the elders will punish him by making him kneel or work in the fields."
Emperor Kangxi tugged at his mustache and laughed, "If only I could do what the people in your hometown do, it's a pity I can't punish them so easily."
Mei'er naturally didn't understand Kangxi's meaning, and said in confusion, "The Emperor is the Emperor of everyone in the world, so naturally he can do anything."
Kangxi raised his hand and pinched Mei'er's tender cheek. Her smooth, silky skin was irresistible. However, Kangxi was no longer the Kangxi of the past. He had no intention of granting this lovely woman a title. Because once a woman had a title, she would start to try to obtain more, so he would never arbitrarily promote a woman he had favored.
Prince Zhi waited in the Qianqing Palace, while Liang Jiugong stood by, not saying what Kangxi was doing, just telling him to wait.
"Father-in-law, is Father Emperor awake?" Prince Zhi asked.
“Prince Zhi, the Emperor has risen and is changing his clothes,” Liang Jiugong said.
Prince Zhi thought to himself: Why has it taken so long to update? Is he planning to give me the cold shoulder?
A moment later, Kangxi emerged, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe trimmed with black fur. Without even glancing at Prince Zhi, he walked alone to the imperial table and sat down.
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