TV Series: When the Villain Chooses to Stand by

Chapter 194 Yixiu 63

"Concubine Qi, have you ever really understood Hongshi's studies? Have you ever asked him if he wants to be emperor?"

"The emperor is the most noble person in the world, and the third prince is a prince. How could he be unwilling?" Concubine Qi's matter-of-fact answer made Yixiu clench her fists.

"You've told the Emperor many times before him that the Third Prince will share his worries, right?"

Concubine Qi nodded blankly, "Yes, but the emperor didn't say much!"

"Why don't you move to the Cining Palace now? Do you really think the emperor has agreed?"

"I dare not. Please give me some advice, Your Majesty." Concubine Qi felt particularly aggrieved. Why didn't she just acquiesce? The emperor had never refuted it.

Isn’t this considered a default?

"I won't say any more to you. When the Fourth Prince returns to the palace someday, you can bring the Third Prince with you. Now go down."

Concubine Qi not only failed to achieve her desired goal but also suffered a setback.

In the following days, she went to the Yangxin Palace several times with soups she made herself, but she met the emperor only a few times.

In the past, Concubine Qi sat on the high platform with absolute confidence, but this sudden change made the emperor know her thoughts instantly.

Looking at the chicken soup in front of him, the emperor sneered.

"Su Peisheng, bring the soup down."

"Yes!"

Su Peisheng straightened his clothes, which had become a little tight recently. Even with a bright smile on his face, he couldn't hide the distress in his eyes.

"She's not smart to begin with, but she's quite cunning. Concubine Qi is really getting worse and worse, and she's raised my son to be like this."

"It's really useless..."

The emperor would not admit that the mediocrity of the Third Prince was his own fault, and only thought it was Concubine Qi's fault.

He was even more unwilling to admit that he was greedy for beauty when he was young, and doted on Concubine Qi, making her pregnant several times.

Every time the emperor saw Concubine Qi, he would think of his ignorant and unrestrained self, which was a dark history that he could not bear to look back on, so he rarely went to see Concubine Qi.

"Has the Queen not seen Concubine Qi these days?"

Su Peisheng was grinding ink carefully at the side. "Yes, the Queen excused herself from paying respects to the other palaces a few days ago because she was ill."

"Well, I'll find something from my inner storehouse and send it to the Queen so she can recover from her illness."

Hearing that the queen was behaving well, the emperor's expression became a little better.

In recent years, the queen has never done anything out of the ordinary except for her own business, and she has had little contact with the Ulanara family.

Those businesses also operated strictly in accordance with the laws, and the huge taxes also relaxed the emperor's vigilance.

All the Queen's actions were just as the Queen Mother said, just to increase her bargaining chips.

This is more reasonable, and it is worth his indulgence of the queen all the time.

The emperor knew that his decision to let Hongli return to the palace had attracted a lot of attention.

In order to prevent them from having unnecessary thoughts like Concubine Qi, the emperor did not pay much attention to Hongli, and even only spoke to him briefly for a few words when he returned to the palace.

"Now that you're back in the palace, study hard and focus on serious matters. Stop dwelling on these strange and cunning tricks."

"Yes, I will follow the instructions of my father."

After leaving the Yangxin Palace, Hongli looked back.

The evening sunlight is not glaring. The orange-red sunlight flows freely among the glazed tiles, and then is cut off in the middle.

Sitting there was his father, his blood relative, and the cruel emperor.

The last bit of warmth Hongli had for his father disappeared.

The familiar tea and snacks in Jingren Palace made him feel warm again.

"Thank you, Madam Queen, for your concern. I have always been in good health, so this little cold is nothing."

"That's good. Since you're here, you can help me..."

After hearing Yixiu's request, Hongli put down his teacup, raised his eyebrows and recalled.

"Third brother?"

"It's not a big deal to ask for your son's schedule. I'll just have someone copy it later. But as for this test? I wonder what kind of effect the Empress Dowager wants?"

Hongli used to be very jealous of Hongshi, and the existence of this brother was his nightmare.

Looking back now, he couldn't remember the last time he inquired about Hongshi's news.

This brother who was raised in the palace and surrounded by love has long been out of his sight.

Yixiu had no intention of hiding it from Hongli, and told him everything about Concubine Qi and Hongshi.

"When the time comes, just crush them."

"Yes, I've made note of it." Hongli responded with a smile. He found that Yixiu seemed to be very tolerant of Concubine Qi and her son.

Let these clowns jump around as they please. If it were me, I would have crushed them to death long ago.

But looking back, he should be grateful for this kindness for being able to get to where he is today.

Concubine Qi knew that Hongli would return to the palace today and had made preparations early, just waiting for someone to come from Jingren Palace.

"Hongshi, good boy, you've been studying so hard these days, you'll definitely do well, don't worry!"

Hongshi nodded silently, but he was not worried at all.

The person who was really nervous was Concubine Qi, who had said similar words countless times since morning.

Before entering the gate of Jingren Palace, Concubine Qi was still cheering herself up.

The moment they saw Hongli in person, both mother and son were stunned. They imagined that a prince raised in the Old Summer Palace should not look like this.

He has an outstanding figure, and his speech and manners are all excellent. Those who don't know him would think that he is the legitimate son who has been raised by the queen since childhood.

Yixiu was not polite to them either.

"Third Prince, Concubine Qi has been praising you for your hard work these days. Now that Fourth Prince has returned to the palace, you two brothers will study together in the future."

"As your Empress Dowager, I am here to test you today."

The two men bowed very humbly and said yes.

Yixiu was well aware of the difference in progress between the two, and the questions he asked were all about the contents in the book, and did not involve any issues that required them to think for themselves.

Hongshi was able to answer questions fluently at the beginning, but gradually he became hesitant and finally fell completely silent.

Hongli, on the other hand, handled the whole process with ease from beginning to end.

In order to prevent Concubine Qi from feeling uneasy, Yixiu asked her to ask the question herself.

The light in Concubine Qi's eyes gradually disappeared. Even though she didn't understand poetry or books, she could still see the gap between the two of them.

Yixiu looked at Hongshi in front of her, with his head lowered so that his expression could not be seen clearly. His hands hung at his sides, tightly clutching his sleeves. Then she looked at Concubine Qi, and saw that the mother and son were exactly the same.

She knew that this was not enough for Concubine Qi to see the difference, so she cleared her throat, closed the book and put it aside.

Hongshi's eyes fell on the table and he felt relieved, it was finally over.

"It's great that the Fourth Prince hasn't neglected his studies in the Old Summer Palace. It doesn't matter if the Third Prince is a bit slack. He can always make up for it if he works hard."

Concubine Qi suddenly looked up and a smile immediately appeared on her face.

Yes, her son is just lagging behind temporarily. As long as he works hard, he will definitely surpass the Fourth Prince.