Unlike Consort Li Jia, another Consort Li was currently plotting to eliminate her eldest son, who was standing in her way. To achieve this, she was willing to harm an eight- or nine-year-old child.
Lady Li was sitting in front of her dressing table, rubbing a tuft of hair that hung down to her chest. Her skin was as white as snow, and beneath her dark eyebrows were a pair of captivating eyes. At this moment, her delicate eyelashes were lowered, and something misty was churning deep within her eyes.
"Has Que'er returned?" Madam Li suddenly asked. Xiangqiao, standing behind her, was using a horn comb to brush her cascading, silky black hair.
"Not yet! Madam, this girl has been gone for three days. Does it take that long to go out and see her parents? Could it be that she has found a lover and doesn't want to come back?" Xiangqiao had long been jealous of Que'er because she had been increasingly favored by Madam Li recently.
Lady Li glanced at her sideways in the bronze mirror and said, "Whether she has a lover or not, we'll wait until she returns to find out. Go and fetch the Third Prince for me, quickly!"
Xiangqiao didn't understand why Li suddenly thought of the Third Prince, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions. So she put down the ox horn comb and left.
A short while later, the Third Prince Hongjun entered with Xiangqiao.
"Mother, did you call me?" The Third Prince was almost six years old and had grown quite a bit taller. Seeing that his features were becoming more and more like hers, Li couldn't help but feel a surge of tenderness.
"Jun'er, come here and let your mother take a good look at you," Madam Li said gently.
The Third Prince walked up to Madam Li and said somewhat anxiously, "Mother, what's wrong? I'm going to go skateboarding in the garden with my eldest brother later!"
Madam Li raised her hand, straightened the Third Prince's clothes, then picked up the little braid hanging behind his head, tidied it up, and asked softly, "Jun'er, between you and your eldest brother, whose skateboard is better?"
The Third Prince's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "My eldest brother is a little better at skating than me, but I've improved a lot recently, Mother!" He relaxed when he heard Li ask this, because Li used to warn him from time to time not to get too close to the First Prince, or that he must not lose to the First Prince in his studies.
Li's eyes flashed, and she took the Third Prince's small hand, saying, "Do you want to beat your eldest brother?"
The Third Prince was stumped by the question; in truth, he wanted to win against the First Prince.
As the mother of the Third Prince, Lady Li was well aware of her son's thoughts, so she said softly, "I don't think it's because your skills are inferior to your eldest brother's, but rather that the problem lies in..."
Seeing that Lady Li had paused, the Third Prince asked impatiently, "Where did it come from?"
Madam Li smiled slightly and said, "It's all because of that skateboard! I heard that your eldest brother's skateboard was specially made for him by the Fujin himself. Yours was just made for you by your Aunt Niu, so naturally it's not as good as his. If you don't believe me, why don't you try it and you'll know. But you must not ask the eldest prince, otherwise he will be very embarrassed."
The Third Prince had never thought of this question before. After Li Shi mentioned it, his curiosity was immediately piqued: No wonder my eldest brother always wins against me. Is it because his skateboard is better than mine?
Madam Li took in the Third Prince's reaction and then said to him kindly, "How about this, in a few days, you secretly find an opportunity to switch your skateboard with your eldest brother's skateboard, so you can try out his skateboard!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
