Fourth Master frowned deeply, the kind of frown that could trap a mosquito, then gave Hongxuan, who was bargaining with him in the tree, a long look, and finally nodded slightly, saying, "Fine!"
The princes were stunned: Was this still the cold-faced, ruthless fourth brother they remembered?!
Fourth Master looked around, ignoring the astonished gazes of the crowd, but inwardly he justified himself: Hongxuan has already secretly followed us here, and now he's climbed the tree and hasn't come down yet. With his mischievous nature, if we don't agree, he might cause even more trouble. If something happens, it's better to keep him under our noses and keep an eye on him for peace of mind!
"Really?" The little guy was a bit incredulous that his father was so easy to talk to.
The Fourth Prince opened his mouth to answer when he heard the Tenth Prince's anxious voice: "Really, come down, your tenth uncle will be your witness." The Fourth Prince is really something, not worried about little Hongxuan at all, no fatherly heart, taking his time, why don't you hurry up and coax him down first, look how thin the branches are, they've been bent over by the little guy!
Fourth Prince: "..." Who exactly is Hongxuan's father?! You're addicted to interrupting, aren't you?!
Jiaming: "..." Her worries grew stronger. Look at the master's face, it looks terrible. The Tenth Prince still doesn't know how to speak properly. It would be bad if Xuan'er learned from him.
And wow, how come this Tenth Prince is even more agitated than she, Xuan'er's mother?
Unlike the Tenth Master, she wasn't worried that the little guy would fall from the tree. Well, you could say that even if the little guy did fall from the tree, she wouldn't be worried.
At this moment, reason firmly prevailed over emotion. Firstly, judging from the little guy's climbing posture, he was used to climbing and had a lot of experience, so the possibility of him falling now or later was not high. Secondly, there were a lot of people under the tree, especially guards and eunuchs, who were all ready to catch Xuan'er from all sides, so even if he fell, he would definitely be fine.
The princes were speechless. They didn't even want to acknowledge their tenth brother anymore. He was so oblivious to people's moods and so easily flustered. This was dragging down the overall emotional intelligence and IQ of all the brothers.
Upon hearing Tenth Master's guarantee, Xiao Hongxuan's face instantly lit up with a smile. Just as he was changing from a sitting to a standing position, preparing to climb down, his smile suddenly froze, and he quickly shook his head, saying, "Not yet!"
"Ah!" The onlookers were puzzled and all turned their gazes to the tree.
Inside the carriage, Jiaming frowned in confusion. The Fourth Master, who was also frowning, looked at his meddlesome fourth son in the tree and wondered: What kind of trouble is he planning to cause now?
The little guy hesitated and glanced at Fourth Master. Everyone was puzzled and looked at Fourth Master. Fourth Master had a stern face and was displeased. He decided that he would definitely give the little guy another beating after he came down. Uh, it felt good to spank him just now.
However, in the next instant, his plan fell through.
"Go down, Father, um, uh," the little guy glanced nervously at Fourth Master, his face as tense as Fourth Master's. Standing on the tree branch, one little hand gripped a small branch, while the other unconsciously twisted his clothes. He stammered his opinion, "No, you can't hit him, uh, Xuan'er."
After he finished speaking, the little guy suddenly felt less nervous.
That's true. He's already said it. If his father agrees, great; if not, there's nothing he can do.
Under the tree, the princes burst into laughter, but the Fourth Prince did not feel upset about his brothers' laughter, because he also saw the envious looks in their eyes. So, while he was angry that Hongxuan had secretly followed him, he also felt a bit of pleasure.
Sure enough, the man who had been speaking coldly to Hongxuan just moments before softened his tone, "Okay, I won't hit you, come down!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongxuan was overjoyed and quickly climbed down from the tree. As soon as he got down, the very perceptive Su Peisheng grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
Before Su Peisheng could even hold Xiao Hongxuan properly, the little one in his arms was taken away by the Tenth Prince.
The tenth prince had just picked him up when, with a slight effort, he tossed little Hongxuan into the air, saying, "Little Fourth Prince, you're really something. Not only did you sneak in, but you even dared to negotiate with your father."
The princes' eyes twitched, especially the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince, who were closer to the Tenth Prince. In their hearts, they were screaming: "Tenth Brother, that's Fourth Brother's son. The game of tossing him high in the air is a bit dangerous. Look, Fourth Brother is all tense and worried." Hiss, a chill ran down their spines.
The Fourth Prince, whose face had been tense the whole time, twitched at the corner of his eye after hearing what the Tenth Prince said. His chill, which had subsided considerably after Xiao Hongxuan climbed down from the tree, suddenly rebounded.
"Heh, you dare to negotiate with me, so you think you're something special?! Heh, am I that scary?" Jia Ming's eyes didn't twitch, but her lips did. This Tenth Prince was as tactless as ever.
Alas! One is influenced by one's company; she is truly worried about her son!
The worry had barely arisen when it dissipated with the gentle breeze blowing into the carriage, upon hearing the words coming from outside.
"Hehe, Fourth Brother," Eighth Brother, who was used to cleaning up Tenth Master's messes, smiled gently and helped explain, "Tenth Brother was a bit too blunt. What he meant was that Hongxuan, who is not even three years old yet, managed to sneak past the servants and come here before being discovered. Moreover, he even knew how to negotiate with you. He is extremely clever and quick-witted."
"That's right, how come such a clever little prince isn't mine!" Ninth Prince glanced at Fourth Prince, then at Xiao Hongxuan, who was happily laughing while playing a game of tossing the toss with Tenth Prince, and muttered sourly.
However, Ninth Master's mutterings were quite loud, and everyone around him could hear them.
Sure enough, all the princes nodded in agreement and cast envious glances at the Fourth Prince, as they also wanted a mischievous yet clever and quick-witted little prince.
Hearing his brothers praise Xuan'er so highly, the Fourth Prince, as her father, was naturally pleased. However, the Fourth Prince was used to being expressionless, so no one could tell what was going on.
That was bad enough, but Fourth Master even pretended to frown and said, "Not at all! It's just cleverness, and it's too much of a fuss!"
According to the way most people speak, this sentence clearly has an implied meaning; it's just a humble way of speaking, not what it literally means. In reality, this person is showing off. However, when the princes saw the Fourth Prince's serious and earnest face, they hesitated for a moment and then realized that the Fourth Prince meant it literally.
But Jiaming, inside the carriage, understood the Fourth Prince far better than any of the other princes. This was Jiaming's view of him: No matter how cunning or resolute the Fourth Prince was… no matter his strengths or weaknesses, he was still human, and a rather reserved one at that, only better at pretending than most.
The Fourth Prince was even more sentimental. Like her, he was genuinely happy for Hongxuan's intelligence; and as the father and mother, they were even happier for Hongxuan when the other princes praised him.
Of course, besides Jiaming, there was another person who noticed it: Su Peisheng. Having followed the Fourth Master since childhood, he understood him even better than Jiaming.
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