"What are you doing?" Ye Jingchen asked, puzzled.
Everyone else also looked puzzled.
"It's Prince Xie!" The cheers from outside cleared up the confusion for everyone inside.
Xie Shaoling has arrived?
Ye Jingchen breathed a sigh of relief. With Xie Shaoling there, all the little ones would surely be safe and sound.
Just as Ye Jingchen was about to go out to check, Xie Shaoling had already pushed open the door and walked in.
"Your Highness, I am sorry to have been late in coming to your rescue!" Xie Shaoling said, kneeling on one knee upon seeing him.
"Uncle Xie, please get up!" Ye Jingchen quickly stepped forward to help Xie Shaoling up, and took the opportunity to change how he addressed Xie Shaoling.
After all, Xie Shaoling came here all by himself to save them. He was extremely grateful, so it wasn't unreasonable for him to change his address, was it?
"Uncle Xie, what are you doing here? Have you dealt with the thugs at the village entrance?" Ye Jingchen asked.
"Soon, His Majesty's reinforcements have arrived. I happened to be there when His Majesty sent people to rescue His Highness, but Black Wind is fast, so I arrived ahead of time," Xie Shaoling said with a smile.
"When can we leave here?"
"To be on the safe side, it would be better to wait until His Majesty's Imperial Guards come here to pick up the princes before leaving."
Xie Shaoling's arrival was like a reassurance, putting Ye Jingchen at ease as well as the other kids and the Donggong Guards at ease.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, Wei Yi finally led the Imperial Guards over.
Ye Jingchen and his group then left the thatched hut and, escorted by the Imperial Guards, returned to the village entrance.
Before leaving the thatched hut, Ye Jingchen left a gold bean on the table as compensation for their unauthorized trespassing.
Since no one actually lived at the entrance of the village, and at that time the villagers were busy harvesting in the fields, the chaos at the village entrance did not harm any innocent people.
Ye Jingchen and his group boarded the carriage and returned to the palace smoothly.
When they left the palace, they did not alert anyone. However, when they returned, everyone in the palace knew that His Highness the Crown Prince had taken the princes and princesses and their companions to a village at the foot of the Western Hills for a visit, and that they had been assassinated.
People from the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, the Minister of Rites' residence, and the Gu family were all anxiously waiting at the entrance of Beichen Palace, and Xu Jingjing was among them.
The four attendants all happened to be in the same carriage. They got off at the entrance of Beichen Palace, while the other two carriages carrying the princes and princesses continued into Beichen Palace.
When the old lady and the lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion saw Yun Shu, they called her "darling" and "precious" and hugged her tightly, wiping away tears and laughing.
The other two matriarchs were much more composed, calmly and collectedly leading their children back home.
Xu Jingjing looked Xie Chang'an up and down and found that his expression was normal, and his hair and clothes were not messy. Satisfied, she took him back.
Inside the Beichen Palace, several concubines were also waiting anxiously.
The carriage came to a stop, and the children got off one by one.
"Never do such dangerous things again!" Consort Liang looked Ye Jingyu up and down, her brows furrowed with worry as she spoke.
“Exactly! As a princess, how can she show her face everywhere in public?” Consort Wen added disapprovingly.
Consort Xian examined Ye Jingyu carefully, her face was not good, but she didn't say anything.
Ji Wushuang was the calmest among them, and she even asked Ye Jingyu, "Is the village down the mountain fun?"
“It’s not fun, their lives are too hard,” Ye Jingyu replied.
"Then don't go next time," Ji Wushuang said.
“But we’re not going there for fun; we’re going there to understand the people’s lives.” Ye Jingyu pondered the new words he had learned.
The mother and son exchanged questions and answers, and then the big hand held the little hand as they left.
"Go back to your rooms and rest for a bit. I'll come find you later," Ye Jingchen said to Ye Jingshu, Ye Jingming, and Ye Jinghe.
Back in his room, he first washed and dressed, then selected a few items from the birthday gifts the emperor had given him that day and had them delivered to the Noble Consort, the Virtuous Consort, the Wen Consort, and the Liang Consort, as an apology and compensation for the danger he had encountered while taking the children out that day.
Afterwards, he personally brought gifts to visit Ye Jingshu and the others.
I was worried that they would be frightened by what happened today, so I wanted to comfort them, but I didn't expect that these three kids were all so resilient and not frightened at all.
Ye Jingming, always composed, didn't say much. However, Ye Jingshu and Ye Jinghe seemed to express some regret, lamenting that they hadn't encountered any bad guys and it wasn't exciting enough.
After seeing the three of them, Ye Jingchen returned to his room, just as he was about to rest, when the emperor arrived again, this time with the imperial physician.
Ye Jingchen was always eager to have the imperial physician examine his pulse.
He changed the monthly health check in the palace to once every seven days, and this wasn't just for him, but for all the princes and princesses, including the emperor.
Health is the foundation of everything!
The imperial physician quickly finished taking the pulse and left.
"Father, what happened to the villains in Maple Forest Village today? Were any captured alive?" Ye Jingchen asked impatiently.
"They had been lying in ambush on the mountain behind the village for two days, planning to sneak into the palace and assassinate you during the autumn hunt in the Western Hills. However, you suddenly wanted to visit that village, so I sent many imperial guards to protect you in secret. When the imperial guards were eliminating the danger, they discovered them and a fight broke out," the emperor said.
Thinking about it this way, Chen'er really is his lucky star.
Those assassins were all quite skilled; if they were to sneak into the palace during the autumn hunt, he might actually encounter danger.
"Have you found out who sent the assassin?" Ye Jingchen pressed.
"It could be a remnant of the Jiang family, but there is no evidence yet."
"Father, I felt very guilty when I hid in the thatched hut with my brothers and sisters today. If they had met with misfortune while I was taking them out to play, I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life. Fortunately, Prince Xie found us quickly. Prince Xie saved us. You must reward him well!" Ye Jingchen had laid out so much for this last sentence.
"Was it him who saved you?" The emperor instantly exploded. "Weren't you saved by my Imperial Guards and Feathered Forest Army? What does it have to do with Xie Shaoling?"
"Furthermore, how come I didn't know you felt guilty back then? Didn't you still have the leisure to eat longevity cakes and say something like 'strategically despise all enemies, but tactically take all enemies seriously'?!" the emperor questioned sternly.
This unfilial son actually called Xie Shaoling "Uncle Xie"! Does Xie Shaoling deserve that?!
Faced with the emperor's questioning, Ye Jingchen remained completely calm.
He grabbed the emperor's arm and said coquettishly, "I didn't know that Father Emperor cares about me so much. Not only did he send the Imperial Guards to secretly escort me, but he also sent the Feathered Forest Army to rescue me in time when I was in danger. There are also Father Emperor's people in the Eastern Palace Guard who protect me closely. I am so touched. Father Emperor, you are so kind!"
emperor:......
Suddenly I felt a little guilty.
After all, the Eastern Palace Guards belong to the Crown Prince and are his direct personal troops; he shouldn't interfere.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this unfilial son actually pointed out this statement.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
