I insist

Chapter 469: Reward

The Emperor nodded with satisfaction upon hearing the Seventh Prince's words: "Only you still think about brotherly affection."

Although the Emperor thought so, the Fourth Prince did not. He glared angrily at the Seventh Prince and shouted, "I don't need your hypocritical pleading!"

You're just here to laugh at me. What are you doing pleading for me? Don't you find it hypocritical?"

Upon hearing the Fourth Prince's words, the Seventh Prince's lips curled up slightly. He thought to himself that the Fourth Prince was truly foolish; the more he acted this way, the more the Emperor would like him.

"Fourth brother, I absolutely did not mean to laugh at you. I really wanted to plead for you. How could you misunderstand me?"

The Seventh Prince looked at the Fourth Prince with some sadness and asked softly.

The fourth prince snorted coldly: "Hmph, do you think I don't know what you're thinking? I don't need your pleading or feigned concern."

I think you're just hoping I get scolded by Father, hoping I'll suffer some terrible misfortune. I won't let you get away with it, you scoundrel.

"How dare you! Xiao Qi treated you like his own brother and pleaded for you. Not only are you not grateful, but you also speak of him like that. Are you even human?"

The Emperor loudly questioned the Fourth Prince.

"Who knows what malicious intentions he's harboring? He's just deliberately coming to see me make a fool of myself, to see how miserable my end will be. He's doing it on purpose."

Otherwise, why would he come at this particular time? If he's so capable, why doesn't he plead for me in court? What's the use of pleading here?

"I cannot attend court, Fourth Brother. I'm sorry, please don't be angry."

The Seventh Prince looked pitifully at the Fourth Prince and spoke cautiously.

Seeing this, the Emperor's dissatisfaction with the Fourth Prince intensified. He roared, "Get out of here! It seems my punishment has been too lenient!"

"You're to be confined to your residence. Without my order, you are not to leave, not even to attend court. I will have people keep a close watch on you."

The fourth prince already felt that the emperor's punishment of him before was severe enough, but he did not expect that this time he would be directly confined to his quarters. In fact, confinement was too lenient; it was more like house arrest.

"Father, no, Father, you can't do this to your son, Father!" the fourth prince shouted.

"Guards, take the Fourth Prince away and keep him under strict guard. No one is allowed to visit him," the Emperor said firmly.

The Seventh Prince was pleased to see the Emperor treat the Fourth Prince this way, but he still looked worried. He wanted to speak, but seeing the Emperor's expression, he kept quiet.

After the Fourth Prince left, the surroundings quieted down. The Seventh Prince knelt on the ground, cautiously looking at the Emperor before quickly lowering his head.

Upon seeing the seventh prince in this state, the emperor couldn't help but sigh: "Get up."

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

After the Seventh Prince stood up, the Emperor looked him over again. He had already begun to groom the Seventh Prince because of what the Demon Consort had said.

However, he was also worried that the seventh prince might also have ambitions and might stand against him.

To put his mind at ease, the Emperor looked at the Seventh Prince and asked, "Seventh Prince, come here. I have something to ask you. You must answer me honestly."

The seventh prince took two steps forward: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly speak frankly and without reservation."

"I intend to bring you to court. What do you think? Are you willing?" the Emperor asked softly.

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince immediately knelt on the ground and earnestly replied, "Father, I am unwilling. I am still young."

Moreover, I am dull-witted and cannot be of any help to Father. I only wish to keep Father company. As for matters of court, aren't there other brothers to assist me?"

The Seventh Prince had said these words before, and the Emperor nodded in satisfaction when he said them again this time.

"Since you are unwilling, I will not say anything more. However, you should also study hard. After all, you are a prince."

"You should understand what I mean, right?" the Emperor said, looking at the Seventh Prince.

The seventh prince replied softly, "Father, rest assured, I understand."

After hearing the Seventh Prince's words, the Emperor felt somewhat better and realized that he wasn't such a bad person after all. In order not to lose face, he bestowed many gifts upon the Seventh Prince.

The seventh prince emerged from the palace carrying his belongings, and his attendants were all delighted with him.

"His Majesty has bestowed so many things upon His Highness. It seems that His Majesty is His Highness's favorite son. This is wonderful. His Highness has finally made it through."

The Seventh Prince showed no expression on his face in response to these words, merely glancing indifferently at the gifts bestowed upon him.

He picked out a few of the best items, summoned his guards, and whispered, "Send the items I've selected to Physician Song's residence."

"Give it to Imperial Physician Song? Your Majesty, this is a gift from the Emperor. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to give it away like this?" the guard said with some concern.

"Since they were bestowed upon me by my father, they are mine now. I can decide what to do with them. Send them over quickly."

After the Seventh Prince finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his own courtyard.

The guard looked at the contents, sighed, resignedly picked out the items, and took them to Song Miqiu's residence.

The gate to Song Miqiu's residence was closed, so the guards had to knock on it. They expected Song Miqiu to appear, but instead, Yu Huailin came out.

Yu Huailin recognized the guard as one of the Seventh Prince's men, and naturally didn't give him a friendly look.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Yu Huailin asked the guards expressionlessly.

The guard said softly, "Young master, we are here on orders to deliver some things to Physician Song. Please inform him so that he may come out and see us."

"Imperial Physician Song has been so busy that he has no time to meet outsiders. Who are you working for? Just say it, and I will pass on the message."

Although Yu Huailin said this, he would not do it. He wanted to keep everyone away from Song Miqiu, especially those with ulterior motives.

"Our master is the seventh prince. He specially selected a few of the finest items from the imperial gifts to present to Physician Song. We would like to trouble this young master to pass them on."

The guard handed the item to Yu Huailin and said softly.

Actually, he said this just to tell Song Miqiu how much the Seventh Prince cared about her, but he didn't expect Yu Huailin to misinterpret it.

"A gift from the Emperor? Physician Song dares not accept such a gift from the Emperor. Please take it back, young master. We would never dare to accept such a thing."

Yu Huailin looked at the contents of the plate, gave a cold laugh, and said softly.

The guards were surprised to be refused: "These were sent by our master to Physician Song. We dare not take these things back if we cannot see Physician Song."

"This is what Physician Song means. She won't accept the imperial gifts. If these things are damaged, we wouldn't have enough lives to compensate for it. Let's take them back."