48. Completely incomprehensible
Wei Xiuming walked slowly and steadily along the palace path.
The road was wide open, with towering walls on both sides, majestic yet cold.
The young prince nestled on Wei Xiuming's shoulder and whispered, "Father... will I really never be able to see Mother again?"
Wei Xiuming paused slightly and patted his back gently: "When your mother truly realizes her mistake, Father will consider it."
He sighed: "Jiayou, you must remember, you are my son, a prince. You should not be used as a pawn by anyone, understand?"
The young prince leaned on Wei Xiuming's shoulder, sobbing softly.
Wei Xiuming gently patted his back: "Don't be afraid, your father is here."
"Father..." the little prince looked up with tearful eyes, "Does Mother... not like me?"
Wei Xiuming stopped completely and hugged his son even tighter: "No. Your mother... was just blinded by power."
The young prince nodded as if he understood, tears welling in his eyes. He hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to speak the words hidden in his heart.
"Father..." the little prince's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, "I...I'm actually very bad."
Wei Xiuming frowned slightly, gently lifted his son's chin, not allowing him to shrink back and lower his head, forcing him to look at him: "Why do you say that?"
The little prince's eyelashes trembled, and tears silently streamed down his face: "Because...because every time my mother scolds me, I feel like bullying others."
“Every time my mother scolds me, I get upset… and then I want to make others unhappy too…”
He sobbed, "It's like... it's like how I always fight with Chaoyun because my mother said I must be the best, and I absolutely cannot be surpassed by Chaoyun... so I always want to defeat Chaoyun..."
Wei Xiuming understood.
He remembered that Qu Zijin had once mentioned that the young prince would sometimes inexplicably attack them, and now he realized that was the crux of the problem.
"But...but Little Moon is different!" The little prince suddenly raised his head, sniffed, "At first, I always wanted to bully her, to make her stop playing with Chaoyun and play with me instead...I was so bad, but she would still share candy with me and forgive me every time..."
"Little Moon is such a good person. She made Chaoyun and me good friends... I also realized that I can have friends, instead of just enemies to be defeated... And after that, the Grand Tutor often praised me, much more so than when my mother praised me..."
Wei Xiuming lowered his eyes and stroked his son's hair: "Jiayou is not bad, it's your mother who is wrong."
The young prince hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Actually...actually, I was relieved when Mother was confined to her quarters."
After saying that, he immediately looked nervously at his father, fearing that his words would anger him.
Wei Xiuming simply hugged him tighter: "Tell Father, what does your mother usually say to you?"
The young prince bit his lip and after a long while spoke: "My mother always says... that if I don't listen to her, my father will dislike me even more."
"She also said... that if I don't perform well, she won't like me anymore, and without my mother's protection, even the palace maids and eunuchs will bully me..."
She said that everyone who approached me had an ulterior motive, and only she was genuinely kind to me... and that I shouldn't trust others...
As Wei Xiuming listened, his expression grew increasingly grim.
He never imagined that his son would live with such words every day.
"Sometimes when I misread a word in my recitation, my mother would punish me by making me kneel and copy it all night long." The little prince became more and more aggrieved as he spoke. "She even said... that I'm so stupid, I don't deserve to be a prince at all..."
"Enough." Wei Xiuming suddenly interrupted him, his voice filled with suppressed anger.
Seeing her son tremble in fright, she quickly softened her tone: "Jiayou, remember this, not a single word of these words is true."
The young prince asked timidly, "Really?"
“Of course it’s true.” Wei Xiuming cupped his little face in his hands. “You are my smartest son. Doesn’t the Grand Tutor always praise you for doing the best in your studies? I also thought your homework the other day was very good.”
The little prince's eyes gradually brightened: "Then... will Little Moon keep playing with me?"
Wei Xiuming smiled and said, "Of course. Doesn't she like you a lot?"
"I like her too!" The little prince also regained his spirits.
"So you two need to get along well and not fight or argue anymore," he instructed.
"I won't!" the young prince promised repeatedly. "I will definitely treat her well! I will treat her well for the rest of my life!"
“…This is getting weirder and weirder,” Wei Xiuming shook his head. “Come on, Father will take you to Chonghua Palace and see if you like the new palace.”
"Okay! Then I can take Xiaoyue to Chonghua Palace to play... and I'll take Chaoyun too."
“Yes, don’t just remember Little Moon and forget Chao Yun.” Wei Xiuming carried him forward.
The little prince rested on his shoulder, dreaming about the future.
When the young prince couldn't see, Wei Xiuming lowered the corners of his mouth, his face devoid of any smile.
He couldn't understand Qi Xunyuan at all.
His harem was clearly clean; he only had two concubines; and they each had their own children.
He divided the power to manage the harem equally between the two concubines and gave them the same rank.
Their children are treated equally and fairly.
He rarely entered the harem, so he did not exert much control over it.
In particular, besides Qi Xunyuan, the other concubine was Consort Xian. Consort Xian was a gentle and quiet person who did not compete with the world. Even though Qi Xunyuan always provoked her, she never paid any attention to it.
Wei Xiuming didn't understand why Qi Xunyuan couldn't be like Consort Xian.
Just like he didn't understand why she always went around causing trouble for others.
She could have been reading, writing, playing the zither, painting, and holding banquets to socialize with the women outside the palace when she had free time.
Even when she insisted on getting a cat or dog, he just silently agreed.
If one misses their family, they can bring their mother or sisters to the palace for a short stay from time to time.
He believed he had given them enough respect and tolerance.
Aside from being unable to leave the palace like him, they had ample freedom and rights.
The people in the palace respected them, and they had children to rely on, whom they raised themselves.
In this kind of life, one can have money and power, live a life of luxury, and avoid palace intrigue...
He couldn't understand what Qi Xunyuan was still dissatisfied with.
What exactly does she hate?
He really, really couldn't understand Qi Xunyuan at all.
-
Wenhua Hall.
early morning.
Jin Lanyue skipped and hopped into the school with Xiaobai, the dog wearing a familiar red ribbon around its neck, which looked particularly bright in the morning light.
As soon as she entered, she saw the young prince already sitting upright at the desk, writing something earnestly.
"Your Highness!" The little dumpling ran over happily, "Look, Little White!"
Upon smelling the familiar scent, Xiaobai immediately whimpered and rushed into the little prince's arms.
The little prince hurriedly caught the furry little creature, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face.
"Wei Jiayou!" The little princess also came over, lowering her voice mysteriously, "I heard you moved to Chonghua Palace? That's great! That way you won't have to live with your mother anymore, and you won't have to listen to..."
She suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly covered her mouth.
The little dumpling didn't actually understand.
She looked left and right, and only vaguely understood that the young prince wanted to leave his "mother".
She knew that "mother" meant "mother".
The young prince is about to leave his mother.
The little dumpling couldn't help but think of herself and her mother, Jiang Xiyue.
She immediately scrunched up her chubby face, shook her head to get rid of the thought.
How terrifying!
She doesn't want to leave her mother!
Just thinking about it makes me feel terrible.
So, feeling the same way, the little dumpling quickly tugged at the little prince's sleeve: "Don't be sad..."
Unexpectedly, the young prince shook his head: "It's alright. Actually... it is much easier."
"Oh, why are you sad? This is a good thing!" The little princess hugged the bewildered little dumpling. "Come, come, let me tell you!"
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