She just wanted to take a look, nothing more.
Jiang Xinyue didn't care at all; she simply didn't want the emperor to think she was being too magnanimous.
Being magnanimous in such matters could only prove one thing - that she didn't love the emperor enough.
When you truly love someone, you don't push them toward others.
However, the Xuanwu Emperor felt he had no choice. The Cheng family had just rendered a great service, as Cheng Yuan had brought evidence from the Two Guangs to Qin Province, which was no easy feat.
So when Concubine Cheng was injured, it was only right and proper for him to comfort her.
As for Noble Lady Liu, he hadn't even listened carefully to why she had sought him out.
Though both were injured, and both had sent people to summon the emperor, and though the emperor had gone to Lanyue Pavilion, he didn't enter Noble Lady Liu's chambers but went to Concubine Cheng instead.
Had Noble Lady Liu been able to get out of bed, she likely would have destroyed everything in her room.
In the following days, the emperor spent his time accompanying Concubine Cheng. Three days later, Concubine Cheng's father arrived in Qin Province and was secretly received by the emperor at Lanyue Pavilion.
Everyone assumed Concubine Cheng had finally gained the emperor's favor, not knowing that when night fell, they slept in separate rooms, and nothing happened between them.
But Concubine Cheng wasn't foolish enough to clarify this misunderstanding.
With the emperor away, Jiang Xinyue was quite content, spending her days taking the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Sixth Prince out to play.
The eldest princess had recently been keeping Low Level Consort Yu company in her garden while she recovered. The second princess, feeling sympathy for her elder sister, spent each day keeping her company and didn't join the others in their activities.
Today was no different. Shuang Jiang and Xiao Xiangzi deliberately led the Fourth Prince and Sixth Prince away, leaving the Third Prince alone with Jiang Xinyue.
The Third Prince watched as the butterfly kite with its cut string flew away, and for some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
A voice in his heart seemed to say: If only I could be like that kite, breaking free from my constraints and soaring freely under the blue sky.
Jiang Xinyue didn't interrupt his thoughts, instead standing behind him. When he turned around and didn't see his two brothers, he ran to her in panic.
He gestured wildly, as if asking where his brothers had gone.
Jiang Xinyue knelt down and said, "Concubine Zhen doesn't understand what you're trying to say. Could you speak it out loud?"
The Third Prince anxiously gestured again.
Jiang Xinyue shook her head again: "Concubine Zhen really can't understand. Could the Third Prince please speak?"
The Third Prince's face turned red with frustration, making "ah ah ah" sounds while pointing in the direction his brothers had gone, stamping his foot.
Jiang Xinyue gently stroked his back: "Concubine Zhen knows that the Third Prince isn't mute as they say. You can speak, you just choose not to. Do you know? Your Fourth Brother is very worried about you. After returning from this summer retreat, he asked me to plead with your father to let him study at the Princes' Academy with you. Usually, he wouldn't be allowed due to his age, but he's worried that you might be bullied by the palace servants because you don't speak, so he asked Concubine Zhen to petition your father."
When she said "the Third Prince can speak," his expression became panicked, his fingers intertwining as he avoided meeting her eyes.
This was a typical sign of wanting to escape.
"Is it because of Consort De?"
"Ah ah ah ah..."
The Third Prince shook his head desperately, tears quickly welling up in his eyes as he tried to run away.
"If you don't want to talk about it, Concubine Zhen won't force you."
Jiang Xinyue caught his hand: "But think about it - if you continue not speaking, after a long time, when you want to speak, you truly won't be able to. You're the elder brother to the Fourth Prince and Sixth Prince. You should be the best big brother they could have, someone they can rely on. But now, they sympathize with you, take care of you, treat you like a fragile porcelain doll, and tiptoe around you, afraid to touch your inner pain. Is this what you want?"
The Third Prince had previously looked down on the Fourth Prince due to the influence of Consort De and Low Level Consort Yu, often bullying him.
This showed his high self-regard, believing his birth made him more noble than the Fourth Prince.
Later, when he reconciled with the Fourth Prince, it wasn't because he realized his mistake, but because he had listened to Jiang Xinyue and the emperor and understood that he shouldn't behave that way.
Young children don't have a clear sense of right and wrong; they need guidance to distinguish between them.
In his heart, he still considered the Fourth Prince the son of a criminal, but he knew he shouldn't look down on a prince who was also the emperor's son, as that would displease Concubine Zhen and his father.
So when someone he had once looked down upon now pitied and sympathized with him, he couldn't bear this reversal.
The Fourth Prince should look up to him as a reliable older brother, not sympathize with him as a mute prince.
The same would apply to the Sixth Prince in the future.
If he remained mute, the palace servants would treat him differently, and how could he be a good brother then?
"Con... Con..." the Third Prince struggled to speak, "I... can't..."
"Is it because your mother poisoned you that you're afraid to speak? Are you worried your father will find out?"
The Third Prince was completely stunned, not understanding how Concubine Zhen knew about this when he hadn't said anything!
"You see, if even Concubine Zhen knows about this, do you think your father, being as wise and powerful as he is, wouldn't know?"
In truth, the Xuanwu Emperor didn't know.
Mainly because Consort De treated the Third Prince like the apple of her eye, doting on him daily and unwilling to let him suffer even the slightest harm. Who could have imagined she would poison her own son?
The imperial physicians had said that even after recovery, the Third Prince's health would never be as robust as before.
Under such circumstances, how could the emperor suspect Consort De?
"Concubine Zhen... waa... wuu wuu wuu Concubine Zhen..."
The secret he had suppressed for so long was suddenly exposed without warning, and the Third Prince burst into tears: "Does Mother not want me anymore? Is it because... because I'm too stupid, so she doesn't want me anymore? Wuu wuu wuu..."
He had tried so hard to keep this secret, so why did Concubine Zhen still find out?
If Mother knew that Concubine Zhen had discovered this secret, would she suspect that he had revealed it?
He didn't want to speak, he really didn't want to speak.
He cried so hard he could barely breathe. Jiang Xinyue held him in her arms and patted him gently: "That's not true. Your mother loves you very much; she was just confused for a moment. Why don't you give your mother a chance to make amends?"
Consort De would never change. Once the Third Prince had another chance at becoming crown prince, she would only become more ruthless in poisoning the other princes in the palace.
There was no choice. To protect her own child, she had to use the Third Prince to completely bring down Consort De.
That's why the Third Prince had to speak.
Wouldn't words from her own son's mouth carry enough weight?
When the time came to reveal the trump card given by the Empress, Consort De would never have a chance to rise again.
