Chapter 378 The Emperor's Thoughts

As Xu Yunzhi spoke, his face was full of smiles, but in his heart he felt even more disdain for Lu Youming.

He was just released early, but he rushed back without caring about anything else, and even thought about giving himself a gift. He didn't even find out what was going on with Lu Yuanbin.

If he had paid a little attention along the way, he would not have missed the fact that Lu Yuanbin was under house arrest, which shows that Lu Youming's attention was still lacking.

"Is the fifth brother under house arrest?"

If Lu Youming was only secretly pleased before, now all his joy could no longer be concealed and was fully displayed on his face.

Now, in the imperial court, his only opponent is the Fifth Prince. If the Fifth Prince is confined to his quarters, it is naturally a good opportunity for him to show his skills.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. From now on, no one will be able to rival you."

Xu Yunzhi chose the most flattering words to say to Lu Youming, who was naturally even more overjoyed and immediately thanked Xu Yunzhi profusely.

However, this joy lasted only two days before vanishing in an instant with an imperial edict from the emperor.

The tenth day of the first lunar month is the first day after the New Year when court resumes.

However, the first decree issued by the emperor in the new year was to lift the crown prince's confinement and allow him to return to the court to help the emperor handle state affairs.

Lu Youming stood in the crowd, assuming that these people would all treat him with utmost respect and flattery from now on. However, before he could even savor this respect, reality shattered him completely.

During this period, the emperor's indifference to the crown prince led them to mistakenly believe that the crown prince had long lost any hope of competing again.

Just as they were locked in a life-or-death struggle, little did they know that the emperor would issue an edict that the crown prince would remain the crown prince.

"Third brother, you have always been the Crown Prince's right-hand man. When your elder brother, the Crown Prince, returns, you should continue to assist him as before."

The emperor wore a smile, but when his sharp, somewhat warning gaze swept across Lu Youming's face, Lu Youming couldn't help but shiver.

"Your subject obeys."

When Lu Youming said those words, he almost ground his teeth to powder.

He had served the Crown Prince diligently for so many years, and he thought he had finally made it to the end and had a chance to show his abilities. But unexpectedly, a single sentence from the Emperor turned him back into that forgotten little follower.

Lu You answered readily on the surface, but a hint of calculation and ruthlessness unconsciously flashed in his eyes.

Should he be a lackey? Lu Youming could never continue being a lackey in his entire life. He wanted to be the emperor, not a beggar, forever wagging his tail and begging for mercy.

Yun Yichen stood silently to the side the whole time, watching the two of them. Taking in the expressions of the father and son, Yun Yichen couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

As expected of royalty, neither the young nor the old are any good.

However, Yun Yichen was quite happy to watch this kind of drama where you scheme against me and I scheme against you.

The Crown Prince's residence was the happiest when the Emperor issued this decree.

Upon realizing that he had been confined to the Crown Prince's residence for over a month, the Crown Prince immediately breathed a sigh of relief and then summoned Consort Yan, Chunxiang.

Now that the Crown Prince's residence no longer has a Crown Princess, the one in charge of the inner court is Lady Yan, who is not pregnant. In addition, Lady Yan is sensible and has won over countless concubines and maids for the Crown Prince, which makes the Crown Prince like her even more.

Chunxiang clearly hadn't expected that even the Crown Prince, who had reached this point, could still turn things around. While she was puzzled, her face was filled with joy.

"I told you that Your Highness is the reincarnation of a true dragon, the future ruler of the Great Zhou. What are these temporary difficulties compared to this? Haven't we already turned our misfortunes around?"

As Lady Yan spoke, her frail, boneless body leaned against the Crown Prince as if no one else was around.

The time she spent living in the Crown Prince's residence had transformed Chunxiang, who was once arrogant and domineering in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion, into a scheming woman.

"You're getting better and better at talking!"

The Crown Prince praised her, and couldn't help but kiss Lady Yan on the cheek before continuing, "But I love your mouth. It's sweet. Not only is your speech sweet, but it tastes even sweeter."

The Crown Prince, with a lewd grin on his face, pulled Lady Yan into his arms and carried her into the house.

A spring breeze blows, and the curtains sway in the wind.

The voices of men and women inside the house rose and fell, creating ripples in the water.

When Lady Xue, Li Yingxue, received the news that the Crown Prince had returned to the court, she was naturally overjoyed. Her initial intention in seducing the Crown Prince was to become a high-ranking imperial concubine in the future.

The Crown Prince's confinement some time ago had slowly driven her to despair under such loneliness. Now, the Emperor's decree had undoubtedly pulled her back from the abyss, which made Li Yingxue extremely happy.

As Li Yingxue was about to give birth to the Crown Prince, she naturally wanted to share this joy with her husband as soon as possible.

But when she arrived at the Crown Prince's study, she heard the Crown Prince and Lady Yan playing around inside.

Li Yingxue was so angry that her teeth itched, but knowing the Crown Prince's temper, she dared not go into the room to disturb him. After thinking it over, she found a chair outside and sat down.

As if they knew Li Yingxue was waiting outside, the two who were playing around inside opened the door again in less than a quarter of an hour.

When the Crown Prince saw Li Yingxue sitting outside the door with a large belly, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.

However, since it was his own child, the Crown Prince did not neglect her too much.

"Why are you here? If you're pregnant, you should stay in your own yard and not wander around aimlessly. What if you hurt the baby?"

The Crown Prince's voice was somewhat stiff, but for a woman like Li Yingxue, who hadn't received any care in a long time, her eyes softened upon hearing his words.

As expected, the Crown Prince still cares about her. If Chunxiang hadn't brought so many seductive women, His Highness wouldn't have neglected her.

"Your Highness is right. I only came to congratulate Your Highness because I heard that His Majesty had lifted Your Highness's confinement and issued an edict allowing Your Highness to return to the court to participate in politics."

As the saying goes, a happy occasion makes one feel refreshed. After all, Li Yingxue was a woman he had gone to great lengths to obtain. Seeing her so tactfully congratulate him, the Crown Prince was naturally even happier.

"You've put your heart into this, but no matter how happy you are, you must take care of the child in your womb. If you can give birth to a son for me, I will definitely ask my father to grant you the position of a concubine."