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The six siblings had a brief quarrel before Liu Yang swiftly took Liu Qi away.
"Don't! I still want to play with Brother-in-law!" Liu Qi struggled vigorously in Liu Yang's arms, unwilling to return just like that.
Liu Yang pressed down hard; how could this little one be so strong? It was as if he had just pulled a mud loach from the field, and he was almost losing his grip. "Brother-in-law has important matters to discuss. What are you doing here making a fuss? Children need to go to bed early; otherwise, they'll be short for life!"
"Liu Qi is not short!" Liu Qi struggled even harder until Liu Yang had to resort to bribery, promising her a piece of candy before brushing her teeth, which finally calmed her down.
Gu Bei watched the siblings' retreating figures and sighed, "Every time I come here, I can feel that they've grown a little more. When I first saw them, they were just two kids rolling around in the mud."
"Isn't that right?" Ye Xiaohan replied. "Young people in their growth phase are truly frightening; they're like bamboo shoots, sprouting up every day. Sometimes when I see them, I'm amazed."
Time had flown by so quickly. For both Gu Bei and Ye Xiaohan, these past two years had brought tremendous changes in their lives.
One had experienced hardships, lost everything, and then returned to his original position—going from general to deserter and back to general again. The other had transformed into an entirely different person, crossing over into a completely unfamiliar world.
Everything now felt like a rebirth for them.
In every sense of the word.
"Are you going to see the Sixth Prince?" Ye Xiaohan asked as he watched Gu Bei clean up the dishes. "But at this hour, he might already be asleep."
Gu Bei dried the clean dishes with a fresh cloth and placed them in the cupboard while delivering shocking news to Ye Xiaohan: "The Emperor knows that the Sixth Prince is here with us."
"So soon?" Ye Xiaohan was somewhat surprised. "Did you tell him?"
Otherwise, the Emperor's intelligence network was truly frightening.
However, Gu Bei gave a negative answer: "It's not me. I only realized after the Emperor hinted that he had long known the whereabouts of the Sixth Prince."
"So, the Emperor is aware?" Ye Xiaohan could hardly believe it. "He clearly knows how the Sixth Prince is being treated; why doesn't he intervene?"
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind that seemed to explain all the absurdity: "Could it be that the Sixth Prince is not his biological son?"
To avoid being overheard, she deliberately lowered her voice and leaned closer to Gu Bei to whisper.
From now on, every word and action had to be cautious; who knew if that perverse Emperor had sent someone to watch them?
Gu Bei looked at Ye Xiaohan helplessly. "What are you thinking? How could that be possible? The Sixth Prince is indeed of royal blood; it's just that his mother has passed away."
So that's it.
Ye Xiaohan understood: "The Sixth Prince's mother died, leaving him without support in the palace, so he gets bullied. But that doesn't mean the Emperor can just stand by and watch others mistreat him. Isn't he his own son? Does having more sons mean sacrificing a few is acceptable?"
As she complained, she still remembered to keep her voice low, making her seem quite conspicuous. If the Emperor really had someone watching her, they wouldn't even need to eavesdrop on the content; they could tell from her reactions that she was being disrespectful.
Gu Bei had no dissatisfaction with Ye Xiaohan's behavior; even if she went a bit overboard, he found it acceptable. Although the Emperor was important, he couldn't compare to Ye Xiaohan's significance in his heart.
"Not just that," Gu Bei explained. "The Sixth Prince's mother was Consort Shen. While she was alive, she was the Emperor's most favored consort."
For a long time, Consort Shen had almost monopolized the harem. No other consort, including the Queen, received the Emperor's affection as consistently as she did.
"So mother and son became thorns in everyone's side within the palace," Ye Xiaohan scoffed. She couldn't understand why a group of women would compete for a man's favor for various reasons.
Isn't it better to put that effort into self-reliance?
She felt no sympathy for these women at all.
Whether they sought power and wealth from the Emperor or desired love from him, it was their own choice, and they had no one to blame but themselves.
Even if they were pressured by their families, the final decision still rested with them. If they truly did not want to be there, they could at least run away; their legs belonged to them, and with a lifetime ahead, there would always be opportunities to escape.
However, most of them lost themselves after entering the palace. In the monotonous routine of daily life, they gradually became brainwashed and transformed into women who only knew how to compete for favor and calculate benefits.
They did not even spare a child who had lost a mother and received no attention from a father. Taking advantage of the fact that no one could care for him anymore, they relentlessly pushed him toward despair.
"Are the injuries on the Sixth Prince caused by those people in the palace?" Ye Xiaohan felt a chill in her heart. Among those people, it was likely not just the consorts but also some of the Emperor's other sons. They were blood relatives yet could act so ruthlessly.
If it weren't for the Sixth Prince's strong constitution and good fortune, given the injuries he had sustained, he could have died several times over.
Gu Bei noticed the indignation in Ye Xiaohan's eyes and defended the Emperor: "According to my investigation, His Majesty has been secretly protecting the Sixth Prince and even sent someone to treat his serious injuries."
"Isn't that what he should do?" Ye Xiaohan suddenly felt a deep disgust for the Emperor. "While she was alive, he favored her above all others; after her death, he couldn't even protect her son. Does such a man deserve to be someone else's husband or father?"
Gu Bei sighed lightly: "The Emperor is concerned about state affairs; most of his time is spent on political matters. Even when Consort Shen was favored in the harem, it was only in comparison to the Queen and other consorts."
After Consort Shen's death, the Emperor grieved excessively and focused entirely on state affairs, paying less attention to the harem.
"His Majesty has limited energy; it's inevitable that his concern for the Sixth Prince is lacking," Gu Bei said under Ye Xiaohan's reproachful gaze. "You are not wrong; as a father, His Majesty does fall short. But for this country, he is a good emperor."
Ye Xiaohan fell silent. From her perspective, it was easy to accuse the Emperor with righteous indignation, but from another standpoint, things might look different. Just look at Gu Bei; in his heart, the Emperor's actions were entirely justifiable.
Seeing that Ye Xiaohan was upset, Gu Bei explained, "It's not just that. The situation in the palace is more complicated than we imagine. The Emperor has to protect the Sixth Prince without making it too obvious. If others notice, the Sixth Prince will only become a target and suffer even greater persecution."
"How can he, as a prince, be worse off than an ordinary child from a common family?" Ye Xiaohan still couldn't come to terms with it; it was simply too hard to accept.
Gu Bei looked at Ye Xiaohan, her kindness bringing him some comfort. However, mere kindness would be too naive for the journey ahead.
Since he could no longer let go, Ye Xiaohan would inevitably witness more of the darker sides of life alongside him. Gu Bei wished to shield her from these dirty realities, but there was no way to avoid them.
"In the royal family, these things are quite common," Gu Bei said, meeting Ye Xiaohan's gaze. "Concubines are schemed against after entering the palace and can never bear children again. It's not unusual for a prince to be stillborn or die shortly after birth."
In the face of sufficient interests, life sometimes felt like a joke.
Ye Xiaohan stared at Gu Bei in shock, unable to believe such cruel words came from him. She had not realized there was so much filth within the palace.
"So does that mean the Sixth Prince deserves this?" Ye Xiaohan murmured, lowering her eyes. She found it hard to confront this unfamiliar side of Gu Bei.
Gu Bei sighed inwardly; this was just the beginning. In the future, even more darkness would appear before Ye Xiaohan.
"Under royal authority, there's no such thing as deserving or not deserving," Gu Bei said earnestly. "If you want to change your fate and get what you desire, you must rely on yourself and continuously strengthen your power!"
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