"Hongjun, will you really agree to anything your mother says?" Li asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
Hongjun nodded and asked, "Mother, what do you want Hongjun to do?"
Li suddenly felt at a loss for words. Should she really reveal what she had done? Would Hongjun despise her? If Fourth Master asked, would Hongjun be unable to withstand the pressure and confess everything?
Hongjun looked at Li Shi with a puzzled expression, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, and asked anxiously, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Li lowered her head, pondered for a moment, then looked up at Hongjun and said, "Hongjun, your mother thinks your father may already suspect that you touched the eldest prince's skateboard. In other words, they want to pin your eldest brother's death on you, that is, on your mother. Do you want to see that happen? In that case, your father might execute me!"
Upon hearing the word "execution," the Third Prince was immediately terrified and on the verge of tears. He didn't want his mother to die, nor did he want his father to know the truth about how he had switched his eldest brother's skateboard, leading to the eldest prince's drowning. He couldn't bear such a heavy responsibility!
"Mother, I don't know either. I don't know why the skateboard suddenly broke. My eldest brother just lunged out and fell into the lake." The Third Prince cried again, sobbing as he spoke.
"Alright, alright, don't cry, Jun'er. It was just an accident. The skateboard wheels probably weren't installed properly and that's why they suddenly broke. You couldn't have known they would break, right? So you didn't do it on purpose. But some people will think you did it on purpose, that your mother instructed you to do it. So if you admit to switching your eldest brother's skateboard, then even if we had a million mouths, we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves." Li's eyes were filled with tears, as if she had truly been wronged.
"What should we do, Mother? I don't want to be wronged, and I don't want Mother to be wronged either!" The Third Prince shook his head and said.
"As long as you insist that you haven't touched your eldest brother's skateboard, if anyone says that your skateboard is exactly the same as the eldest prince's, just say that your mother made it especially for you. That way, your father will definitely send someone to ask your mother. Just give everything to your mother. Just remember, never admit to swapping your eldest prince's skateboard, understand?" Madam Li had already thought of her explanation.
The Third Prince nodded, and Lady Li took out her handkerchief to wipe away his tears, then wiped away her own tears before leading the Third Prince toward Su Peisheng.
Su Peisheng was getting impatient. Just as he was about to ask to see Consort Li again, he saw the Third Prince and Consort Li walking over from the main house.
"This old servant greets the Consort and the Third Prince!" Su Peisheng bowed respectfully.
"Oh dear, the Third Prince slept in late last night. I had to call him for ages before I finally woke him up. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting, Father-in-law," Li said to Su Peisheng with a hint of apology.
"Oh, this servant wouldn't dare. Please, Third Prince, come with this servant," Su Peisheng said.
Watching Su Peisheng take the Third Prince away, Madam Li leaned against the door railing, her heart pounding with anxiety. She hoped that Hongjun would do as she instructed, otherwise there would be real trouble.
Meanwhile, on the Fourth Prince's side, Su Peisheng led the Third Prince into the Fourth Prince's study.
"Why did it take you so long to come back?" Fourth Master said with slight displeasure.
"Your Majesty, the Third Prince hasn't gotten up yet, so I waited over there for a while before bringing him here," Su Peisheng said.
The Fourth Prince waved to Su Peisheng, signaling him to step back, and then turned his gaze to the Third Prince.
"Hongjun, your father called you here to ask about the eldest prince. You must tell your father the truth. If he finds out you're lying, the consequences will be severe, understand?" The Fourth Prince stared intently at the Third Prince. He had never spoken to the Third Prince like this before. The young Third Prince was terrified and almost couldn't hold back his fear, but remembering his mother's words, he tried his best to suppress his fear, meeting the Fourth Prince's gaze firmly, determined not to show the slightest fear or panic on his face.
"I know, but I would never dare to expect anything from you, Father. Please ask, Father." The Third Prince even managed a forced smile as he spoke to the Fourth Prince.
The Fujin coldly observed the child. From the moment Xiao Hongzi mentioned that the Third Prince had entered the First Prince's room during his afternoon nap, she had suspected the mother and son in the East Courtyard. Seeing the Third Prince remain unfazed despite his young age under the Fourth Prince's stern reprimand, she was truly impressed.
"Then tell Father, on the day the eldest prince had the accident, did you go to his room at noon? Did you take anything?" Fourth Prince asked, staring at Third Prince.
"Your Majesty, I did go to my eldest brother's room, but I just wanted to compare my skateboard with his to see if they were the same. And they really were identical! I was overjoyed; I finally had a skateboard exactly like my brother's!" the Third Prince said methodically. Actually, on the way here with Su Peisheng, his little brain had been pondering how to explain this to the Fourth Prince. When he entered and saw Xiao Hongzi, he immediately knew what the Fourth Prince would ask him.
The Fourth Prince stared at the Third Prince's face and found no trace of panic. Could a child hide his emotions so deeply?
Xiao Hongzi listened from the side and suddenly remembered that the Third Prince had not told him the same thing. He said that something had been defecated inside before he went in.
"Little Hongzi, tell Master Yu what you heard from the Third Prince," the Fujin said, unable to sit still any longer.
"Your Majesty, I bumped into the Third Prince. He told me that he had left something inside." After saying this, Xiao Hongzi nervously glanced at the Third Prince beside him.
He smiled faintly and said to the Fourth Prince, "Father, that's exactly what I told him. But I didn't want anyone to know that it was to compete with the First Prince in skateboarding, so I lied to Xiao Hongzi."
Upon hearing this, the Princess Consort began to feel anxious. She stared at the Third Prince's profile, trying to discern any trace of panic or unease on his face.
Unfortunately, the Third Prince was destined not to let her see it!
The Fourth Prince then asked Da and A, and Da and A said exactly what the Third Prince and the First Prince had said that day, without any discrepancy.
It seems that Honghui really did drown accidentally?
Fourth Master looked at the book in front of him with a hint of hesitation. After thinking for a while, he said to Su Peisheng, "You sent people to investigate that road. Did they find anything?"
Su Peisheng bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I have sent people to thoroughly check the road, and we have found nothing unusual."
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