"Remember how you used to bully Little Man?"
Jiang Xinyue cupped the third prince's small face in her hands, squishing it playfully as she looked into his adorably silly eyes and admonished him: "Little Man is your brother, just like Little Tuantuan. They are your flesh and blood, your closest kin. Concubine Zhen hopes that no matter who speaks ill of Little Man, you will be the first to stand up and defend him. Because he, like you and Little Tuantuan, is your father's child. You should be the closest of family, do you understand?"
The third prince seemed to be hearing such words for the first time. His big eyes were full of confusion as he said, "But... Consort Yu said he's a mongrel, that his mother is the lowest of criminal slaves, and that he doesn't deserve to be with us..."
"Who taught you to say such things?"
An angry voice thundered as the Xuanwu Emperor swept in through the curtains. His oppressive gaze glared at the third prince, frightening the boy into wailing loudly and burrowing into Jiang Xinyue's embrace.
The first and second princesses were so startled they dropped their chopsticks on the table, looking nervously at Jiang Xinyue with eyes full of fear.
Only the fourth prince, who had never received his father's attention nor been beaten by him, showed no fear. He eagerly ran over and asked, "Father, have you had breakfast? Mother has many delicious dishes here. I can share some with you."
The Xuanwu Emperor picked up the fourth prince and sternly addressed the third prince: "The fourth prince is my son just as you are. If he's a mongrel, then what does that make you?"
While he disliked the fourth prince and his mother due to their scheming, that was one matter. But if such young children were already being indoctrinated with these ideas, the future struggles between princes would surely be life-and-death affairs.
He did not want to see such a situation arise.
The third prince trembled in Jiang Xinyue's arms, too frightened even to cry out.
"Why is Your Majesty being so fierce?" Jiang Xinyue hugged the third prince tightly, comforting him. "What do children understand? They're just mimicking adults' attitudes towards Little Man. If Your Majesty is angry, you should confront Consort Yu and Consort De, and tell them to be more mindful of speaking ill of others in front of the children."
The problem needed to be solved at its root, rather than shouting at children who lacked the ability to discern right from wrong.
The emperor, chastened by her rebuke, looked sheepish. "I was just worried in the heat of the moment that his words might hurt Little Man."
"Protecting Little Man shouldn't come at the cost of hurting the third prince," Jiang Xinyue glared at him. "This will only make the third prince resent Little Man more."
Ignoring the emperor, she patted the third prince's back and said, "Our third prince is such a good, sensible, and loving boy. I'm sure he can get along well with his brother, can't he?"
The third prince raised his tear-reddened eyes from her embrace, hesitantly nodding, "Concubine Zhen, I was wrong. I shouldn't have bullied Little Man."
Jiang Xinyue nodded approvingly. "Concubine Zhen knew the third prince didn't mean it. Would you like to apologize to Little Man? I believe he also wants to be good friends with his big brother."
The third prince sniffled, still somewhat reluctant, but the hostility in his eyes towards the fourth prince had already diminished significantly.
Children at this age have the strongest sense of pride. Feeling a bit embarrassed about having to apologize, he blushed and said, "Little Man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things about you. I won't do it again in the future. Will you forgive me?"
The fourth prince smiled shyly, "So we'll be good friends from now on, right?"
The third prince nodded vigorously, "Yes!"
The first princess sighed, feeling that her mother's loss to Concubine Zhen was well-deserved.
Just look at how she had calmed the emperor's temper with a few words, and even scolded the angry emperor into submission.
No other concubine in the entire palace had such ability.
Like a beast tamer who had subdued a fierce animal, Concubine Zhen seemed particularly formidable for having tamed the wild beast that was the emperor.
Lady Ruan watched in amazement.
She knew her daughter was favored, even surpassing the former Noble Consort Li.
But she didn't realize that "favored" was no longer sufficient to describe her daughter's position.
This was far beyond mere favor. To dare speak to the emperor in such a manner, and for the emperor not only to show no anger but to seem delighted – it was as if they were treating her Xinyue like an ancestor to be worshipped.
It was terrifying!
Over the next month, the emperor stayed at Hexi Palace almost every night. After experiencing the sixth prince's night crying, bloating, and inability to settle, the emperor grew increasingly attached... to the sixth prince.
Early this morning, he even secretly asked Wang Dequan, "Do you think anyone would notice if I sneaked the sixth prince into court?"
By now, he was proficient in washing the sixth prince's bottom and changing his diapers. It was no exaggeration to say that if he could nurse the sixth prince like a wet nurse, he wouldn't let anyone else handle the child.
He could take care of everything himself.
It was just a bit tiring for a father.
At night, Xinyue liked to sleep with the child, saying that children who sleep with their birth parents feel more secure, grow up to be more emotionally stable, and are better at expressing their feelings.
So when the Xuanwu Emperor wanted to sleep with Jiang Xinyue, the sixth prince had to be placed between them.
Every hour, Little Tuantuan needed to be fed and have his diaper changed.
At first, Jiang Xinyue did everything herself, but after a couple of days, she complained of back and leg pain, and nearly fainted during the day due to lack of sleep.
The emperor was distressed and had no choice but to take over this important task. He was mainly worried that calling someone every hour would disturb Jiang Xinyue's sleep, so he had to quietly get up and do these things himself.
In just one month, the weight he had gained from eating postpartum meals with Jiang Xinyue quickly melted away.
But he had no complaints. If he didn't see the sixth prince for a day, he would feel anxious.
Jiang Xinyue analyzed this from a psychological perspective, calling it "paternal attachment."
As is well known, paternal and maternal love are the most selfless, unrequited, and great forms of love in this world.
Jiang Xinyue had kept the Xuanwu Emperor in Hexi Palace for this month so that he would personally handle everything related to the sixth prince.
When he became adept at tasks including but not limited to changing diapers and soothing the baby to sleep, she instructed Nanny Xiang and Xi Que to deliberately act clumsy when holding the sixth prince.
This way, the emperor would feel that the son he had so carefully raised could not be handled well by others, and that only he could care for the child properly.
He would become dissatisfied with anyone else touching his child, believing that no one could care for the baby as well as he could.
With all his energy focused on the sixth prince, aside from his duties as emperor, what time did he have for other matters?
The harem concubines' complaints?
Those wouldn't reach his ears; they all went to the Empress to voice their grievances.
