Even if the Tenth Prince remained in the imperial palace, he would not necessarily grow up safely.
Today's events might have served as a wake-up call for the Tenth Prince.
Therefore, the Tenth Prince would rather go to the Tujue as a hostage than continue to live in fear in the imperial palace.
At least being a hostage lacked dignity, but it ensured he wouldn't be schemed against and lose his life.
Moreover, looking at the Emperor's current expression, the Tenth Prince's departure had finally evoked a sliver of kindness and emotion from the father who had never shown him paternal love.
Although Ji Zizhao did not consider this kind of bestowed affection particularly great, for the Tenth Prince, who had been neglected since childhood, it might be the most precious thing.
He even gave up his freedom entirely for it.
Emperor Xiaochang had not expected the Tenth Prince to voluntarily offer to go to Tujue, but he had to admit he was still biased. After a brief moment of shock and emotion, he granted the Tenth Prince's request.
The farce concluded with Emperor Xiaochang's departure.
The Tenth Prince walked to Ji Zizhao's side, his face upturned as he quietly gazed at his fairy sister's features. He wanted to engrave this memory deeply in his heart so that he wouldn't feel lonely when he went to Tujue.
Ji Zizhao slowly crouched down and gently tucked the stray strands of hair behind the Tenth Prince's ears. "When you go to Tujue, remember to avoid spicy food and eat more bland meals. Black sesame and fish are best, and also..."
Ji Zizhao lowered her voice slightly and gave the Tenth Prince a prescription for conservative treatment of his heart condition. Although it couldn't cure him yet, if he took good care of himself, it wouldn't relapse easily.
Whether he could remember it all, however, depended on the Tenth Prince.
The Tenth Prince was surprised that his fairy sister had spoken so much to him, and he was deeply touched. His dark, lustrous eyes were brimming with tears. "Fairy sister, don't worry, I will definitely remember it carefully."
"What fairy sister? Just a pretentious good-for-nothing," the voice of the Seventh Prince, uninvited, sounded discordantly above their heads.
Just then, the eunuch attending the Tenth Prince walked over. "Your Highness, we should be going back."
The Tenth Prince sighed reluctantly before looking at the Seventh Prince. "Seventh Imperial Brother, you can't bully my fairy sister. A man who bullies women is not a good man."
Xie Jingqi, "..."
How peculiar!
Ji Zizhao was somewhat surprised.
After such a major incident had just occurred, why hadn't the eunuch asked a single question?
The eunuch actually wasn't indifferent, but felt it was unnecessary. Having served the Tenth Prince since childhood, he understood his master's temperament better than anyone.
As he was contemplating this, the eunuch leading the Tenth Prince encountered Princess Shuowen.
Princess Shuowen looked at the Tenth Prince with a sneer. "Tenth Imperial Brother, you are truly brave to volunteer to go to Tujue. However, the life of a hostage is not that pleasant."
The Tenth Prince lazily lifted his eyelids. "Being a hostage in Tujue is better than being associated with an idiot like you."
Princess Shuowen froze. "What did you say?"
"In the entire palace, which princess wouldn't endure it if they wanted to marry into Tujue? Why can't you? Since things have escalated this far, I don't mind telling you, Imperial Sister, that Father Emperor has not yet decided which princess to marry to Tujue."
The Tenth Prince was still the Tenth Prince, but the little obedient child who had stood before Ji Zizhao moments ago had now become a sinister little figure with icy eyes.
And Princess Shuowen...
She looked as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight, utterly horrified.
The eunuch stood by, offering silent condolences.
One had to wonder which of the imperial princes was easy to provoke. Although his young master rarely interacted with others, if he were truly innocent, he would have died countless times by now.
The Tenth Prince then gave Princess Shuowen a cold, sinister smile. "However, I must thank you, Imperial Sister. If you hadn't caused this scene today, I would have had no right to stand before Father Emperor and request his permission to go to Tujue."
In essence, even if he hadn't met Ji Zizhao, he would have found a way to resolve it.
Therefore, all of this was merely him going with the flow.
Everyone thought that going to Tujue meant losing freedom, but only he knew that Tujue would be more liberating than the current imperial palace.
Princess Shuowen, deeply provoked, finally realized that she was the one who had been manipulated. Watching the Tenth Prince leave haughtily, she was furious and on the verge of cursing.
Seeing that Ji Zizhao was still standing in the adjacent courtyard, Princess Shuowen was about to walk over.
The Tenth Prince suddenly stopped. "I advise you, Imperial Sister, to abandon those wicked ideas. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if the palace were to see bloodshed before I depart for Tujue."
Just then, Ji Zizhao, as if sensing something, looked towards them.
The Tenth Prince turned back again, immediately displaying a naive and adorable expression, and pulled Princess Shuowen away towards the distance. "We have to attend the Empress Dowager's funeral soon. If we're late, Father Emperor will scold us again."
Princess Shuowen, "..."
Suddenly, she felt an urge to scream for help.
Ji Zizhao watched the Tenth Prince leave, then turned to the Seventh Prince. "Regardless of how things unfolded today, please help this humble woman thank Fourth Imperial Brother."
Xie Jingqi raised an eyebrow. "What does my Fourth Brother have to do with it?"
It was indeed a coincidence. As he was passing by Shouren Palace, he saw Ji Zizhao attending to the little Tenth Prince. Immediately after, he saw Shuowen barge in with her entourage.
Xie Jingqi admitted he didn't think highly of Ji Zizhao, but he didn't want a good person to be slandered.
Ji Zizhao truly did not expect that the Fourth Prince was not behind the instigation of this incident.
She also did not expect that the Seventh Prince would proactively offer his help.
Although...
She didn't need it.
Xie Jingqi felt a chill run down his spine as Ji Zizhao's watery eyes gazed at him. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the Fifth Prince rushing over.
"Zizhao, are you alright? I heard as soon as I entered the palace that something happened to you in Shouren Palace, so I rushed over." Xie Jingzhou meticulously examined Ji Zizhao, appearing genuinely concerned.
Ji Zizhao looked at Xie Jingzhou's hypocritical face and felt nauseated.
Before she could speak, Xie Jingqi said nonchalantly, "What do you mean, Fifth Imperial Brother? I heard from the palace servants half an hour ago that you entered the palace. Is our imperial palace so large that it took Fifth Imperial Brother half an hour to arrive?"
Xie Jingqi had never spoiled Xie Jingzhou since childhood.
He certainly wouldn't now.
Xie Jingzhou was surprised that Xie Jingqi would meddle and expose him so clearly. He replied somewhat uncomfortably, "I went to pay my respects to Mother Consort first before coming here."
Xie Jingqi crossed his arms and laughed without giving him any face. "Then don't say you rushed over as soon as you entered the palace. Fifth Imperial Brother's words are full of exaggerations. If Miss Ji had been waiting for you to save her, she would have drowned long ago."
With that, he turned and left, without regard for Xie Jingzhou's expression, decisively.
Ji Zizhao watched the Seventh Prince's潇洒 departing back. Although he hadn't said a word throughout the ordeal, she felt a sense of immense satisfaction.
And she seemed to finally understand why the Fourth Prince wanted to support the Seventh Prince's ascension to the throne.