The Virtuous Concubine

Malu was also waiting for Kangxi. She couldn't rush up to beg for mercy before Kangxi punished the prince. That would be too cheap and obviously impure.

My son is still worth something, at least in the eyes of Kangxi, so I have to cherish him.

The prince has been locked up in Yuqing Palace for the past few days to reflect on his mistakes. He hides in the study every day, doing nothing but staring at the fan in a daze.

Soetu and the Hesheli family sent letters one after another, and each one was filled with disappointment, asking him if he had been bewitched or deceived by the Fourth Prince, or asking him to cry in front of the Emperor, and then, as a token of his appreciation, to take care of the Fourth Prince for two days to restore his image.

The prince felt exhausted both physically and mentally.

Of course, he wanted to keep his position as crown prince. As the crown prince raised by Kangxi, he always felt that the throne was easy for him.

He is the one destined to be.

But now, he is just a confused teenager.

He covered his head and felt a splitting headache.

The Emperor's disappointment and scolding, the Fourth Prince's aggressiveness, Soetu's accusations and teachings, and later Malu's estrangement, made him not know what to do for a while.

He hunched over his desk, feeling as if all this was going to crush him to death.

What is even more terrifying is what he has never dared to face - his feelings for Concubine De.

When did it deteriorate?

The prince struggled with this chaotic thought for a long time. He tried to recall his initial feelings towards Concubine De, which was just respect at that time.

But I don't know since when, this respect has been mixed with some curiosity.

Later, the two of them interacted more and more and became familiar with each other. He began to miss the feeling of being by her side.

Warm and familiar.

He himself did not realize that he was just greedy for her doting smile. This greed was like a bomb that could explode at any time.

Until it was exposed by the Fourth Prince's questioning that day.

So when Kangxi asked him why he had a conflict with the Fourth Prince that day, he kept silent or talked about irrelevant things.

He also tried to suppress this feeling, but the more he suppressed it, the more difficult it became to control himself.

"What is the reason?" the prince muttered to himself.

The two of them didn't seem to have many memories together, most of which were about Malu learning the piano from the prince, and later on they had some interactions due to palace affairs.

"No, this can't go on." The prince raised his head suddenly. He knew that the most important thing now was to restore his image in the emperor's heart and keep his position as the prince. As for this inappropriate feeling, he must, must, must, must strangle it to death.

But just when he made up his mind, the face of the Fourth Prince appeared in his mind again, his calm eyes seemed to be mocking his incompetence and weakness.

"Fourth Prince, do you think you can defeat me like this? I won't let you succeed." The prince clenched his fists.

The prince asked Chen Xin to fetch a brazier, pulled out the embroidered fan that was used as a small kang screen, and threw it directly into the brazier!

When Chen Xin saw this scene, he felt sad in his heart. The friendship between Concubine De and the Prince was eventually destroyed because of the fight between the Prince and the Fourth Prince.

As soon as the embroidery on the fan touched the flame, the prince's heart felt like it was being tugged. He watched the flame licking the fan with cold eyes, as if he saw his heart struggling in the flame.

In the blink of an eye, the fan embroidery had been burned by half. At this moment, the prince could no longer bear it, and regardless of the raging flames in the brazier, he stretched out his hand and snatched the embroidery directly from the fire. His fingers were burned red, but he was completely unaware.

Chen Xin was frightened and exclaimed: "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The prince tightly grasped the half-burned fan and felt that he was really a fool.

He knew that this was a huge handle, a weakness given to the Fourth Prince. But he just couldn't watch it being burned, just like he couldn't easily give up his heart.

"Chen Xin, you are not allowed to tell anyone about this, understand?" The prince scolded in a low voice.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chen Xin responded quickly.

The prince looked at the incomplete fan in his hand and finally burst into tears.

He was determined to fight the Fourth Prince to the death, so now, the only thing he had left was this half of the fan.

Coincidentally, the pine and cypress embroidered by Malu on it were burned, and the bamboo was burned. The remaining piece was the sun and the moon, and a line of small words written by Malu herself below.

This line of small characters comes from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Tianbao".

"Heaven protects you, and is also very solid. If you are simple and generous, what blessings will not be eliminated? If you are enriched, all will be prosperous."

"May Heaven protect you and grant you a good harvest. May you be blessed with everything you desire. May Heaven bless you with blessings that are never enough."

"Heaven protects you and makes you prosperous. Like a mountain, like a hill, like a hill, like a river, everything will grow."

"Jijuan is used as food, which is used to offer filial piety. Sacrificial offerings are made to the public and ancestors. The king said: "Your fortune will be long and long-lived."

"The gods are mourning, and they have bestowed upon you great blessings. The people are in awe, and they have daily food and clothing. The common people are all doing you good."

"As constant as the moon, as rising as the sun. As long-lived as the southern mountain, never collapsing or crumbling. As luxuriant as the pines and cypresses, all will be supported."

The prince recited this poem with tears streaming down his face.

Her nickname was Baocheng, so she specially chose "Tianbao", a poem in which a minister wishes to praise the monarch.

This poem is said to be written by Zhao Bohu, King Xuan of Zhou's guardian, teacher and minister, expressing his enthusiastic encouragement and earnest expectations to the new king.

Just like Zhao Bohu in the past, she hopes that she can work hard to govern the country, continue the glory of her ancestors, and become a more wise monarch than her father!

This poem proves that Malu truly regards the prince as her own child, and it also proves that she is her and the Fourth Prince is the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince’s evil tricks have nothing to do with her!

So the prince couldn't hold back his tears. There were many things he wanted to cry about.

He was deeply touched by Malu's sincerity towards him, and felt ashamed. How filthy he was to have such thoughts!

She also sincerely hoped that she could succeed to the throne smoothly, and she did not even have the ambition to let her children take the throne. Even if the prince had a good relationship with her, she could only let Malu be the Imperial Concubine, not the Empress Dowager.

The prince carefully put away the remaining half of the fan, without noticing that his hands had been blistered by the fire.

It was Chen Xin who discovered it and hurriedly applied medicine to the prince.

The prince calmed down and began to think about how he should overcome the current difficulties.

After thinking for an unknown amount of time, Chen Xin interrupted the prince with an unpleasant expression: "Your Highness, Miss Bai Xia from Yonghe Palace has arrived. She left a brocade box and went back."

As he spoke, Chen Xin handed an exquisite box to the prince and said, "Your Highness, I have checked it and it is safe."

The prince took the box doubtfully, but fearing that he would lose his composure, he waved Chen Xin away before opening the box.

There was no letter of breaking off diplomatic relations, nor any insulting letter, nor any correspondence between the two of them.