Chapter 78 A Slap

"But..." Yang Manyan stopped suddenly just as he opened his mouth.

Thinking of a possibility, her breathing stagnated slightly and a chill instantly ran up her spine.

"But what?" Xiao Qing reached out and touched her thick hair, his voice unconsciously becoming softer.

The emperor also raised his eyebrows, held her waist tightly, and looked down at her.

The eyes of both father and son fell on her at the same time.

Unconsciously, they gradually got used to putting her first in everything and to always paying attention to her every move.

After a moment's silence, Yang Manyan looked up at the two men's faces. After looking for a long time, his heart started beating fast.

Although the father and son have different body shapes and temperaments, they look extremely similar. They both have high noses, sword-like eyebrows, and their facial features are as sharp as a knife with clear contours.

Because of this, even though she had noticed early on that Xiao Yan and Concubine Wei Shufei had no similarities, she never took it to heart.

After all, the late emperor and the emperor are brothers from the same mother, so it is reasonable that their facial features are similar. Perhaps the prince looks like his father?

But now that he had met Su Qinglan and learned of her true background, Yang Manyan couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The faces of her two mothers-in-law, Empress Xu and Concubine Wei, appeared in her mind one after another.

Empress Xu was somewhat similar to her niece Xu Miaohua. Both had handsome and heroic looks. One could tell at first glance that they were noble ladies from prominent families.

On the contrary, Concubine Wei Shu was not the daughter of an official family. She was originally a secretary in the Southern Study and her appearance was only barely pretty.

Su Qinglan also had a pretty appearance, especially her two thin, curved willow-shaped eyebrows, which looked very much like Concubine Wei Shufei.

If Su Qinglan is the daughter of Concubine Wei Shu, then the Crown Prince is...

Yang Manyan was shocked by his own absurd idea.

This matter was of great importance and had no basis in fact, so she naturally couldn't speak it out rashly.

What if she guessed wrong, wouldn't she become a gossiper?

After having lunch and washing up and changing clothes, Yang Manyan's eyelids felt heavy and he yawned several times.

Xiao Qi had accompanied Yang Manyan in horse riding practice in the morning and had delayed today's homework. While she was taking a nap, he naturally had to go to the study to make up for it.

His studies were not to study the Four Books and Five Classics, but to delve into history, astronomy, geography, law, arithmetic, farming, etc.

He must be well-versed in all aspects and know everything before he is worthy of the position of crown prince.

The emperor has reviewed all the memorials submitted today.

He could hear the girl's gradually steady and shallow breathing, but he could not suppress the heat in his heart no matter what.

Even though she had refused to admit that she was jealous of him, her tearful little girl demeanor clearly showed that she was jealous.

The emperor lowered his eyes and looked at her peaceful and well-behaved sleeping face.

After riding the horse for a whole morning, Yang Manyan was extremely sleepy. Now that he had finally gotten a rest, he was disturbed like this again. He felt extremely annoyed.

Half asleep and half awake, she raised her hand and slapped the man's brave and cold face.

The emperor couldn't help but be stunned.

The slap she gave him made his entire body suddenly go numb.

However, the "culprit" had already turned over, leaving only his back to him, and murmured vaguely: "Don't bother me..."

In Renshou Palace, smoke from the incense burner is rising.

Xu Miaohua was clutching a handkerchief and sobbing as she told her aunt about what had happened to her and her father and brother recently.

Ever since Yang Manyan was chosen as Yang Shangyi, things have been going wrong for the Duke of Wei's mansion.

First, her brother was stripped of his title, and then she, her father and her brother were punished together.

That day in Changyin Pavilion, she just didn't like Yang Manyan and couldn't help but say a few more words, but who knew that the emperor and the prince would come in person...

Empress Xu sat on the couch without saying a word, her chin in her hand, staring at her niece quietly, as if she was looking at something through her.

Everyone who served her closely knew that whenever Xu Miaohua was in her presence, her madness would subside.

After all, if the little princess hadn’t died, Miss Miaohua would probably be like this now, right?

The founding heroes of this dynasty were conferred the titles of four dukes, eight marquises, and sixteen earls, which were inherited by the successive generations for a hundred years.

Among them, the Xu family of the Duke of Wei was the most prominent noble family. Not only did they have great power in the court, but they also produced many queens and were known as the "Phoenix's Nest".

Empress Xu's maiden name was Zhaoyun. She married into the Eastern Palace at the age of 14, ascended the throne at the age of 18, lost her husband at the age of 22, and was given the title "Zhuangxian" and moved to Renshou Palace.

Because of their childhood sweetheart relationship, the late Emperor Yongshun was very obedient to Empress Xu, his young wife, when he was alive, and he even set up a harem for her.

But as Empress Xu had not diagnosed any signs of pregnancy for six or seven years, problems began to arise between them.

Due to the tremendous power of the Duke of Wei's Mansion, few people in the court dared to touch upon this topic, but Queen Mother Jiang, as the emperor's mother, did not need to worry about this at all.

Queen Mother Jiang was originally dissatisfied with her eldest son's favoritism towards Queen Xu, allowing the Xu family to overshadow the Jiang family. When she saw that Queen Xu had been infertile for many years, she searched everywhere for beauties to put around her son.

Empress Xu was arrogant and willful, while Empress Dowager Jiang was strong and overbearing. Emperor Yongshun, who was caught between the two, was an indecisive and kind-hearted monarch who had to endure the bullying from both sides.

At that time, the Daliang Dynasty was in a precarious situation. From outside, the Oirat tribe invaded from the south and approached the capital. From within, there were insect plagues for years and the Yellow River broke its banks and flooded, devastating every life.

The young Emperor Yongshun was completely unable to control the situation.

He was overwhelmed by political affairs in the outer court every day, and when he returned to the inner court he had to face his rude and unreasonable mother and his suspicious wife.

The army sent out to fight against the Oirat was defeated one after another, and the topic of discussion in the court began to revolve around moving the capital southward.

Emperor Yongshun was completely panicked, and simply left the government affairs to his half-brother, Prince of Jin Xiao Ke, while he himself hid in the Qianqing Palace and lived a life of drunkenness and dreams.

It was during this period that Wei, the secretary of the Southern Study, and Empress Xu both diagnosed that the woman was pregnant.