The Fourth Prince patted He Xue on the shoulder, "Don't worry, how could your Fourth Brother bear to leave you and Mother! I know who is truly sincere to me!"
"That's good, Fourth Brother. Do you know? I was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle being away from Auntie!" He Xue said, crying.
"No, Fourth Brother won't leave!" The Fourth Prince knew, of course, that Consort Tongjia had always treated him as her own son and genuinely loved him. Although he was not Consort Tongjia's biological son, she had never mistreated him.
"Alright, don't cry, Fourth Brother won't leave! Get up!" Seeing that He Xue was still hugging Fourth Prince, the Crown Prince helped He Xue up, wiped away her tears, and gently comforted her.
"Fourth brother, what are you planning to do now? Consort De certainly won't let this go."
The Third Prince felt that if Consort De had approached the Fourth Prince once, there would be a second time. If the Fourth Prince always refused Consort De, she might slander him, saying he was unfilial. After all, Consort De was the Fourth Prince's birth mother, and that was unchangeable.
"Yes, Fourth Brother, you must handle this matter well. Although we all know that Consort De is mostly using you, many people don't know the truth."
They might say that you disdain your birth mother's humble origins and refuse to acknowledge Consort De. If things turn out that way, it will be very detrimental to your future! After all, the Crown Prince was raised by Kangxi as the heir apparent, so he thought things through more deeply.
"I don't care about those things, as long as it doesn't involve Mother!" the Fourth Prince said.
"Fourth brother, there are some things that you can't ignore just because you don't care!" The Crown Prince felt that the Fourth Prince was thinking too simply.
"Wouldn't it solve everything if we just had Father Emperor change the Fourth Prince's imperial genealogy to Mother Tong's name?" The First Prince's thinking was always crude and simplistic.
The Crown Prince glanced at the eldest prince but remained silent. His father, the Emperor, probably wouldn't do this easily; he just didn't want his fourth brother's status to be too high, fearing it would affect his position as Crown Prince.
In fact, he felt that his father, the Emperor, really didn't need to be wary of anyone. If anyone could take away his position as Crown Prince, it only meant that they were not as capable as others and should abdicate.
The Third Prince remained silent, but inwardly he couldn't help but think that his eldest brother was all muscle and no brains.
“Although Consort De had her own agenda in seeking out Fourth Brother, that is no reason for him to disown her! This is a classic case of ‘the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps,’” the Third Prince said in a refined manner.
"Third Prince, stop nitpicking and just tell me how to solve this!" The eldest prince felt a headache coming on just looking at the third prince reciting a memorized text.
"I...I haven't decided yet!" the Third Prince said.
"It was Consort De who sent Fourth Brother to my aunt's place in exchange for the rank of Consort. Otherwise, how could she, a palace maid, have become a Consort?"
"She disregarded her mother-son relationship with Fourth Brother, and now she's trying to use that meager bond to blackmail him. It's outrageous!" He Xue said angrily.
She always looked down on Consort De's actions, who was willing to abandon her own flesh and blood in order to climb the social ladder. Later, after Consort Tongjia passed away, she took the Fourth Prince back to preserve her maternal instincts, but she was not very kind to the Fourth Prince either.
The Fourth Prince had always wanted to repair his relationship with Consort De, but Consort De only had eyes for the Fourteenth Prince and couldn't see her poor eldest son at all.
She had also read in modern novels that Consort De disliked the Fourth Prince because he was born during a time she least wanted to remember.
Seeing the Fourth Prince reminds Consort De of her miserable life under Consort Tongjia. She wants to get rid of that memory, but the appearance of the Fourth Prince always brings back those unbearable memories. Therefore, Consort De doesn't like the Fourth Prince very much.
Moreover, since Consort De treats the Fourth Prince badly, he will inevitably think of how good Consort Tongjia was to him. If these words reach Consort De's ears, it will only make her dislike the Fourth Prince even more.
"Where did you hear that from, Xue?" the Crown Prince asked in shock. Could this be the reason why Xiao Si was raised by Tong E Niang?
Oh no, she accidentally blurted out what she had read in a modern novel! She didn't even know if Consort De had sent the Fourth Prince to Consort Tongjia for this reason!
He Xue glanced guiltily at the Crown Prince, then looked at the injured Fourth Prince, and deeply regretted that she had blurted out everything.
Now things are really messed up; not only can't it be explained clearly, but it has also hurt the sensitive Fourth Prince.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
