Uya had no choice but to lower her head, "This concubine understands."
Consort Yi then looked at Bai Lan behind Uya and said, "That palace maid behind you dares to do something improper in my palace. She really doesn't respect the palace rules or me."
Bai Lan was so frightened that she kept kowtowing, "Your Highness, please spare me! This servant really didn't..."
Garu was furious and cursed, "You lowly wretch, how dare you cause trouble in the Imperial Concubine's palace and drag us into it! What bad luck!" After saying that, he looked at Imperial Concubine Yi and said with a wronged expression, "Your Highness, you must stand up for us! If this gets to His Majesty's ears, he'll think we've done something shameful."
Consort Yi naturally knew that Bai Lan didn't have the guts to curry favor with Garu. Today's commotion was just Garu's way of trying to win her over.
Now everyone in the palace knows about Consort De's miserable state. It's no wonder that those who were bullied and suppressed by her want to kick her while she's down.
“That little palace maid should be dragged out and beaten to death. Dongxue and Sun Dehai should accompany Consort De to supervise her properly.”
Uya suddenly looked up, staring at Consort Yi in disbelief, while Bailan behind her was so frightened that she fainted.
Seeing this, Garu fawned over Consort Yi, saying, "If today's events reach His Majesty's ears, Your Highness will have to testify for us."
Consort Yi smiled and nodded, then glanced at Sun Dehai, who immediately led Garu out politely.
As they left, several burly old women began to torture Bai Lan. Wu Ya watched helplessly as her dowry was beaten to death right before her eyes, unable to utter a single word of pleading.
At this moment, her hatred for Yinzhen had reached its peak.
Consort Yi sat in her bedchamber listening to the sounds outside, finding them quite pleasant. Half an hour later, Dongxue walked in with a smile, "Your Highness, everything has been taken care of."
Consort Yi raised her eyes. "How is Lady Wuya?"
Dongxue pouted, "She's heartless. She kept her eyes wide open for a while, but didn't shed a single tear."
Consort Yi sneered, "That's not being heartless, it's that her whole heart is blinded by hatred. You see, she doesn't show any reaction on her face, but who knows how she's plotting revenge. Have the Imperial Household Department reassign someone to serve her. Also, personally deliver the Imperial Household Department's reward to Consort Fu and tell her to take good care of her pregnancy. If anyone dares to cause trouble for her, feel free to hit them with a big stick. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."
Dongxue laughed heartily and went off to take care of her business.
Meanwhile, inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi looked at his two sons, who remained silent at the dining table, with great helplessness.
"Fourth Prince, I know that Lady Wuya has not treated you well over the years, and I know that you have suffered a lot of grievances in Yonghe Palace, but I have not intervened because she is your birth mother."
Yinzhen was surprised that Kangxi would explain his behavior today. He was flattered and hurriedly put down his chopsticks and looked at Kangxi with a respectful expression.
"But these last two times I've found that Uya has gone too far. You are a prince of the Qing Dynasty, my own son, and I have never slapped you. Why should someone who is always trying to use you have the right to hit you?"
Suddenly, tears welled up in Yinzhen's eyes and fell down.
"Fourth Prince, I only gave her a title because she is your birth mother. If she behaves herself in the future, I am willing to give her dignity. But if she has any bad intentions again, don't blame me for not showing any consideration for our past relationship."
Yinzhen immediately knelt down, and said with tears in his eyes, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your concern, Your subject is grateful for Your Majesty's love, and also understands Your Majesty's helplessness."
Emperor Kangxi nodded in satisfaction. Seeing that the Crown Prince's complexion had finally improved, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, I see you have no appetite. Go back to your residence."
Yinzhen immediately thanked the emperor and left.
After he left, Kangxi looked at Yinreng with a helpless expression, "Did you deliberately bring me there? Did you know that Lady Uya was going to make a move against the Fourth Prince?"
Yinreng didn't pretend, he nodded, then shook his head.
"Your subject did not know that Lady Wuya would take direct action against the fourth prince. I only thought that she would use this opportunity to blackmail him and make him do things against his will."
He was able to take this action thanks to Hongxi.
Hongxi said that Wuya was cunning and scheming, and that she was about to see her fourth uncle as soon as she was released from confinement, which must mean she had a conspiracy.
To everyone's surprise, Uya was so arrogant that she dared to hit a prince in the palace.
Fortunately, he took Kangxi with him, otherwise the fourth prince might have suffered even more losses.
When Emperor Kangxi saw that the Crown Prince admitted it so readily, he didn't seem angry at all.
He doted on this son, and if he wanted to, he could easily use his status as the crown prince to teach Wuya a lesson.
At worst, he can just handle the aftermath if something goes wrong.
But the Crown Prince was filial, and when something happened, he would think of his father, the Emperor, as his support, which gave him a sense of being needed.
"Why do you hate Uya so much? I remember you didn't care much about the concubines in the harem before."
Yinreng spread his hands, "Who told me to like my fourth brother, and Uya always makes trouble for him? I've never seen a birth mother make trouble for her son before."
Emperor Kangxi thought about it; he had never seen it either.
Alright, the demotion of Lady Uya is a way of venting Yinzhen's anger and making the Crown Prince happy.
This was handled exceptionally well.
Emperor Kangxi praised himself in his heart, then called the Crown Prince to eat, "Baocheng, you like to eat shrimp, so I specially ordered the Imperial Kitchen to make your favorite steamed shrimp today."
Yinreng nodded in satisfaction and was about to peel the shrimp when Liang Jiugong stepped forward and said with a smile, "There's no need for Your Highness to peel the shrimp yourself, this servant will do it."
Kangxi slapped Liang Jiugong's hand away, "Get out of the way, I'll do it myself."
Thus, in the Qianqing Palace, where the atmosphere was tense just a moment ago, it was now a scene of fatherly love and filial piety.
While peeling shrimp, Kangxi chatted with Yinreng about court affairs, and before he knew it, he had peeled all the shrimp on the plate.
Yinreng ate very happily and was very respectful, leaving only a few peeled shrimp for Kangxi before finishing the rest.
Emperor Kangxi looked at the shrimp in his bowl and thought that the Crown Prince was so filial that he was willing to share even his favorite food with him.
Standing to the side, Liang Jiugong watched Kangxi's tearful face and felt utterly disillusioned.
"Baocheng, I think Hongyu is getting on in years, so I plan to send him directly to the palace school. In two years, I will arrange for him to be placed in the Princes' Quarters."
“Going to the palace to study is a good thing, but let’s listen to the eldest brother’s opinion on the matter of going to the prince’s quarters. After all, Hongyu is the heir of a prince, and his status is still a step below that of the princes in the palace, so he will inevitably be bullied.”
Kangxi thought about his eldest son's impetuous temper. If he knew that his son was being bullied in the Prince's quarters, he would probably tear the Prince's quarters apart.
"Okay, whatever you say."
Just as the father and son were having a pleasant conversation, a shrill scream suddenly came from outside the hall, startling Yinreng so much that he dropped the chopsticks in his hand.
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