The Thirteenth Prince felt that the Fourth Prince was being far too indecisive.
Seeing the Fourth Prince's anxious expression, he said, "Fourth Brother, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."
She glanced at the Thirteenth Prince, signaling him to speak frankly.
"Fourth Brother, you wouldn't actually have fallen for that... Li Tiao, would you?"
The Fourth Prince paused slightly in his teacup, spilling some water.
However, he quickly composed himself, put down his teacup, and quietly wiped the water off his hands: "If she really has caught the Emperor's eye and is being hidden away, how will I face my brothers in the future?"
What if she hadn't been hidden by Father Emperor, but instead found by Second Brother? Since she could foresee that I would replace Second Brother in the future, it means she must be able to foresee other things as well. If Second Brother finds her and, in order to survive, helps him avoid danger, then whether I can realize my ambitions in the future becomes uncertain.
These reasons sounded logically sound, but the Thirteenth Prince still felt that something was amiss.
"But Fourth Brother..."
The Fourth Prince interrupted the Thirteenth Prince: "Thirteenth Brother, Li Tiao either dies in my hands, or we make sure she doesn't cooperate with anyone other than us. There is no other choice."
"But it's obvious that Father Emperor has hidden Li Tiao away, otherwise he wouldn't look so calm and collected." The Thirteenth Prince felt that the Fourth Prince's eagerness to find Li Tiao was actually a very dangerous thing.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the Thirteenth Prince noncommittally, but remained silent, mainly wondering whether Li Tiao had truly been hidden away by the Emperor or had simply gone into hiding on her own.
"Your Majesty, an imperial decree has arrived from the palace."
Hearing Su Peisheng's words outside, the Fourth Prince called out to let him in: "What imperial decree is this?"
"Your Majesty, His Majesty requests that you come to the palace now."
"knew."
"Father, why are you coming to the palace at this hour, Fourth Brother?" The Thirteenth Prince was a little puzzled, as it was a cold day and it was getting dark.
"Let's go take a look and see."
The Fourth Prince dared not delay upon receiving the Emperor's summons. After arriving at the Qianqing Palace and paying his respects, he waited quietly, as Emperor Kangxi was speaking with someone else.
Although neither Emperor Kangxi nor the person who replied mentioned what it was about, the Fourth Prince sensed something was amiss from their conversation.
For example, Emperor Kangxi asked, "Didn't you properly investigate who owned that house? How could you so blatantly break into someone else's residence?"
The other party replied that they didn't know.
Emperor Kangxi impatiently dismissed the servants.
Then Kangxi started talking to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince thought that Kangxi might have something important to say to him, but who knew that it was more like a father's concern for his son before leaving home.
This sudden display of tenderness made the Fourth Prince very uncomfortable and also puzzled.
Perhaps sensing the Fourth Prince's discomfort, Emperor Kangxi chatted with him casually for a few minutes before letting him leave.
Although he has now moved out of the Prince's quarters, it is still easy for a prince to enter the palace. However, the question that Kangxi asked earlier has left the Fourth Prince with many doubts.
So when the Fourth Prince was leaving, he secretly found Li Dequan, who served by Kangxi's side, and handed him a silver ingot.
"Fourth Prince, this is absolutely unacceptable... This servant... cannot accept it... What if His Majesty finds out..."
"If you don't tell... if I don't tell, how will Father Emperor know?"
The Fourth Prince forcibly handed the silver ingot to Li Dequan.
Li Dequan had no choice but to accept with a smile: "Fourth Prince, please feel free to give me any orders in the future."
"What was the matter with the person who just spoke to Father Emperor? I heard it involved a mansion or something?"
Li Dequan looked around and whispered, "This servant isn't quite sure either, but I heard His Majesty is looking for someone. He said that person didn't have a house in the capital before, so it wasn't easy for him to find a place to stay. Could it be that he broke into a house?"
After saying that, Li Dequan left.
The Fourth Prince was pondering what Li Dequan had said.
Kangxi didn't think much about who the Fourth Prince was looking for, but he did think of Li Tiao.
Li Tiao was not the eldest daughter of the Li family. Before she was found and brought into the Li mansion, she supported herself by setting up a fortune-telling stall on the street and fooling people.
At the time, the Fourth Prince Li was certain that he did not have a residence in the capital.
Later, after she entered the Li family mansion, the people of the Li family naturally wouldn't give her a house.
But Li Tiao hasn't gone to the inn yet. Where she's staying... by sneaking in and picking the lock?
The Fourth Prince found it somewhat unbelievable. After all, what wealthy family's house would be uninhabited, giving Li Tiao the opportunity to sneak in and pick the lock?
However, although it seems unbelievable, considering Li Tiao's usual behavior... it's not impossible. It's just that finding a place to stay away from everyone wouldn't be as simple as just picking a door and breaking into a house...
The Fourth Prince racked his brains trying to figure out what Li Tiao would do if it were her.
As he pondered, the Fourth Prince suddenly had a flash of inspiration and seemed to have thought of a possibility. His steps quickened instantly, and he didn't even stop when he encountered people who came to pay their respects to him.
After leaving the palace, he rode away, and just as he reached the place he suspected Li Tiao might be hiding, he stopped and looked around to make sure no one was following him.
After confirming that no one was following him, the Fourth Prince found a place to tie up his horse and then quietly walked forward.
Just as they were about to enter the alley, they heard voices and the Fourth Prince quickly hid.
"You've been eating only this much roasted sweet potato all day, is that alright? Besides, Master, you're not short of money right now, there's no need to be so frugal, Master..."
"Hongye, what did I tell you?"
Hongye hesitated, "But I... I'm still not used to it."
"We need to get used to it quickly, otherwise we'll be in trouble if someone finds us."
"But it should be safe by now. It's been so long and no one has found it. And yesterday, when I went out to buy things, I heard people talking about how it's almost spring and the Emperor is going to lead a military expedition in person. When the Emperor leaves the capital, you won't have to do this, Mistress."
"But the Emperor hasn't left the capital yet, so we can't be careless. And more importantly, even if the Emperor leaves the capital, there's still the Crown Prince. Didn't he say that the Crown Prince wouldn't go to war with us? The Crown Prince also wants me dead. Besides, the Emperor is gone, and the Emperor is far away. If the Crown Prince really wants to kill me, it will be too easy."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince tried to emerge from the shadows, but Hongye and Li Tiao entered the room. Before entering, Li Tiao instructed Hongye, "Remember, don't open the door for anyone who knocks."
"But what if the owner of this house comes?"
"Are you stupid? The owner of the house won't knock on the door. We've already broken the lock on the outside. If the owner comes and sees that the lock has been broken, the first thing he should do is report it to the authorities."
"Once the authorities arrive, there will be a huge commotion outside. We should run away as fast as we can then. Isn't that what we've been busy with these past few days?"
The Fourth Prince sneered when he heard Li Tiao's words.
"Someone's here?" Li Tiao jumped up and told Hongye, "Close the door quickly."
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