Cao An naturally knew this was the eldest son's sore spot. Back then, when the concubine gave birth to the eldest son, the prince intended to elevate the concubine to the position of principal wife, giving the eldest son the status of the eldest legitimate son.
However, the emperor of Shengjing suddenly had a whim and issued an imperial decree to betroth his own younger sister, Princess Zhaohui, to the prince.
This ended Concubine Yu's path to becoming a concubine and also ended the eldest son's path to becoming the legitimate heir, the title of Gong.
After Li Qingchen was made the heir apparent, many people openly and secretly called him "Little Prince," but these three words pierced the hearts of the concubine and the eldest son like needles!
Back in Qiaochuan, the eldest son had already punished several people for such taboos, and even the prince felt guilty and couldn't bear to blame him. But now they were in Shengjing, not Qiaochuan.
Seeing Cao An's deep worry, Li Zizhuo casually reassured him, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. If someone dies at the gates of the Prince's mansion, my good brother will clean up the mess for me."
...
At midday, golden rays pierced through the clouds, crisscrossing and striking the glazed tiles, making the palace of Daye Palace appear even more majestic and magnificent.
Li Qingchen was heading towards Tianlu Pavilion. At this time, His Majesty should have just finished lunch and would sit in Tianlu Pavilion for half an hour to digest his food before taking a nap.
But when he was riding in the imperial carriage and was about to reach Tianlu Pavilion, he saw another sedan chair coming towards him, with Duke Sheng sitting on it.
As the Duke of Sheng grew old, he was granted special privileges when entering and leaving the palace, and could ride in a sedan chair like a prince.
Neither of them got out of the car; they nodded to each other from a distance and then passed each other.
Upon arriving at the Tianlu Pavilion, Li Qingchen did not rush to pay his respects to the Emperor. Instead, he first asked a familiar eunuch, "Did Lord Sheng come to see the Emperor just now?"
"Your Highness, Lord Sheng did come, but His Majesty did not see him."
Why?
The young eunuch cautiously looked around, and seeing that no one was around, he whispered a reminder: "The Holy Duke came to plead for the Wei family, but His Majesty does not want to see him right now."
Li Qingchen nodded knowingly, then did not go to pay his respects, but instead returned the way he came and left the palace.
Since His Majesty is unwilling to listen even to Duke Sheng's pleas, he naturally won't listen to pleas from others either. Therefore, his audience with His Majesty would only provoke His Majesty's wrath. It would be better to temporarily conceal his relationship with the Wei family and act in secret, which would be less likely to arouse suspicion.
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