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Zhang Xi was puzzled to observe a change in Tianjie. He was not this type of person. Did Lóng Wei threaten him? He was inquisitive to learn about it and asked about the same from Tianjie. “Brother Tianjie looks different after he has returned from Qijiang. Did Brother Lóng Wei warn him?”

Tianjie shook his head. “No. I got the self-realization not to do so,” he responded. “Lóng Wei is different. Li Hua was right. We missed seeing a bigger and strange part of Lóng Wei. He does not want to harm us. Because we forced him to see everything differently, he became like that. However, he is not our enemy until we want him to be,” he explained to Zhang Xi.

“Brother Tianjie is siding with Brother Lóng Wei. That means he has seen or noticed something in him which was never visible to us,” Zhang Xi interpreted Tianjie’s words.

“Yes,” Tianjie nodded his head. “Did Brother Zhang Xi notice a strange thing yesterday?” He asked.

“What did I have to notice?” Zhang Xi was perplexed by Tianjie’s question.

“Lóng Wei did not demand the death sentence of the Queen. He could have asked for that. We all know how Her Majesty has always demanded the harshest punishment for Lóng Wei when he was a teenager,” Tianjie stated.

“That is probably because Li Hua did not get harmed,” Zhang Xi asserted.

“No. It was not the reason,” Tianjie affirmed.

.....

“The Second Mother could have become the Queen, and then our eldest brother’s position would always be in danger. Why? Because the Second Mother would have done her best to dethrone Brother Xiaoming from the Crown Prince’s seat. We all know among the Queen, Consorts, and Concubines, the King favors the Noble Consort the most. Father would not have refuted her request if she had asked him to make Brother Qiu Mu the Crown Prince. I think that is the main reason Lóng Wei did not ask for any death penalty for the Queen.”

Tianjie’s thorough explanation made Zhang Xi understand how visionary Lóng Wei was!

“So, Brother Lóng Wei protected Crown Prince Xiaoming from getting deposed from that position,” Zhang Xi muttered.

“And also a bloody politics to happening in the palace,” Tianjie asserted.

“Li Hua is brainless, and she asked for the death penalty with little thought,” Zhang Xi remarked.

“I would say that Li Hua turned emotional. If we get wives in the future and we get ridiculed for no reason, then our wives will definitely turn emotional. Even we would get emotional. However, as I said, Lóng Wei is different. He was calm in the entire situation and also handled it well.” Tianjie could not help but admire Lóng Wei for his thought process.

The pages in the fire pit had turned into ashes. Slowly, the fire quenched, and with that Tianjie also put an end to his wrongdoings.

“Brother Mu will marry Kang Cha Ying. Has Brother Tianjie heard about it?” Zhang Xi asked, thus bringing Tianjie out of his thoughts.

“Shi Rang, clean it,” Tianjie ordered and went away with Zhang Xi while conversing with him.

“No. I did not hear about this,” Tianjie informed him.

“Brother Mu will become politically stronger. Father had asked for Kang Cha Ying’s hand for Brother Mu, which the Kang family readily accepted,” Zhang Xi stated.

“Kang Xi could have never let such a proposal slip off his hand,” Tianjie asserted and snickered.

“What about us? We also have to become politically stronger, Brother Tianjie. A daughter of a strong minister is a must for that.” Zhang Xi was the son of the third concubine. His position in the kingdom was not significant, so he feared that his future was not secured like the other princes.

“I wish my mother’s rank were higher,” Zhang Xi said and sighed away. “Lóng Wei is lucky to become the Governor of Qinping while we both have positions lower than those of the court ministers. I do not think a high-rank official would give his daughter’s hand for me,” he added.

“We are the Princes, so eventually, we stand out among everyone. Lóng Wei became Governor because of his brain. We both were busy keeping the money illegally,” Tianjie clarified to him.

“Father will definitely see better marriage proposals for us,” Tianjie assured Zhang Xi and patted Zhang Xi’s shoulder.

“I hope so, but I think we should do some great work to come into Father’s eyes,” Tianjie suggested to Zhang Xi. They stopped at the pavilion and took a seat around the table. He laid his head back and tilted it a little to look at the garden where the servants were working.

Suddenly, his mind went to Song Jia. That day when he had gone to give her the ring, he saw her plucking flowers in the garden while dancing. Everything about her was graceful in Tianjie’s eyes. He was so immersed in his deep thoughts that he did not hear Zhang Xi.

When Zhang Xi jerked his shoulder, then Tianjie realized that he was lost for a while. “What happened, Brother Tianjie? I called you many times,” Zhang Xi said and got back to his seat.

Tianjie shook his head, “Nothing, Brother Zhang Xi.” He did not want to tell Zhang Xi how he ended up giving his heart to a woman from a low class. He recalled how he mocked Lóng Wei for marrying Li Hua when no one knew that she belonged to the Xu Family. He realized that he would not be able to forget Song Jia easily.

~~~~~~~~

Xiaoming bowed to see the Noble Consort. Xiuying asked the Crown Prince to take the seat, and he settled on the broad chair.

“The Crown Prince is aware that I am now the head of the inner palace, so accordingly, I have devised some rules. I want the Crown Prince to take in at least a concubine,” Xiuying stated.

Xiaoming curled his fingers into a fist. However, he calmly answered Xiuying. “I have pledged that I will not keep any concubine. I am happy with my wife,” he stated.

“Is the Crown Prince refusing to fulfill my command? I am merely doing my duty. It will not only benefit the Crown Prince but also the Kingdom,” Xiuying asserted.

“Second Mother, I am afraid, but I know what is good for me and the Kingdom. I have sound knowledge of it,” Xiaoming said and rose to his feet. “I request the Second Mother not to abuse the inner palace power that she got. I should take my leave,” Xiaoming said and bowed at her.

He turned to leave when Xiuying told him that he would not be able to bear the consequences of his stubbornness.

“The Second Mother is not supposed to take decisions regarding my life.” He turned to look at her and continued, “If the Father finds out about this, then she could lose this power. One more thing I would like to remind her is that she should focus on making the inner palace stronger and secure,” he proclaimed and took a step back before heading out of the chamber.

He was furious to find that Xiuying tried to meddle in his life. For the sake of Qiu Mu, he remained quiet. He did not want to disrespect Xiuying and create a rift between him and Qiu Mu.

He returned to his manor while Sun Fuguo followed him in. Xiaoming extended his arms out when Sun Fuguo removed the robe from his body. He handed it to the maidservant, who left the chamber. He sat on the mattress when another servant brought a glass of water on the tray.

He picked up the glass and drank the water. As he placed the glass back on the tray, he asked Sun Fuguo about Jin Yu.

“The Crown Princess is in her chamber. Her Highness has yet to finish her writing assignment, Your Royal Highness,” Sun Fuguo informed Xiaoming. He hummed and dismissed Sun Fuguo. He wanted to stay alone to bring his thoughts to one place.

Sun Fuguo lowered his head as he took backward and then upon reaching the door, he turned and stepped out. The door got closed and Xiaoming lay down on the mattress.

“I have to talk to Brother Lóng Wei regarding this matter. The Second Mother may bring trouble to the rest of the princes in the future,” Xiaoming murmured, “and even to Jin Yu. She is more cunning than my mother.”