The next day.

Ye Jingchen, unusually, didn't need the wake-up service and woke up on his own ahead of time.

He had just opened his eyes when he met a pair of dark eyes, which startled him so much that he instantly became fully awake.

Only after he saw that it was Ye Jinghe standing by his bedside did he breathe a sigh of relief and calm down.

"Jinghe, why are you standing silently by my bedside so early in the morning? Children need to sleep enough to grow tall!" Ye Jingchen said, patting Ye Jinghe's head.

"It's good that my brother wasn't sick this morning!" Ye Jinghe said with a smile.

Ye Jingchen was shocked. "Jinghe, did you go thieving last night? Why are your dark circles so bad? You look like a panda!"

"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince woke up at 3:45 AM," Fangxi said helplessly.

She and Fangrui waited together not far away, both looking haggard.

Not only those two, but Fangfei and the others also looked tired and listless.

Even the usually most lively one was now standing there unsteadily, his head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice.

"But what happened?" Ye Jingchen asked hurriedly.

"Jinghe had a nightmare. He dreamt that his brother didn't want him anymore, so he wanted to come and see if his brother had abandoned him," Ye Jinghe said innocently, his big eyes wide open.

"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince was just standing quietly by your bedside. We were afraid of upsetting him or startling you, so we didn't take him back to sleep in time. Please forgive us!" Fangfei said respectfully.

Ye Jingchen rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to say.

The people in the Eastern Palace probably realized that he valued Ye Jinghe highly, so they dared not be too harsh on him.

In addition, Ye Jinghe has a tendency to go crazy at the slightest provocation. They have already witnessed Ye Jinghe's outbursts several times and are probably traumatized by them, so they dare not provoke him further.

As for whether Ye Jing and he used the fact that he was 'going crazy' as a weapon—

Ye Jingchen didn't want to speculate about a four-year-old child, but Ye Jinghe's expression at this moment was too calm and innocent, making it hard for Ye Jingchen to believe that he was truly innocent.

After all, when Ye Jingchen woke up, the atmosphere in the entire palace was tense, making Ye Jinghe's composure and innocence seem particularly out of place.

Ye Jingchen was very suspicious that if he really didn't take Ye Jinghe with him when he left the palace, would Ye Jinghe take advantage of his madness to turn his Eastern Palace upside down?

He certainly wouldn't be controlled by a four-year-old child. However, Ye Jinghe had only just developed some closeness and trust towards him, and their relationship was not yet solid. Now was not the best time to teach him.

"Fanghua, have you finished making the sachet I requested?" Ye Jingchen asked, looking at Fanghua standing behind Fangfei.

Compared to the other palace maids, Fanghua seemed to be in worse condition. Not only did she work through the night to make the sachets Ye Jingchen wanted, but she had also just fallen asleep when she was disturbed by Ye Jinghe's intrusion into the Crown Prince's bedroom, forcing her to come and guard Ye Jingchen's bedside.

"This servant has not failed in her duty!" Fanghua stepped forward and respectfully presented a dark blue sachet.

This sachet is a size larger than the sachets they usually wear, and the fabric used to make it is a breathable, waterproof, and durable brocade.

Fanghua possessed superb embroidery skills; the sachet was embroidered with a blooming gardenia, so lifelike.

Ye Jingchen took the sachet, then put the opened bottle of perfume that Fangfei handed him into the sachet. After helping Ye Jinghe, who was only wearing an inner garment, put on an outer robe, he tied the sachet around his waist.

"The little boy that your brother is going to visit today is not feeling well and can't be frightened, so we'll have to trouble Jinghe and baby to make do. If you're really feeling unwell, be sure to tell your brother first. We can't scare that little boy," Ye Jingchen instructed as he tied a sachet around Ye Jinghe's neck.

Ye Jinghe was content as long as he wasn't abandoned.

"Don't worry, brother, Jinghe will be very good," he said obediently.

"If you were really so obedient, why didn't you listen to your brother and wait for him to come back at the East Palace?" Ye Jingchen asked with amusement.

Ye Jinghe smiled cautiously at Ye Jingchen, then carefully reached out and hugged him, saying, "I just want to stay with my brother forever."

His voice sounded very down.

Ye Jingchen: ...

"Alright, let's go wash up. After breakfast, your brother will take you out of the palace!" Ye Jingchen poked Ye Jinghe's forehead with his finger, took his hand, and led him to wash up.

Ye Jinghe lowered his head, only showing the back of his head to Ye Jingchen, looking like a well-behaved child.

In reality, where Ye Jingchen couldn't see, an extremely happy smile appeared on his small face.

Originally, he didn't necessarily have to follow his brother today. The palace was his brother's home, and even if his brother went out for a while, he would come back soon.

But the older brother wanted to visit a little boy named Xie Chang'an.

Moreover, from the conversation I overheard between my brother and father yesterday, he seemed to care a lot about Xie Chang'an.

Then he would have to go with them.

He wanted to see who was trying to steal his brother from him.

Ye Jinghe walked with great pride and high spirits, as if he were heading to the battlefield.

In contrast, Ye Jingchen was much calmer. He calmly finished his breakfast, changed himself and Ye Jinghe into inconspicuous clothes, gathered everyone, took the prepared gifts, and set off.

He didn't want to be too conspicuous, so apart from Imperial Physician Zhang, he only brought Lin Zhongquan and Fangfei Fangrong with him. He also brought four guards from the Eastern Palace, but only Chenxi knew how many secret guards were following him.

The East Palace is relatively close to the East Gate, so Ye Jingchen's carriage left the palace through the East Gate.

He used an ordinary carriage, and when he left the palace, Lin Zhongquan was the one who negotiated with him; he and Ye Jinghe did not show up.

There are countless people in the palace who want him dead. They can't directly harm him while he's in the palace, but it's hard to say what will happen once he leaves.

When Ye Jingchen led Ye Jinghe onto the carriage, there was already someone inside.

He was a middle-aged man Ye Jingchen had never seen before, with a face that had no distinguishing features and was the kind that would be easily lost in a crowd.

Ye Jingchen immediately realized that this person was Chen Xi.

Although he wasn't wearing a mask, he had changed his face and even his figure. If it weren't for his unchanged eyes, Ye Jingchen would have almost not recognized him.

This could be considered removing the mask, but it wasn't the result Ye Jingchen wanted, so he glared fiercely at Chenxi.

"Master." Chenxi called out to Ye Jingchen in a dry, emotionless voice, thus revealing his identity, and then he got out of the car.

The carriage was not large and could not seat many people, so only Ye Jingchen and Ye Jinghe rode in it, along with an elderly doctor who was frail and had difficulty walking, and the two girls, Fangfei and Fangrong.

After getting off the carriage, Chenxi didn't hide anymore. Instead, he walked to the window on the side of the carriage so that he could protect Ye Jingchen immediately in case of any accident.