"Your Majesty, I don't understand what Chunxi is thinking. You just said that Chunxi mentioned the Crown Prince. In my opinion, if no one was telling Chunxi what to do, she would never dare to mention the Crown Prince."
"What do you mean?" Li Tiao seemed to understand something, but also seemed to know nothing at all.
"What I mean is that someone must have said something to Chunxi. As for who it was and why she was asked to mention the Crown Prince, I can't say for sure. After all, I don't know what the Emperor asked you in the Qianqing Palace just now."
Li Tiao's steps grew slower and slower, and she was about to die when she thought of Chunxi mentioning the Crown Prince.
Revealing the identity of the crown prince was to save his own life.
Li Tiao, thinking that Hongye was the Fourth Prince's person, told Hongye the important things that happened in the Qianqing Palace. Of course, even though Li Tiao only picked out the important things, she didn't mention her own identity. She only said that Chunxi had framed her and that the Crown Prince liked her.
Then she recounted how Kangxi wanted to beat her to death with sticks and what happened afterward.
Hongye thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, you met Chunxi and Consort De in the Imperial Garden before. From your conversation with them, I thought that Chunxi liked the Fourth Prince."
"Indeed, she had feelings for the master before, but because the master gave her to the fourteenth prince, Chunxi thought that this was the result of my instigation in front of the master, so she held a grudge against me."
Hongye: "Master, if that's the case, Chunxi naturally won't like the Crown Prince. Even if the Crown Prince tries to blackmail Chunxi into becoming his spy, Chunxi wouldn't be so tactless as to tell the Crown Prince that she's pregnant."
Chunxi is now with the Fourteenth Prince. Besides the Fourteenth Prince, the only other person who would know she's pregnant is likely Consort De.
Li Tiao suddenly realized that Consort De had instigated Chunxi behind the scenes, causing Chunxi to cause such a scene in front of Emperor Kangxi.
Although Consort De was afraid of her identity being exposed, only by dying completely could Consort De and Chunxi be at ease. After all, if she became a dead person, no one would care whether she was the real eldest daughter of the Li family.
However, Consort De also disliked Chunxi, so she used Chunxi to get Kangxi to kill her.
Chunxi wasn't stupid; she probably wouldn't want to do that. So, when Consort De told Chunxi that mentioning the Crown Prince in a critical moment would prevent Kangxi from killing her, she was able to persuade him to stay.
Having figured this out, Li Tiao felt a chill of fear at the sight of Consort De's meticulous thinking.
But then Li Tiao thought about it again and felt that something was wrong: "Even if Consort De dislikes Chunxi and wants to kill her, and makes her cause trouble in front of the Emperor, the plan is not wrong. But Chunxi is pregnant. She doesn't need to mention the Crown Prince. If she just tells the Emperor directly, for the sake of the royal bloodline, the Emperor probably won't be in a hurry to execute her, right?"
"If that's the case, then it means that Consort De didn't know that Chunxi was pregnant. After all, Chunxi has only been with the Fourteenth Prince for a short time. But Chunxi herself knew that Consort De wanted to kill her, so she didn't tell Consort De that she was pregnant."
However, it was Consort De who told her about the Crown Prince.
Chunxi should now consider herself to have saved her life, and she has also mentioned to the Emperor that the Crown Prince likes you. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince has feelings for you, the Crown Prince's punishment of you in the palace had already caused quite a stir.
The Emperor would be heartbroken if he heard this, so Chunxi felt that her actions had put you in a dangerous situation.
Little did she know, she now appeared to be safe.
However, she was actually in danger.
After listening to Hongye's words, Li Tiao had thought about many things and guessed what was going on.
Consort De wanted to kill Chunxi at the same time, because the Emperor considered it a great taboo that a prince's maidservant had a close relationship with the Crown Prince, and he was determined to get rid of Chunxi.
However, Consort De did not expect Chunxi to be pregnant, and Emperor Kangxi temporarily spared her.
However, the Crown Prince would not allow anyone to so casually complain to the Emperor about him, especially about such trivial matters.
So Chunxi may seem shrewd, but Consort De is still one step ahead.
"So Chunxi is dead anyway?" Li Tiao sighed, "She's too clever for her own good."
Hongye: "Reporting to Your Highness, it seems that way. Even if she is lucky this time and the Crown Prince lets her go, Consort De will not forgive her. Consort De disliked Chun from the beginning, and now she is playing tricks on Consort De by not mentioning that she is pregnant. How could Consort De let her off easily?"
Ah, thinking about it, it really is true.
But Li Tiao was even more uneasy. She had played many tricks on Consort De, who had long regarded her as a thorn in her side.
Moreover, the idea that the Crown Prince had feelings for her might be something Chunxi made up, but the Emperor's thoughts are hard to fathom.
Given that the Crown Prince had publicly punished the Fourth Prince a few days ago, and considering Chunxi's words, Kangxi might have taken it to heart and really thought of himself as a "femme fatale."
Oh, and there's also the matter of my identity. Although I managed to fool Kangxi today, no one can say for sure whether Kangxi believed me or not.
Even without the Fourth Prince saying so, Li Tiao no longer dares to wander around anywhere other than the Prince's residence.
After agonizing over the decision for a whole afternoon, Li Tiao realized she couldn't just sit idly by and wait for the outcome.
So when the Fourth Prince returned to his residence that evening, she personally brewed tea and brought it to him to pay her respects.
The unusual behavior surprised the Fourth Prince: "Just say what you want to say. I'm afraid I won't wake up after drinking your tea."
"You're joking, sir." Li Tiao put down her teacup, rubbed her hands together, and smiled apologetically.
The Fourth Prince raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Tiao, but said nothing.
Being stared at like that by the Fourth Prince put Li Tiao under immense pressure and made her feel incredibly awkward.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Tiao asked, "Your Majesty, Chunxi is pregnant. Does Your Majesty really not care about her talking nonsense?"
The Fourth Prince asked, "What do you mean by 'not caring'?"
"Even if she has royal blood, shouldn't the Emperor wait until she gives birth to the child before making any decisions?"
"Probably." The Fourth Prince guessed Li Tiao's thoughts. His eyelids twitched, and it seemed as if his Ren and Du meridians were instantly opened, all rushing to one place.
He frowned, then coughed as if to cover his embarrassment: "So? What exactly do you mean?"
"Master, do you think the Emperor will believe what Chunxi said about my identity? What if the Emperor takes it to heart? This matter can't withstand scrutiny, and what about me..."
"So you also want to imitate her and have a child?" the Fourth Prince asked calmly, as if whether Li Tiao had a child or not was none of his business.
"What do you mean by 'Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi'? Your Highness, do you think Chunxi is Xi Shi and I am Dong Shi?" Li Tiao was very particular about some matters of principle.
The Fourth Prince sighed and rubbed his forehead, speechless: "Do you still want the child or not?"
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