This matter quickly alarmed Emperor Kangxi, who sent Wei Zhu, a member of the imperial court, to deliver a message.
When Wei Zhu saw the scene before her, her eyes widened in disbelief, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The Crown Prince was beaten, and it was the Thirteenth Prince who beat him. This must be punished. But the Thirteenth Prince's wife was crying so hard that she was almost out of breath, looking like she had suffered a great injustice. Why was the Thirteenth Prince so anxious and comforting her?
Who exactly was wronged? And who should be punished?
Wei Zhu shook her head. "Alright, the important thing is to get them away as soon as possible."
"What are you standing there for? Help the Crown Prince back and summon the imperial physician immediately!" Wei Zhu's face darkened instantly, and the person giving the order to the Crown Prince did indeed have some authority.
Those people then came to their senses and hurriedly helped the Crown Prince away.
Today, not only was the Crown Prince beaten, but the Thirteenth Prince's wife was also humiliated. They are probably doomed; everyone is heartbroken.
When Wei Zhu arrived, He Yue gradually stopped crying, but her face was still covered in tears, making her look pitiful.
Upon hearing Kangxi's message summoning them to come over, the two knew something was amiss, but they could only follow Wei Zhu into the main hall, Wanhesongfeng Hall.
The Chengde Mountain Resort is still under construction and many palaces are yet to be completed.
The Wanhesongfeng Hall was just completed this year and served as the place where Emperor Kangxi conducted his daily administration and received his officials.
Upon seeing the emperor, the two men knelt down cautiously: "Your subjects greet Your Majesty."
A memorial landed heavily on the gleaming marble floor in front of the two men, accompanied by a cold, authoritative snort: "With you two here, how can I be at ease?"
The two men hurriedly kowtowed, their voices filled with fear: "Father, please forgive us! Your subjects know their mistake!"
"Yinxiang, I always thought you were a sensible and filial person, but now you have publicly beaten the Crown Prince. Do you not respect me at all?"
Although Kangxi's tone was calm, it still conveyed imperial authority, unlike the usual affectionate tone he showed when speaking to the thirteenth prince.
At this moment, the person in front of him was not a father, but an emperor, an emperor rebuking his unfilial son.
Since ancient times, the world has been governed by the principle of filial piety. The word "filial piety" has been used to convict thirteen crimes.
Thirteen's face was pale, and he prostrated himself, his voice trembling: "Your subject dares not, Father Emperor, it is your subject's fault, please forgive me, Father Emperor."
"Hmph! You don't dare? I'd like to see you dare!" Kangxi stepped forward and kicked the thirteenth prince straight in the chest.
Thirteen was kicked so hard he fell to the ground, his face deathly pale, and then he crawled over on his knees.
How could He Yue tolerate the thirteenth prince being treated so unfairly? She was filled with rage and, disregarding the fact that the person in front of her was the emperor, she suddenly straightened her back and glared at Kangxi: "Father, if you want to punish someone, punish me. Why treat the thirteenth prince like this?"
Kangxi was stunned, then flew into a rage. He pointed at Heyue, speechless, then suddenly looked at the thirteenth prince and sneered: "This is your good wife, the wife you carefully cherish in your heart!"
Thirteen kowtowed in fear: "It's all my fault, Father Emperor. Please forgive Heyue. If you must punish someone, punish me instead..."
Heyue grasped his hand, stopping him from continuing, but looked directly at Kangxi: "Father said that I and the Thirteenth Prince were at fault. Then I would like to ask, where did we go wrong? Did we hit the Crown Prince? Or did we talk back to Father? And why doesn't Father ask why we beat the Crown Prince? Should the Crown Prince be allowed to do wrong? As for my talking back to you, it was because I couldn't bear to see the Thirteenth Prince suffer. If that counts as a mistake, I am willing to accept the punishment. It has nothing to do with the Thirteenth Prince!"
Thirteen was moved, but he held Heyue's hand tightly, frowned, and scolded in a low voice: "Heyue, stop talking, quickly apologize to Father Emperor!"
"I did nothing wrong, why should I apologize!" He Yue was indignant and angry at Thirteen for being so spineless. Why didn't he try to argue his case? Instead, he easily admitted his guilt.
Is imperial power really this unreasonable?
Emperor Kangxi trembled with rage, uttering three "good"s in succession. Gradually, he calmed down, regaining his imperial coldness, and coldly declared, "Strip him..."
Upon hearing this, He Yue immediately understood what Kangxi was trying to say and thought to herself, "Oh no, will the Thirteenth Prince be imprisoned so soon?"
On a whim, he shouted, "Father Emperor is being unreasonable!" Tears streamed down his face.
Before Kangxi could utter the words he was about to say, he looked astonished, losing his usual imperial dignity and appearing somewhat comical.
Thirteen, in a panic, winked at Heyue and, for the first time, spoke to her sharply: "Heyue! Shut up!"
Heyue ignored him, looked up at Kangxi, like a wronged little wife, where was the arrogant and rude look from before?
Seeing that Kangxi seemed momentarily stunned and unsure what to say, Heyue continued, choking back tears, "The Crown Prince is Father's son, but isn't the Thirteenth Prince also son? The Crown Prince disrespected the Thirteenth Prince's wife. If we can tolerate this so easily and still treat the Crown Prince with respect, are we even men? Father so easily convicted the Thirteenth Prince and even stripped him of his title. This is clearly favoritism!"
Kangxi laughed in exasperation, pointing at her, "You..." He hesitated for a long time, unable to finish his sentence, finally only managing to say, "Insolence!"
This "insolence" was no longer as severe as before; instead, it carried a hint of helplessness and anger.
He Yue was not afraid that he would get even angrier, and added fuel to the fire: "Father Emperor loves the Crown Prince but not the Thirteenth Prince. I love the Thirteenth Prince but feel even more sorry for myself. I am the Crown Prince's sister-in-law after all. The Crown Prince has done such a thing. Father Emperor does not stand up for me. I am heartbroken."
Since they came in, Kangxi had been so angry that he hadn't paid any attention to their appearance. When Heyue shed tears, Kangxi was completely bewildered and felt no pity for her.
After hearing her words and seeing her tearful face with red eyes, she looked quite pitiful.
Seeing the couple nestled together, their hands clasped tightly, sharing the blame, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. How could I possibly hold a grudge?
But he couldn't bring himself to back down, so he glared at her fiercely and said, "You still have the nerve? You were involved in beating the Crown Prince too! I didn't say I'd let you off the hook!"
"Father!" the thirteenth prince exclaimed anxiously.
Heyue tightened her grip on his hand, meeting Kangxi's angry gaze without fear: "Father, if you want to punish someone, then punish me alone. After all, I also hit the Crown Prince, so just consider it as if I did it alone, and it has nothing to do with the Thirteenth Prince. No matter how you punish me, Father, I will have no complaints."
Upon hearing her words, Kangxi couldn't help but show a hint of emotion, but he kept a straight face and asked, "Oh? Are you really willing to take all the blame?"
To be honest, He Yue was really afraid that he would disregard his father-son relationship with Thirteen and drag He Yue away to be beheaded.
Meeting Kangxi's unreadable gaze, she couldn't help but touch her neck, then glanced at the Thirteenth Prince before timidly replying, "Of course, if Father Emperor wishes to punish them both, that's fine too, but could we perhaps change the punishment? Please don't strip the Thirteenth Prince of his title, nor imprison him?"
Kangxi raised an eyebrow, his eyes flashing slightly: "Oh? How could you have thought I would imprison the Thirteenth Prince?"
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