Ulanara Prefecture
Fei Yanggu was running laps with the little wolf early in the morning. The two of them, one big and one small, were running quite fast. Their breaths formed a cloud of mist in the cold air, condensing into various shapes as they ran.
Liu Liu only ran with the little wolf for one morning, and then ignored him completely. She preferred sleeping to exercising.
Besides, Guo Luo's mother said that running around every day would make her stronger, and she didn't want to become ugly.
Mingxuan stood at the doorway, staring at the little wolf's back for a long time, a hint of loneliness flashing in his eyes.
After what happened last time, his grandfather brought out the family rules, and Mingxuan was given twenty strokes of the cane before his mind became completely clear.
Looking back on the awful things he had done during this period, he felt deep regret, because his wrongdoings had not only cost an innocent life but also completely pushed away his good match.
When Mingxuan met Honghui last time, he could clearly feel the distance between them. It was as if they had suddenly gone from brothers to relatives, and he unconsciously felt inferior when facing Honghui.
Especially the man who was half a head taller than him, who was Hong Hui's companion, Mingxuan felt a strange hostility towards him.
Later, he learned that it was Honghui's senior brother, the eldest grandson of the renowned Confucian scholar, Mr. Zhu.
Mingxuan lowered his head and smiled bitterly. It was for the best; she deserved someone better.
Little Wolf sensed the gaze, turned around and saw Mingxuan. Seeing that Fei Yanggu didn't turn around, he made a face at Mingxuan.
Mingxuan chuckled. Sure enough, children are cuter; they express their disgust so directly.
At this moment, Consort Xinghui was setting rules for Consort Ulanara and serving her her hair and breakfast.
Today, Consort Xinghui was much more attentive than usual: "Mother, how's the water temperature?"
"Hmm, it's alright." Princess Consort Ulanara wanted to educate her more and didn't want her to lose face, so she didn't treat her harshly.
"That's good." Consort Xinghui handed the handkerchief prepared by the head maid. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, she mustered up her courage and said, "Mother, now that the Crown Prince has been deposed again, Prince Zhi is under house arrest, Prince Cheng is focused on writing books, and even the most popular Eighth Prince is finished, is it possible that Prince Yong can advance further?"
The last few words were barely audible. Ulanara had her trusted maidservant pushed out and slapped her across the face: "After all this time, even the pig has learned its lesson, but you are still so foolish."
"Mother, why did you hit me?" Consort Xinghui was full of grievances.
"Royal matters are not something we should discuss. You should be looking after Mingxuan now." Consort Ulanara didn't want to say more and assigned her a task.
“Mother, it seems that Prince Yong is about to rise to the top, and my sister-in-law’s status will also rise accordingly. I think it’s better to keep the benefits within the family, and the eldest princess and Mingxuan have been childhood sweethearts.” Xinghui Fujin continued shamelessly, “Why don’t you talk to my sister-in-law again? After all, it’s all my fault, and the two children still have feelings for each other.”
Ulanara looked at Consort Xinghui, her expression turning cold and stern: "Why do you think it's okay for me to speak up? Is it because the Princess is my daughter? Didn't the Princess give you a chance?"
"The matter between the eldest princess and Mingxuan has not been a matter of a day or two, nor a year or two. You personally rejected this marriage before, and I don't know how my Yihua will have to humble herself and negotiate with Prince Yong in order for you to stay safely in the manor."
"It seems I've been too soft-hearted all these years." A murderous glint flashed in Ulanara's eyes, but she slowly regained her composure. "Go back now. You don't need to come anymore from today. Take good care of Xinghui."
Lady Xinghui was so frightened that she dared not speak again and slunk back to her own courtyard. She thought about it for a moment and figured that her mother-in-law would not tell her sister-in-law. She couldn't understand why her mother-in-law would not tell her sister-in-law. Wasn't this a good thing that would make the family even closer? Since her mother-in-law was unwilling, she would do it herself.
Consort Xinghui came up with a plan and was about to instruct the servants to carry it out when she discovered that the room was already empty. She walked to the door, about to scold the servants, and pushed the door open forcefully.
After a long while, she couldn't open the window. Her face turned pale, and she immediately tried to open it, but it wouldn't open either. Consort Xinghui was shouting loudly inside the room, but no one answered outside. It was as if she was all alone in an instant.
Princess Xinghui vented her frustrations and dissatisfaction to the fullest extent. Soon, the room was filled with broken porcelain shards, but no one came to check on it.
While the little wolf was taking a nap, Ulanara told Feiyangu about her plans.
"It's my fault. In previous years, although she wasn't very magnanimous, she was still quite good overall. But in recent years, she's become more and more left-leaning."
"At this sensitive time, we can't afford any trouble in our household. Let's keep her locked up for now, and once things settle down, we can send her to a nunnery to cultivate herself in seclusion. We'll keep a close watch on her, and that'll be fine."
Fei Yanggu nodded: "Put more effort into this during this time. After sending your daughter-in-law away, find Xinghui a concubine."
"Okay, I'll take a look at the candidates now."
"A girl doesn't need to come from a wealthy or noble family; she just needs to be able to stand on her own two feet."
Fei Yanggu wasn't interested in his daughter-in-law's thoughts: "Is Liu Liu still clamoring to go home?"
"This child is really troublesome." Ulanara rubbed her temples. "I'll write to the Prince's residence to see what the Princess's plans are."
"If Liu Liu goes back, she has to leave Xiao Lang behind." Having spent so much time with her grandson, Fei Yanggu's relationship with him had grown rapidly, and he was reluctant to let him go.
"Go tell your daughter that yourself." Ulanara rolled her eyes and walked away.
“I’ll say it, I’ll say it,” Fei Yanggu muttered.
******
Yinzhen has now taken over Honghui's job and is reading memorials to Kangxi. Prince Yu went to the residence of the deposed crown prince alone.
Kangxi paused for a moment, then frowned repeatedly: "What are you reading?"
"Your Majesty, I read it exactly as it is written on the memorial."
"I mean, can you please put some emotion into your reading? If you keep reading like this, I'm about to fall asleep." This was the first time Kangxi had ever heard of someone who could read memorials like Buddhist scriptures, so hypnotic.
Yinzhen paused for a moment, then continued at his original pace, but Kangxi interrupted him.
“Let Honghui read it, and you go and guard the deposed crown prince.”
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Honghui was frightened and is currently bedridden. Please take care of him." Yinzhen put down the memorial and picked up the next one, having just finished reading it.
Kangxi sighed and listened in silence for a while: "How did the deposed crown prince look?"
"Second Brother has confessed to his mistakes without reservation, is deeply remorseful, and reflects on them every day." Seeing that Kangxi seemed to be softening again, Yinzhen continued, "Second Brother always talks about his nephew Hongzhao. I can understand Second Brother's fatherly heart by putting myself in his shoes."
"A loving father's heart?" Kangxi was suddenly agitated by these four words, for some reason. "If he had even a fraction of that, he wouldn't have done such a heinous and immoral thing!"
When he got excited, Kangxi started coughing incessantly. Liang Jiugong and Yinzhen quickly poured him water to help him catch his breath. They saw that he bent over more and more, and finally spat out a mouthful of blood.
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