The Virtuous Concubine

As soon as the two men entered the palace, before they could even gain a foothold, they were scolded by Kangxi.

Kangxi shouted at the top of his lungs, "How dare you! I fully expect you to be friendly and respectful to me, to assist me in governing the country, and to ensure the stability and prosperity of the Qing Dynasty. But you are doing these little tricks behind my back. Do you still have a father like me in your eyes? Do you still have the slightest brotherly love and father-son loyalty?"

The prince had no choice but to kneel on the ground and admit his fault, but he bowed his head and said nothing. No matter how Kangxi scolded him, he only said, "I know I am wrong." The fourth prince Yinzhen also knelt on the ground, and although he looked terrified, he was calmer and had a better attitude in admitting his fault.

Kangxi was already exhausted by the grief of losing his son, and seeing the prince's stubborn attitude, he was even more furious. In his opinion, as the crown prince, he should have a higher level of awareness and a sharper mind. At this moment, not only did he not reflect deeply, but he also put on such a passive and resistant attitude. How could he not be furious?

The veins on Kangxi's forehead bulged, and his fingers trembled as he pointed at the prince. His curses became more and more unpleasant, and every word pierced the prince's heart:

"Yinreng! As the crown prince, you shoulder the heavy responsibility of inheriting the throne. I have been partial to you and taught you carefully, hoping that you can cultivate yourself and establish virtues, and one day take up the responsibility of the country. But what have you done? You fought for power with your brothers, and tripped up Concubine Mi. Now that my eighteenth brother has died, you are to blame! I think you have been blinded by the position of crown prince and have completely forgotten your duties. Do you still deserve the title of crown prince?"

After the scolding, Kangxi felt his blood boiling, and he coughed violently, his body swaying. The eunuchs serving in front of the emperor panicked and rushed forward to support him, serving him tea and patting his back.

When Kangxi's breath was even, he waved his hands feebly, his eyes swept coldly over the two people kneeling on the ground, his voice hoarse but still majestic: "You two, go to Fengxian Hall and kneel down now, and honestly reflect on your mistakes in front of our ancestors! When I feel better, I will settle your sins in detail."

The two men quickly admitted their mistakes again, not daring to delay any longer, and hurriedly got up and hurried towards the Fengxian Hall.

Along the way, the prince had a gloomy face, his lips were tightly pursed, and the lines of his jaw were tense. He did not say a word to the Fourth Prince behind him from beginning to end.

The Fourth Prince followed behind slowly, keeping a proper distance. He lowered his head slightly, looking cautious, but his eyes were fixed on the back of the Crown Prince.

Upon seeing this, the Fourth Prince felt something strange in his heart, thinking that there was something wrong with the Crown Prince's outfit.

The headband on the prince's braid, the belt on his body, even the purse, fan pendant and boots hanging on the belt, these objects, or the styles or patterns on them, all gave him an inexplicable feeling of familiarity.

Suddenly, the prince seemed to be aware of the gazes behind him. He stopped in his tracks, turned around abruptly, and glanced coldly at the Fourth Prince. His eyes seemed to be filled with frost, making people's backs chill.

"Fourth?"

The Fourth Prince's heart trembled, and he quickly retracted his gaze, nodded slightly and said: "Please forgive me, Your Highness, we have arrived at Fengxian Palace, let's go in."

The two arrived at Fengxian Hall. The hall was quiet and gloomy, with smoke curling up. The tablets of ancestors enshrined there seemed to be looking down at them.

They both knelt on the ground, the dead silence around them making their breathing unconsciously become heavier.

Kangxi did not say how long they had to kneel, but they could not stand up until he issued a new decree.

In order to show their sincerity, the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince did not even use a cushion, but knelt directly on the golden brick floor. The golden brick was as hard as iron, and the coldness penetrated into their bones. Soon, a dull pain arose in their knees, but neither of them moved an inch.

The prince did not think that it was an unforgivable fault for him to embarrass Concubine Mi for Malu. Concubine Mi was nothing! Moreover, the heinous act of murdering the Eighteenth Prince had absolutely nothing to do with him. However, the Emperor punished him to kneel here without knowing the truth. He was just taking advantage of the situation to suppress him and dampen his spirit so that he would obey!

Coupled with Kangxi's increasingly strict control over him and the incident with Malu, all these things accumulated and the prince really didn't want to try to make Kangxi happy this time.

On the other hand, the fourth prince Yinzhen is well versed in keeping a low profile, and at this moment he brought his superb acting skills to the extreme. His face was filled with regret, and his furrowed brows and trembling lips were all just right.

If Kangxi were still alive, he might have cried and told his father about his mistakes so that he could see his sincerity in repenting.

At first, the Fengxian Hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, except for the two people's breathing. But gradually, the prince took the lead in breaking the silence, his voice was very low, but it was full of questioning: "Old Fourth, why have you been staring at me all the way? Don't use the god to fool me, just speak directly."

The Fourth Prince was shocked, but he still maintained a respectful look on his face and replied softly: "Your Highness, I have no other intentions. It's just that I feel wronged, but I don't regret it."

What he meant was that he did not regret offending Concubine Mi in order to protect his mother, which led to him being questioned today.

The prince snorted coldly, frowning even more tightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes: "No regrets? You are indeed a man of integrity. But don't forget that we are still in the Fengxian Hall, facing the ancestral tablets. Do you think that our ancestors will be partial to you when you say this?"

The Fourth Prince remained calm and responded in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Your Highness has misunderstood. I respect our ancestors and would not dare to overstep my authority. I just spoke my mind truthfully. Although my actions were inappropriate, my original intention was to protect my entire family. I hope Your Highness will understand."

At this time, the two men had been kneeling upright on the cold and hard golden brick floor of the Fengxian Hall for three full hours. Their legs had long lost all feeling, but it did not affect their verbal battle at all.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the hall. They were both startled, fell silent, and pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

But unexpectedly, the person who came was not Liang Jiugong or Wei Zhu from the Qianqing Palace, but Zhou Quanfu, the eunuch of the Yonghe Palace!

It turned out that Malu was very distressed after knowing that Kangxi was furious and punished them to kneel. This time, she was even very stubborn and sent food to the two people despite the charge of disobeying the emperor's order. She was also outside the Fengxian Hall, but everyone in the Yonghe Palace tried their best to persuade Malu to wait outside, and Zhou Quanfu, as the chief eunuch, took over this task.