Chapter 177.1

“Then Grandfather Emperor this grandson will bid farewell. Mother is still waiting for me at home. If I return home too late, my mother will be very worried.”

Emperor Hongjing waved his hand and said, “Go.”

Xiaobao cupped his chubby hands together in farewell before Li Dequan led him out the palace gates.

Yuchan and An Shiyi were waiting outside. After picking up Xiaobao from Li Dequan and thanking him, they took Xiaobao with them and left Qianqing Palace.

Li Dequan returned to Emperor Hongjing, and said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, the little eunuch from the imperial kitchen has confessed. Xizhu, who serves Imperial Concubine Kang, ordered him to do it.”

Emperor Hongjing snorted and said meaningfully, “Imperial Concubine Kang has nothing to do with Jin Wang.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

This was true. Although Imperial Concubine Kang was only a concubine, she had given birth to a princess and could be considered a veteran in the palace. She didn’t have any reason to make things difficult for a prince, especially since there was no conflict of interest between the two.

“Imperial Concubine Kang and Consort Qian are quite close with each other. Could it be Consort Qian who instigated Imperial Concubine Kang to attack?”

Consort Qian was the birth mother of An Wang. With the incident that happened to An Wang earlier, it was evident that at least one of the princes had made a move. It was understandable for Consort Qian to be furious.

Li Dequan lowered his head and smiled apologetically. He didn’t have anything to say and he didn’t dare to say anything.

After a while, Emperor Hongjing nodded and said to himself, “These women of mine have more thoughts than the number of bees in a beehive. Always beating around the bush whenever they want to do something. Since they like to do this so much—” He paused for a moment, then said, “Beat that eunuch to death, and Imperial Concubine Kang’s position will be lowered.”

Li Dequan dipped his head in acknowledgement.

This way, even those who didn’t know about it would find out. If it really was Consort Qian, then this would serve as a warning. If it wasn’t for her, then they can find out who tried to frame her.

However, based on Li Dequan’s years of experience in the palace, the possibility of it being Consort Qian was extremely low. It was too obvious and it would be way too easy for people to guess it was her. It was unlikely Consort Qian would be able to live in the palace for so many years and still raise a prince and a princess safely if she was so rash.

Having served at Emperor Hongjing’s side for a long time, Li Dequan was also well versed in the emperor’s way of handling things. Despite the favour, it doesn’t necessarily mean he favours you. Even if he gave you punishment, it might not be to punish you.

One year, two years, five years, ten years. Many things couldn’t be seen clearly overnight. Only after a long time can one get a sense of his true feelings. Take the young master as an example. His Majesty treats the young master from Jin Wang Manor very differently. Besides Young Master Chen’s talent and intelligence, a large part of it was because the little prince’s face resembled that one.

However, these thoughts only hovered in Li Dequan’s mind for a while before he buried them in his heart. Given his position, he knew not to dwell too long on his own thoughts. He had to think what His Majesty thinks. Only by thinking what His Majesty thinks, would he be able to live a long and prosperous life.

As for everything else, it was all bullshit.

At the gate of Qianqing Palace, Yan Ge’er was waiting for Xiaobao.

Now that class was over, the little imperial grandsons from other households had all left. Yan Ge’er normally leaves the palace with Xiaobao to go home, so he waited for him.

“Did you wait for a long time?”

Brother Yan shook his head silently. “Xuan Ge’er said he wanted to wait for you too, but he was too restless and left first.”

The two of them took their respective maids and eunuchs and went out the Qianqing Palace gates. Just after passing the Qianqing palace gates, a boy ran towards them as if he had a fire on his heels.

When he arrived, he was out of breath. “I thought about it and decided I still wanted to be with you, so I got rid of the two followers, Yu Ge’er and Xi Ge’er. You already agreed to take me to your house to play. Don’t go back on your word.”

It was Xuan Ge’er who came.

Xiaobao laughed. He had just mentioned it casually, but Xuan Ge’er actually took it to heart.

“Alright, but you have to behave yourself when you come to my house. I have a younger brother, and you’re not allowed to bully my Erbao.”

Xuan Ge’er glanced at him impatiently. “You make it sound like this young master bullies people every day. Let’s go, hurry up. Those two from my family are here already.”

The two he was referring to were Xiao Xizi and a maid named Ruhua. The two ran over, out of breath, with looks of misery on their faces.

The three of them left the palace together. Xiao Xizi and Ruhua had no choice but to follow along. They already knew they would definitely be punished when they go back, but who could be blamed? Their young master refused to listen to them. Not only does he eat other people’s food, but now he also wants to go play at other people’s houses.

Xiao Xizi thought to himself that after exiting the palace gates, he would send someone to deliver a letter to the manor. He couldn’t control this little living ancestor anymore.