Hearing Hongye's words, Li Tiao became even more anxious. Although she knew there was nothing she could do about it, she was still terrified that something bad might happen when she thought about what the Crown Prince had said.
She paced anxiously in the room, her eyes catching sight of red leaves, and Li Tiao seemed to have thought of something.
"Hongye, I can trust you, right?"
Hongye felt a little embarrassed by Li Tiao's serious question. After all, she was also an informant, an informant for the Fourth Prince. Although the Fourth Prince had instructed her to serve Li Tiao well, Hongye always felt that Li Tiao's words had a hidden meaning.
Li Tiao was also someone else's informant, and she probably understood Hongye's thoughts. She grabbed Hongye's hand and said, "I know you are Master's person, and you should listen to Master. What I'm about to say also concerns Master."
Hongye understood Li Tiao's meaning, and seeing Li Tiao's expression, she realized that things were not so simple.
She swallowed hard. "My lady, please speak."
"Can you find the Thirteenth Prince?"
Hongye said, "If the Thirteenth Prince is in the palace, I can manage, but if he leaves the palace, then it's hard to say."
Indeed, Hongye was ultimately just a servant. The reason she could deliver messages to the Fourth Prince was because he had previously told her how to do so. But the Thirteenth Prince was different.
"And, my lord, there is something I am not sure if I should say."
"you say."
"It's fine for me to go find the Thirteenth Prince since you're not in the palace, but I serve you closely. People come and go in the prince's quarters all the time. If someone sees this, they'll start gossiping about you... Besides, lately, because the Emperor has been summoning you so often, there have been some rumors about you..."
If this happens again…
That is a problem.
“Master, although I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry to find Master, I think he’ll come back eventually when it gets dark. Why don’t we wait until he returns?”
Moreover, judging from the master's expression, it must be something important. In that case, you should be even more composed. Otherwise, people will suspect something if you make such a big fuss about finding the master."
Hongye calmly helped Li Tiao analyze the current situation.
Although Li Tiao was still extremely anxious, she took Hongye's words to heart.
Although she could wait until the Fourth Prince returned to the palace to discuss it, Li Tiao was worried that if he returned late, even if she had spoken to the Fourth Prince about something, he might not have had time to plan how to respond, which would be troublesome.
After thinking for a moment, Li Tiao said to Hongye, "How about this, go to the small kitchen and see what's for dinner?"
Li Tiao wanted to find a way to lure the young princes over with delicious food, and then find a way to get them to bring the thirteenth prince over as well.
Let the Thirteenth Prince find a way to go to the Fourth Prince. That way, it would seem like a subtle and less deliberate approach.
After hearing Li Tiao's thoughts, Hongye didn't say anything more. Indeed, it was a bit inactive to ask people to calmly wait when there was something really important going on.
Li Tiao herself wasn't very good at cooking; her previous attempts to attract those young princes with delicious food were merely a clever trick.
When Hongye returned from the kitchen, she told Li Tiao what the small kitchen had prepared for dinner. Listening to the ingredients needed for those dishes, Li Tiao naturally didn't have the ability to make anything delicious.
So I came up with a way to make cold drinks. Although the weather was getting cooler, it wasn't late autumn yet, so we could still eat something chilled.
The palace has ice stored for winter use in the summer. The princes still have their share, so Li Tiao made an ice porridge by crushing ice, adding dried fruit and sugar water on top, and then pouring it over the porridge.
Although it differs from modern versions and doesn't taste as good, it's sufficient for soothing children at this time.
After Li Tiao finished preparing, she asked Hongye to find a way to lure the young princes over.
"Princess Li, we're out of money this time." The Fifteenth Prince kept swallowing his saliva as he looked at the iced porridge, but didn't reach for it.
"You didn't spend any money, so where did it all go?" Li Tiao asked.
"They were all given to Thirteenth Brother. He left the palace and bought a lot of rare and interesting things outside."
Li Tiao was just wondering how to ask the Thirteenth Prince, but the younger princes took the initiative to tell her, which saved Li Tiao a lot of trouble.
"Do you want to earn the money back?" Li Tiao asked.
How do you make money?
“Sell these things to the Thirteenth Prince.”
"Does Thirteenth Brother also like this food?"
"How will you know if you don't try?" Li Tiao coaxed them patiently, and the young princes were somewhat tempted. The fifteenth prince looked at the seventeenth prince, who understood and ran away.
Soon, the Thirteenth Prince was brought over by the Seventeenth Prince.
While Li Tiao was paying her respects to the Thirteenth Prince, she whispered, "Find a way to find the Fourth Prince and tell him to return to the palace as soon as possible. I have something to tell him."
The Thirteenth Prince was taken aback, then narrowed his eyes and glanced at his younger brothers who were still eating with their heads down. He said, "What are you eating? Have you done all the homework that Father Emperor assigned you? Be careful that your teachers don't complain about you to Father Emperor."
Startled by this, the young princes finished their food and quickly left.
"Speak, why did you go to such lengths to summon me here?"
Looking around, Li Tiao relayed the Crown Prince's words to the Thirteenth Prince. After listening, the Thirteenth Prince stood up and walked out, but after taking two steps, he couldn't help but turn back: "I told Fourth Brother long ago that you can't be kept alive, so we should cut the Gordian knot."
After the Thirteenth Prince finished speaking, Li Tiao was about to reply when she looked up and noticed that the Fourth Prince had returned sometime earlier: "Your Highness..."
Upon hearing Li Tiao's words, the Thirteenth Prince turned around and walked towards the Fourth Prince. As he passed by him, the Thirteenth Prince said, "Fourth Brother, I told you long ago that we should hurry and cut the Gordian knot."
The Fourth Prince remained silent, glanced at the Thirteenth Prince, and indicated that he could leave if everything was alright.
After the Thirteenth Prince left, Li Tiao followed the Fourth Prince into the house, while Hongye, being very perceptive, stood guard outside with Su Peisheng.
"How did you know about the Crown Prince's affair?" The Fourth Prince had overheard Li Tiao and the Thirteenth Prince's conversation and asked Li Tiao directly.
"I overheard it by accident on the way back from Sumalagu's place."
"Eavesdropping?" The Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes, and when he looked at Li Tiao again, he became much more stern: "Li Tiao, you really like eavesdropping. Do you think you can eavesdrop on everything?"
"You're lucky your second brother didn't find out. What will you do if he does?"
Li Tiao knew that doing this was a bit dangerous, but she still couldn't help but defend herself: "This servant didn't want to hear it either, but when I heard the Crown Prince mention you, Your Highness, this servant... I can't just pretend I didn't hear him mention you, can I?"
"Just pretend you didn't hear it and leave quickly." The Fourth Prince knew the Crown Prince's character well, and the thought of the Crown Prince discovering Li Tiao made him irritable.
"Luckily, I didn't leave, otherwise I wouldn't have heard such vicious words. What if something really happened to you tomorrow? Then I would be a widow!"
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