After walking out of the inner palace, the senior maid beside the queen whispered, "Your Majesty, that Concubine Li came here just to sow discord. Our young highness was so obedient before. It's all that Concubine Li's fault."
"Your servant dares to speak boldly. Your Majesty shouldn't have come out, let alone left the young highness with Concubine Li. There's still that potion water the emperor sent in that room!"
Although the senior maid didn't know what the potion water was, she knew that the emperor had specifically ordered his senior eunuch to deliver it. This potion water must be something extremely precious.
The queen rested her wrist on the senior maid's hand. She slightly curled her lips, smiling disdainfully. "Yes, the potion water is still in the room. It's time for our son to know who truly wishes him well."
...
At noon, as soon as the emperor finished his work, he came to the Fengyi Palace for lunch.
The senior eunuch followed behind the emperor. As soon as they entered the Fengyi Palace, he sensed that the atmosphere in the palace was tense, even more so than when he came in the morning.
The emperor walked into the inner palace, feeling utterly confused. There he saw the crown prince, Zhou Xuyang, craning his neck, looking utterly defiant. The queen stood opposite him, her right hand on her chest, clearly enraged.
"Presumptuous!" The emperor strode forward, pulling the queen into his arms, and scolded, "Your mother had a difficult pregnancy with you. Is this how you repay her? How dare you enrage her like this!"
Scolded by the emperor, the third prince was scared but forced himself to remain calm. "Father, it's mother who's being unreasonable. She forced me to recite a poem. But I already knew that poem by heart. Why should I keep reciting it?"
Hearing the third prince's false accusations, the senior maid beside the queen blushed with anger. She was about to step forward to argue, but the queen stopped her with a subtle gesture.
A hint of mockery flashed in the queen's eyes, but her tone was full of sorrow. "Your Majesty, it's my fault for failing to discipline our son. Please don't be angry."
These words seemed to pour oil on the fire, making the third prince even angrier. He had always found Concubine Li kind and affectionate since childhood. But the queen had always stopped him from getting close to Concubine Li.
If he hadn't grown up and been able to visit Concubine Li, he would probably have been under the queen's control for the rest of his life. Concubine Li was right. He was the crown prince, the future emperor. How could he listen to a woman? Now that he had just been a bit disobedient, the queen had shown her true colors and even told on him to his father. How disgusting!
Furious, the third prince roared, "Father, mother believed the tricks of some quack and brought back some potion water. She forced me to drink it and kept arguing with me..."
"What? You didn't drink the potion water? Where is it?" Hearing the potion water he treasured being called a quack's trick, the emperor was both angry and anxious. He was angry at the third prince's disobedience and even more anxious to find the potion water.
Seeing the emperor's anxious expression, the third prince looked slightly confused. He said helplessly, "Father, what's wrong?"
At this crucial moment, the queen squeezed out a few tears and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. "My son, that potion water wasn't found by your mother. It was a special gift from your father."
"Seeing you angry, your mother thought the potion water was too important. So I left first to let you drink it..."
As the queen spoke, the emperor's eyes grew colder. He loved the third prince because he was the queen's son who had been in the womb for ten months. But the third prince was so stubborn at such a young age. His decision to make him the crown prince was too hasty.
The third prince was young and inexperienced. Before, the queen loved and doted on him, so she could be easily hurt. But after the potion water incident, the queen suddenly woke up. If kindness didn't work, she would use other means.
Under the emperor's cold gaze, the third prince grew more and more scared. "Concubine Li took the potion water back and gave it to my fourth brother. Mother said it was a very good thing. I thought my fourth brother was in poor health, so I gave it to him..."
The fourth prince was the foolish son of Concubine Li.
The ten bowls of potion water were extremely precious. In the royal family, only the empress dowager, the queen, and the third prince received it. It was a special favor.
Learning that the third prince had given the potion water to the fourth prince, the emperor sighed. He knew that the third prince and Concubine Li were close, but he didn't expect Concubine Li to use a seven - year - old child.
The queen clenched her handkerchief tightly, secretly thinking that she had underestimated Concubine Li. She had argued with the third prince for a long time, and the third prince had claimed that he had poured out the potion water. She never thought that Concubine Li had taken it to the fourth prince.
The third prince was quite relieved. He really wanted to pour out the potion water, but Concubine Li had guessed that the queen would tell on him and stopped him in time. Otherwise, he would have been scolded by his father today.
But soon, this relief disappeared.
The emperor said in frustration, "You child! How could you give away the potion water so easily!"
"There are only ten bowls of it in the entire Great Yong! I was reluctant to distribute it. I only gave you some because you're the crown prince. How could you just give it away!"
Although the fourth prince was also the emperor's son, he was a fool. The emperor loved the third prince more and wanted him to drink the potion water.
The third prince was stunned. "The potion water was a gift from father?"
The senior eunuch quickly stepped forward. "Your Highness, the two bowls of potion water were delivered to Her Majesty the queen by your servant. It was indeed a gift from His Majesty."
"Is the potion water not a quack's trick?" The third prince only then realized this problem. He looked at the queen fearfully.
The queen tearfully pulled the third prince into her arms. "How could your mother bear to let you drink something from a quack? This potion water was obtained by your father's prayer to the heavens. It's a good thing for nourishing the body."
"You child, don't you think? Concubine Li has her own son. Why would she not love her own child but love you instead? She knows your noble status and wants to get something from you for the fourth prince."
The third prince didn't want to believe the queen's words, but the emperor also agreed with her. His thoughts were the same as the queen's. "Since you and the fourth prince were born at the same time, you're smart and healthy, while the fourth prince is foolish. Concubine Li has always disliked you and avoided you. Now she's deliberately getting close to you. Could it be that she really likes you?"
Concubine Li was beautiful and gentle. The emperor doted on her. He didn't blame her because of the fourth prince. Instead, he understood her feelings as a mother and ignored her disrespect for the crown prince.
But this time, Concubine Li had tricked the third prince and taken the potion water. The emperor couldn't ignore it and directly ordered her to be confined to her quarters.
...
In a remote side palace.
A maid carried a bamboo tube and walked into the palace carefully, with a look of disgust on her face. "What bad luck! It's so hot, and I still have to deliver water to a fool."
Everyone in the palace knew that the fourth prince was a fool. Doing errands for him was a waste of time. It was the middle of summer, and the weather was scorching hot. No one in Concubine Li's palace wanted to do this. The maids pushed and shoved each other, and finally decided by drawing lots. The maid who had to deliver the water was the unluckiest. She happened to draw the only blank slip and became the one to do it.
The maid searched the palace and found the fourth prince, who was hiding in a corner, covered in dirt. She pinched the fourth prince's chin and forced the water from the bamboo tube into his mouth.
This water was brought back by Concubine Li from the Fengyi Palace. It was said to be some quack's potion water, and they were told to feed it to the fourth prince.
The maid just wanted to finish feeding the water quickly and leave. She didn't notice at all that the dull eyes under her hand suddenly showed a glimmer of light.