The crown prince was under immense pressure and could barely hold on by himself; he needed allies.
He turned his gaze to his younger brother below.
The Third Prince was clever; he felt that the Crown Prince's position was not so secure and dared not make any rash moves. Faced with the Crown Prince's attempts to win him over, he played coy and pretended to be stupid.
The crown prince was angry, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only sulk.
Unable to win over the Third Prince, he turned his attention to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince has no ambition now. His greatest wish is for his adoptive mother and birth mother to live in harmony. It would be even better if Emperor Kangxi paid more attention to him.
Although he doesn't have grand ambitions, he still wants to make a name for himself, so taking sides is a given. The Crown Prince is the rightful heir, and no matter what, he can't be wrong to side with the rightful heir. That's what he believes for now.
Although the Crown Prince had many faults with Wu Lingzhu, he wasn't considered too problematic by the Fourth Prince.
At the very least, their martial arts skills and knowledge are impressive.
With the help of the Fourth Prince, the Crown Prince's pressure was greatly reduced.
The Crown Prince felt less pressure, but the First Prince felt more pressure.
He watched as the Crown Prince looked for his younger brother, and then glanced down at his own brother below.
He tried to win over the Third Prince, but the Third Prince ignored the Crown Prince and naturally didn't want to side with the First Prince right now. In particular, the Third Prince was fond of literature and martial arts, and in his eyes, the First Prince was just a brute.
The attempt to win them over naturally failed.
The eldest prince wasn't angry; the two of them couldn't agree on anything anyway. Then there was the fifth prince.
However, the Fifth Prince was still young and learned slowly. The Empress Dowager did not want him to get involved in these matters, and Emperor Kangxi did not want a prince with Mongolian characteristics to get involved. The Fifth Prince himself was informed early on that he had been eliminated.
However, with Mongolia around, as long as he lived, he would one day have a prosperous future. Naturally, he wouldn't be so foolish as to meddle in things he shouldn't.
So the eldest prince had no choice but to continue searching.
That would be even smaller.
Because of his disfigurement and broken leg, the Sixth Prince was very quiet and inconspicuous. The First Prince looked down on him, and besides, he was the same mother as the Fourth Prince.
The Seventh Prince was lame, somewhat self-conscious, and didn't like to talk much.
Then came the Eighth Prince.
At only seven or eight years old, he was clever and good-natured. He accepted the sudden care from the eldest prince. The eldest prince's birth mother, Consort Hui, was also the eighth prince's adoptive mother. For a time, the two brothers, who had a considerable age difference, began their honeymoon period.
Consort Cheng came over and started talking about these things. She said with a sigh, "...I never thought that the Crown Prince and the First Prince would drag their younger brothers into this. The Fourth Prince is one thing, he's at least ten years old and is about to have a wife. But what about the Eighth Prince? He's only been in the Imperial Study for a few years."
Wu Lingzhu echoed her sentiments, saying, "This is indeed going too far. The Emperor doesn't care, and we can't do anything about it either. But I never expected that Consort Hui wouldn't stop the First Prince and would let him treat his younger brother like a servant."
Consort Cheng smiled and said, "As a servant, Your Highness is being a bit too direct in speaking the truth."
"You said it was the truth, and you're not an outsider, so why can't I tell you anything?"
Consort Cheng was touched, even though she knew it was just polite talk.
Sisterhood in the palace is not easy. Her relationship with Wu Lingzhu wasn't quite that close, like sisters, but there was definitely some affection between them.
"It's just tough on the Eighth Prince. He's such a young boy. I heard he used to get along well with the Fourth Prince, but I heard from the Seventh Prince that the two brothers are starting to talk at odds now."
"That's ridiculous."
After Consort Cheng left, Wu Lingzhu summoned Chunying.
"I don't know much about Aunt Wang in Uncle Liu's backyard. Uncle San is about to have his grandson's one-month celebration. As his niece, I can't just stand by and watch Uncle Liu be cuckolded without realizing it. I'll arrange for someone to make him witness it firsthand. I'll make sure it's a big deal. Uncle Liu likes to drink, and he likes to get physical after drinking. I'll make sure Uncle San suffers a lot."
The third uncle mentioned by Wu Lingzhu is Suo'etu.
Sixth Uncle's name is Fabao.
These two were not born to the same mother. One was the third child, and the other was the youngest. One was successful, and the other was used to be pampered. They couldn't stand each other, but now that Suo'etu was in charge of the family, Fabao could only keep a low profile.
As for the matter of Fabao's concubine and Suo'etu.
Such things are neither rare nor uncommon in large mansions; the more refined the place, the more common such sordid incidents are.
This Aunt Wang was a courtesan who redeemed herself and entered the household. Her skills were top-notch; even before she entered, Suo'etu had visited her.
If they hadn't known each other before, it wouldn't have mattered. But Suo'etu and that Aunt Wang would see each other from time to time, which was a bit exciting. Before long, they got together.
Soetu was cautious in his actions; as the head of the family, he kept it a secret quite well.
I heard about Wu Lingzhu from Xiao Bai.
Chunying, whose cultivation was not yet fully developed, was shocked after hearing this. After the shock subsided, she said, "Your Majesty, wouldn't it be bad to make this a public issue?"
It would damage the reputation of the Heseri family.
Wu Lingzhu said nonchalantly, "Every family has its share of jokes. Besides, my father has already passed away. My uncles' affairs have little to do with me. You can do it without worry."
She knew how dangerous Fabao could be when he was drunk.
This time, even if Songgotu doesn't die, he'll be severely injured. She must restrict his actions before he becomes the number one sinner.
In the Hesheli family, only Songgotu had any ability; the others were beyond help.
Chunying obeyed the order unconditionally: "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will arrange everything perfectly."
Romantic affairs in the inner quarters are actually the easiest to arrange. Just add a little spark and push things a bit, and things will basically happen as expected.
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