My stepmother is here, all the rebellious sons and evildoers should kneel down!

At this moment, the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince led their troops from behind the cliff and rushed straight to the river beach. General Qi of Dongcheng immediately realized that he had fallen into the opponent's military strategy, but it was too late to fight back.

That night, the Dongcheng army was completely defeated and fled in panic.

In Kyoto, the news that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes won a great victory and defeated General Qi's army made the Emperor very happy.

In the court and the country, the emperor praised his two brothers for their expedition. Civil and military officials in the court congratulated the emperor one after another, saying that the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince were military gods, and their combat capabilities were comparable to that of General Ye back then.

After the court session, the emperor personally visited the Prince's Mansion and told the Prince, who had been bedridden for a long time, about his joy at the battle in East City.

The Prince and the Emperor have a very good relationship. Even though they are not blood brothers, they are close friends.

"Your Majesty, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes are young and promising, and they are also royal relatives. So, if Your Majesty can get the help of these two virtuous brothers, it will be like the late emperor having the Ye Mansion and the Wen Mansion, with your left and right arms, and you will be invincible!"

The emperor appreciated the prince's words. Ever since the men of the Wen Mansion and General Ye died for their country, the emperor has always been worried about the loss of military generals in the court. Therefore, in the face of repeated provocations from Dongcheng, he never made up his mind to deliver a fatal blow.

This time, if it weren't for Dongcheng's excessive provocation and the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince volunteered, the Emperor really would not have been able to make up his mind to send a force from Kyoto to the border of Dongcheng to fight!

"Well, my Thirteenth and Fourteenth Brothers have made great contributions this time. When they return to the capital, I will definitely reward them generously!"

Speaking of rewards, the emperor looked at the prince and said, "How should I reward my two brothers?"

The prince looked at the emperor cautiously and evaded the question, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak lightly! You are the emperor, and your kindness is the grace of the emperor. I am a subject, and I have been ill in bed for a long time. How can I explain it clearly?"

The emperor's eyes were deep and he smiled slightly: "Haha, Prince, you are still the same as you were back then, cautious in everything! Especially in front of me, you are afraid of saying the wrong thing! You know... the more you are like this, the less you can tell me what's in your heart!"

When the prince heard this, he smiled obscurely: "Your Majesty is making fun of me, how can I have anything to say?"

"Really do not have?"

The emperor's eyes swept across the prince's face, and the prince smiled again: "Your Majesty. I can now rest in peace in the palace for many years. The emperor's grace is great, and I have fine clothes and delicious food. It's all because of your kindness over the years! I really don't dare to think too much!"

"You old fox!"

The emperor was scolding the prince, but his hand was on the prince's shoulder.

The prince lowered his head quickly. His humble and polite appearance made the emperor look regretful: "If the prince has a son, I will definitely give him an official title and a higher rank! I can inherit the throne naturally. I have not forgotten everything the prince has done!"

"Your Majesty, please forget it! This is what a subject should do."

The prince said quickly, "Your Majesty, if you don't mind my crippled leg, I can't attend court to help you, and I can't kneel down to greet you and the Empress Dowager. I am already grateful for your grace, and I will be content even if I die!"

The emperor smiled and patted the prince's shoulder again: "Your leg... I am very worried! At the beginning, you were injured to protect me! Alas... I had arranged for the imperial physician to treat you well, but I never thought that there would be a battle under the city, and the men of the Wen Mansion died for their country. I had a lot of back pain, and I actually delayed this matter!"

"If you had found a miraculous doctor in time, perhaps you wouldn't have to suffer from this leg disease today!"

After the emperor finished speaking, the prince said repeatedly: "Oh! Your Majesty, why are you saying all this? I am so old, what am I afraid of if I can't walk?"

He tightly grasped the emperor's arm, and said excitedly and sincerely: "I am not like the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, who are in their prime! Marrying a wife and having children... Although I have no sons, I have a beautiful daughter! I am open-minded... Forget it, don't mention the past!"

As they were talking, the princess lifted the pearl door curtain and walked in unexpectedly!

When he saw the emperor in a dragon robe sitting next to his father, he was shocked and knelt on the ground!

"I didn't know the emperor was here to see my father, so I rashly came in and disturbed him. I deserve to die!"

The emperor laughed loudly: "It's okay, it's okay! Princess, please get up soon! I haven't seen you for a few years, and you have grown into a graceful young lady!"

The prince said: "You are still childish!"

The princess smiled and scolded the maid behind her, "You guys didn't know how to stop me when the emperor was here! You useless things, I will punish you severely!"

As he was speaking, the princess had already stood up. The emperor asked her to come over and talk, and gave her a chair.

The princess chatted and laughed about daily life, showing her playfulness. The prince kept scolding her for not knowing the rules. After a lively chat, the emperor's annoyance from the trouble of correcting papers for many days was swept away.

"Prince, I will ask you again, is there anything you want me to do for you?"

When the emperor was leaving, he smiled and spoke again, his eyes still on the princess.

The princess' eyes widened, clear and innocent. The prince smiled awkwardly: "With her childishness, how dare she distract the emperor! I appreciate your kindness, but let me keep her in the mansion for a few more years until she understands things better!"

The emperor saw that the prince sincerely did not want to speak, so he did not force him and returned to the palace.

"Your Majesty, the prince really has no ambition at all! You should rest assured this time."

When the Empress Dowager heard that the Emperor had gone to the Prince's Mansion and that the Prince had not mentioned the matter of fulfilling the engagement between the Princess and the Thirteenth Prince, she relaxed her brows and leaned back on the tiger-skin cushion and spoke.

This tiger-skin cushion was obtained by the emperor and the prince during hunting, and was carefully crafted by a skilled craftsman.

The Queen Mother has always loved this cushion, and the royal majesty can only be complemented by tiger skin!

The workmanship is also excellent. Although it is tiger skin, it has been cooked three times, so it can insulate against cold and heat and is not hard.

The emperor looked calm and nodded, "My son thinks so too. At first, I suspected that the prince had something to do with the battle under the city, but when I heard that the men in the mansion had died for their country, the old general left me without saying a word. I couldn't produce any evidence at the time to prove that the prince had second thoughts about me!"

"It doesn't matter whether he has second thoughts or not. After all, he is a prince appointed by the late emperor himself."

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and said, "In the beginning, there were four princes appointed by the late Emperor, but now there is only one left. He is bedridden and has no sons. The Emperor should let down his guard and let him live out his old age!"

It has been rumored that the emperor is a suspicious person. The empress dowager simply told the emperor not to put any more thought into the affairs of the Prince's Mansion, and she naturally felt that it was better to have less trouble than more.

Besides, without a son, the prince can’t cause any trouble!

The emperor nodded and said, "Forget it. The prince is smart and knows that if the princess marries the Thirteenth Prince, I will be suspicious, so he did not mention it. I have the pleasure of seeing the princess today, and she looks a bit like Concubine Ning!"

"really?"

When the Queen Mother heard this, she immediately became interested.

Concubine Ning was the favorite of the late emperor and also the princess's aunt.

It was a pity that the woman had a short life. Even though she was given the title of Ningpin as an exception right after entering the palace, she contracted smallpox less than two months later and passed away at the age of sixteen.

For this reason, the late emperor always remembered Concubine Ning's beautiful face, and she became a ray of white moonlight in his heart.