"My lord, another letter from the Fujin has arrived," Chen said timidly. The mere thought of Wanyan's near-strangulation rage sent shivers down her spine. Honghao's incident truly was an accident; she genuinely hadn't anticipated a dud. Although Chen felt guilty about Honghao's actions, Wanyan wouldn't listen to her explanation and insisted on the Fourteenth Prince punishing him. Left with no other option, the Fourteenth Prince temporarily sent Chen and her son out of the manor before secretly bringing them here.
"Oh? Bring it here quickly!" Fourteen suddenly opened his eyes. In fact, while the generals were urging him to go back and fight for it, he was also thinking about news of Wanyan.
Chen dared not delay and immediately took out the letter from under the paperweight on the long table. She hurriedly went to the Fourteenth Master and handed it to him.
Fourteen hurriedly opened the letter to read the news Wanyan had gathered from the palace. The letter said that Kangxi had indeed fallen ill, but had recovered and was in good spirits, though he was exceptionally thin. Wanyan also described in detail the situation of the Fourth Prince's family in Consort De's palace, reminding Fourteen to write to his mother and complain so she could bring it up with Kangxi, thus giving him a pretext to return to the capital.
Fourteen frowned as she finished reading Wanyan's letter, her sleepiness instantly vanishing. She felt deeply uncomfortable upon reading about Wanyan's treatment of the Fourth Prince's family in Consort De's palace.
The Fourteenth Prince has always held an absolute position of favor in Consort De's heart. The Fourth Prince's cold and aloof demeanor has never been liked by Mother. Why is Mother treating the Fourth Prince differently now?
Judging from the description in Wanyan's letter, Consort De's attitude towards the Fourth Prince seems to have changed. Previously, the Fourteenth Prince could clearly sense his place in his mother's heart, but now he's starting to feel uncertain.
"Master, what's wrong?" Madam Chen noticed that Fourteenth Prince's expression was strange and quickly asked.
After a moment of silence, Fourteen gradually clenched the letter in his hand into a ball and held it in his palm.
Madam Chen had never seen the Fourteenth Prince like this before, and looked at him with a hint of fear, saying, "Your Highness, is the Princess Consort asking you about me again?"
A look of resentment and anger, as if something had been taken from him, flashed in the Fourteenth Prince's eyes. He said coldly, "I will return to the capital in secret first! Do not mention this to anyone."
Chen was stunned and stood there. He had just been saying that he couldn't rush back to the capital, but after reading Wanyan's letter, he immediately wanted to return.
The next day, before the first light of dawn had even appeared on the horizon, the Fourteenth Prince hastily set off with only two personal guards.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince had also been restless these past few days. Ever since that day when he and Longkodo uttered those words in the palace where Lady Tongjia had lived, he had been unable to find peace day and night!
While working in the palace every day, a part of his mind was always preoccupied with what was happening behind the scenes. Longkodo would sometimes come to talk to him, and although he never mentioned that day again, he would always bring it up in his conversations.
The Fourth Prince had no choice but to suppress his inner thoughts. He even followed Lanqin's advice and frequently visited Yonghe Palace to talk with Consort De. He even took the initiative to cook several more dishes.
After Kangxi's health improved somewhat, he once again planned to move to Changchun Garden to live. It was not as hot there as in the palace, and the air was fresh, with birds singing and flowers blooming, making it a very pleasant place.
On this day, Emperor Kangxi summoned Consort De to the Qianqing Palace to give her instructions. She was still acting as the Empress's successor in managing the inner palace. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi always needed to summon Consort De to give her some instructions before he felt at ease.
"Your Majesty, when you go over there, take a few musicians with you. Rest and recuperate; do not overexert yourself," Consort De advised. Having been married to Emperor Kangxi for nearly forty years, only she could offer such advice, and Kangxi was somewhat able to heed it.
"I know. I'm leaving all the affairs of the harem to you. Consort Yi shouldn't be involved in important matters." Kangxi knew that Consort Yi had used the last search for forbidden drugs to kill several concubines who had once been favored by him. Although he didn't say anything, he was displeased with her.
"Yes, Your Majesty, would you like to summon Hongli to keep him company? He is already eleven years old, a time when he is eager to learn. If he can be personally taught by Your Majesty, he will surely become a great man." Consort De knew that Kangxi liked Hongli, so she was happy to push Hongli in front of her.
"Let me move over there," Kangxi said.
Consort De spent some more time talking with Emperor Kangxi before returning to Yonghe Palace.
"Your Highness, the Fourteenth Princess Consort has arrived!" Consort De said as soon as she entered the room, seeing Aunt An coming to greet her.
Consort De, unaware of the Fourteenth Prince's wife's purpose in coming, assumed it was again about the Chen matter, and felt somewhat displeased. The wife had previously cried and made a scene before her, insisting that she pressure the Fourteenth Prince to punish Chen. Consort De was therefore somewhat annoyed with Consort Wanyan, since Chen was now a secondary consort and had borne a son, and naturally couldn't be dealt with arbitrarily.
"Mother!" Lady Wanyan, dressed in the Manchu dress of a primary consort, rushed to greet Consort De as she entered the main hall.
"What brings you here to visit your mother today?" Consort De asked indifferently.
"I have something to say to my mother, please dismiss everyone else," Wanyan said solemnly.
Consort De looked at Lady Wanyan suspiciously, and seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, she dismissed the maids and nannies around her. Only Consort De and Lady Wanyan remained in the main hall.
"Jinzhi, what is it you want to say? You can tell me now, right?" Consort De asked.
"Mother, the Fourteenth Prince is back!" the Fourteenth Princess said in a low voice.
Consort De stared wide-eyed at Lady Wanyan in disbelief, and lowered her voice to say, "How could the Fourteenth Prince be back? I didn't hear the Emperor say anything about him coming back! I was just with the Emperor, and he didn't mention the Fourteenth Prince coming back at all."
Wanyan looked around and said, "The Fourteenth Prince heard that the Emperor was unwell and was so worried that he couldn't sleep well. That's why he came back to see his father."
"Nonsense! He abandoned his post without the Emperor's summons, a grave offense! Your Majesty, didn't you see he was already recovered? Why bring him back?" Consort De roared. What were the Fourteenth Prince and his wife trying to do? The Emperor hadn't even done anything yet, and they were already eager to return and divide the inheritance?
Consort De couldn't bear to think of her youngest son that way. Not long ago, he was a mischievous little boy who liked to snuggle in her arms and act spoiled. How could he have become such a scheming adult in the blink of an eye?
When Wanyan saw that Consort De was not happy at all about the Fourteenth Prince's return, she immediately began to think to herself: She used to be very happy to see the Fourteenth Prince, so why does she wish he wouldn't come now?
"Mother, Fourteenth is also concerned about Father's health. Please go and see him," Wanyan said, remembering Fourteenth's instructions, and had no choice but to shamelessly ask.
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