Wu Lingzhu kept her word, and soon the Crown Prince learned that the Eighth Prince was trying to steal her away.
When Consort Hui heard the news, she was already in a bad mood. To her, the actions of the Eighth Prince and Consort Liang were a betrayal.
"Go, go and invite Consort Liang over to me." Consort Hui emphasized the word "invite" in her speech, indicating her anger.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Soon, Consort Liang arrived.
She had a natural fear of Consort Hui: "Greetings, Your Highness. May Your Highness be blessed with good health and longevity."
Consort Hui didn't let her get up: "I'm uneasy. Consort Liang has become quite capable. She can even go to Chuxiu Palace to ask Consort Yi to be her matchmaker. What, is my eldest son not enough for you two to steal my husband away?"
"This concubine dares not."
"You dare not? Then tell me, what's the situation between the Eighth Prince and Princess Hesheli?"
Consort Liang began to stammer, which made Consort Hui even angrier. She really regretted it. Consort Liang was someone she had personally groomed to compete for the Emperor's favor. Who knew that Consort Liang only had a pretty face and secretly got pregnant when the Emperor forbade her to have children, and then she fell out of favor.
Although she didn't treat the Eighth Prince as well as her own son, she still gave him everything he deserved.
It's not her fault that the Eighth Prince didn't have those things; it's just that Consort Liang, as a mother, wasn't as capable as other mothers.
But the Eighth Prince actually wanted to take advantage of the Crown Prince and her son's mutual defeat to become the beneficiary. Who gave him such a big face? Doesn't he have any self-awareness at all?
Consort Hui scoffed, "You've always been so quiet, but I never expected you to make such a big fuss as soon as you arrived. What, taking over my son's affairs isn't enough, you want to devour the whole pot too! Don't you know who you and your son are? You think you're so smart, so scheming? You're utterly stupid. Some people are just born hopeless, no, they're even worse than Liu Shan..."
Consort Hui had been holding back her anger for a while! Consort Liang suddenly confronted her, and Consort Hui spoke her mind freely. Consort Liang silently shed tears, looking very pitiful.
"...Crying, all you do is cry. If you're so capable, go cry in front of the Emperor. It's disheartening to watch..."
Just then, the Eighth Prince came over to pay his respects to Consort Hui.
The old woman outside the door said to the Eighth Prince, "Eighth Prince, Her Majesty is talking to Consort Liang! Please wait a moment before going in to pay your respects."
Consort Hui's voice was not quiet, and the house was not soundproof. When the Eighth Prince heard Consort Hui scolding Consort Liang, a sense of humiliation welled up in his heart. He wanted to rush in, but he also knew that if he did, he would be branded as an unfilial son.
As the head of a palace, Consort Hui had the right to reprimand a concubine in her own palace.
The Eighth Prince was Consort Hui's adopted son, and because of this favor, he couldn't go too far.
While waiting outside, the Eighth Prince wanted to escape, but his feet seemed to be stuck, and he couldn't move.
The Eighth Prince didn't have the courage to listen to the end and hurriedly said, "I have other things to do. I'll come to pay my respects to Mother tomorrow."
"Respectfully seeing off the Eighth Prince."
The old nanny was Consort Hui's person, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was indifferent to the Eighth Prince.
Watching the Eighth Prince flee in panic, she went inside and whispered in Consort Hui's ear, "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince came by just now and listened at the door for a while before leaving."
Consort Hui snorted coldly, "Useless." This is nothing, and she can't even stand it.
After saying that, she looked at Consort Liang and said, "Alright, I don't want to see your face either. The Eighth Prince came by just now and probably heard the commotion inside. Go back."
Consort Liang's face paled even more.
As a mother, it's hard for her son to see and hear about her humble side.
Lady Liang practically floated back.
Consort Hui scoffed, "With such audacity, you dare to compete? I don't know where you get the courage."
The concubines in the harem couldn't understand the power struggles, so the mother and son wanted to fight it out in the imperial court. She added, "Just watch, it would be strange if the emperor took a liking to someone I don't even approve of. I'll wait and see what happens to them."
With the eldest prince completely out of hope, Consort Hui could now observe the situation from the sidelines.
Consort Liang and the Eighth Prince are no good; they've caused too much trouble. Right now, they seem to be about to rise up, but all sorts of people are surrounding them. He's not picky at all; for the sake of a good reputation, he'll accept anyone who comes his way, wishing he could wipe out all the forces in one fell swoop.
He doesn't even understand the principle of "don't bite off more than you can chew." At best, he'll be heavily promoted and exploited, but he'll have a tough time ahead of him!
It was precisely because Consort Hui understood this principle that she could vent her anger on Consort Liang without any restraint, showing no regard for the Eighth Prince's feelings.
The Eighth Prince returned home, and as soon as he came back, he saw his wife rushing over in a rage.
"Master, I heard you're considering taking a concubine into the household?"
The Eighth Prince could not admit it, and besides, he knew that this matter could not be accomplished.
"It's all just rumors, don't believe them. Do you think I don't understand how I feel about you? It's just a misunderstanding. I went to the estate to relax, but who knew I'd run into Princess Hesheli's carriage having a problem? I can't just leave her there unattended."
"What's the story behind Consort Liang going to Chuxiu Palace to ask Consort Yi to act as matchmaker?"
When the Eighth Prince heard her repeatedly referring to Consort Liang as "Noble Lady Liang" and even addressing Consort Yi as "Empress Yi," his heart sank further.
However, he held back.
"Mother has misunderstood. You know, Mother doesn't understand anything. How could I possibly marry a princess from the Hesheli family?"
The Eighth Prince's wife believed that he was in her heart. She couldn't help it if she didn't believe it. Could she continue to make trouble? Otherwise, what would become of their relationship?
The Eighth Prince's wife's attitude softened, no longer as sharp as before: "In the future, if anything happens, you must tell me first, otherwise there might be misunderstandings again."
"Okay, I'll definitely remember that from now on."
Within two days, the third princess of the Hesheli family was arranged to become a nun.
The matter was quickly resolved, but the Eighth Prince was not greatly affected and became closer to the Tenth Prince's maternal clan, the Niohuru clan, and the Kangxi Emperor's maternal clan, the Tongjia clan.
Emperor Kangxi seemed pleased with this and began to entrust the Eighth Prince with important responsibilities, giving him many opportunities to gain prominence.
When the Crown Prince found out, he flew into a rage in Yuqing Palace, not at the Eighth Prince, but at Emperor Kangxi.
"What exactly does Father Emperor mean? Is he dissatisfied that the eldest son couldn't completely bring me down, so he's going to arrange for a younger one instead?"
The Crown Prince never thought much of the Eighth Prince.
The only opponent he acknowledged was the First Prince. Now that the First Prince was completely finished, he was barely clinging to life. Whether he could recover depended entirely on whether Kangxi wanted him to recover.
At this time, the Eighth Prince stepped forward, and the Crown Prince was afraid that Kangxi would use the Eighth Prince to bring him down and depose him from his position as Crown Prince.
As he spoke, the Crown Prince couldn't help but feel discouraged: "I'm such a useless Crown Prince."
The eunuch standing nearby cautiously reminded him, "Master, walls have ears, please keep your voice down."
The Crown Prince scoffed, "Even if I speak softly, I can't hide it from those who are interested. I'm going to speak loudly, so what?"
He's gone mad; the Crown Prince is showing signs of madness.
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