The Palace of Heavenly Purity.
"What? This is outrageous!"
After listening to Shen Baozhu's account, the emperor was so angry that he slammed the table.
The queen had almost lost hope in the third prince because of his partiality towards Concubine Li and her repeated acts of bullying. The emperor, however, saw things differently.
In the emperor's eyes, the third prince's behavior must have been influenced by someone, and that someone was Concubine Li.
The emperor gritted his teeth. "Fine, Concubine Li is truly something!"
"Demote Concubine Li to Concubine Bin and confine her to her quarters for three years. No visitors allowed!"
Dragon King: [So it's really Concubine Li. She's so devious.]
This was the second time Shen Baozhu had heard the name Concubine Li. She asked curiously, "Who is Concubine Li? Why is she being confined?"
The emperor recounted Concubine Li's strange behavior and said remorsefully, "I thought Concubine Bin had transferred her affection and doted on Xuyang as if he were the fourth prince. I didn't expect her to have ulterior motives. If it weren't for the fourth prince, I would surely punish her severely!"
Thinking of the foolish fourth prince, the emperor heaved a heavy sigh. If he weren't afraid that the fourth prince would be left unattended, he would even want to demote Concubine Li to a noble lady.
Lin Yu: [It's a kind of retribution, I guess. Concubine Li is so cunning, but her son is a fool.]
Dragon King: [Based on my many years of experience, maybe Concubine Li switched the two princes.]
Lin Yu: [Then why did Concubine Li try to corrupt the third prince? Is she afraid that the third prince will become the crown prince?]
Dragon King: [You're right. I was just speaking off the cuff. It may not be true.]
With so many烦心事, the emperor didn't want to talk about this anymore. He switched to a topic that interested Shen Baozhu. "Baozhu, is this the treasure - hunting mouse the immortals gave you?不愧是神鼠,英姿非凡！"
The treasure - hunting mouse stood upright upon hearing the emperor's praise. "I'm the most amazing mouse!"
"With me around, I'll surely protect my master!"
Lin Yu: [This tone... is a bit like the Dragon King?]
Qingyun the True Man: [A puppet mouse is not worthy to be compared with the Dragon King.]
Lin Yu: [That's true.]
The Dragon King, who was about to get angry, was appeased. That's right, a mere puppet mouse was not worthy to be compared with him. However, this puppet mouse was really good. It had an adorable appearance and a likable personality like his. It could store things and also relieve boredom. If there hadn't been any accidents and with the addition of the enlargement and shrinkage formation, his gift might have only come in second.
The Dragon King flicked his dragon tail. Now that the little cutie was in the emperor's palace and was protected by the emperor, he could go get his gift with peace of mind.
The emperor was very observant. Seeing that the treasure - hunting mouse liked to be praised, he simply called three little eunuchs to take turns praising it. The treasure - hunting mouse was so happy that it almost forgot about going home.
Shen Baozhu sat on the chair, watching the happy treasure - hunting mouse. She secretly memorized the eunuchs' words of praise. When she got home, she would praise the mouse with Brother Mingli. Brother Mingli was also very good at praising people!
...
The Yunshang Palace.
The imperial edict hadn't arrived yet, so Concubine Bin was still Concubine Li. She paced anxiously in the palace. "The third prince has suddenly become cold towards me. It must be that bitch of the queen who has been sowing discord!"
Hearing Concubine Li's unrestrained words, the maid quickly stopped her. "Your Highness, there are many people in the palace. You must be careful with your words!"
Concubine Li bit her lower lip, looking dissatisfied. "Be careful with my words all day long. I even have to be careful in my own palace! Now my son..."
"Your Highness!" The maid suddenly pinched Concubine Li's palm, forcing her to lower her voice.
The maid looked around and told the maids and eunuchs serving in the palace to leave first. After there was no one in the palace, she whispered to comfort Concubine Li. "Your Highness, why do you care about these things? Now... is the crown prince, and... is a fool. In the end, it's His Highness who has benefited."
Afraid of being overheard, the maid didn't mention the names directly, but Concubine Li knew exactly who was the crown prince and who was the fool.
Thinking of this, Concubine Li calmed down, but she was still a bit anxious. "I'm afraid that one day people will find out, and my son will suffer."
"Your Highness! No matter how much he suffers, the crown prince will still be the crown prince, and the fool will always be a fool. The curse of the foolish child is an incurable poison." The maid knew that her mistress was thinking of killing the fourth prince again, but the uncle had already instructed that the fourth prince must not die. Instead, he should be taken good care of.
The fourth prince was an excellent amulet. Even if he was a fool, he was still the emperor's blood. If Concubine Li made a big mistake in the future, the emperor would still take the fourth prince into account and leave some face for Concubine Li.
Even if things went wrong, the fourth prince was still a way out for her mistress. As long as the fourth prince was close to Concubine Li, for the sake of the fourth prince, the queen would have to endure humiliation. As the uncle said, the fourth prince was just poisoned and became a fool, but he was not an object. As long as he was a living being, he had feelings.
The maid couldn't help but sigh in her heart. It was clearly a good way to control the queen, but her mistress didn't think so. Instead, she stubbornly thought that the fourth prince was in the way of the third prince and couldn't wait to kill him.
Concubine Li showed jealousy and said indignantly, "Who cares if he's a fool or not? Look at how well the emperor treats the queen. Even if the fourth prince is a fool, he might still make the fool the crown prince."
"Your Highness, be careful with your words! What does the queen have to do with our fourth prince?" The maid emphasized again, even putting stress on "our fourth prince".
The maid Qing'er was not Concubine Li's personal maid since childhood. Concubine Li's elder brother was worried about his sister entering the palace, so he specially sent Qing'er to watch over her. Therefore, Concubine Li had to listen to Qing'er's words.
The more Concubine Li thought about it, the angrier she became. She vented her anger by smashing the porcelain on the table.
Suddenly, a little maid rushed in to report the news. "Your Highness, something bad has happened! The crown prince was knocked unconscious by the little daughter of the Princess of Jingning!"
"I heard that the queen was very angry. She replaced all the maids and eunuchs in the inner palace and even sent them to the Punishment Department for punishment!"
Concubine Li's mind was filled with the little maid's first sentence. She staggered a few steps and was supported by Qing'er.
The little maid was sent by Concubine Li to keep an eye on the Fengyi Palace. She first saw the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department leading a few people in and then leading a large group of maids and eunuchs out. She immediately felt something was wrong, so she bribed someone to find out what had happened.
After listening to the little maid's account, Concubine Li was very angry. "The Princess of Jingning is just the daughter of a general, and her in - law's family is not prominent. Her little daughter is just a commoner. How dare she fight back!"
"It's an honor for her that the crown prince beat her. Instead of accepting it meekly, she dared to fight back. The crown prince is the future emperor. Even if her whole family is killed, it's not enough..."
Seeing that Concubine Li was going too far, Qing'er didn't care about the difference in status and shouted sternly, "Your Highness, be careful with your words!"
Being scolded by Qing'er in front of the little maid, Concubine Li's face looked a bit bad. She said stubbornly, "Be careful with my words. The crown prince is the future emperor of Dayong. I'm just naturally worried when I hear that something has happened to him."
The little maid, unlike Qing'er who came from Concubine Li's natal family, was eager to curry favor with Concubine Li, so she followed Concubine Li's words. "Yes, yes. It's a huge thing that the crown prince was knocked unconscious by that commoner. Our Highness is just worried about the crown prince."
With someone agreeing with her, Concubine Li gradually gained confidence. She straightened her back and said righteously, "You go and send a message to my elder brother immediately. Tell him that the crown prince has been wronged and needs his support."
Qing'er also felt sorry for the crown prince being injured, so she followed Concubine Li's order and sent a message to the uncle outside the palace, who was Concubine Li's elder brother and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.