Prince Qi was the next to come in for a visit.
Prince Qi put on a concerned face: “Seventh Brother, I’ve heard about today’s events. You were a bit impulsive.”
“Uh.” Yu Jin’s attitude towards Prince Qi was even colder than towards Prince Lu.
Prince Qi suppressed his displeasure and comforted, “Don’t worry, after a few days when Father Emperor’s anger subsides, I’ll plead on your behalf. Perhaps Father Emperor will release you…”
“There’s no need to trouble Fourth Brother. I find it quite nice here.”
Prince Qi’s mouth twitched, unable to continue.
He had never encountered someone like Seventh Brother who was impervious to both soft and hard approaches.
After a while, Prince Qi finally squeezed out a sentence: “Seventh Brother, we’re brothers born of the same mother. Among all our brothers, there’s no one closer than us. You don’t need to be so formal with Fourth Brother.”
Yu Jin chuckled lightly: “If that’s the case, then Fourth Brother can go plead with Father Emperor on my behalf right now.”
Prince Qi froze, then said sheepishly, “Right now, Father Emperor is still angry—”
Yu Jin sneered, “In that case, Fourth Brother needn’t say anything more. I heard from Fifth Brother that others are queuing up, so don’t waste your time here.”
Saying a few nice words and expecting to win him over to cheer for him, Fourth Brother’s face was truly thick.
How could he be blood brothers with such a person?
Yu Jin pondered in bewilderment, closing his eyes and no longer paying attention to Prince Qi.
Even the well-mannered Prince Qi felt quite embarrassed at this moment. His tone turned cool: “Seventh Brother, you grew up outside the palace and are young and impetuous. Let Fourth Brother advise you, don’t offend everyone, lest you find yourself with nowhere to go in the future…”
Yu Jin opened his eyes and smiled lazily, “Fourth Brother worries too much. If there’s no path, I can still stay in my prince’s mansion, going nowhere.”
Prince Qi pursed his lips, leaving with a heavy heart.
Soon after, Prince Shu appeared before Yu Jin.
“Isn’t Seventh Brother afraid of worrying Seventh Sister-in-law? I’ve heard pregnant women can’t handle shock…”
Looking at Yu Jin confined in the empty room, Prince Shu felt quite pleased.
Ever since the news of Yan Wang Fei’s pregnancy spread, he and his princess consort felt pressured like a mountain when being intimate, wondering after each time if they had conceived.
They shouldn’t have to worry about this so soon after marriage, it was all Seventh Brother’s fault!
“My family affairs are not for Sixth Brother to worry about,” Yu Jin leaned against the cold hard wall, feeling quite a headache.
The Emperor’s sons were too many. He and A-Si should just have one child, to avoid so much trouble.
After sending away several princes, there was finally something to be happy about: someone from the Yan Prince Manor had come to deliver food.
A-Man came to deliver the food, accompanied by Long Dan.
“How is the Princess Consort?”
A-Man quickly replied, “The Princess Consort is doing well. She told this servant to tell Your Highness not to worry about home…”
As she spoke, she opened the red lacquered food box and took out the dishes layer by layer.
The food box had three layers in total. The first layer revealed several braised dishes, including thinly sliced soy-braised pork hock.
The deep red meat of the pork hock was somewhat translucent due to being sliced thin, gleaming enticingly.
The second layer had seven or eight small dishes, including stir-fried squab with coriander and Kung Pao wild rabbit. Each dish was small in portion but exquisite, and still warm when taken out.
The third layer contained staple foods, desserts, and several fresh fruits.
In the blink of an eye, the table was filled with an array of dishes, that looked sumptuous.
The guard on duty peeked in, smelling the aroma and secretly swallowing.
It truly was a different life for different people. Even when confined, a prince was served with fine food and drink, well taken care of.
Yu Jin started eating in front of A-Man.
His eating speed didn’t seem fast, and his manners were refined, but after a short while, only empty plates remained.
Wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin and rinsing his mouth with tea, Yu Jin smiled and said, “Go back and tell the Princess Consort that I can eat and sleep well, there’s nothing wrong at all. Tell her to take good care of herself and the child in her belly.”
A-Man complied and cleaned up the dishes and bowls, leaving accompanied by Long Dan.
In Yuhe Courtyard, after hearing A-Man’s report, Jiang Si was slightly surprised: “The Prince ate all the food sent?”
“Yes, he ate it all. Don’t worry, My Lady. I saw that the place where the Prince is staying is quite comfortable, and the bedding is thick.”
Jiang Si asked about some more details before feeling slightly relieved.
Emperor Jingming had his lunch in Kunning Palace.
The Emperor and Empress finished their meal in silence, each holding a cup of hot tea and sipping slowly.
“Your Majesty, I heard that Prince Yan has made a mistake and been confined to the Imperial Clan Court…”
The Empress usually stayed out of matters concerning the princes, but now it was different for Yu Jin.
Princess Fuqing’s eyes had been cured by Prince Yan’s wife, and the Prince Yan couple had also exposed Noble Lady Chen, who had harbored ill intentions towards their daughter for many years. The Empress was grateful.
Gratitude was hard to repay, and if the Empress showed no concern at this time, it would seem too cold-hearted.
Emperor Jingming was quite pleased when the Empress brought up this topic.
He had been waiting for the Empress to mention it.
Confining Seventh Son to the Imperial Clan Court wasn’t much, but after thinking about Seventh Son’s wife being pregnant, he felt some regret.
Women are all narrow-minded. What if Seventh Son’s wife was frightened and something happened to the child?
“He even dared to hit the Crown Prince, he must be punished!”
The Empress nodded in agreement: “He should indeed be punished. But Prince Yan’s wife is pregnant, I wonder if she might be frightened…”
Emperor Jingming held back and asked, “Seventh Son’s wife didn’t come to the palace to plead with you?”
“No, she didn’t.” The Empress thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps she went to Noble Consort Xian.”
Emperor Jingming didn’t say anything more. They soon started talking about Princess Fuqing, and after chatting for a while, he got up to leave, heading towards Yuquan Palace.
As soon as he entered Yuquan Palace, Emperor Jingming thought of Noble Lady Chen.
Although the gelsemium flowers and mandarin duck vines in Noble Lady Chen’s courtyard had long been uprooted and burned clean, Emperor Jingming still felt uneasy when he thought about it.
If not necessary, he didn’t want to come here.
Noble Consort Xian was also surprised by Emperor Jingming’s arrival.
It had been a long time since the Emperor had come to her place…
Of course, the Emperor must have come for Seventh Son’s matter.
Thinking of Yu Jin, Noble Consort Xian felt her teeth itch with hatred.
Sure enough, this unfilial son had nothing to do with her when things were good, but when he made a mistake, she became the Emperor’s target for questioning.
According to palace rules, on the first and fifteenth of each month, the princes’ wives should enter the palace to pay respects to their mothers-in-law, even if pregnant.
When the news of Jiang Si’s pregnancy spread, Noble Consort Xian was waiting for her to come and pay respects so she could bring up the matter of arranging concubines for Yu Jin. Unexpectedly, she didn’t come at all!
Just because the Emperor said to rest well, she took it seriously. What use was such a daughter-in-law?
Noble Consort Xian was still harboring this anger when her unfilial son in her mind made another mistake.
“You know about Seventh Son’s matter, right?” Emperor Jingming asked.
Noble Consort Xian replied solemnly, “Seventh Son offending the Crown Prince is a serious crime. Your Majesty need not consider my feelings, just punish him severely!”
Emperor Jingming choked a bit, then said, “Seventh Son’s wife—”
Noble Consort Xian immediately interjected, “Even if Seventh Son’s wife came to plead with me, I absolutely would not show favoritism. Your Majesty should handle it impartially.”
Emperor Jingming: “…”
He knew it, as soon as he came to Yuquan Palace, things wouldn’t go smoothly!