Her concern, risking her elder brother's wrath, led her to leave the palace specifically to remind him. The three brothers were slightly flustered, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.
The others remained silent until Yinzhen finally spoke up, "We understand. Don't worry. It's rare for you to leave the palace. Is there anything you want to eat or do? Just say so, and I'll have someone prepare it immediately."
Nan shook her head. At this critical juncture, she didn't want to trouble them. The relationship between Fourth Master and them was strained, so it was best not to do anything too outrageous to avoid angering Fourth Master, who had Thirteen.
She picked up on Xu's words and told them to the others. Her meaning was very clear: she hoped that they would keep a low profile in the future and be more obedient to the Fourth Master.
But who are the Eighth Master, Ninth Master, and others? They have been of noble status since childhood and have never been inferior to anyone. Their arrogance is in their very bones.
They might not listen to what Nan Yi said, but not wanting to disappoint her, they became a little more friendly during the conversation.
After the meal, Nan Yi took his leave, with Thirteen guarding him.
Not knowing when they would meet again, Nan Yi felt reluctant to part. He stood by the table, looking at the group.
Yinzhen felt a pang of sadness, but smiled gently. "You stay here peacefully in the palace. If you suffer any grievances in the palace, Your Majesty... never mind, we can't take care of you now."
She was already a concubine in the imperial harem, so even if she was wronged, he could only watch helplessly.
A sadness filled Yin Tang's eyes, and Nan Yi's eyes reddened slightly. She blinked, raised her smile, and said, "I'm very capable now, so I won't suffer any injustice."
Thirteen also smiled and said, "My brother cares about my fourth sister-in-law the most. How could he let her suffer any grievances? Ninth Brother is joking."
"Yes, how did Nan Yi lose his child in those fifty-nine years?" Yin Tang mocked.
"A child? Fourth Sister-in-law, you..." Thirteen was stunned. Fourth Sister-in-law had a child before. He thought she couldn't have children. After all these years, even a blind person could feel the favor that Fourth Brother had shown to Fourth Sister-in-law.
"Ah Tang, how could you..."
"Bang!"
Nan Yi's voice disappeared with a loud slam of the door.
The door to their private room was pushed open from the outside, and the two doors wobbled, almost falling down.
"Yes, I also want to know, how did Ninth Brother know that Consort Zhen's child was lost?"
The Fourth Prince, who was in the palace, strode in, stood with his hands behind his back in front of everyone, and Su Peisheng, who followed closely behind, stepped into the room, turned around and closed the door, and stood quietly in a corner waiting.
Startled, Nan Yi's expression changed slightly, her brows furrowed, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. She hadn't expected that the Fourth Master had also left the palace and come specifically to catch her.
The thirteenth and eighteenth princes were probably not expected either. After a moment of stunned silence, they bowed in unison and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
Nan Yi also bowed and greeted the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well."
Yinzhen didn't call her up. His face was taut, and he looked at her coldly. His voice was even colder, "Didn't you say you wanted to go out of the palace to play? It turns out you were secretly meeting with my brother, Tong Shi. How dare you!"
Nan Yi's forehead twitched from his scolding. The accusation of a secret rendezvous was truly unjust.
The Fourth Master was well aware of her relationship with them; at most, it was just catching up. As for a secret rendezvous, she wouldn't dare.
Even if he wasn't worried about himself, he was afraid that the Fourth Master would use this as an excuse to make things difficult for Ah Tang and the others.
"Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. I have something to say to Ninth Prince and the others. Thirteenth Prince is here too; he can be a witness."
Thirteen also spoke up to explain, "Brother, you've misunderstood. Fourth Sister-in-law and Ninth Brother didn't have anything going on; they were just catching up."
Yinzhen was even angrier upon hearing this, his gaze turning sinister and his face covered with frost. "Reminiscing, Thirteenth Prince, your rules have all gone to waste."
Thirteen smiled wryly, lifted his robe, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject is guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty."
Seeing him like this, Nan Yi had no choice but to kneel down readily. "It's my fault, it has nothing to do with the Thirteenth Master. If you want to punish someone, punish me. I forced him to bring me to the restaurant. I wanted to see the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Masters. I was unruly. It's all my fault. One person does something and one person takes responsibility. You don't need to involve others."
“Your Majesty, I am also guilty. Please punish me.” The Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, and Tenth Prince then knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Yinzhen snorted coldly and said indifferently, "Oh, tell me, what is your crime?"
Judging from his tone, he really intended to pin the blame on Eighth and Ninth Masters. Nan Yi panicked and quickly said, "It has nothing to do with them. Don't falsely accuse people. Just come at me."
As soon as Nan Yi opened her mouth, Thirteen knew things were in trouble. This was originally his and Fourth Sister-in-law's fault; their mistake was forgetting the rules.
She didn't understand that her brother already harbored resentment towards Eighth Brother and the others. She was someone her brother held dear in his heart, and the more she defended Eighth Brother and the others, the angrier her brother became.
Yinzhen was furious and shouted angrily, "Shut up! You woman who forgets the pain once the wound heals, protecting them like this, have you forgotten the suffering you endured for forty-eight years? If it weren't for your mother, who came from a lowly family, would you have had to suffer for those ten years? Have you forgotten everything?"
During the ten years that Thirteen was imprisoned, Tong was subsequently detained in the Forbidden Garden by the Emperor. His heart ached as if it were being torn apart. Who could understand the wound in his heart? He spent his days in longing and his nights sleepless.
At that time, he vowed to sit in that position and make them pay a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
Unfortunately, some people die too young, but her son will never forgive her. Let the sins she committed be paid for by the son.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty, and death would not atone for it." The Eighth Prince kowtowed again to apologize.
When Ninth Master heard Fourth Brother bring up the old story again, he sighed deeply. Tenth Master was completely confused, as was Thirteenth Master.
Nan Yi thought back to those ten years, pondering them over and over again, and smiled faintly, saying, "I forgot. If it weren't for those ten years, how could I have had such a long period of peaceful life? I told you long ago that I spent the happiest time of my life in that little courtyard. It was a lucky accident. Although the process wasn't pleasant, the result was what I hoped for."
The courtyard was peaceful. If it weren't for the people she cared about, she even thought it wouldn't be bad to stay there for the rest of her life.
The child cannot be aborted; the pain of gaining and then losing is far more agonizing.
"You—" Yinzhen's fingers trembled with anger. "Fine, fine, you're very good. For their sake, you disregard my feelings. Tong Yilan, I was just being presumptuous. I was blind to want to seek justice for you. Fine, I won't pursue this matter. Let's see how long you can protect them."
Extremely disappointed, Yinzhen flung his sleeves and angrily said, "Return to the palace."
Nan Yi, seeing that everyone had left, sat slumped on the ground, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Shisan was swaying, so he quickly got up to help him. "I'm sorry, I made you eat Gua Luo. Does your leg hurt a lot?"
Thirteen sighed helplessly, "You should worry about yourself. Your brother is furious this time. You might get a beating when you get back to the palace."
Nan shook his head and laughed heartily, "It's alright, he'll just lock me up for a few days at most. Once he calms down, he'll definitely come back to me."
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