Chapter 123: A Clash of Wits

"Crown Prince, what is your take on this matter?" asked Emperor Yongchang. Crown Prince Li Hanwen knelt on the ground, having removed his hat.

The Fourth Prince, Li Deren, quickly knelt in the grand hall and addressed the Emperor: "This matter concerns me. It is because I failed to govern the people of Shandong properly. I am willing to bear full responsibility."

Emperor Yongchang looked coldly at the Fourth Prince, who was kneeling behind the Crown Prince, and declared: "Since this is the Fourth Prince's failure, guards, strip him of his Princely robes. Go home and fulfill your filial duties to the Empress within your manor!"

After the Emperor spoke, Crown Prince Li Hanwen’s eyes turned bloodshot. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.

The Fourth Prince, Li Deren, kowtowed to the Emperor and shouted toward the direction of his departure: "This son thanks His Majesty for his grace."

Alas, Emperor Yongchang paid no mind to what the Fourth Prince was saying and walked away.

News of the Fourth Prince’s confinement soon reached Lin Miaomiao. She lowered her gaze and sighed, but after a long silence, she said nothing and returned to her small kitchen to continue making desserts.

Upon returning to the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Li Hanwen was utterly despondent. He had drunk heavily the night before, and many servants in the Eastern Palace had met their ends. Yet, he was powerless to turn the tide or save the Fourth Prince. He had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill, for the regional military command in Shandong was staffed by his own men.

With such a scandal erupting in the Shandong military command, he could not escape the blame. His Imperial Father was already suspicious of him following the flooding in Jiangnan, and now this. Li Hanwen knew all too well that these events were aimed directly at him.

The next morning, the Crown Prince’s consort hanged herself. Li Hanwen looked at her coldly and told his servants, "Bury her."

By doing this, Li Hanwen offered an explanation to Emperor Yongchang. The Fourth Prince had already taken full responsibility for the administrative negligence in Shandong, and by casting his consort aside, Li Hanwen effectively distanced himself from the affair.

Three days later, news spread that Crown Prince Li Hanwen had fallen ill. From that day on, he never appeared at court again.

The withdrawal of the Crown Prince ignited a power struggle between the factions of the Ninth Prince, Li Yonghe, and the Seventh Prince, Li Yankang. This war without smoke soon escalated, and before long, reports of the Seventh Prince’s corruption surfaced one after another.

The Ninth Prince successfully provoked the Emperor’s fury, leading to an imperial decree stripping the Seventh Prince of his title and sentencing him to life imprisonment. The Seventh Prince had never imagined that his rivalry with the Ninth would end in such a fashion.

As he was being led away, the Seventh Prince looked coldly at the Ninth and said, "What are you so arrogant about? Once I am inside, you will be next."

The Ninth Prince, Li Yonghe, let out a mocking laugh and retorted coldly, "Why me? You were the one who treated me with such cruelty first, forcing me to return the favor. Tell me, brother, how many times have you set traps for me?"

"When we were children, the Emperor bestowed upon me a piece of Hui ink. You wanted it, but when I refused, you pushed me into the pond in the Imperial Garden."

"I suppose you haven't forgotten, have you? That year, your mother relied on her higher status to force my mother to kneel on the gravel path of the garden and watch me drown."

"So many years have passed, and we are of similar age. Why should I indulge you? Or do you think you can bully me so wantonly just because you have a powerful grandfather?"

The Ninth Prince’s voice was icy. He stared at the Seventh Prince like a venomous snake.

In that moment, their resentful gazes collided. No one knew how long they had been feigning an alliance or how long they had been plotting against one another.

Seeing the Seventh Prince in such a state, the Ninth Prince sneered: "I failed to finish you off last time, but you won't be so lucky now."

With that, the Ninth Prince turned and left the Seventh Prince’s manor. He boarded his carriage and ordered the servants to depart. Feeling exhausted, he leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was weary, deeply weary, but he could not let go now.

He stared blankly at the scenery outside until he caught sight of Lin Miaomiao’s newly opened milk tea shop. It was immensely popular and bustling with customers. Her new ice cream, crafted into various shapes, had become a favorite among the noble ladies and misses of the capital.

Through their recent interactions, Lin Miaomiao and Princess Chang'an, Li Anyi, had become close friends. The Princess was clever and eager to learn the art of business from Miaomiao. Miaomiao was more than happy to teach her; after all, she was, in a sense, family to the Princess, and she would not let the Princess marry into a life of misery.

Having learned much from Miaomiao, Princess Chang'an no longer feared that she would be unhappy or exploited after marriage. Watching the Princess’s transformation, Miaomiao sipped her milk tea, ate her dessert, and squinted in happiness.

At that moment, Princess Chang'an stood up to salute the Ninth Prince. It was only then that Miaomiao looked up and saw him.

"Sister-in-law, you don't mind if I join you?" the Ninth Prince asked in a low voice. Miaomiao nodded, signaling him to sit.

Princess Chang'an was visibly nervous; she knew the Ninth Prince was far from the gentle soul he appeared to be. She had once seen him drown someone without batting an eye, an incident that had terrified her so much she fell into a high fever the next day.

In truth, before the Noble Consort Xianrou adopted her, the Princess’s birth mother had held a very low rank, and she had grown up witnessing the palace's darkest secrets. She had developed an instinctive intuition for danger. She knew how the Crown Prince ruled the Eastern Palace with an iron fist, how he had caused the deaths of palace concubines, and she had even seen him and the Fourth Prince conspire to ruin women.

As for the Seventh and Ninth Princes, they had been at odds since childhood, and any servant caught between them met a tragic end. Being of similar age, they had both known from a young age that there were three great mountains standing before them: the Crown Prince, the Third Prince Li Tai'an, and the others. Princess Chang'an was actually terrified of the Third Prince, for he was not the gentle scholar he appeared to be—he was a smiling tiger who could chat pleasantly while having someone whipped to death.

As a princess, she had always been an insignificant figure, nearly toyed to death when she was very young. Had it not been for her mother’s early death and her subsequent adoption by Noble Consort Xianrou, she might not have survived to adulthood.

Noticing the Princess’s tension, Miaomiao smiled and patted her hand. "I suddenly feel like having some ice cream. Could you go get me a serving?"

The Princess’s eyes reddened, and she whispered, "Yes." She stood up and walked away with a slight tremble.

Watching her depart, the Ninth Prince raised an eyebrow. "I am truly surprised that you could become friends with someone like that."

Miaomiao blinked, then looked up. "Actually, she is quite kind. Why do you say that?"

The Ninth Prince glanced at the Princess and said coldly, "Just like the Fifth, she is used to playing the weakling to garner pity, but in truth, she is nothing but a hollow shell."

Miaomiao smiled beautifully. "You cannot say that. She is merely struggling to survive."

The Ninth Prince was taken aback, then shook his head with a laugh. "You surprise me."

Miaomiao nodded, smiling. "I am surprised by your words as well, though I can see you are not in a good mood."

The Ninth Prince lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment before looking at Miaomiao. "Do you know? Among all my brothers, I hate the Second Prince the most."

"Our names are too similar. When he was born, the frontier wars were won, and his uncle, Yuan Sihan, led a million troops to victory. The Emperor was so pleased he named him Yanhe."

"Do you know? His name was even more prestigious than the Crown Prince's. But the year I was born, the Second Prince had just gone to the frontier and immediately achieved great merit. I was born an hour after the Seventh Prince, and as luck would have it, an urgent dispatch arrived at that very moment, so I was named Yonghe."

As he spoke, his eyes reddened. Miaomiao looked up and asked, "And what does that have to do with Li Yanhe?"

The Ninth Prince let out a mocking laugh, but before he could respond, Miaomiao said, "You simply want to hate that person, but you dare not."

She looked at him and added, "I have no desire to interfere in the affairs of the capital; it has nothing to do with me."

The Ninth Prince sneered. "And what of the Fourth? You were closest to him. Now that he has fallen into misfortune, will you not even lift a finger?"

Miaomiao looked at him calmly. "I believe the innocent will clear their own names. Besides, even if I wanted to help, I am powerless to do so, am I not?"