"She's quite pretty, with very captivating eyes. It's just that her demeanor doesn't seem like that of a proper princess."
Consort Yi couldn't help but chuckle. The two women, who were on the verge of conflict, each had their own thoughts after hearing Hongxi's words.
Consort Hui: Luckily, I didn't agree to my sister-in-law's suggestion, otherwise Hongyu would have been laughed at to death by his own brothers.
Lady Nalan: You little brat, if it weren't for your noble status, I would have torn your mouth apart.
"Second Prince, aren't you going too far with your words? Lin Yin is a princess carefully cultivated by our Nalan family, and she is destined to be..."
Hongxi was naturally not afraid of her, and sneered, "What do you want in the future? Are you going to give her to a prince as a wife or send her to the palace to serve Grandfather?"
Lady Nalan blushed. Sending her granddaughter to the palace to serve Emperor Kangxi, who was older than her, was something the Nalan family could never do.
"Second Prince, you..."
Hongxi stood up. "Since Madam Nalan is so dissatisfied, why don't I have someone investigate how that handkerchief ended up on the tree? If the handkerchief was really blown onto the branch by the wind, I will apologize to you. But if the handkerchief was placed on the branch by someone, then you will come with me to find Grandfather."
Lady Nalan was already so frightened that her face turned deathly pale, and she pursed her lips tightly, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
In the end, it was Consort Hui who, out of consideration for her family, came to the rescue, saying, "Hongxi, don't stoop to her level. Go back and keep an eye on your elder brother, and don't let him do anything for a little brat, otherwise... when the eldest brother finds out, he definitely won't let it go."
Lady Nalan froze upon hearing Yinti's name.
Yes, they thought Yinqi was a scoundrel, so they wanted to finish this while he was away.
"Tinghe, take some men to find Linyin and see where she is."
After snorting at Madam Nalan, Tinghe immediately left in a hurry with several palace maids.
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, Hongxi was somewhat worried about Hongyu, so he happily returned to Yinreng's side.
As a result, after scanning around, he did not find Hongyu, and his heart sank immediately.
[Oh no, I hope something's happened to my brother.]
Yinreng, who was whispering with Kangxi, subconsciously glanced at Hongyu's seat when he heard this. Seeing that no one was there, he immediately looked at the palace servant beside him and asked, "Where is the First Prince?"
The young palace maid immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the eldest prince has just gone out."
Yinreng immediately stood up, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Mingzhu, and blurted out, "Mingzhu, you'd better guarantee the First Prince's safety, or I, the eldest prince, will not let you off the hook."
Mingzhu was completely dumbfounded, kneeling on the ground, not knowing who to kowtow to.
"Your Highness, please explain. This servant really did nothing, let alone do anything to the First Prince."
Kangxi also realized what was happening and sent Liang Jiugong with men to find Hongyu immediately, and then told Mingzhu the news he had received.
After hearing this, Mingzhu recalled what his wife had told him a few days ago, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Damn it, that woman probably didn't actually do it.
At this moment, in the rockery of the Imperial Garden, Hongyu stood in a pavilion, gazing blankly at the lake.
My mind is filled with a thousand thoughts, yet I can't piece together a single clue.
"Ah... Help..." A faint cry for help came from the artificial hill behind him. Hongyu didn't hear it at first, but as the cry for help became more and more urgent, he suddenly realized that something seemed to be happening inside.
He was about to walk over when he thought about his special status and the important women attending the banquet that day. He worried that it might be inappropriate for him to go in rashly.
Thinking of this, Hongyu turned and walked towards the women, intending to tell his grandmother about the matter and ask her to send someone to handle it.
But as the footsteps receded further and further away, the person inside the artificial hill raised their voice, "Help!... Please let me go... My heart already belongs to someone else..."
Hongyu stopped in his tracks upon hearing these words; the voice sounded so familiar.
A thought flashed through my mind: wasn't that the voice of the little princess who had just picked up the handkerchief?
"My handkerchief... my handkerchief..." The person inside the artificial hill seemed to be confirming his guess. The few words he suddenly shouted made Hongyu lose all ability to think, and he ran towards the artificial hill.
He no longer cared why the other person's handkerchief was on the tree branch, nor whether the girl was currently in a predicament.
All he wanted was to rescue her; no amount of scheming or plotting was as important as her innocence or even her life.
Just as he was about to step into the artificial hill, Longqing, the commander of the guards responsible for finding him, rushed up from behind, hurriedly hugged him, and shouted in his ear, "Your Highness, please wait, this servant will go in."
Even though Hongyu was anxious, he was still clear-headed.
If the guards went in and saw something they shouldn't have, how would the girl face them?
Thinking of this, Hongyu disregarded everything else and tried to push the guard away, shouting, "Get out of my way!"
Knowing the relationship between the eldest prince, the second prince, and the Hesheli family, Longqing had no choice but to chop him on the neck.
Seeing that Hongyu had suddenly fainted, Mingzhu and Hongxi arrived with their men. Upon meeting, Longqing first explained to everyone before turning to Mingzhu and saying, "Please forgive me, Lord Mingzhu."
Mingzhu dared not blame Longqing at all; he now wished he could thank him.
Behind Hongxi, Xiuhe led several palace maids into the artificial hill. A rustling sound came from behind, and a disheveled girl came out.
Upon seeing this person, Mingzhu nearly fainted. "You wretched child, you wretched child!"
The commotion here was so great that, in addition to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang who had just returned to Cining Palace, the women's families also came over.
Seeing this, Lady Nalan thought it was all done. She rushed forward, hugged Lin Yin, and cried, "My child, my good child, who did you give this to...who did you give this to..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but anyone with eyes could understand what she meant.
Consort Hui, who rushed over, saw this scene and thought her eldest grandson had been wronged. She almost fainted. Fortunately, Hongxi said coolly, "Madam Nalan has misunderstood. Your good granddaughter did not let a man insult her. She just couldn't stand it and took off her clothes in the rockery in broad daylight."
Madam Nalan froze. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could my granddaughter do such a thing? It's clearly..."
Then she pointed to the unconscious Hongyu and said, "When I first entered the palace today, Linyin said that the First Prince blocked her way under the tree and said that he liked her and wanted to marry her. I think the First Prince must have been impatient and took advantage of the fact that everyone was admiring the flowers to do something improper to my granddaughter in the rockery."
Consort Yi and Consort Wenxi exchanged a glance. With the Emperor and Crown Prince not present, they should say something according to their rank. However, this matter also involved Consort Hui, and they didn't want to offend anyone.
Consort Yi looked at Consort Hui and asked, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"
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