The Fourth Prince learned the news a little later than his wife, but he rushed back as soon as he learned that Honghui's condition was not good.
However, when he learned on the way that Honghui was in critical condition and needed to summon the imperial physician, the Fourth Prince's heart skipped a beat. After all, with the Princess Consort not around, he didn't know if the people around Honghui could successfully and promptly summon the imperial physician.
Fortunately, after the messenger reported that the Fourth Prince Hongxuan had calmly and composedly instructed someone to find someone close to the Princess Consort and invite the imperial physician back, the anxiety he had been feeling eased somewhat.
At the same time, he admired Hongxuan's cleverness and thought to himself: He is indeed the master's son, just like the master.
On his way back, he encountered people from the manor again. After learning from them that the eldest prince, Honghui, was temporarily out of danger, the fourth prince felt much more at ease and his pace back was not so hurried.
Regardless, the Fourth Prince eventually rushed back. He first went to visit Honghui, where his wife happened to be present.
After seeing Honghui, when she came out of the inner room, the Fujin said to the Fourth Prince with relief, "Your Highness, we are so grateful for the Fourth Prince's calmness and quick thinking today."
Hearing the praise for Hongxuan from his wife, the Fourth Prince was not surprised; he calmly nodded slightly.
After all, many people knew that Hongxuan remained calm in the face of danger and promptly summoned the imperial physician to save Honghui; it couldn't be kept secret.
The Fujin (principal wife) has always had a good reputation, and this time she cannot let it slide or obscure Hongxuan's contributions; otherwise, her good reputation will become a joke.
However, the Fourth Prince was shocked by what his wife did next.
"You should reward him well. Also, although the Fourth Prince handled Hui'er's matter calmly, he is still young. It would be bad if he were frightened afterward. You should go and check on him later. It would be best if he wasn't frightened, but if he was, you can put his mind at ease."
When Honghui was seriously ill, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) actually took the initiative to ask her to visit Hongxuan.
It's important to understand that, whether inside or outside the palace, women in the inner quarters don't want their men to pay too much attention to other women's children, especially when their own children are in trouble. Ideally, they want their men to stay by their children's side.
The Fourth Prince couldn't help but take a closer look at his wife's expression; she still looked as sincere as when she had spoken those words.
"Your Majesty, why are you looking at me like that?" Fourth Prince's wife asked with a smile. In fact, she knew what the Fourth Prince was wondering, but so what? "Your Majesty, I'm not just being polite." This time, she really wanted the Fourth Prince to go see the Fourth Prince, Hongxuan.
The Fourth Prince remained silent, only keeping his eyes fixed on his Fourth Princess Consort.
The Fourth Prince's wife suppressed her smile and said earnestly, "I am the Fourth Prince's legal mother, and since his birth mother is no longer here, it is natural that I need to consider his needs more."
This reason is too platitude; the Fourth Prince wouldn't believe it.
Fourth Prince's wife didn't look down on Fourth Prince that much. After all, he had grown up in the palace and had seen a lot. However, she couldn't avoid saying insincere things. But Fourth Prince's wife didn't hope to fool him with this, so she continued, "Besides, Fourth Prince treats Hui'er well and helped a lot this time. In addition, Hui'er has always treated Fourth Prince, his younger brother, well. If Hui'er asks about Fourth Prince, please don't blame me for speaking so bluntly. If Fourth Prince is frightened because of Hui'er, I really won't be able to explain it to Hui'er."
The Fourth Prince believed this.
After all, he knew very well how important Honghui was to his wife.
Of course, the Fujin probably had some ulterior motives, such as using this to demonstrate her magnanimity and virtue as the legal mother, to win over Xuan'er with goodwill, and to further strengthen the bond between Hui'er and Xuan'er.
The Fourth Prince knew this, but he also hoped that his sons would truly be brothers and respectful to each other.
The Princess Consort clearly understood the Fourth Prince's thoughts, and thus took advantage of them.
After hearing what his wife said, the Fourth Prince was also worried that Hongxuan might be frightened, so he took the opportunity she gave him and said, "Your wife is right, I'll go and check on him right away!"
After he left the outer room, influenced by what his wife had just said, he was really worried about Hongxuan, so he immediately took Su Peisheng, who had been serving him, and walked to the other side of the courtyard.
Hongxuan and Honghui lived in the same courtyard, but one lived on the east side and the other on the west side. Hongxuan lived on the west side.
Although one was on the east side and the other on the west side, the courtyard was not very big. With Fourth Master taking much bigger strides than usual, he quickly arrived at Hongxuan's place.
The sharp-eyed servants, upon seeing the Fourth Prince, all bowed and greeted him, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be blessed!"
Inside the room, upon hearing the noise, Hongxuan quickly put the half-eaten snack back on the plate, swallowed the food in his mouth, jumped off the chair, stood up immediately, hurriedly took the handkerchief handed to him by his personal eunuch, wiped his mouth and hands, stuffed the handkerchief back to the eunuch, and calmly walked towards the door to greet his father.
It was still a bit late. Before Hongxuan could even reach the door, the Fourth Master came in.
Hongxuan immediately stepped forward, bowed to the Fourth Master, and greeted him: "Your son greets Father, may Father be blessed!"
Fourth Master stopped and first looked at Hongxuan's face before nodding and saying "No need," then continued walking into the room. He walked to the seat at the head of the table, where Hongxuan had originally sat, and as he sat down, he glanced at the pastries on the table next to him that had been touched.
Thinking to myself: He still has the appetite to eat snacks, and his complexion was rosy just now, so he probably wasn't frightened. But then again, Xuan'er has always been lively and bold. When he was even younger, he secretly sneaked onto the carriage to follow the southern inspection tour, and he's also climbed those tall trees...
So, the Fourth Prince was relieved, and the lines of his face softened slightly.
"come over!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
