"I will convey His Highness the Crown Prince's wishes to my father," Xie Chang'an said.
He knew that his father wasn't deliberately doing nothing; it was that he couldn't do anything.
From the moment he returned to the capital, countless eyes were secretly watching him, and among them, the ones watching him most closely were the emperor's men.
The father's public display of power attracted everyone's attention, which in turn made it easier for him to act in secret.
"I sincerely hope to resolve the old grudges between my father and Prince Xie," Ye Jingchen said earnestly once again.
Xie Chang'an did not trust the emperor, nor did he care whether the emperor was willing to reconcile with his father.
Having spent nearly a decade in a battle of wits with the emperor in his previous life, he knew the emperor all too well.
The emperor was inherently suspicious, and whether or not he reconciled with his father did not affect his distrust of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
However, since Ye Jingchen is willing to give it a try, let him try. It will also allow him to see what kind of person the emperor is as soon as possible and stop having any expectations of him.
"I understand." Xie Chang'an nodded to Ye Jingchen and left with his men.
"So cute!" Ye Jingchen exclaimed, resting his chin on his hands as he watched Xie Chang'an stride confidently out of the private room.
She's so cute, it's such a waste that she won't even let you pinch her cheeks!
"He recognized you again," Chenxi reminded her.
Chenxi was quite confident in her disguise skills, but Ye Jingchen was recognized by Xie Chang'an twice in a row. Chenxi was confused and became even more wary of Xie Chang'an.
Ye Jingchen looked at himself, then at Chenxi, and finally focused his gaze on the white jade lotus bud at his waist.
He really liked this lotus flower; it was carved so lifelike, as if it were a real lotus bud about to bloom, so he loved to hold it in his hands and play with it.
Following his gaze, Chenxi also saw the white jade lotus and frowned slightly.
If it were any other kind of jewelry, I could just put it away, but this one is for saving my life in a critical moment. If I put it away, it would be meaningless.
"It might not be this one. The shape of a flower bud is quite common. Maybe it's for some other reason? Next time I see Xie Chang'an, I'll ask him how he recognized me." Ye Jingchen stopped dwelling on the question.
It was already quite late when we came out of the teahouse.
Before dinner, he had to return to the East Palace to avoid arousing suspicion.
He wandered aimlessly through the streets.
The imperial city was bustling and prosperous, with all sorts of strange and unusual trinkets for sale on the streets, as well as a variety of unique snacks that had never been seen or heard of before.
Ye Jingchen really wanted to bring gifts for the little ones, but it would be too easy to be caught if he brought things from outside the palace into the palace. So in the end, he just bought a bag of pastries and planned to secretly feed them to Ye Jinghe.
He carried the pastries in his hands, swaying them precariously.
Two boys, about the same height as him, walked past him playfully fighting, and one of them accidentally shoved him.
"I'm sorry!" the child quickly apologized to him.
"It's nothing," Ye Jingchen said casually.
The child was about to run away when something pulled him and made him stumble.
The child's expression changed drastically, and he quickly let go. Only then did Ye Jingchen realize that the child had been holding his white jade lotus in his hand, while a cold glint flashed in his other hand.
"Dawn—" Ye Jingchen called out.
With a swift movement, Chenxi subdued both children, rendering them immobile. The small knife that one of the children had been hiding in his hand was now in Chenxi's grasp.
Ye Jingchen gestured for Chenxi to take the two children to a deserted corner on the street.
"Trying to steal this from me?!" He handed the white jade lotus to the two children to show them.
"It's a pity, this rope of mine isn't made of ordinary materials; it can't be cut with a regular knife," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.
"We didn't mean to steal your things, we just happened to get caught on your clothes as we were passing by," one of the boys said matter-of-factly, his eyes darting around.
"Oh—then what's the deal with this little knife?" Ye Jingchen took the knife Chenxi handed him and asked while playing with it.
“The knife is for self-defense. The capital is so dangerous, and we are just two children, so of course we need something to protect ourselves,” the other child said.
“It’s really dangerous for kids to run around in the streets. Be careful they don’t get kidnapped! Where are your parents? Why aren’t they with you?” Ye Jingchen asked.
When he asked this question, the two children, who had remained unfazed even when caught red-handed, fell silent.
"Are you orphans?" Ye Jingchen guessed.
“You’re the orphan!” one of the children suddenly became agitated and said fiercely.
"Trying to steal my things, and getting caught with such a bad attitude. Chenxi, send them both to the government office. According to the laws of Dayuan, stealing can get you your hand cut off," Ye Jingchen threatened leisurely.
"Don't send us to the authorities—"
The two children finally started to panic.
"It was wrong of us to steal your things, you can beat us up, but please don't send us to the authorities!" They looked at Ye Jingchen with fear on their faces and pleaded.
"Then tell me, why did you steal my things? Did someone instruct you to steal them?" Ye Jingchen asked.
“Nobody told us to! We just saw you alone, and that thing hanging from your waist looked quite valuable, so we wanted to steal it to sell for money,” one of the children said.
Why is he all alone? Wasn't Chenxi always by his side?
Ye Jingchen looked at Chenxi and suddenly thought of a possibility.
Chenxi is a bodyguard, and the greatest skill of a bodyguard is to minimize their presence.
And now, on the street, with many people around, even though Chenxi was right next to him, it gave people the illusion that they weren't familiar with each other.
This makes it quite convenient for him to use entrapment tactics, like now, he's caught two petty thieves.
“Your movements seem quite practiced. Are you repeat offenders? Your clothes are old, but they’re still relatively clean, and your faces and hair are clean too. You don’t look like homeless children. Could you be part of an organization?” Ye Jingchen looked them up and down, and his analysis made the two children’s faces grow increasingly grim.
"What's the name of your organization? Where's your base? How many kids like you are in there? Tell me the truth, and I'll be merciful and let you go. Otherwise, I'll send you to the authorities and have them torture you!" Ye Jingchen threatened.
The two children were numb.
They couldn't understand how things had suddenly turned out this way.
They simply picked a seemingly foolish peer on the street as their target, as usual, but little did they know he had an accomplice who was quite capable and captured them in no time.
How did this seemingly silly, unsuspecting child manage to figure out their origins in just a few words?
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