Seeing that Xie Chang'an was silent, Ye Jingchen also remained silent, simply staring intently at Xie Chang'an.

Xie Chang'an felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, and turned slightly to the side, reminding him, "I am not your Crown Princess."

"I know, that's why I'm just reminiscing about him now," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

Xie Chang'an's face darkened.

"Do you still want to use me as a substitute?" His gaze towards Ye Jingchen was extremely dangerous.

Ye Jingchen shrugged. "No, at best, this is just wishful thinking."

Quenching thirst by looking at plums?

It's better to be a stand-in!

At least the stand-in can enjoy some tangible benefits.

The thought popped into Xie Chang'an's mind, and then he was startled by his own idea.

He suddenly stood up and walked away.

"You're leaving already? Won't you stay a little longer?" Ye Jingchen called out in a drawn-out tone.

"Shut up! Go back to the Zichen Palace! If you're a prisoner, you should be aware of what it means to be a prisoner!" Xie Chang'an said this as he walked away quickly.

"Xie Geng, is your master so capricious at times like this?" Ye Jingchen asked Xie Geng, who was hiding, only after Xie Chang'an's figure had disappeared from sight.

Xie Geng didn't say a word, nor did he dare to.

Before Young Master Ye appeared, their master was clearly a person who never showed his emotions, but for some reason, he seemed to become a different person whenever he met Young Master Ye.

Yunzhou took Youning to class. The guards remained hidden and dared not show themselves. Although Xie Chang'an had told Ye Jingchen to return to Zichen Palace, he was not one to obey orders.

He first toured the East Palace, then went to the Imperial Garden, until Yunzhou found him and cautiously offered to take him back to the side hall of the Zichen Palace.

Ye Jingchen didn't make things difficult for the little palace maid and went back with her.

The news that His Majesty had hidden a man in the Zichen Palace spread throughout the palace the next day and even reached the ears of the court officials.

During the morning court session, the ministers brought up the old issue again, pressuring Xie Chang'an to establish an empress and select concubines.

He refused as before, and used You Ning as a shield.

Then Yan Xu asked him if he liked men, which was why he didn't establish an empress or choose concubines, leaving Xie Chang'an dumbfounded.

With Yan Xu leading the charge, the court officials launched a campaign against him for hiding a man in the Zichen Palace.

Xie Chang'an was seething with anger during this morning court session.

Unfortunately, after the court session, Xie Geng came to deliver a message for Ye Jingchen.

"If I remember correctly, you should be my bodyguard, right? I asked you to monitor his every move, and you've become his errand boy?" Xie Chang'an asked angrily.

Xie Geng dared not utter a sound.

It's all because the master's attitude is unclear, and Young Master Ye is too familiar with them, making these secret guards unsure of how to treat Young Master Ye.

"I don't want to see him! And I forbid him from going to see Youning! Don't let him leave the side hall even once!" Xie Chang'an said coldly.

Although it was very wrong, Xie Geng immediately thought of the phrase 'keeping a mistress in a golden house'.

On this day, while handling state affairs, Xie Chang'an suddenly thought of Ye Jingchen's previous suggestion.

These court officials are too idle; that's why they're always keeping an eye on his harem. They really should be given something to do.

He immediately ordered several important officials to be summoned to the palace, and handed them all the memorials, instructing each of them to read them first, categorize them into three levels according to their importance, and only submit the most important ones for his review.

As a result, the workload of these ministers increased many times over every day, but they could not refuse the king's trust.

Xie Chang'an suddenly found himself with nothing to do.

Suddenly having free time, he felt somewhat lost.

He went to the East Palace to see You Ning, but was asked about Ye Jingchen.

"You can't call him brother, you have to call him uncle from now on," Xie Chang'an corrected You Ning's way of addressing Ye Jingchen.

"Why can't I call him brother?" You Ning asked.

Xie Chang'an thought for a moment and said, "He's older than me, so of course I can't call him 'brother'."

"Brother Ye is actually older than Father Emperor?" You Ning asked in surprise.

"You shouldn't call him uncle, you should call him grandpa."

Children speak without restraint.

However, You Ning had no idea how much of a blow his two sentences had dealt to his elderly father.

Xie Chang'an almost lost his composure.

The deposed crown prince was indeed older than him, but Ye Jingchen looked much younger, so it's no wonder You Ning had such doubts.

"Father, can I ask Uncle Ye to be my teacher? He's really amazing!" You Ning asked expectantly.

"You've only met him once, and you already trust him so much?" Xie Chang'an asked with a complicated expression.

You Ning thought for a moment and said, "Because in his eyes, I am not the Crown Prince, but just You Ning. If I had an older brother, I think he would be like Uncle Ye."

"Youning, although he is very good to you now, he doesn't belong here. He is destined to leave, so don't invest too much emotion in him," Xie Chang'an advised his adopted son.

“Father is the Son of Heaven, the whole world belongs to you. If you want to keep Uncle Ye, can’t you keep him?” You Ning asked.

Xie Chang'an couldn't answer that question.

Since Ye Jingchen doesn't belong here at all, how can Xie Chang'an guarantee that he won't suddenly disappear one day?

"What did he do today? Was he angry?" After returning to Zichen Palace from the East Palace, Xie Chang'an summoned a guard to ask.

This time, he didn't go to Xie Geng, but to Xie Xin.

"Sleeping? I don't know." Xie Xin was completely different from Xie Geng. When answering questions, he was always concise and never said a word of nonsense.

Xie Chang'an glared at Xie Xin imperceptibly. He couldn't even tell if the person was alive or not. He was really useless!

If it were Xie Geng, he would definitely be able to see it, but Xie Chang'an felt that Xie Geng's stance was very problematic, and he might have been misled by Ye Jingchen.

Xie Chang'an suppressed his urge to go and see for himself, and waved for Xie Xin to leave.

He should ask Xie Geng tomorrow.