He Yue secretly bit her tongue and quickly explained, "This is just a guess, you were so angry just now..."
He didn't finish his sentence, and Kangxi didn't press him further.
He chuckled to himself, thinking, "Am I really that heartless? Would I really be willing to imprison my own son?"
I have never imprisoned any prince.
That girl is incredibly bold! Humph!
"Then tell me, how do you want me to deal with you?" Kangxi asked coldly.
He Yue rolled her eyes and smiled ingratiatingly, "The heaviest punishment would be to banish your son and the thirteenth prince from the capital and let them fend for themselves!"
Thirteen suddenly turned to look at her, his eyes widening.
Heyue didn't look at him, and Thirteen silently lowered his head, lost in thought.
Kangxi felt a lump in his throat, his face flushed, he pressed his fist to his lips, coughed lightly, and then angrily rebuked, "You scoundrel!"
He Yue immediately lowered her head and remained silent, gently pursing her lips.
I knew it would be difficult, sigh!
Emperor Kangxi was furious. He pointed at her and spat at her in a rather vulgar manner, trembling all over: "How dare you! You left on your own, and then you tried to kidnap my son! I wish I could drag you out and behead you..."
Thirteen looked up abruptly and said urgently, "Father, Heyue didn't mean it, please forgive her!"
Kangxi grew even angrier, pointing at him with exasperation: "You, you still speak up for her? Do you agree with her? You also want to leave the capital?"
Thirteen lowered his head and remained silent.
Kangxi sneered at Heyue: "Have you seen clearly? Yinxiang doesn't want to leave with you, so give up on that idea! Since you're willing to take the blame for Yinxiang, I'll grant your wish! From today onwards, you're under house arrest and not allowed to go anywhere. After we return to the capital, I'll imprison you in the Imperial Clan Court!"
Thirteen hurriedly cried out, "Father, please don't!" He suddenly crawled forward on his knees, hugged Kangxi's leg, and pleaded, "Father, please spare Heyue. Your son is willing to accept all punishments..."
Emperor Kangxi was furious at her lack of self-control: "I will not punish my own son. Since she is willing, I will grant her wish!"
"No, Father Emperor, she is weak and cannot bear it. Your son is willing to take the blame for her. I beg you, Father Emperor, to grant my request!" Thirteen kowtowed repeatedly.
Heyue hugged him, stopping him: "Alright, stop kowtowing. It's just staying at the Imperial Clan Court for a few days, it's no big deal. Do you think those people would dare to bully me?"
Although Shilu Shisan was unwilling to leave, she was not surprised, nor did she resent him; in fact, she understood his feelings.
After all, he was a prince; how could he truly bear to give up everything? Even He Yue wouldn't be willing.
Heyue turned to Kangxi and slowly began to speak: "Father, your word is law, and you will never punish the Thirteenth Prince. I hope you will do the same in the future. If you truly despise him, I only hope that you will have mercy and allow me to leave the capital with the Thirteenth Prince to fend for ourselves."
Kangxi was taken aback and stared at her in silence.
Thirteen's expression was complicated. He tightened his grip on her hand, his lips trembling, but he ultimately couldn't utter a word.
Even after leaving Wanhesongfeng Palace, Heyue still felt like she was in a dream.
She pinched Thirteen's hand hard, and Thirteen gasped. Only then did He Yue realize it was real.
She did indeed receive Kangxi's promise that the Thirteenth Prince would no longer be imprisoned.
Although the emperor's mood is like the weather in June—if he were to break his promise, no one would dare say anything—who is He Yue? Break his promise? No way! Not even a peek!
The more I thought about it, the happier I became, and the wider my grin grew.
Seeing her like this, Thirteen's lips twitched. He hugged her and said in a low voice, "Why did you take the blame for me? You didn't have to do this. No matter how Father Emperor punishes me, I will accept it. The only thing I don't want is for you to suffer."
Heyue held his hand and chuckled, "What nonsense are you talking about? When you hit the Crown Prince for me, didn't you think about the consequences? Besides, this matter started because of me. I'm the one who harmed you, and I did hit the Crown Prince, so I'm not innocent. You don't need to worry. Father Emperor won't keep me locked up for too long. I'll be able to go back soon."
Thirteen was speechless, staring intently at her, and suddenly asked, "Heyue, do you blame me? For not agreeing to leave with you back then."
He Yue looked up at him and smiled brightly: "I knew you wouldn't agree, so I'm not disappointed."
Although I do feel regret.
Upon hearing this, Thirteenth Prince did not breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, he felt even more melancholy and sad. He hugged her tightly and murmured, "Heyue, if I had said that I would leave with you, Father Emperor would have been even angrier and would have punished you even more severely. I was afraid."
He Yue breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had this intention was enough.
I really wanted to ask him if he would be willing to leave if Emperor Kangxi agreed, but in the end I didn't ask.
Why ask again when the answer is already known? It only adds to the trouble.
Although he was confined to his home, he was comforted and kept company by Thirteen, so it wasn't too bad.
I heard from Thirteen that the Crown Prince wanted to punish him for disrespecting the heir apparent, but the Emperor refused, and the Crown Prince left in a huff.
Thirteen had fallen out with the Crown Prince, but he didn't seem worried at all. He said he had long been unwilling to deal with the Crown Prince, so this was just as good.
All the princes knew that the crown prince had been beaten. After all, even if Emperor Kangxi had kept quiet about it, it would have been difficult to keep it from those who were interested.
Some people thought that since the thirteenth prince beat up the crown prince and was still unharmed, the emperor must really favor him, while the crown prince was increasingly disliked by the emperor.
This is good news.
As far as the princes were concerned, the thirteenth brother was young, lacked prestige, and his birth mother had died early. He was not as good as the Prince Zhi, who had made great military achievements, nor as good as his older brothers who had four concubines as their mothers. Even if he was favored, it was impossible for him to be directly made the crown prince.
On the contrary, the Crown Prince is the one they should target the most. Some people are happy that the Crown Prince was beaten, but they are even happier that the Crown Prince may one day no longer be the Crown Prince.
This was confirmed two weeks later.
Emperor Kangxi led his entourage to the Mulan Hunting Grounds to hunt with the Mongols. The Eighteenth Prince, who had been left at the Summer Palace due to a cold, suddenly fell seriously ill.
Also staying at the Summer Palace were Heyue, who was under house arrest, and Consort He, of the Guarjia clan, who was taking care of the Eighteenth Prince.
Heyue did not receive news of the Eighteenth Prince's worsening condition until she met the Thirteenth Prince, at which point she learned that the Emperor had returned to the Summer Palace overnight.
"I'm afraid things aren't going well for my eighteenth brother." Thirteen sighed, his face showing reluctance.
Although he didn't have much interaction with his eighteenth brother and they weren't particularly close, he was still his younger brother and quite young, so he cared about him to some extent.
"You can stay here peacefully these days. Fortunately, you are under house arrest and don't have to face those things. They are none of your concern. It's just that I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you these days."
He Yue rolled her eyes at him and comforted him, "Alright, I'm not one of those who get sentimental just because I don't have a husband. Go ahead and relax. Also, even though you're at odds with the Crown Prince, you should still be respectful when you meet him. Don't give him the cold shoulder and give others something to hold against you. If the Crown Prince angers Father Emperor, you should speak up for him, since Father Emperor dislikes discord between brothers the most."
Thirteen hummed in agreement, clearly dissatisfied with her nonchalant tone.
Having not seen her for many days, he already missed Heyue terribly. Hearing that she didn't care about parting with him, he became angry and pinned her down on the bed, tormenting her before stopping.
There was no time to linger, and Thirteen, her eyes and brows radiating charm, hurriedly left.
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