Chapter 379 is so suffocating!

Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow, "Why such a grand gesture?"

Sun Yan was already bad with words, and now, shocked and flustered, he blurted out his words without thinking.

He closed his eyes and said loudly, "Your Highness, you came to Yangzhou to find Lord Shen."

Have you forgotten everything you went through with Lord Shen in the capital? How can you abandon Lord Shen for a pregnant woman?

That woman's belly was so big, she must have been seven or eight months pregnant.

"Your Highness, you can't choose to become a father unintentionally, and you certainly can't abandon Lord Shen after taking advantage of him!"

Pei Yuan...

What should you do if you have a dim-witted guard?

He was already immersed in the immense joy that A Chu was a woman and was pregnant with his child, and the excitement that had finally subsided was awakened again by Sun Yan's two sentences.

"Who said I was going to start a relationship with Lord Shen and then abandon him?"

Sun Yan suddenly looked up, staring at him with a face full of accusation.

"I have been by your side these past two days, but you only have eyes for that pregnant woman."

Oh right, she's Master Shen's junior sister, right? Look at her, she's stout and has a round, big face.

"He only seems as intelligent as Young Master Shen; how can anyone else compare to him?"

Pei Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to reveal Shen Chu's true identity.

But then he thought about it again and swallowed the thought back.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Sun Yan, but the matter was of great importance, especially concerning the safety of A Chu and the two children.

He cannot take even the slightest risk.

Pei Yuan frowned as he looked at Sun Yan, feigning surprise.

"But Lord Shen is a man. You'd rather I choose a man than a woman?"

Sun Yan scratched his head and brought up what Jin Bao had said earlier.

"What's wrong with the man? Jinbao said before that even though he's a eunuch, he still wants to get married and find someone who cares about him and live a good life with him."

Your Highness has had a difficult childhood, but Lord Shen can make Your Highness sleep soundly and feel at ease, and can also make Your Highness furious and smile like a spring breeze.

"As long as it's good for His Highness and makes him happy, what's wrong with two men?"

Pei Yuan was very surprised.

I never expected Jinbao to say something so insightful.

Tsk, I should have brought Jinbao with me to Yangzhou this time. He's a hundred times smarter than that blockhead Sun Yan.

Sun Mutou was still earnestly trying to persuade his master.

"Besides, she has a child in her belly. Your Highness, it's not your own child, so it's never as easy to raise one as it would be with your own."

Too little won't work, too much might be seen as stepfather abuse; it's a real dilemma.

As the saying goes, being a stepmother is difficult; Your Highness, being a stepfather is just as tough.

Pei Yuan's face turned ashen.

I wanted nothing more than to pick Sun Yan up and throw him face-first onto the ground, then yell in his ear:

I am not a stepfather, I am the biological father, the biological father!

But now is not the time to loudly proclaim its export.

It's pitiful that he was filled with joy, but had no one to share it with.

This is so frustrating!

There was also a piece of wood in front of me who kept nagging, saying he was his stepfather.

Pei Yuan glared at Sun Yan, then turned and left.

Sun Yan was dumbfounded, completely baffled as to what his lord meant by this.

"Your Highness!"

He scratched his head, quickly got up, and chased after him.

Pei Yuan suddenly turned his head, pointed at him and roared: "Shut up! If you say another word, I'll make you clean the chamber pot!"

Sun Yan silently made a shushing gesture.

Pei Yuan snorted and strode away.

As his personal bodyguard, Sun Yan followed at a distance, taking small, quick steps.

Then they saw His Highness walk towards the small courtyard at the very back.

No one lived in that courtyard, so the cook in the kitchen kept some chickens and ducks there.

There was a small pond in the middle, in which some carp were raised for their consumption.

Pei Yuan strolled leisurely into the courtyard and scattered a handful of millet.

Soon, chickens and ducks came rushing over, squawking and happily picking up food and eating it.

Pei Yuan squatted on the ground, scattering millet while muttering to himself:

"Chicken, duck, I'm going to be a father!"

The woman I love is about to give birth to my child.

Chicken: Cluck cluck (I can't understand, the millet is really delicious.)

Duck: Quack quack (Give me some more!)

After scattering the millet, Pei Yuan sat down by the pond and began feeding the fish while muttering to himself.

"Fish, I'm going to be a dad! And with twins! Isn't that amazing?"

Sun Yan was far away and could only see his usually wise and mighty prince squatting on the ground, feeding chickens and ducks, and feeding fish.

He was muttering to himself, I don't know what he was talking about.

He cautiously approached and vaguely heard someone say, "I'm going to be a father."

Sun Yan was instantly petrified.

His Highness has gone mad!

After feeding the chickens, ducks, and fish, and sharing his immense joy, Pei Yuan clapped his hands, then leisurely got up and went back inside.

He took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and went to the prefectural government office to find Shen Chu.

The prefectural government office has been completely taken over by Yu Feng and his men.

All officials in the Yangzhou government, from top to bottom, were temporarily detained.

Prefect Jiang's backyard was searched by Shen Chu himself, who specifically instructed his men not to harass any of the women in the inner courtyard.

Finally, a secret room was placed under the study of Prefect Jiang.

There were nearly twenty boxes piled up in the secret room, each box neatly filled with silver.

A full 120,000 taels!

The box was unusually clean, without a speck of dust.

Shen Chu said, "It's clear that Prefect Jiang often comes down to open these boxes and check them, which is why they haven't gotten dusty."

Because of the near-skinning incident involving the poisoning, Ling Ce harbored a deep-seated hatred for Prefect Jiang.

"He must have been terrified of poverty growing up. Now that he's made so much money by doing bad things, he probably wants to sleep with her every day."

Shen Chu agreed wholeheartedly and ordered his men to move all the silver upstairs, count it, and record it in the register.

Just as I came out of the study, Hongxiu skipped and hopped in from outside.

"The Sixth Prince has arrived."

Shen Chu didn't say anything, but Ling Ce couldn't help but frown.

"Why is this guy here again? Did he finish dealing with the matter of hiding his mistress so quickly?"

"Hmph, Junior Sister, you go ahead with your work. I'll go have a private talk with him."

Having said that, he ran away in a flash before Shen Chu could react.

Shen Chu shook her head and chuckled. Her third senior brother was naturally unruly; asking him to investigate cases and look at ledgers would probably give him a terrible headache.

He would rather go and argue with Pei Yuan.

Judging that Pei Yuan wouldn't be able to come to find her for a while, Shen Chu ordered someone to take all the account books out.

She needs to check the accounts first.

------

On the official road outside Yangzhou city.

Chen Jiaying sat in the carriage, crying incessantly with a wronged expression, her eyes swollen from crying.

She cried and cursed under her breath, "The prince hasn't come back for days. He must have gone to keep that pregnant slut company."

I must return to the capital immediately and ask the Empress Dowager to intervene on my behalf. I absolutely cannot allow a lowly woman to give birth to the Prince's child.

As soon as he finished speaking, several thuds suddenly sounded outside.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and the inertia caused her to lurch forward, almost falling out of the carriage.

Chen Jiaying was furious, "You scoundrel, how do you drive?"

Pulling back the carriage curtain, his expression changed drastically.

The guards and coachmen outside all lay quietly on the ground.

A slender woman stood in front of the carriage, smiling at her.