The whole family is obsessed with love? The princess woke them up one after another.

All the troublemakers left, leaving only Prince Rui's family and Prince Wu.

The King of Wu felt extremely uncomfortable.

It seemed as if his father and Prince Rui were the real family, while he remained a stranger excluded by them.

"Fourth Prince, what do you say?" Emperor Kangwu asked.

The King of Wu immediately lifted the hem of his robe and knelt down, saying, "It was your son's negligence that led to my being used."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Emperor Kangwu's eyes, but his voice remained calm, devoid of any emotion: "Fine, you may go back."

"Yes." King Wu bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

Emperor Kangwu waved his hand, and all the eunuchs serving in the room withdrew.

After closing the door, Emperor Kangwu sighed, "They're truly hopeless cases."

He understood that people would use every means to fight for the position of crown prince.

However, the King of Wu actually used such a low-level method, which is truly beneath him!

Using women is also fine.

Clever methods are acceptable too!

Clumsy!

If the eldest son hadn't kept backing down back then, how could the fourth son have ended up as the crown prince?

Thinking of this, Emperor Kangwu glared at Prince Rui with annoyance: "You worthless wretch!"

Prince Rui looked up at the sky.

What could we do if he didn't back down back then?

Should we put him in that position, where he is always at the mercy of others?

That would be a disaster for the imperial court and the nation!

He knew that his father had nowhere to vent his anger.

If a son gets scolded by his father, so be it. What else can he do?

Qi Zhiyu just listened and didn't intend to do anything.

After all, she could understand Emperor Kangwu's thoughts.

However, her second brother, who was sitting next to her, suddenly stood up and sat down on the ground with a thud.

Qi Zhiyu stared in astonishment.

What are you doing?

Qi Jingxi slapped the ground with one hand and wailed, "My father...you're so pitiful."

"Anyone can bully you!"

"And now I'm getting scolded..."

"My father..."

Even Qi Zhiyu, who had weathered countless storms, was stunned by what she saw.

She looked up blankly and glanced around at her surroundings. This was the palace, right?

She looked down again, stunned.

What's with her second brother's tantrum?

Prince Rui closed his eyes; it was clear he was enduring considerable pain.

Princess Rui turned her head away, pretending she didn't have this son.

Emperor Kangwu reached out and pressed his forehead, which was throbbing from Qi Jingxi's incessant nagging, and snapped, "Shut up!"

Qi Jingxi's crying stopped abruptly, and he looked at Emperor Kangwu with teary eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Emperor Kangwu asked, his teeth grinding together.

Qi Jingxi opened her mouth and exclaimed, "My father..."

"Shut up!" Emperor Kangwu roared. "Your father isn't dead yet; you don't need to wail at his funeral!"

Qi Jingxi was sobbing from being scolded.

Emperor Kangwu, seeing his expression, couldn't bear it any longer: "Alright, what do you want?"

Qi Jingxi blinked twice and raised her hand: "My father did nothing wrong, but he was still scolded by my grandfather."

"That King of Wu, who cannot distinguish right from wrong, deserves even more condemnation!"

"Otherwise, it's not fair!"

Emperor Kangwu was so angry he laughed: "You brat!"

Then, he turned to look at Prince Rui: "As expected of your son."

They really do take after their roots!

Prince Rui cupped his hands and said, "It is only natural for my children to protect me."

Emperor Kangwu chuckled coldly, "Good, good, that's just human nature!"

"Get out of my sight!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Rui led his entire family to rise, bow, and leave.

That was incredibly efficient and decisive.

The skillful way she spoke made Qi Zhiyu blink, feeling that something was amiss.

Qi Jingxi wiped away her tears and looked at Qi Zhiyu beside her: "Sis, why are you looking at me like that?"

Qi Zhiyu curled her lips into a smile: "I think Second Brother is handsome."

It seems she misjudged the situation; her second brother wasn't truly naive either.

Qi Jingxi puffed out his chest: "Of course! Wherever your brother goes, girls blush and steal glances at me."

Qi Zhiyu turned her head to look at the deep palace, her smile deepening.

The King of Wu had vested interests with the civil and military officials, but her father had the Emperor's support.

Besides, with her there, how could she possibly let her father lose?

After Prince Rui and his family left the palace, Emperor Kangwu was the only one left in the room.

The anger he had shown towards Qi Jingxi was nowhere to be seen in his eyes; only a nostalgic smile remained.

When I was little, my eldest child was like that too.

She threw a tantrum at him.

However, as they grew up... the eldest stopped doing those things.

Is it because the eldest child has grown up, matured, and become more stable?

Pooh!

That bastard was just pretending!

Look, if it weren't for the eldest son's indulgence, his perfectly good grandson would have grown up like this.

His tantrums and unreasonable behavior are exactly like the boss's!

Well, that brat has really suffered all these years.

Emperor Kangwu called out loudly, "Guards!"

The eunuchs who were waiting outside immediately came in to await instructions.

"Draft an imperial edict," Emperor Kangwu said.

On the other side, the King of Wu had just returned to his palace and hadn't even had time to vent his anger when the imperial edict arrived.

King Wu hurriedly led his family to kneel and receive the imperial edict.

The imperial edict was entirely a rebuke, using extremely elegant language and even quoting classical texts. However, it still couldn't conceal the fact that it thoroughly vilified the King of Wu.

After the eunuch read the imperial edict with dramatic intonation, only three questions remained in King Wu's mind.

who am I?

Where am i?

What exactly happened?

The eunuch didn't have time to give the King of Wu a chance to recover: "Your Highness, accept the decree."

It was only after the Queen Consort gently touched the King that he realized what was happening and hurriedly thanked her and accepted the decree.

After the messenger left, the King of Wu was extremely flustered.

The emperor issued a special imperial edict to scold him; how angry must he be?

Even if he has the support of all the civil and military officials, if his father does not favor him and does not pass the position to him, does he have to force the emperor to abdicate and rebel?

He really didn't want to take that step unless absolutely necessary.

A throne obtained illegitimately will only bring more trouble in the future!

"Your Highness," Princess Wu complained, "what does Father mean by this?"

"Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace." King Wu gripped the imperial edict tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The Queen Consort of Wu knew that the King of Wu was angry, so she dared not say anything more.

"I will go and see them pack their things," said Princess Wu.

If she stays here any longer, she will be the target of anger.

King Wu waved his hand casually, and Queen Wu hurriedly left.

Just now, the King of Wu's gloomy face made her breathe very carefully; it was too oppressive.

The King of Wu unfolded the imperial edict and carefully read through each of the heart-wrenching words.

"Father! You are truly my good father!" King Wu said with a sorrowful, bitter smile.

"Is the boss the only person you care about?"

He had been the crown prince for so many years, and he thought he had taken over the position of the eldest son.

Unexpectedly, in his father's heart, he was still not as good as Prince Rui!

The King of Wu's anger surged, transforming into resentful hatred: "They don't recognize me? I'll take that throne!"

"Then, Father, you will be able to clearly see who is the most suitable candidate!"

He wanted to completely crush Prince Rui under his feet and make his father understand that his father had misjudged the situation and made the wrong choice!