Shen Baozhu asked Yin Susu and the Fourth Prince for a strand of hair each and put the two strands of hair into the potion.
Just as Princess Jingning had guessed, the Fourth Prince was a bit afraid of men. After Father Yin left, the Fourth Prince got up on his own.
He slowly walked up to Shen Baozhu, took out a packet of shortbread from his small bag, broke half of it and handed it to Shen Baozhu first, then broke off a small piece and put it into his mouth to savor slowly.
The Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince is quite nice. He even knows to share the food with the little cutie first.]
Princess Jingning returned to the room and looked at the Fourth Prince with a troubled expression. She had to find a way to let Father Yin have close contact with the Fourth Prince.
Although she was good friends with the Queen, it would be better to inform the Queen about this family matter through Father Yin.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was constantly protecting the small bag of food in front of him, Princess Jingning came up with an idea. She asked Qingdai to go to the small kitchen to get some food and then asked Father Yin to carry the food in.
It wasn't noon yet, so there wasn't much food in the small kitchen, only some pastries and cold jelly.
Father Yin first carried in the cold jelly. When the Fourth Prince saw him, he hid behind Shen Baozhu.
Father Yin was encouraged by this. He thought it was a step forward. The Fourth Prince just hid from him and wasn't as agitated as before. This was a good sign!
So Father Yin carried all the pastries from the kitchen at once. By the time he carried in the last plate, with Shen Baozhu's help, the Fourth Prince was already enjoying the sweet and smooth cold jelly.
After taking a bite, the Fourth Prince couldn't control himself. He ate quickly and soon finished the bowl of cold jelly.
Looking at the empty bowl, the Fourth Prince lowered his eyes slightly and said in a low tone, "Baozhu, no more."
Father Yin was full of guilt at this moment. Hearing the Fourth Prince's words, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Do you still want some cold jelly? Uncle will buy it for you."
"No, um." The Fourth Prince first shook his head and then nodded, which confused Father Yin.
Shen Baozhu was dividing the pastries. She took a moment to talk to the Fourth Prince, "It's okay. I've eaten this before. I like pastries better. You don't have to worry about me."
Yin Susu still remembered what Father Yin had said. She leaned over and asked, "Cousin, do you mean that Baozhu didn't get to eat the cold jelly and you want her to have some?"
The Fourth Prince nodded.
This made Father Yin feel sour. Such a good child had been harmed by Concubine Li and was even under the spell of the "Curse of the Idiot Prince".
Father Yin only felt心疼 about the Fourth Prince's abnormalities. Compared with the unaware Emperor, the Queen knew a bit more about the Fourth Prince's experience.
Since the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were born at the same time, the Queen had mentioned this when chatting with Mother Yin. She had given Concubine Li a few hints, but it not only didn't help, but also made Concubine Li more indifferent to the Fourth Prince.
At that time, no one had thought that the children had been switched. They just thought that Concubine Li didn't like the Fourth Prince. After all, after she gave birth to the Fourth Prince, the Emperor didn't allow her to get pregnant again for fear that there would be another stupid child in the royal family.
With the close contact, Father Yin was convinced that the Fourth Prince was his nephew and felt full of guilt towards him.
He should have thought of it earlier. His Majesty and his sister were so smart. How could they have given birth to such a stupid Third Prince!
Qiuqiu finished the pastry in her hand and reached for a handkerchief to wipe her hands. Suddenly, she saw that the bottle on the table had turned red. She reminded Shen Baozhu, "Baozhu, the water in your bottle has changed color."
The Dragon King: [Quick, take a look. The water should have turned darker.]
The Green Cloud True Man: [If there was an inter - marriage between Concubine Li's ancestors and the Queen's family, would the prince she gave birth to also be detected as having a blood relationship?]
Hearing Qiuqiu's reminder, Shen Baozhu quickly ate the pastry and brought the bottle in front of her. She also made sure that Lin Yu could see the color clearly.
Lin Yu: [Judging from this dark color, the Fourth Prince and Susu are cousins.]
The Dragon King: [That's right!]
Looking at the Fourth Prince, Father Yin felt extremely guilty. He couldn't wait to tell the Queen the news that the children had been抱错, but he also couldn't bear to leave the Fourth Prince. Father Yin was hesitating.
...
Yunshang Palace.
The Emperor threw a stack of memorials on the ground and said in a cold voice, "Concubine Li, you've given me quite a big surprise!"
"Xuyang made mistakes, and it was your Cui family who helped cover them up and indulged him in hurting people many times!"
When mentioning the mistakes made by the Third Prince, the Emperor's tone became even more severe. If he had known that Concubine Li had led the Third Prince astray, he should have demoted her to the Cold Palace back then!
After Concubine Li gave birth to the Fourth Prince, some ministers proposed to the Emperor to send Concubine Li to the Cold Palace for the sake of the royal dignity. But the Emperor, out of old affection and thinking that the stupid prince was not what Concubine Li had wanted, didn't adopt this proposal.
But now, the Emperor really regretted it.
No matter how much affection there was, in the Emperor's heart, Concubine Li couldn't compare to the Third Prince born to him and the Queen.
Concubine Li was full of concern for the Third Prince. She quickly tried to excuse the Third Prince, "Your Majesty, it was the concubine who couldn't bear to see the Crown Prince punished and did it in private. It was all the concubine's fault and has nothing to do with the Crown Prince."
Thinking that the Third Prince had lost his chance to be the Crown Prince because of Concubine Li, the Emperor's anger welled up, "You poisonous woman! You have a vicious mind. You incited the Third Prince to hurt people and made him lose the position of Crown Prince."
"What? The Crown Prince has lost his position?"
Learning that her son had lost the position of Crown Prince, Concubine Li knelt and crawled forward. She grabbed the Emperor's trouser leg, wanting to know more detailed news, but was kicked in the chest by the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at her with disgust, "You still have the nerve to mention Xuyang. If it weren't for you maliciously leading him astray and making Xuyang offend everyone in the capital, how could Xuyang have been impeached..."
Concubine Li shook her head in disbelief, "No, this is impossible! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Third Prince is your only son with the Queen. Why don't you protect him? Does the Queen agree to this?"
"Do you still know that the Third Prince is the Queen's son? When you were always keeping Xuyang by your side and sowing discord between them, why didn't you think of this?" It wasn't that the Emperor was willing to explain to Concubine Li, but that he was angry with the Third Prince. He was angry that the Third Prince had attacked Yin Susu and even more angry that the Third Prince had disrespected the Eldest Princess in his words and deeds.
This anger had been pent - up in the Emperor's heart, and he took this opportunity to vent it.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He simply told Concubine Li that it was precisely because of her deliberate concealment that the Third Prince had offended many people. Even the Yin family, the Queen's maternal family, had requested to depose the Crown Prince. The ministers had knelt in front of the Qianqing Palace. Even if the Emperor wanted to protect the Third Prince, there was nothing he could do.
"No, this is impossible." Concubine Li collapsed on the ground, muttering "impossible" over and over again.
After scolding Concubine Li, the Emperor finally felt a bit better. He waved his hand slightly, and the great eunuch beside him announced the imperial edict. Concubine Li was sent to the Cold Palace, and the Fourth Prince would be raised by another gentle - natured concubine.
This concubine was carefully selected by the Queen overnight. She had been in the palace for more than a decade. Her family background was ordinary, and her nature was gentle. The Emperor was very relieved to entrust the Fourth Prince to her care.
Concubine Li stared blankly ahead. She couldn't accept that the Third Prince had been deposed, and even less could she accept that it was she who had ruined the Third Prince.