Seeing that the Third Prince couldn't think of anything, Madam Li said gently, "Alright, go and rest for a while. Your mother will think about it with you."
The Third Prince nodded, and Madam Li then had Mingyan take him back to the room he used to live in to rest for the afternoon. Although the Third Prince had moved to the front courtyard more than half a year ago, Madam Li still ordered people to prepare the room the Third Prince used to live in every day, in case he wanted to come back and stay there at any time.
At that moment, the young Third Prince never imagined that telling his mother about this matter today would lead to such a terrible and irreversible tragedy.
After the Third Prince's interruption, Li Shi naturally couldn't fall asleep anymore. She leaned against the small table on the couch, her eyes slightly narrowed, one hand supporting her head, seemingly thinking about what had just happened for the Third Prince.
Seeing that Madam Li was sitting, Que'er brewed a cup of jasmine tea and placed it in front of her, saying softly, "Master, are you thinking about what the Third Prince just said?"
Li twitched her nostrils, clearly smelling the jasmine fragrance, and smiled serenely, saying, "You're thinking about it too?"
Que'er stepped aside and said softly, "Your Majesty, I'm thinking that this matter might be a way for you to get rid of someone you've always wanted to get rid of."
The faint smile on Li's lips vanished the moment Que'er finished speaking. She opened her phoenix eyes and said sternly, "Tell me, who do I want to get rid of?"
Que'er was always good at reading Li Shi's expressions, but she never expected that her words would displease her. She was puzzled, but immediately said, "Please calm down, Master. I spoke without thinking. I deserve to die!" After saying that, she raised her hand and slapped herself in the face.
After she had struck him three times, and her face was flushed slightly, Lady Li said with satisfaction, "Alright, but you mustn't make this mistake again next time. I am the dignified concubine of the Fourth Prince; how could I do something so immoral!"
Que'er lowered her head and admitted her mistake, saying, "Yes, it was all my fault. Please forgive me, Master!"
Li snapped her fingers and continued, "Tell me, what exactly have you thought of?"
Que'er glanced cautiously at Li Shi and said, "This servant is thinking that the eldest prince is playing with those kinds of things in that garden. No wonder the princess doesn't allow it. What if he accidentally slips into Bixin Lake? Please tell the third prince not to go there either, it's really dangerous!"
When Lady Li heard Que'er mention "slipping into Bixin Lake," her eyelids twitched slightly. She suppressed her unease and said with a look of agreement, "You're absolutely right. I'll speak to the Third Prince when he wakes up. You may leave now. Think carefully about how to prevent such an 'accident' from happening to the First Prince and the others. Report back to me when you've made up your mind, understand?" She emphasized the words "First Prince" and "accident," and Que'er, of course, understood. She immediately nodded in agreement and withdrew.
Meanwhile, on the Fujin's side, although the eldest prince Honghui went to his room to rest for the afternoon as the Fujin wished, he couldn't fall asleep. He originally wanted to send a servant to tell the third prince and the others, but he was afraid of displeasing his mother, so he had to suppress his thoughts.
"They must be blaming me for breaking my promise! Father said I should be a man of my word, but now..." The eldest prince lay in bed, a tear silently sliding down his pillow. Honghui's personality was actually very similar to that of his wife; both were the kind of people who, once they believed in something, could be frighteningly stubborn. Just as his wife thought that Honghui's frivolous pursuits were a waste of his ambition, Honghui at this moment felt that breaking his promise was unforgivable.
Finally, around 11 PM, Honghui got up and changed his clothes with the help of his maid, then went back to the front courtyard for Master Zhu's lesson. Xiazi, who was following him, saw that the eldest prince had a gloomy face the whole way, so she could only follow behind him without daring to say a word.
Honghui returned to his room, took the book he wanted to read, and went out. He happened to see the Third Prince returning. He was momentarily embarrassed, but the Third Prince said, "Elder Brother!"
The eldest prince responded with a word, then stammered slightly, "I rested at Mother's place at noon, you didn't have to wait long, did you?"
The Third Prince said, "We know. Da and A went to the main courtyard to find you and said that your stepmother doesn't want you to play that kind of game."
The eldest prince was clearly surprised that they would come to him again. Feeling a warmth in his heart, he said gently, "I will continue to try to persuade Mother. You can practice on your own in the meantime. I will come to find you again after I have persuaded Mother."
This was the best Honghui could do. He knew in his heart that he couldn't persuade the Fujin at all, and that he was just saying this to comfort the Third Prince. Before they moved in together, he didn't have much brotherly affection for the Third Prince, but now he was afraid that his younger brother would become estranged from him.
“Well, actually, if you want to play skateboarding, we can do it away from your mother!” the Third Prince said. Seeing that Honghui remained silent, he continued, “Does the First Prince think that this is lying to your mother? But Father also agreed that we can play as long as it doesn’t interfere with our studies. Your mother is just confused right now. Once she understands, she definitely won’t object anymore. Besides, I think you seem to really enjoy playing it. Wouldn’t it be too painful if you suddenly stopped?”
The Third Prince saw the struggle on the First Prince's face and continued to persuade him. Because after he woke up from his nap, Lady Li had already devised a way for him to avoid the First Prince's wife and continue playing with them.
"Let's go to class. Let me think about what you said." The eldest prince was indeed heartbroken. Besides feeling apologetic for breaking his promise to the third prince and the others, he also regretted no longer being able to participate in those activities that brought him extreme excitement. Whenever he stood on that platform, gliding and jumping, the heartache he had buried for ten years could be completely unleashed. He was no longer the taciturn eldest prince. It was just a pity that the princess consort never saw the genuine joy and happiness on Honghui's face when he was playing.
When Da and A, along with several other children, saw the First Prince and the Third Prince walking in hand in hand, they immediately surrounded them. After inquiring about the reason why the First Prince couldn't come, they didn't blame him for it. Instead, they all began to comfort him. This greatly dissipated the First Prince's unease and anxiety about breaking his promise. It also made him feel that the skateboard that Lanqin had brought out wasn't something that would cause him to lose his ambition. Since playing with everyone, there was no longer any barrier or indifference between them based on their social status. He and the Third Prince had also begun to become as close as brothers.
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