"No, I must tell the Prince about this."
As she spoke, Geng Youran got up from her seat and walked towards the door. She was going to wait at the door of Yinzhen's study.
"Sister, sister, don't worry. This matter was secretly spread by Hongli. His original intention was not to let Hongshi continue to misunderstand. Besides, what you just said were all our guesses. If the prince finds out that Hongli secretly sent someone to send me a message behind his back, Hongli will be in big trouble."
Wanru's words were quite effective.
"Then let's wait a little longer. I think the Prince might be investigating this matter as well. You go back first, I'll go to Consort Li's place later to sound out her and Hongshi's thoughts."
"good."
After seeing Wanru off, Geng Youran returned to the small kitchen. By then, the 'Longjing Pastry' had already started to be packed into boxes, and the soup was ready, kept warm over a low flame.
"Princess, do you think the soup is ready?"
"Okay. Pack your things, we'll go to Consort Li's place now."
"yes."
Geng Youran and Qianxue brought the stewed 'Tianqi Black Chicken Soup' to Li Jingshu's place. Before they even entered the house, they could hear Li Jingshu earnestly urging Hongshi to eat.
"Hongshi, this is a soup that your mother had someone make for you. The oil has been skimmed off. Try it."
"Mother, please stop trying to persuade me. Can you just leave your son alone?"
Hongshi felt extremely annoyed at that moment.
Geng Youran gave Qianxue a look, and only then did Qianxue knock on the door.
The maidservant waiting in the main room heard the knocking and quickly went to open the door.
"Geng Gege?"
"Is the concubine here?"
"Yes. Please wait a moment, Lady Geng. This servant will go and fetch my concubine."
Li Jingshu, who was in the inner room, naturally heard the maid's voice and had no choice but to put down the soup bowl in her hand and go to the main room.
"Sister Geng is here."
May the concubine be blessed.
Li Jingshu quickly helped him up.
"Sister, you don't need to be so polite with me."
She took Geng Youran's hand and sat her down on a chair in the main room:
"Sister Geng, is there something you need today?"
Geng Youran gestured to Qianxue to bring up the food box:
"Consort, this is a black chicken soup that I just stewed for the Third Prince to nourish his body."
"Little sister~"
Li Jingshu couldn't help but shed tears of grievance.
Why is my sister crying?
As she spoke, Geng Youran handed her a handkerchief.
Li Jingshu wiped away her tears, gave a bitter laugh, and said:
"My dear sister, you may not know this, but since Hongshi's accident, you were the first person to come and see him. Even the Prince..."
She fought back tears and tried to keep her voice calm as she said:
"Even the prince ignored Hongshi."
After saying that, she turned her head and glanced a few times towards the inner room:
“Sister, although Hongshi sometimes gets stuck on things, he’s not a bad person at heart. If it weren’t for Hongwang from the Eighth Prince’s residence speaking rudely, Hongshi wouldn’t have done such an unruly thing.”
Geng Youran also looked into the inner room:
"Consort, I have something I wish to ask you. May I ask you frankly?"
Although Li Jingshu was puzzled as to why Geng Youran said that, she did not ask further:
"Please speak freely, sister."
"Is it true that Hongshi distanced himself from Hongli and Hongzhou in the palace, while becoming friendly with Hongwang and Hongzheng?"
Li Jingshu's face stiffened, and Geng Youran instantly guessed that Consort Li knew about this.
"Consort, you have served the Prince for so many years, you should know about the relationship between the Prince and the Eighth Prince. Why don't you try to persuade Hongshi?"
Li Jingshu sighed; she had tried to persuade him before.
Once, when Hongshi was on leave, he came back to pay his respects to her and asked why Hongli and Hongzhou hadn't come back together. Hongshi's expression was off at that moment.
Perhaps because she suspected him, Hongshi quickly said that the emperor had left his two younger brothers in the palace.
After that, Hongshi talked about things related to Hongwang and Hongzheng.
She wanted to ask Hongshi why he did this, but she didn't say anything.
Because Hongshi's attitude had already shown that he was jealous of Hongli, he also began to dislike Hongzhou.
She could only keep these words to herself and couldn't tell anyone.
“Sister, since you asked, I won’t keep it from you anymore. Our Prince is the Emperor’s fourth son. He was granted the title of Prince a few years ago, and by all accounts, he should have been granted the title of Heir Apparent long ago. The Prince has requested the title many times, but the Emperor has rejected them all. Hongshi is really upset about it. After Hongli and Hongzhou entered the palace, the Emperor has been particularly fond of Hongli, but Hongshi is the eldest son of the Yong Prince’s Mansion. How can he face his other brothers?”
Geng Youran nodded, thinking to herself that this was the real knot in Hongshi's heart.
“Consort, please forgive my bluntness. Although everything Hongshi did was only to attract the Prince’s attention, or rather, to test the Prince’s attitude, he was indeed wrong. The Prince is a man of great wisdom, and Hongshi’s unruly behavior only resulted in the Prince’s dislike.”
Li Jingshu understood this principle perfectly well, but she didn't know what had bewitched Hongshi, that he was now ignoring her words.
"Consort, would it be convenient for me to go in and see Hongshi?"
"Let's not. Hongshi won't listen to anyone these days."
"Then I'll trouble you, Consort, to tell Prince Hongshi what I just said. Of course, Hongshi might think my actions are a bit hypocritical. But after all, I've watched him grow up, and I don't want to see him so stubborn."
Li Jingshu walked up to Geng Youran, took her hand, and said 'thank you'.
It's unclear whether Li Jingshu actually said those things to Hongshi, or what Hongshi was thinking during his recovery.
In May, Hongshi's injuries had almost healed. Before leaving, he talked with his father, Yinzhen, for a long time in Yinzhen's study, and then returned to the palace.
In the same month, Li Guangdi, a senior minister close to Emperor Kangxi, passed away.
Therefore, Yinzhen specifically asked Kangxi whether he should send someone to offer condolences.
"Let Yinqi handle this matter. Also, reward the Li family with a thousand taels of gold as a token of my gratitude for his many years of service."
"Your subject obeys the decree."
Kangxi waved his hand, closed his eyes wearily, and Yinzhen also carefully withdrew.
Emperor Kangxi was truly grieved by the death of Li Guangdi.
During the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Li Guangdi risked his life to deliver intelligence to the court, making a great contribution to suppressing the rebellion. Privately, Emperor Kangxi and Li Guangdi often exchanged views on academic, political, and life topics, and they had a high degree of understanding and trust with each other.
Another point is that, seeing his old ministers leave him one by one, Kangxi suddenly felt that he had truly become a lonely man.
In the evening, Yinzhen returned to his residence, where someone was already waiting at the door of his study.
"You Ran, what are you doing here?"
"Your Highness, may you be blessed."
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