Prime Minister Li and Prince Ning exchanged greetings.

Prince Ning had just finished gossiping about someone else's son and was about to go out and spread the news when he saw him. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, so to cover it up, he imitated the emperor's tone of voice.

"Your Excellency is usually busy with state affairs, so you will have to spend more time at home in the future."

He patted Prime Minister Li on the shoulder and said, "Please accept my condolences."

Little did he know that this was the tone the emperor usually used when reprimanding him. Saying these words at this moment was clearly a way of saying that Prime Minister Li had failed in his duty to educate his son.

Even the usually deep-thinking Prime Minister Li could not hide his anger at this moment. "Thank you for the reminder, Prince Ning."

He was almost gritting his teeth.

Prince Ning, oblivious to everything, waved his hand and dragged Helian Qing away.

Helian Qing noticed Li Xiangguo's anger and couldn't help but turn around to look, where he met Li Xiangguo's gaze.

That look reminded Helian Qing of a snake flicking its tongue in the border town.

Insidious! Waiting for the right moment to strike!

I couldn't help but shudder.

"You've offended him."

Once inside the carriage, Helian Qing kindly reminded Prince Ning.

Prince Ning didn't take it to heart. "So what if I offended him? I am a prince, and he is a subject. I didn't say anything wrong."

Everyone praises Prime Minister Li for his loyalty, diligence, and good official conduct, but I think that raising his son to be like that makes him no better."

Li Chenghai repeatedly caused trouble for Ye Zhen, mingled with men, and even colluded with officials under the Dali Temple to commit audacious acts such as swapping criminals.

"What a person does is related to their nature. The fact that Li Chenghai could use such despicable methods to scheme against Ye Zhen shows that this is his true nature."

It's no secret that Prime Minister Li dotes on Li Chenghai. He couldn't possibly be unaware of his son's character. Therefore, his indulgence plays a significant role in Li Chenghai's current state, and I say he's not entirely wrong.

Helian Qing has learned something new again.

He had heard in the border town that Prince Ning was ignorant and a good-for-nothing good-for-nothing second-generation rich kid.

Hearing his words today, he is clearly very clear-headed.

"Are you pretending to be stupid?"

The little head posed a soul-searching question.

Prince Ning didn't even turn his head, but suddenly asked Helian Qing, "Do you know how many hours my father sleeps each day?"

Helian Qing naturally had no idea. Just as he was about to ask why he suddenly brought this up, he heard Prince Ning ask again, "Do you know why I am Prince Ning?"

The little head shook.

"My father often stayed up late into the night and had to get up at dawn to hold the morning court. Even when he didn't hold the morning court, he rarely stayed in bed because he had endless government affairs to deal with."

There were no concubines in the harem. People said my mother was happy, but she rarely had a time of freedom and peace. She had to manage the operation of the entire palace, deal with the noblewomen, and also serve as the mother of the nation to consolidate the emperor's power for my father.

Being an emperor or empress isn't easy, and no matter how busy they are, they still try their best to be good parents. They chose the character "Ning" for me, hoping I would be peaceful, carefree, and without worries. They worked very hard for this.

He turned to Helian Qing and smiled, “So, my best way to repay them is to live a carefree life as a prince, without any worries, without competing or fighting, and without thinking about anything.”

Otherwise, what was the point of all their hard work and regrets?

We can't let our sons kill each other.

The wind lifted the carriage curtain, letting in dappled sunlight. Prince Ning was dressed in purple robes, his jade crown tied high. He was actually quite handsome, but the eccentric smile on his face made people subconsciously overlook his appearance.

Helian Qing was surprised to find that many people in the capital seemed to be different from what they appeared to be, or what the rumors said.

Before coming to the capital, his perception of Prime Minister Li was the same as that of Prince Ning: he was a good official.

But the look in his eyes just now...

Prince Ning seemed to know what he was thinking, and laughed heartlessly, "Don't be afraid, your grandfather is Prince Dingyuan. We all have powerful backers, he wouldn't dare to do anything to us."

What we need to think about now is how to avoid deliberately publicizing the Li family's scandals. We must not encourage such unhealthy trends. Young people, we have a long way to go.

Having said that, he chuckled and got out of the carriage, then staggered into the teahouse.

From a young age, he knew that his parents were worried about him and his brothers vying for the throne. But there was only one dragon throne, so his parents tried their best to make up for it in other ways for him and the Prince of Yun.

He had witnessed the Crown Prince's hardships and knew he could never do what he did, but the love and affection from his parents was exactly what he wanted.

There are gains and losses, and similarly, there are losses in addition to gains.

It's good as it is now.

No one knew what Prince Ning was thinking. When Prime Minister Li walked up to the Crown Prince because of Prince Ning's words, his expression was hard to calm down.

After bowing, he said to Xie Tingzhou, "Your Highness, my son Chenghai was harmed by villains and ended up in such a state. I beg Your Highness to do justice for my son."

Ye Zhen curled her lips into a smile.

That old scoundrel really did use that trick.

Xie Tingzhou said, "According to the steward of the Ye family, Lord Li and Ye Zhengqing did have an affair. Xiao Zuo also confessed that it was Lord Li who brought him to the Ye family."

On his way here, Prime Minister Li had already anticipated that the steward of the Ye residence would give an explanation, and insisted, "Your Highness, I am innocent. This is absolutely impossible."

My son already has a wife, and the two are deeply in love. For many years, Su has been unable to conceive and has never taken a concubine. However, recently, my wife was worried about my son's offspring and forced him to take my cousin as a concubine. Now, that concubine is pregnant.

"My son could never have been involved with a man. He was clearly drugged, and as far as this old minister knows, Princess Zhaoning was at the Ye family's residence at the time."

He then looked at Ye Zhen with a pained expression, "Princess, my son offended you at the imperial estate. This old minister has already punished him, and he has apologized to you. Why do you hold such a grudge?"

This is all being pinned on Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen laughed, "The Prime Minister's distortion of the truth is truly an eye-opener."

It was clearly Li Chenghai and Ye Zhengqing who colluded to scheme against me, thinking they had succeeded and were celebrating in advance. Who knew they had overdosed on the medicine and messed things up?

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!