The group of people kept making noise until it was almost dark before they dispersed. Although Yan Muning was full of energy while playing, but he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He returned to the bedroom due to exhaustion.
Yun Jiangli took a warm towel and prepared to wipe the sleeping youth’s face. He seemed to be particularly dissatisfied with the disturbing big hand in his sleep. He wrinkled his nose and huddled into the quilt, mumbling vaguely.
You don’t need to listen carefully to know that this little thing must not say anything nice. Yun Jiangli wiped his face quickly and skillfully, then took the two reluctant hands out of the quilt and wiped them clean before letting him go to sleep peacefully.
“Young Hall Master.”
Chen Mo called him from behind the screen in a low voice.
Yun Jiangli was afraid of waking up the youth who had just fallen asleep, so he walked over quickly and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Prince Cheng is here, and he is waiting for you in Jiayue Pavilion.” Chen Mo handed Yun Jiangli’s cloak to him. “Is His Highness asleep?”
“En, he’s asleep.”
Yun Jiangli whispered, “I’ll be back soon, you stay here and light the charcoal fire carefully.”
After saying that, he put on the hood of his cloak and quickly walked towards Jiayue Pavilion.
.
“Your Highness, why are you here so suddenly at this hour?”
When Yun Jiangli pushed the door open, he saw Yuchi Zhao was there too.
Prince Cheng didn’t even take off his cloak and looked like he was in a hurry to leave.
“I have to go back from the banquet, so let me make it short.” Prince Cheng said to the two of them, “That man was once a servant in Prince Huai’s mansion. When Prince Huai left the capital, he dismissed everyone who could be dismissed, and this man was one of them.”
“He said that he had always been resentful of Muning for Prince Huai’s exile from the capital, so he followed the servants of his relatives into the palace and sneaked into the palace banquet, intending to tamper with Prince An’s meal.”
Yun Jiangli just frowned after hearing this, but Yuchi Zhao opened his mouth and scolded him directly: “Listen to his bullsh*t, can he sneak into the palace banquet just because he wants to?”
Prince Cheng nodded and said, “Before I came here, I checked the records at the palace gate. After comparing them, I found that this person was brought in by Wu Liangman.”
“This surname Wu has a crazy brain!”
Yuchi Zhao showed his disgust without hiding it.
“Don’t be so quick to curse him. I didn’t ask you to come here to curse him.”
Prince Cheng raised his hand and tapped Yuchi on the head. “From what we found on that man, he probably didn’t just want to attack Muning. Judging from the Wu family’s actions in recent days, his other target is you.”
Yuchi Zhao was even more furious when he heard this: “Screw his grandfather! Let that surname Wu come and try, see if this young lord…”
“That’s not right.”
Yun Jiangli interrupted Yuchi Zhao’s rant, “This man is not an ordinary servant, he is not telling the truth.”
Prince Cheng nodded helplessly, “Yes, this set of words should have been prepared long ago, but…”
“The person is gone?” Yun Jiangli took over the conversation.
“Yes, after saying all this, all he said was he didn’t know when asked again, and then he took poison.” Prince Cheng sighed, “So there was no way to attack the Wu family directly at the moment.”
Yun Jiangli thought for a moment and asked, “What does His Majesty say? Has it been verified that the Wu family purchased weapon blueprints at a high price yet?”
“Not yet.”
Before Prince Cheng could explain further, a dusty voice suddenly came from the door: “Your Highness, it’s been almost half an hour.”
“I have to hurried back. I can’t stay out for too long.”
Prince Cheng spoke faster: “His Majesty’s intention is that although the seal is not in court at the moment, we still need to strike and warn the Wu family. The situation in the capital is not peaceful at the moment, so it is best for you all to keep a low profile and live in a manor on the outskirts of the city for a few days so that the Wu family will not really do anything desperate.”
Yun Jiangli lowered his eyes: “Alright, I’ll arrange it.”
After giving all the instructions, Prince Cheng turned around and prepared to leave. He paused and said to Yun Jiangli, “Come back before the Lantern Festival. Lao Qi likes to watch the lanterns the most.”
Having said that, he did not stay any longer. Taking advantage of the darkness, he hurried towards the palace with Chen Bai.
.
Prince Cheng and Yun Jiangli spoke quickly and briefly, and it took Yuchi Zhao a while to figure out the general idea.
“What Fifth Brother means is that the mansion may not be safe?” Yuchi Zhao asked in a serious voice.
Yun Jiangli shook his head: “There is nothing wrong with the people in the mansion. We have checked them before. But don’t forget, there is no curfew during this period.”
Yuchi Zhao understood and asked, “Then why do we have to come back before the Lantern Festival? Although Ah Ning and I go to the Lantern Festival every year, but it’s not necessary for us to go either.”
“Before the opening of the court on the 16th day of the first lunar month, the Wu family will definitely leave the capital.”
Yun Jiangli only explained this.
In fact, he had some guesses in his mind. Since His Majesty wanted to punish the Wu family, he would definitely not show any mercy. Around the Lantern Festival this time, given the Wu family’s temper, something would definitely happen.
“Don’t think about it anymore. We will start to be busy after Maoshi[mfn]5-7am[/mfn]. If there is no problem, we will leave for the manor outside the capital in the afternoon.” Yun Jiangli had a lot of things on his mind and was also worried about his own little prince. After talking to Yuchi Zhao, he left Jiayue Pavilion.
As the night wind blew, Yun Jiangli suddenly sobered up a little.
When he heard Prince Cheng say that just now, he always felt that he had missed something, and now he remembered it.
The Wu family actually wanted to attack Prince An and Yuchi at the same time. That would not only be a challenge to the emperor’s majesty, but would also make enemies with the Yuchi family. No matter how arrogant the Wu family is, they would not do such a stupid thing.
Since the Wu family has been able to hold the position of the Northern Border vassal king for a long time, they cannot be just a bunch of people.
Yun Jiangli narrowed his eyes, turned around, and walked back: “Shizi ye.”
As soon as Yuchi Zhao went out, he saw Yun Jiangli, who had returned, and asked in surprise, “Why is Young Hall Master back again?”
“Did Shizi have to go back to the mansion early in the morning to pay New Year’s greetings to the old prince?” Yun Jiangli asked.
Yuchi Zhao didn’t understand and nodded.
Yun Jiangli pondered, “I have something to talk to the old prince and the general about. Can you please…”
Yuchi had just stayed in the room for a while and had figured out everything. He immediately said seriously, “I will get my second brother to come with me, but it was really inconvenient for my father. After all, it is the first day of the new year, and there will definitely be people visiting.”
Yun Jiangli said happily, “Alright, thank you for your hard work.”
After returning to the bedroom, Yun Jiangli called Chen Mo again, told him his doubts, and asked him to find a way to convey it to Prince Cheng as soon as possible.
After everything was arranged, he tiptoed into the inner room, took off his hood, and stood by the stove to warm himself up before walking to the bed.
On the couch, the little prince was sleeping soundly on his side.
The stove in the room was burning brightly, the little prince’s face was rosy, his mouth was slightly open, and he was snoring softly.
Yun Jiangli sat beside the bed, looking at the youth, the coldness in his eyes began to fade away.
He doesn’t know what he was thinking about in his dream. The youth pursed his lips, frowned, and mumbled a few words vaguely, still with that arrogant look.
Yun Jiangli was amused by his cuteness and naturally pulled him into his arms.
The little prince had already developed the habit of being raised by someone, and when he felt the familiar breath enveloping him, he immediately buried his face in his chest and rubbed it coquettishly, then slept more soundly.
.
Before dawn, the little prince heard the sound of firecrackers outside in a daze.
He slept too late at night, and now he is completely unconscious. He just wants to block out the annoying noises outside.
“Xiao Qi, are you awake?”
Yun Jiangli’s gentle voice rang in his ears. The little prince closed his eyes and remained motionless, thinking, I’m not awake, so I can’t hear it.
“Don’t stay in bed when you wake up. Someone will come to visit soon.”
Yun Jiangli sat beside the bed and rubbed his head gently, but the little prince remained motionless: It’s useless, even caressing is useless, he just won’t wake up.
Seeing the boy’s thick and long eyelashes trembling, Yun Jiangli laughed softly and deliberately said, “Ah, since you are not awake, then I think you won’t know it if I kiss you secretly…”
The little prince’s heartbeat suddenly jumped a few times. It was really because the big beauty’s chuckle was too rude! He shouted in his heart, Kiss me, I don’t believe you dare to kiss!
His lips were covered with a slightly cool and soft touch.
The little prince suddenly opened his eyes but found that the big beauty was sitting lazily on the bed, looking at him with a smile.
And the touch that he misunderstood… turned out to be just the tip of this person’s finger!
The little prince was teased on the first day of the new year and was furious. With the grumpiness of waking up still not dissipated, he shouted at the big beauty in anger, “You, you! How could you do this!”
Yun Jiangli smiled even more: “Awake?”
The little prince was angry: “Humph!”
Yun Jiangli held the youth’s back with his hands and took him out of the quilt. At the same time, he gave the youth a kiss on his pouting mouth: “Happy New Year, my Xiao Wangye!”
The little prince, who was furious just now, had his fire extinguished with a “hiss—”.
The person who sat steadily in Yun Jiangli’s arms smiled sweetly and innocently, holding the big beauty’s face and kissing him on the forehead: “Happy New Year, my princess consort!”
Yun Jiangli laughed dumbly.
“Then your princess consort is going to help you wash and change your clothes now, would Xiao Wangye please cooperate?”
Yun Jiangli said as he picked him up.
He had to meet guests early this morning, so Yan Muning’s clothes were no simpler than those at the palace banquet yesterday. He wore layer after layer of clothes.
The clothes to be worn for the New Year were made two months ago after being measured. The little prince’s belly has grown rapidly recently, and the undergarment is a little tight.
The little prince touched his belly, raised his head, and acted coquettishly to Yun Jiangli: “Ah Li, I want to wear your undergarment!”
“Alright, I’ll go get it for Xiao Wangye.”
During this period, Yun Jiangli doted on him almost to the point of no limit. He agreed to almost everything the little prince said without any principles at all.
Xiao Jiu stood aside and looked at him with a frown on his face: “Your Highness, you are really becoming more and more arrogant…”
“Your red envelope for this year is gone.” The little prince turned around and glared at him.
Xiao Jiu immediately put on a flattering smile: “Little Master, I even lost my pants yesterday while playing Pai Gow, you see…”
The little prince got even angrier: “Ah! You guys played Pai Gow without me!”
Yun Jiangli showed up in time to save Xiao Jiu: “When they were playing Pai Gow, you were already fast asleep.”
“Come here quickly, I heard from Steward Zhou that someone has already delivered a message at the door.”
Yun Jiangli carried him to the stove and changed his clothes for him: “I have asked, there is nothing to do this afternoon. I will take you to live in a manor in the suburbs of the capital for a few days, is that alright?”
Yan Muning was excited when he heard about going out to play. He swung his sleeves that were long enough to cover his hands and said, “Great! I have two manors in the suburbs of the capital. Whichever one you want to go to, I’ll ask someone to go over and warm up the house first.”
“No need to bring too many people. The Yun family has a farm in the suburbs of the capital. I’ll take you there to play.”
Yun Jiangli quickly put on the complicated clothes for him and carefully rolled up the sleeves of his slightly long shirt to tie them into a pipa sleeve style.
The little prince tilted his head, a little puzzled by Yun Jiangli’s sudden arrangement, but when he thought about how his big beauty was always quiet, he thought maybe he wanted to be alone with him for a few days!
Thinking of this possibility, Yan Muning suddenly became more interested in traveling outside the capital and was so excited that he wanted to set off immediately.
.
When the little prince was meeting guests in the front hall, Yun Jiangli did not need to accompany him, so he met with Yuchi Che in Jiayue Pavilion.
Yun Jiangli didn’t exchange too many pleasantries and went straight to the point: “Thank you for taking the trip, General. Shizi should have told you about what happened at the palace banquet last night, right?”
Yuchi Che nodded: “Ah Zhao told me on the way here just now.”
“Does the General have any doubts?” Yun Jiangli asked.
Yuchi Che smiled and asked back, “Does the Young Hall Master have no doubts?”
Not only was Yun Jiangli not annoyed, but there was even a hint of admiration in his eyes. It was really worry-free to talk to a smart person. The people of the Yuchi family were really smart.
“The General must be familiar with the countries in the west. Prince Yi was poisoned once before, and the poison came from Xiqi. Xianglan and Dianzhen are now also related to the Wu family. This doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”
Yun Jiangli said, picking out the key points.
Yuchi Che pondered for a moment and said, “It can’t be a coincidence. It can’t be the old thing of the Wu family. It must be that the idiot Wu Liangman was taken advantage of by others.”
Yun Jiangli did not make a comment.
The old prince of the Wu family is old, and it is possible that he wants to take advantage of the current emperor’s young age and his unstable foundation to make a last-ditch effort.
“I will send people from the capital to secretly search for the people from the west, so there won’t be any trouble.”
Yuchi Che added, “My people are not on the western border for nothing, so it won’t be a problem for them to see through the disguises of those foreigners.”
Yun Jiangli nodded: “Prince Cheng has also known about this. If necessary, the General can also transfer my ‘Xuezhu’ people.”
The two of them finished discussing business, Yuchi Che turned around and returned to the front hall, chatted with the little prince for a few words, and then returned to the mansion.
Yun Jiangli was a little hesitant. He really didn’t want to tell the youth about these messy things, as it would only make him more worried. But he had promised to discuss anything with him…
Young Hall Master Yun, who was always decisive, looked at his little prince from a distance and found it difficult to make a decision.
.
Shortly after noon, the little prince called Yun Jiangli to get ready to leave quickly. After meeting so many guests in the morning, he couldn’t wait to go out and play.
It was not until he got on the carriage and looked at Yuchi Zhao’s big face that the little prince realized that they were not going to be as sweet as he imagined!
The little prince blurted out in surprise, “Ah Zhao? Why are you here too?”
Not sure if it was because the little prince’s tone was too surprised or because the disappointment on his face was too obvious, Yuchi Zhao looked at his friend with some grievance: “Ah Ning, you have changed. You don’t even look forward to traveling with me anymore!”
Yan Muning looked at Yuchi’s resentful expression and said awkwardly, “How, how could it be? I’m just surprised!”
The little prince thought about it carefully and felt that this conversation was like that between a scumbag and his resentful partner…
He shivered with a cold chill, pouted his lips, and rubbed the hair on his arms in disgust.
When Yun Jiangli got in the carriage, he saw the two youths disliking each other. He handed a hand warmer to Yan Muning: “What’s wrong? Are you two… having a fight?”
He didn’t know what was wrong with Yuchi Zhao as well, he immediately rushed over and hugged Yan Muning’s neck and said to Yun Jiangli with a smile, “How is that possible? Ah Ning and I have a good relationship…”
Before Yun Jiangli could pick him up, the curtain of the carriage was opened again, and Chen Tan came in. Yuchi Zhao immediately let go of his hand and jumped aside, patting the seat next to him: “Xiao Tan, come quickly!”
Yan Muning was so amused by Yuchi’s series of reactions that he laughed so hard that he fell into Yun Jiangli’s arms.
Yun Jiangli patted the youth’s back helplessly and helped him up: “Sit still, be careful, or you will get hurt and feel aggrieved.”
Yuchi Zhao pulled Chen Tan unconvincedly and said, “How do the two of them manage to show off their love all the time? Xiao Tan’er, let’s do it too!”
……
The journey to the outskirts of the capital was not far to begin with, and with Yuchi Zhao and Yan Muning accompanying them along the way, it felt like they had arrived in the blink of an eye.
When Yun Jiangli got off the carriage, he raised his hand and rubbed his ears. He felt that his ears were buzzing from the two youths’ quarrels all the way.
The little prince, whose waist was aching from sitting in the carriage, stood crookedly on Yun Jiangli, holding his belly and standing unsteadily after getting off the carriage.
Yun Jiangli raised his hand to hold his shoulders, fearing that he would fall again if he lost his balance: “Let’s go, let’s go in and see if you like it.”
The little prince rolled his eyes, tiptoed slightly, and whispered in the big beauty’s ear, “I originally thought you wanted to live alone with me.”
Yun Jiangli was stunned. No wonder the little prince and Yuchi were staring at each other when he got on the carriage just now!
“Xiao Wangye, you will know when you go in. The distance between the two courtyards is not close. It will also be convenient even if Wangye wants to do something…” He smiled and whispered in Yan Muning’s ear, imitating his example.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the tip of the little prince’s ears turn red.
Yan Muning was so embarrassed that he lowered his eyes and dared not look at him. He pouted and muttered, “What are you talking about? Where did I say I wanted to do, do something?”
Yun Jiangli led them to the manor, teasing, “Xiao Wangye, don’t wrongly accuse me. What did I say?”
Yan Muning glared at him and then ignored him.
Not sure when it started, but the little prince often felt that his eloquence could no longer match that of this once taciturn big beauty!
After entering the manor, the little prince always felt a sense of déjà vu.
After walking around the front yard, he realized that this place is very similar to the small yard outside the woods on the outskirts of Jinzhou, except that this one is bigger and more spacious.
“Ah Li, this place is very similar to the small yard where you saved me in Jinzhou.”
The little prince turned around and looked at Yun Jiangli in surprise.
Yun Jiangli smiled: “I didn’t realize it, maybe this is my preference?”
Yan Muning was very excited. He pulled Yun Jiangli’s hand and stroked his round belly and said, “Ah Li, after the child is born, I want to take the three of us to go back to the small courtyard in Jinzhou and live there for a while!”
After saying this, Yun Jiangli actually missed the time when they first met. He stroked the youth’s belly and said softly, “Alright, take the child with us.”
After saying that, he remembered what the youth had said at the gate of the manor just now, and he began to have some thoughts of bullying him. He leaned forward slightly, moved closer, stared at the youth, and whispered, “It will be you and I alone at that time, so…”
“How about we give our child a little brother?”
Obrigada pela tradução!