good season

Chapter 178 How Did He Get Out? (Second Update)

Next, the three princes entered the palace surrounded by the crowd, chatting and laughing, displaying brotherly affection and respect.

But in truth, none of the three were at peace. The Third Prince now only wanted someone to investigate why his father had sent the Fourth Prince out.

Did Consort You whisper sweet nothings in his ear?

No, Consort You is all show and no substance. Ever since the fourth prince became crippled, Consort You has been desperately searching for a way to have a child, dreaming of having a child like Princess Jiayi and Lady Yu.

If one fails, then have another one.

It's not unreasonable for women in the imperial harem to want children, but Consort You used a folk remedy that she had somehow found.

First, he swallowed a frog whole, which resulted in him vomiting so badly that he became dizzy and seriously ill.

Later, she had her family find a woman who was three months pregnant, and placed a fine cotton cloth under the woman's body. Three days later, she secretly sent the cloth, which was stained with the woman's bodily fluids and scent, into the palace. Consort You treasured it and put the cloth in her undergarments.

This matter quickly reached Consort Qiao's ears, and she informed the Emperor in a timely manner. Emperor Yongjia almost vomited. Even he, who had been with countless women, almost vomited. This was more disgusting to him than swallowing a live frog. He reprimanded Consort You and ordered that the You family members were not allowed to enter the palace without imperial decree. Consort You knelt outside Emperor Yongjia's palace under the scorching sun for two hours before fainting and being carried away.

After these two incidents, Consort You still did not repent. She stopped using folk remedies and started using seduction instead.

The process of seduction involved Emperor Yongjia not visiting the harem, but whenever he did, he would always bump into her, no matter where he was. As for small things like delivering ginseng tea and sweet soup, Consort You would personally take care of them, and she would always dress up in a flamboyant manner. Emperor Yongjia was not a saint, and he did favor her at first, but instead of knowing when to stop, she went even further. On one occasion, she even went to the Imperial Study dressed in revealing clothes. You should know that even the Empress and Consort Qiao had never been to such a place, so what did she have that she did?

This time, Emperor Yongjia did not show any leniency and threw her into the Cold Palace for ten days. Ten days later, Consort You came out of the Cold Palace, looking extremely thin and aged by more than ten years. After that, she became well-behaved. Later, when the Fourth Prince framed the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, Consort You shut herself in her room and never came out again. The Empress was kind and exempted her from the daily morning greetings, so she had been out of the public eye for a long time.

Therefore, the Third Prince would not believe that the Fourth Prince's release was due to Consort You's efforts.

That Consort You is already being merciful by not dragging her son down; to expect her to help him is a pipe dream!
As for other reasons, the Third Prince really couldn't think of any.

The Fifth Prince shared the same thought, and he was even more surprised that he hadn't heard a single word about it beforehand.

This is not right!

Only the Fourth Prince was secretly pleased with himself. "See? You never dreamed that I, your Fourth Prince, would come out and be with you all. You laughed at me and kicked me when I was down. One day, I'll show you who will have the last laugh!"
Zhao Shiqing walked beside Xiao Zhen, while they trailed far behind. She couldn't fully grasp the complex and unpredictable situation between the three princes, but she could sense the awkward atmosphere.

Zhao Shiqing's lips twitched. No wonder people say there is no kinship in the royal family. If brothers turn out like this, what difference is there between them and enemies?
However, these three almost identical hooked noses really opened Zhao Shiqing's eyes.

These three, along with Xu Lin and his two sons, are so similar that they look like they were made from the same mold. She couldn't even imitate them; they are simply too similar!

Zhao Shiqing increasingly felt that Xu Lin and his son were a hot potato; the power of these three hot potatoes far exceeded that of Wan Ruyi. Although Aunt Ruyi resembled the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager had passed away many years ago, and the two princesses, Jiayi and Jia'an, were usually heavily made up, so most people would not associate the simple and honest Wan Ruyi with them.

But Xu Lin and his sons were different. These three looked remarkably like the princes. No wonder, since Xu Lin and Xu Kun were twin brothers who looked exactly alike, it was only natural that their sons would resemble each other.

Zhao Shiqing was lost in thought when the eunuch checked her belongings. He touched Xiao Zhen a few times but found no weapon, so he let her pass.

Zhao Shiqing, curious, quietly asked Xiao Zhen, "Why didn't they search me?"

Xiao Zhen found it amusing that someone was actually eager to be searched. In fact, he had already prepared himself, and if the eunuch were to search Zhao Shiqing, he would slip a red envelope to him. However, the eunuch did not reach out to Zhao Shiqing. After thinking about it carefully, Xiao Zhen had his answer.

"He probably thought you were a child."

Zhao Shiqing: You should have told me sooner! All my preparations were for nothing!

Indeed, Zhao Shiqing had made ample preparations to pass the body search, but the searchers ignored her completely.

Before the palace banquet began, the princes arrived and went to see the emperor. Xiao Zhen soon saw some familiar faces.

Deng Zheng, the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo!
However, Deng Zheng was accompanied by his cousins ​​from other branches of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, but he did not see Zhu Qing and Zhu Xin, who were usually inseparable from him.

Xiao Zhen observed silently but did not see Marquis Zhu of Baoqing. Instead, Duke Wei and his four brothers all came. The five brothers stood there with their hands on their hips, pointing to the sky and talking about everything under the sun, occasionally letting out hearty laughter, which attracted everyone's attention. It was as if this was not the palace, but the fields of their Yan family estate.

Yan Xia was not with them; he was surrounded by a group of young men, including his own brothers, but most of them were sons of noble families.

Zhao Shiqing had a good impression of her future brother-in-law, so she asked Deng Zheng curiously, "Young Master Deng, isn't everyone in the capital saying that Master Yan is a loner? Why are there so many people surrounding him?"

As Deng Zheng had already learned during the introduction, this child was the younger brother of Young Master Zhen and also the godson of Zhen Wuduo. If Zhen Guiruo was the eldest son of the Wealth-Bringing Boy, then this Zhen Bao was the youngest. Therefore, he didn't really treat little Zhen Bao as a child. Seeing her interest in Yan Xia, he patiently explained:

"It's not that Prince Yan is unsociable, but that others can't get a word in edgewise when it comes to the things he likes. Among the sons of noble families, he is the only one who can speak in front of the Emperor. Therefore, whenever the elders in the family scold the younger generation, they always mention it: 'Look at Yan Xia, he has already gone to serve the Emperor. And look at you, what can you do besides eating, drinking and having fun?'"

After saying this repeatedly, people started to look at him differently.

However, on occasions like today, everyone is being watched by their elders, so even if they're just pretending, they have to act like they have a good relationship with Prince Yan.

"So that's how it is," Zhao Shiqing smiled. She was just about to go over and give Brother-in-law Yan a fright when she saw another person.

Yang Shengqiu!
(End of this chapter)