Had the Eldest Princess gone mad?
Was something wrong with her?
She had shown up uninvited with a sour expression, lecturing others as though she had swallowed gunpowder, every word laced with hostility. Yet he had only said she had no right to interfere in his family affairs, and she immediately acted as though she had suffered some great grievance!
Xiao Jingzhao hurried over to the Crown Prince’s bedside. “Royal Father! The Eldest Princess must have deliberately provoked you. Now that you’ve spoken like that, she will definitely go before Imperial Grandfather and make an issue out of it!”
Though the tactic was old-fashioned, it worked!
Especially since the person using it was the Eldest Princess!
The Crown Prince had only recently been reprimanded by Emperor Yongchang. If this continued…
He could not help feeling worried.
Yet the Crown Prince was not nearly as enraged as Xiao Jingzhao expected.
On the contrary, the Crown Prince was astonishingly calm. He even let out a cold laugh. “A provocation tactic, but what use is it?”
Xiao Jingzhao could not help becoming anxious. “Royal Father, aren’t you worried?”
Emperor Yongchang already favored Xiao Yunting.
And now the Crown Prince had even angered the Eldest Princess to tears. Emperor Yongchang would definitely reprimand him again.
But the Crown Prince was not flustered. He even laughed again. “Worried about what? Afraid of what? At worst, another scolding. Haven’t I already been reprimanded enough times over the years?”
Supported by Xiao Jingzhao, he sat upright, utterly unconcerned. “At most it will just be another harsh lecture. I’ll wait for it.”
Women were still women.
Their methods were always this boring and laughable.
So what if they won a verbal exchange?
Could Emperor Yongchang really depose him as Crown Prince just because he had spoken improperly to the Eldest Princess?
He was not afraid.
If he were deposed as Crown Prince, then the Imperial Grandson would likewise lose his qualification to ascend the throne.
Since that was the case, what was there for him to fear?
At that very moment, the Eldest Princess was also discussing the Crown Prince with Emperor Yongchang. Frowning and choking back sobs, she said, “The Crown Prince truly exceeds all expectations! Before, Ben Gong merely thought him weak and sickly but honest and kind-hearted. Who could have expected that he would not tolerate others at all!”
Emperor Yongchang’s brows furrowed tightly as he listened.
He snorted coldly, tossed the memorial in his hand aside, and calmly summoned Xia Yan over. “Go to the Crown Prince’s palace. Tell the Crown Prince to remain confined to the Eastern Palace and reflect on his mistakes! Also, for one month, the Eastern Palace officials are forbidden from entering the Crown Prince’s palace.”
The Eldest Princess forgot to cry for a moment.
Being confined to reflect on one’s mistakes was not unusual punishment.
What was truly severe was that the Eastern Palace officials were forbidden from entering the Eastern Palace for an entire month.
The meaning behind that was deeply significant.
This was cutting off the Crown Prince’s outside communications!
Unable to help herself, she stared at Emperor Yongchang. “Imperial Brother, you…”
Emperor Yongchang glanced at her mildly. “Didn’t you enter the palace precisely to cause trouble for him? My handling of the matter should suit your wishes perfectly.”
The Eldest Princess had not expected Emperor Yongchang to speak so directly. Pressing her lips together, she asked, “Imperial Brother knew?”
“Not just you. Did you think I wouldn’t know that Yunting deliberately threw himself forward?” Emperor Yongchang’s tone was calm. “What, do you truly think I’ve grown old and blind?”
For some reason, though his tone was extremely mild, the Eldest Princess still felt a chill of fear. She let out a startled sound. “Imperial Brother, what are you saying? How could Yunting possibly do something like that?!”
Emperor Yongchang set down the memorial and drank a sip of tea without changing expression. “Why wouldn’t he? The Crown Prince is cowardly, but cautious. He would never be mad enough to actually use a sword to kill Yunting unless he no longer wanted to remain Crown Prince.”
The Eldest Princess swallowed nervously and subconsciously bit her lip.
She truly had not expected Emperor Yongchang to speak so plainly.
It was only after quite some time that she asked blankly, “Then Imperial Brother, why still…”
Why still allow Xiao Yunting to move into the Western Garden, allow him to investigate the Lu family case, and reprimand the Crown Prince?
Emperor Yongchang snorted coldly. “Because I can also see clearly that Yunting truly had no other choice before taking this step. The Crown Prince is cold-hearted and cautious by nature. Once the Lu family fell into trouble, the choice he would inevitably make was to abandon the Crown Princess and the Lu family.”
Xiao Yunting had killed Zhang Bin and claimed that Zhang Bin had gone before the Crown Princess to sow discord, driving her to attempt suicide.
Emperor Yongchang knew this was true.
And precisely because he knew it was true, he could also clearly see that Xiao Yunting had truly been forced into a dead end.
Only after a long while did the Eldest Princess react, saying coldly, “Since Imperial Brother already knows, then I have nothing to hide. I simply dislike the Crown Prince and think him far too cold-hearted.”
Emperor Yongchang gave a quiet acknowledgment. “Indeed. A ruler absolutely must not be soft-hearted, but neither can he be heartless. If he cannot even treat his own wife kindly, how can anyone expect him to show benevolence toward the common people? The reason I punished him is precisely because of this.”
He raised his brows slightly. “After all, he is still the Crown Prince. He is still Yunting’s father.”
The Eldest Princess finally understood everything.
Relief washed through her heart, yet at the same time she could not help feeling alarmed.
Emperor Yongchang was far sharper than any of them had imagined.
Which meant that Qi Yuan had still instructed her to enter the palace and suppress the Crown Prince using the authority of an elder…
She suddenly felt worried.
But Emperor Yongchang merely glanced at her calmly. “Enough. Stop making random guesses there. I know perfectly well what kind of child Yunting is.”
Kindness was indeed a good thing.
But he would never like someone excessively weak.
The Confucian principles were tools used to maintain and consolidate power.
They were not meant to bind oneself.
Any ruler who truly practiced those principles rigidly would not meet a good end.
Xiao Yunting possessed both courage and strategy. Being driven into a corner and striking back in fury was absolutely not a flaw in Emperor Yongchang’s eyes, it was instead an extremely rare virtue.
A person could not be too rigid and pedantic. Since ancient times, pedantic people had never accomplished great things.
Moreover, whether Xiao Yunting was truly cold and emotionless or not, Emperor Yongchang knew better than anyone.
He glanced at the Eldest Princess. “Who taught you to go provoke the Crown Prince after entering the palace?”
The Eldest Princess immediately bit her lip. “What is Imperial Brother talking about? Naturally I went to seek justice for the Crown Princess…”
“This is not something you would think to do.” Emperor Yongchang sneered lightly. “If you were capable of such little tricks, you wouldn’t have spent over ten years refusing to descend from Baiyun Temple.”
Nothing could be hidden from Emperor Yongchang.
But the Eldest Princess still did not expose Qi Yuan. Instead, she said gravely, “It was an idea from one of the Momo beside me.”
“I doubt that.” Emperor Yongchang tapped the table. “Such a sharp and vicious method, with a bit of a ‘returning tooth for tooth’ flavor to it, it feels rather similar to that Qi Yuan you raised at Baiyun Temple.”
The Eldest Princess finally could not maintain her composure. She immediately shook her head in denial. “Imperial Brother, what nonsense are you saying? Yuan Jie’er would never bother doing something like this!”
Qi Yuan was destined to marry Xiao Yunting in the future.
Emperor Yongchang might tolerate Xiao Yunting’s little schemes, but he might not necessarily view Qi Yuan the same way.
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