"Your Majesty..."
Seeing Ye Jun leaving, Yi Zhaoyuan called out with a trembling voice.
She was in a very miserable state at this moment.
There were red and swollen handprints on both sides of his face, his hair was disheveled, there were footprints on his shoulders, and his back was covered with mud from falling.
Ning Chen glanced at him with a cold look in his eyes.
He turned to look to the other side and waved to the Second Prince and the Third Prince not far away.
"Chun'er, Han'er, come here."
Both children were trembling with fear, especially the third prince.
He was terrified when he saw his mother being beaten like that just now.
"Tell me, why did you push your brother down?" Ning Chen looked at the third prince seriously.
Yi Zhaoyuan knelt down and took a few steps forward, wanting to speak, but was forced back by Ning Chen's eyes.
Seeing this, the Third Prince could only bite the bullet and speak, "My son didn't mean to push Fourth Brother down. My son just... accidentally, it was an accident. Father, my son really didn't mean it..."
"Quibbling!" Ning Chen was immediately annoyed. "Have you read all the books you read? Do you still remember even a little bit of filial piety, etiquette, and brotherhood? Even if we don't talk about these, you dare not take responsibility for your mistakes. Is this ridiculous?"
The Third Prince had never seen his father so angry. He was only seven years old and he immediately started crying out of fear.
The second prince standing by also had a stiff face and looked at Concubine Jingxian for help.
The latter gave him a soothing and encouraging look, and the second prince gradually remembered some of the things he had learned in the past, so he plucked up the courage to speak.
"Father, please calm down. This is my son's fault. As an elder brother, I failed to lead my younger brothers well, and I failed to protect my fourth brother. Please punish me. My third brother is still young, please give him a chance to correct his mistakes."
Ning Chen glanced at the Second Prince, and when he looked at the Third Prince and Yi Zhaoyuan, his eyes became even colder.
"Yes, he is still young. Your third brother is only half a year younger than you. Yi Zhaoyuan, is this the child you taught me?"
"When my brother said he wanted to be better than you, he was looking at you as a role model and thought you were good. As a brother, you should set an example and lead the others to study hard. But what about you? You were injured because of what your brother said. Go back to Ruyi Pavilion and think about it carefully. During this period of time, you are not allowed to go anywhere except to study in the study room." Ning Chen said coldly.
He still controlled his temper and just scolded without hitting anyone.
Then he turned to Yi Zhaoyuan and said, "As for you, you will be confined to your home for three months and fined half a year. During the confinement period, you will copy Buddhist scriptures every day and pray for the fourth prince."
"Yes, I obey your command." Yi Zhaoyuan dared not say anything more and immediately bowed her head.
Thinking about the Fourth Prince, Ning Chen left after dealing with Yi Zhaoyuan and her son. Concubine Jingxian didn't say a word from beginning to end.
The second prince followed her to Zhongcui Palace, with his head down all the way, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
However, Concubine Jingxian's mind was not on him at the moment, so she did not notice anything unusual about him. The Second Prince kept it completely in his heart and dared not say anything.
Ning Chen rushed back to Zhaochun Palace. Ye Jun had already changed her clothes and was standing by the bed, neatly dressed.
When he heard the footsteps coming in, he didn't turn around or stand up to greet.
"How is the child?" Ning Chen asked in a low voice.
Ye Jun then retracted his gaze and turned to look at him, "The imperial physician said that he is fine, but he fell on the back of his head, and I don't know when he will wake up."
External injuries were not what Ye Jun was worried about. What she was afraid of was internal injuries. She was afraid that the child would suffer a brain injury from the fall, which would be a big problem.
Thinking of this, Ye Jun regretted not kicking Yi Zhaoyuan a few more times.
If anything happened to the Fourth Prince, she would make Yi Zhaoyuan and her son repay him a hundredfold.
At this moment, Ye Jun didn't want to ask Ning Chen how he dealt with Yi Zhaoyuan and the third prince. She knew that the punishment would not be too severe, after all, the third prince was still young.
But Ye Jun would never be willing to give in unless Yi Zhaoyuan and the others suffered a heavy loss, so she made other arrangements at this moment.
Luzhi estimated the time and winked at Baishu.
Bai Shu understood and suddenly knelt down, "Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine, I have something to say that I dare not say, but now seeing the Fourth Prince like this, I can no longer bear it."
Ning Chen frowned, "What's the matter? Tell me."
"Your Majesty, before the Fourth Prince fell, he did say that he wanted to study hard and be better than the Third Prince. But before the Third Prince took action, the Second Prince said that the best student among the princes could become... the Crown Prince. If the Fourth Prince is better at studying than the Third Prince..." Bai Shu was hesitant to speak.
At this point, Ye Jun's face turned frightened and he quickly knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, Jing'er is still young. How could he know what a prince is? He just has the same temperament as me, and is always competitive. He often tells me that the third prince is good at studying and always gets praised by his teacher. He should study harder in the future. Your Majesty, Jing'er has absolutely no desire to be the prince."
"What are you doing? Get up quickly." Ning Chen pulled him up without hesitation, his eyes dark. "Jing'er is a sincere child. I know him best. He is less than six years old. How can he understand these things?"
But the second and third princes have been studying seriously for two years and have been exposed to these things.
But if there is no one to guide them, it is impossible for such young children to be so violent.
It would be fine if it was just the Third Prince. Ning Chen saw that Yi Zhaoyuan had ambitions, but he didn't care until she went too far. But it was the Second Prince who said this today, which surprised him a little.
Thinking of the incident of the chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival, my attitude towards Concubine Jingxian had already undergone some subtle changes. Combined with what happened today, I suddenly felt that Concubine Jingxian was not as gentle and non-confrontational as she appeared to be.
As for Ye Jun's conspiracy to give birth to a child, Ning Chen began to have some clues in his mind.
Looking at the unconscious child on the couch and remembering Ye Jun's crazy look just now, Ning Chen calmed himself down and spoke to Yuan Jiu.
"Pass on my decree. Concubine Jingxian and Yi Zhaoyuan have not been strict in educating their children. Concubine Jingxian should focus on the Second Prince during this period of time and not interfere in any palace affairs. Yi Zhaoyuan will be demoted to Zhaorong as a warning."
"Yes, I'll do it right away." Yuan Jiu bowed and turned away.
Ye Jun did not express any opinion about this decree. At this moment, her mind was still mainly on the Fourth Prince.
Ning Chen felt even worse.
The newly born Seventh Prince was extremely weak and it was estimated that he could not survive. The healthy Fourth Prince was also unconscious at the moment, which made him suffer a lot on both sides.
After all, the palms and backs of your hands are all made of flesh.
When the oral order was passed down, Yi Zhaoyuan was furious, but since the one who caused the trouble was her own son, she could only hold it in.
Seeing that Ye Jun, who had just entered the palace, had become a noble concubine, and she had worked so hard to climb up to the top but was demoted again, she could only secretly curse the injustice of God.
Concubine Jingxian was completely confused.
It was obvious that the Second Prince had behaved properly today and had not made any mistakes, so how come even she was being scolded for not educating her son properly
In doubt, he called the people around the second prince to ask.
When he learned that the second prince had said such words at that time, he almost fainted from anger.
But now that things have come to this, the emperor must have had feelings for her in his mind, so he can only slowly plan and find ways to make up for it elsewhere.