He Yue couldn't help but grind her teeth, reached out and grabbed his ear, warning him through gritted teeth, "If you dare to say that again, I'll twist your ear off!"
A sharp pain shot through him. The Thirteenth Prince tilted his head, covered his ears, and his handsome, fair face contorted in agony. He pleaded repeatedly, "Hey, hey, let go! Let go! I promise I won't say another word!"
He Yue snorted and released her grip with a terrible expression. Dare to call her fierce? She'd show him what fierceness really meant!
The thirteenth prince was both depressed and regretful. Why did he have to speak so quickly? He really brought this trouble upon himself!
This girl is so small, but she's really strong. His ears turned red.
While rubbing his ears and grumbling inwardly, the Thirteenth Prince saw Heyue break off a willow branch and sit down on the grass again, fiddling with the branch in her hand. He then sat down a distance away from her without saying a word.
Heyue turned her head and saw that he seemed angry, but she didn't care. She lay down on the grass, smelled the scent of grass mixed with the cool lake water in the air, squinted her eyes, and felt very comfortable.
The Thirteenth Prince glanced at her and frowned: "How can a young lady like you be so casual?! Didn't you learn manners from Fourth Sister-in-law? Why are you still like this?"
He Yue glanced at him sideways, as if looking at a fool: "I'm not as honest as you, doing whatever I want. Why do you have to deal with so many stupid rules?"
The thirteenth prince choked again, glaring at her angrily.
Suddenly remembering something, the Thirteenth Prince hesitated and poked Heyue's arm with his finger: "I have something to ask you, and you must answer me honestly."
He Yue raised an eyebrow in confusion, then turned her head and saw him pursing his lips in a troubled expression. Overwhelmed with curiosity, she turned to the side, propped her head up with one hand, and asked with bright eyes, "What is it?"
For some reason, watching her movements, the Thirteenth Prince felt a surge of heat rise to his cheeks. She was clearly just a child, yet she possessed something that no child could have.
The Thirteenth Prince couldn't quite put his finger on it, his eyes darting around, avoiding her gaze: "During this southern tour, well, I beat the Fourteenth Prince in archery and horsemanship, and received praise from Father Emperor. I should have been happy, but... but the Fourteenth Prince was very angry, and Consort De seemed unhappy as well. I only wanted to get Father Emperor's attention, and I expected the Fourteenth Prince to be unhappy. I always gave in to him before, but this time, this time, I couldn't hold back."
As the Thirteenth Prince spoke, he became very depressed, revealing a conflicted and struggling expression. He didn't know why he had told this little girl about it, but the moment he saw her, he wanted to share his joy with her. A small part of his heart also held a selfish desire, wanting to see her look at him differently, just like when he was a child and occasionally received praise from his father, he would eagerly find his fourth brother to share his good mood with him.
He also wanted to share his troubles with her, so he lowered his head, casually plucked a blade of grass and tugged at it, saying, "I know it's wrong to do this, but I still won against Fourteenth Brother. My mother is just a concubine. I want Father Emperor to visit her more often and make sure she lives well. I also want Father Emperor to see that I'm no worse than Fourteenth Brother. Do you think what I did was right or wrong?"
He turned his gaze to Heyue, looking at her expectantly, knowing full well that she was just a child, but still couldn't help asking her.
He thought he was going crazy, but he still couldn't help but wait for her answer.
He Yue pondered for a moment. She remembered that the thirteenth prince was very favored by Emperor Kangxi in history, and during that time even the fourteenth prince lagged behind him.
However, the Thirteenth Prince in her eyes was quite different from the favored Thirteenth Prince. It was probably from this southern tour that the Thirteenth Prince gained Kangxi's favor, and this continued for a long time until that incident, after which the Thirteenth Prince went from being the most favored prince to the most down-and-out prince.
Looking into his expectant eyes, Heyue puffed out her cheeks and glared at him irritably: "What's wrong with that? As princes, you have the right to earn the emperor's favor through your own abilities. Why should you care about others? If you are timid and hide your talents for the sake of brotherhood, then I will look down on you."
Even knowing that the Thirteenth Prince would end up in such a situation, given her gentle nature, she would not advise him to hide his talents, even if it meant changing the Thirteenth Prince's fate.
In life, one should always do what one loves. She advocates facing challenges head-on rather than hiding from impending danger like a coward.
The Thirteenth Prince's eyes suddenly lit up, a smile playing on his lips as he stared at her intently: "You also think I should do this?"
He Yue nodded without hesitation.
Upon receiving her affirmation, the Thirteenth Prince's spirits soared, and his eyes were filled with pure joy.
He Yue chuckled to himself, thinking, "He really is just a child; he can be this happy over something like this."
From his words, He Yue could also guess the hardships he had endured in the past.
His birth mother was just a concubine. He grew up with Consort De. On the surface, Consort De would not mistreat him, but she had her own biological son. How could she treat him sincerely?
To put the Consort De, who raised him, at ease, she always yielded to the Fourteenth Prince, who was a few years younger than her, and hid her own sharpness. But how could he not feel wronged?
Everyone wanted to get their father's attention, and the thirteenth prince was no exception.
At this moment, a sudden pity for the Thirteenth Prince arose in He Yue's heart. Perhaps it was because they had spent time together and gotten to know each other, but He Yue also felt a bit more genuine concern for the Thirteenth Prince.
If she had helped him before only for her own sake, at this moment Heyue was genuinely sincere.
Heyue returned to the manor, and the Thirteenth Prince went straight to the Fourth Prince's study. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, he said, "Fourth Brother, there is something I want to tell you."
Sensing the cheerfulness in his tone, the Fourth Prince looked up at him, put down his pen, walked out from behind his desk, sat down in a chair, and pointed to another chair beside him: "What is it?"
After his initial joy, the Thirteenth Prince seemed to remember something, and the smile on his face gradually faded. He pursed his lips, sat down somewhat awkwardly, and cautiously glanced at the Fourth Prince, stammering without being able to speak.
"What's wrong?" Fourth Prince asked, slightly amused, his tone gentle.
Perhaps influenced by the Fourth Prince's still gentle tone, the Thirteenth Prince felt less reserved. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly, "Fourth Brother, the other day Father tested our archery skills, and I beat Fourteenth Brother. You won't blame me, will you?"
After he finished speaking, he looked at the Fourth Prince with longing eyes, as if trying to see something from his expression, but his expression remained gentle.
"Why do you ask that?" The Fourth Prince was not surprised. His dark eyes were indifferent as he asked him calmly.
Seemingly not getting an answer, the Thirteenth Prince clenched his fists and lowered his eyes nervously: "Fourth Brother told me to hide my talents and not to be impulsive, but I didn't listen to him."
The Fourth Prince carefully observed the Thirteenth Prince's remorseful expression, his lips slightly raised and his eyes smiling: "Fourth Brother did say that, but Fourth Brother also said that one should not suppress one's nature and should do whatever one wants."
The thirteenth prince suddenly raised his head, his eyes brimming with joy: "Really?"
The Fourth Prince nodded.
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