As one of the four consorts and mother to two princes, even though the Seventh Prince had left the palace at birth, Consort Xian held herself with the straightest backbone among the imperial concubines in the harem. Let’s not forget, that the current Empress didn’t even have a prince, only Princess Fuqing as her daughter.
Someone who had reached this position certainly wouldn’t be without guile. Or rather, such people tend to overthink matters.
Now Consort Xian began to ponder: The Seventh Prince had seen the Emperor because of his troublemaking, which meant this trouble was likely intentional. So, was this son of hers, raised among commoners and unseen by her for eighteen years, quite scheming?
In the imperial family, having a strategic mind was a good thing, but the key was to see his attitude.
If the Seventh Prince held her, his imperial mother, and his elder brother in his heart, then all would be well. But if he had other thoughts, she would need to keep a close eye on him to ensure the Fourth Prince wasn’t disadvantaged.
Countless thoughts ran through Consort Xian’s mind, and she suddenly felt the urge to see Yu Jin.
She needed to see him with her own eyes to be at ease.
While Consort Xian was thinking about meeting her son, Consort Ning directly flipped the dining table.
Consort Ning was the Fifth Prince’s mother, from a military family, beautiful and fiery. For years, she had maintained the Emperor’s favor, even daring to flip tables in front of Emperor Jingming. How much more so now when there were no outsiders present?
“I’m furious! How dare that wild child hit my son!”
When Consort Ning lost her temper, the palace maids all kept their eyes down, not daring to advise her. Only the sound of fallen soup bowls rolling on the ground could be heard.
“Has the Emperor not arrived yet?” Consort Ning asked after waiting for a while.
Upon hearing about her son being beaten, Consort Ning immediately sent someone to invite Emperor Jingming. Usually, the Emperor would have arrived by now, but there was still no sign of him.
The eunuch tremblingly replied, “The Emperor is reviewing memorials. He said he’ll come over when he’s finished.”
“What?” Consort Ning stood up abruptly and strode towards the door.
Reviewing memorials? It was purely an excuse, clearly because he was afraid she would confront Consort Xian and that wild child.
She certainly couldn’t let this go, or else everyone would dare to step on her son in the future.
If the Emperor wouldn’t come, she would go to him!
In the imperial study, Emperor Jingming was flipping through a storybook with a troubled expression.
Not only were his sons causing problems, but those consorts were also restless. In just this short while, three or four eunuchs had come to invite him.
He didn’t want to face those weeping consorts for now, preferring to hide in the imperial study reading storybooks.
Pan Hai tiptoed in, and seeing the Emperor reading intently, he hesitated to disturb him but had to say, “Your Majesty, Consort Ning has arrived.”
Emperor Jing ming’s hand holding the storybook trembled, and he frowned, “Tell her I’m busy—”
Before he could finish, a beauty in crimson palace attire burst in.
Emperor Jingming hurriedly stuffed the storybook under a pile of memorials and said with a dry laugh, “Why has my beloved consort come here?”
“Your Majesty, Jing’er’s head has been broken by someone. How could I not come?”
“It’s alright, not too serious.”
Consort Ning’s face darkened, “Not serious? Your Majesty, that’s his head, not somewhere else. Even if it doesn’t look serious, what if there are lasting effects? Besides, it does look serious. I heard Jing’er’s face was covered in blood!”
“Uh, the one covered in blood was Sixth Prince. His nose was bloodied by Fifth Prince,” Emperor Jingming explained, seizing the opportunity.
Consort Ning’s tone faltered, and after a moment she continued, “Regardless, you must punish the main culprit severely! Whether it’s Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, or any of the other princes, their injuries were all caused by the one who started it. Your Majesty, have you considered that such incidents never occurred when the princes gathered before…”
Consort Ning spoke quickly for a while, and seeing no reaction from Emperor Jingming, she grabbed his sleeve, “Your Majesty, please say something!”
“Uh, uh, my beloved consort is right, punishment is necessary!”
Consort Ning’s lips curled, “How does Your Majesty plan to punish them?”
Emperor Jingming smiled, “Rest assured, my beloved, I have already punished them severely.”
“I haven’t heard about it,” Consort Ning was puzzled.
Could the information be wrong?
“I’ve ordered the Seventh Prince to face the wall and reflect in the Imperial Clan Court.”
“What?” Consort Ning’s eyes widened instantly. Seeing Emperor Jingming’s serious face, she turned pale with anger and blurted out, “How is that a punishment? I heard that several princes and even the Crown Prince were punished to face the wall and reflect. By having the Seventh Prince punished alongside them, you’re not punishing him, you’re elevating him. He doesn’t deserve it!”
After speaking, Consort Ning suddenly realized the atmosphere in the room had frozen. Looking at Emperor Jingming again, she saw his face had turned icy cold, his brows deeply furrowed.
She hadn’t seen the Emperor with such an expression for many years.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Jingming spoke, “Why does my beloved consort think that being punished is elevating the Seventh Prince?”
Consort Ning, long accustomed to being favored and sure of Emperor Jingming’s good nature, pouted and said, “Not to mention the Crown Prince, what kind of people are the other princes? They are all titled princes, the most noble after us in the palace. And what about the Seventh Prince? Raised on a farm, how is he any different from a country bumpkin? Your Majesty, by having him punished alongside the princes, aren’t you elevating him?”
“I see,” Emperor Jingming nodded slowly.
Consort Ning pursed her lips, “Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince has caused the princes to be injured and created such a big mess. You can’t just let this go. You must punish him severely to prevent him from causing even bigger trouble in the future.”
“Pan Hai—” Emperor Jingming called out.
Pan Hai poked his head out timely, “This slave is here.”
It seemed the Seventh Prince was in for trouble. The Emperor was good in every way except he couldn’t withstand pillow talk, and Consort Xian would not plead for the Seventh Prince.
Pan Hai came from a poor family with many siblings, and he happened to be the least favored one. Thinking of the Seventh Prince who was raised outside the palace and only met his father because of trouble, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship.
“Convey my imperial decree: Confer the title of Prince Yan upon the Seventh Prince, Yu Jin. Order the Imperial Clan Court and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to select an auspicious date for the investiture ceremony as soon as possible…”
As Emperor Jingming spoke these words, both Consort Ning and Pan Hai were stunned.
After waiting a while with no response, Emperor Jingming snorted in displeasure, “Pan Hai, are you deaf?”
Pan Hai snapped back to his senses and hurriedly said, “This slave receives the decree.”
Heavens, what was going on? How could the Seventh Prince have such incredible luck? Was he perhaps Heaven’s son?
Pan Hai walked out in a daze, wiping his face.
The Emperor’s unpredictable move was challenging the reaction ability of this head eunuch.
Pan Hai hadn’t walked far when an earth-shattering scream erupted from the imperial study: “Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?”
Emperor Jingming maintained a good-natured appearance, “Don’t be hasty, my beloved. Didn’t you say that Seventh Prince doesn’t deserve to be punished? I’m first giving him the same status as the other princes so that I can properly punish him.”
Consort Ning was so angry she trembled all over, speechless.
It was so reasonable, what more could she say? If she continued, would that wild child be made Crown Prince next?
Consort Xian, hearing that Consort Ning had gone to the imperial study to complain, rushed there herself. Although she didn’t care about Yu Jin, she feared it might affect the Fourth Prince. Halfway there, she encountered Pan Hai.
Pan Hai immediately congratulated her upon seeing Consort Xian: “Congratulations, Consort Xian.”