Yuwen Wuji was utterly speechless.

He had barely returned to the palace when his daughter-in-law came to complain to the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine immediately asked him to act as an intermediary, hoping to get the hot spring estate back.

When a son causes trouble, the father loses face.

Seeing that the Imperial Concubine, his eldest son, and his eldest daughter-in-law were all looking at him with bitter expressions, he had no choice but to have Xie Liwei summoned to the palace.

"Father, I really don't understand why we can't let Xie Liwei return to Chenliu and stop him from getting in the way in the capital!"

Yuwen Wuji glared at him. His stupid son couldn't even understand such a simple question, yet he still wanted to be the crown prince!

Back then, the Xie family ostensibly withdrew from the imperial court, but the reputation of their clan school suddenly soared. Half of the civil officials in the court had received instruction from members of the Xie family.

These scholars also revered Confucianism and respected teachers. If he were to forcefully take action against the Xie family, it would surely provoke a backlash from the censors. Moreover, he valued his reputation highly, desiring only to be remembered for generations to come and not to be reviled by posterity. Therefore, he delayed again and again, until the reputation of the Xie family's Nanshan Academy had grown to the point that he was wary of it.

When Xie Wanqing died, Xie Liwei offered to exchange the honor of the Xie family for her body to be returned to her hometown. He agreed, thinking that he would find an opportunity to deal with the Xie family after they gradually withdrew from the court.

However, as the Xie family gradually handed over power and connections, the Xie family academy suddenly became famous in Dachen. From the elderly to children as young as eight or nine, everyone knew the name of the Xie family's Nanshan Academy.

Suddenly, the Xie family was under everyone's attention, which gave him even less opportunity to take action against them.

He felt that all of this was Xie Liwei's doing, which was why he used the pretext of bestowing a title of king to keep him trapped in the capital, right under his nose.

If he were to return to Chenliu, ha, he'd be afraid the current Chen family would be surnamed Xie!

"Stupid!" the Emperor cursed, throwing a memorial at him. "Before you entered the palace, Xie Liwei sent a memorial accusing you of disrespecting your elders and corrupting social order!"

The eldest prince picked up the memorial in disbelief and read it through one by one. The memorial was filled with Xie Liwei's accusations, saying that he was trying to equalize his seniority, disregarding his deceased stepmother, and even less so his uncle. He recalled how Xie Liwei had once taught his nephew, played with him, and never imagined they would become so estranged. The memorial also lamented his deceased sister, tearfully expressing his longing for her.

After reading the memorial, the eldest prince suddenly felt a pang of guilt. It was just the word "uncle," what was wrong with him calling him that?

"It's just calling him 'uncle,' will it hurt you to drop a piece of flesh if you call him that?"

"Your subject knows his mistake."

The Imperial Concubine couldn't stand it anymore. How dare her son call Xie Wanqing his younger brother!

“Your Majesty, my sister has been gone for so many years, and Tong’er and Xie Liwei are not close, so it’s natural for him to call her uncle.”

"If we're not going to get close, then let's get close!" the Emperor said displeased.

The eldest prince understood the meaning behind the emperor's words: only by getting close to Xie Liwei would he have a chance to acquire Nanshan Academy.

"Your subject understands."

The Imperial Concubine glared at her son with exasperation, "What do you understand now?! Why should the Xie family benefit from the son she gave birth to and raised!"

Before the imperial concubine could speak further, the young eunuch had already reported that Xie Liwei was in critical condition.

"Summon—the Carefree Prince to the palace!"

Xie Liwei entered the Qiankun Hall in ordinary clothes and bowed to the Emperor, who was in a high position.

"We are all family today, so please don't be shy. Please give the Prince of Xiaoyao a seat."

The Emperor was pondering how to begin when Xie Liwei said sarcastically, "Although we are family, we are not very close."

The Emperor swallowed his anger and glared at the eldest prince. The eldest prince reluctantly bowed to Xie Liwei, saying, "Greetings, Uncle."

Upon seeing this, the Crown Prince's wife also called out "Uncle".

Xie Liwei waved his hand, "Does His Majesty have summoned me to the palace for some business?"

"I heard you made a bet with the eldest brother today, the stake being that hot spring resort outside the capital. That resort was left by the eldest brother's wife's mother. The eldest brother didn't know how important the resort was to his wife, and he just casually agreed to give it to you. See if you can return it. Don't worry, a loss is a loss. If you want anything else, I will compensate you!"

The eldest prince lowered his head and pretended not to exist, cursing the person who plotted against Yongle a thousand times over in his heart.

Xie Liwei said with great distress, "This is not a good problem..."

The Emperor paused, feeling that Xie Liwei was disrespecting him. Then he heard Xie Liwei say, "When I left His Highness's residence, I happened to run into Young Master Peng. He heard that I had acquired the Hot Spring Villa and offered 400,000 taels of silver to buy it. I figured I wasn't cut out for business, so I just sold it. Now the money and goods are settled, and the land deed is in Young Master Peng's hands."

Upon hearing his words, the Crown Princess nearly lost her balance.

The emperor felt a lump in his throat, unable to exhale or exhale.

"Alright then, since my niece-in-law really wants that estate, I'll just throw away my pride and go ask that Young Master Peng for it back!"

His words were so righteous and awe-inspiring that they made everyone's hearts ache.

But the trouble started with the eldest prince himself, so they could only suffer in silence.

"No need. This is something the eldest prince brought upon himself; if anyone should be embarrassed, it's him!" The Emperor glared at the eldest prince. "Get out of here now!"

The eldest prince had no choice but to retreat with his wife.

The Emperor looked at Xie Liwei and felt angry. He said a few words, but because his son was being unreasonable, he had no choice but to "bestow" some things upon him as "compensation".

Once Xie Liwei left, the Emperor could no longer maintain his composure and unleashed a furious rage.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Li Wei felt his job was getting harder and harder, sigh...

"That Song Yaozhu actually managed to defeat Yongle!"

Even if Yongle is arrogant, she is still a princess from a royal family. She has learned everything she should know. Even if she is not proficient, she cannot possibly lose to Song Yaozhu.

Putting aside the fact that Song Yaozhu had no opportunity to learn these things in the countryside, even if she had studied them for a period of time after returning to the Song family, she shouldn't have been able to beat Yongle, who had been studying for more than ten years.

"The princess said she rode a pig in the countryside, and riding a horse is no different from riding a pig, so..."

Li Wei himself found it hard to believe; the carefree princess's mouth was truly full of fabrications. But where did she learn such superb horsemanship?

"This Song Si is truly making me look at him with increasing admiration."

Li Wei: "......"

Your Majesty, don't you think it's greasy when you say that?

They weren't the only ones puzzled; Xie Liwei himself was also very confused.

He had abandoned her at the palace gate before, and she rode back on horseback. At the time, he thought it was because the Song family had taught her, and he didn't take it to heart. But the scene of her riding to rescue Yongle today kept swirling in his mind.

Her appearance almost perfectly matched that of his older sister in his memory.

"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits."