"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" After the court session ended, Ye Jingming's first words to Ye Jingchen were also to offer his congratulations.
Ye Jingchen revealed a ferocious smile, put his arm around Ye Jingming's shoulder, and asked through gritted teeth as they walked, "What's the joy about?"
Ye Jingming understood what he wanted to ask and answered his question.
"Before the morning court session began, I overheard Wang Xianghe and the other teachers discussing that the Emperor issued an edict last night, requiring all officials of the third rank or above with eligible daughters in their families to submit their portraits to the Ministry of Revenue to create a roster, which would then be sent to the palace for selection by the Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine."
"What selection? Is Father Emperor going to hold a selection of concubines?" Ye Jingchen asked deliberately with a dark face.
"Your Majesty is joking again. Of course, I'm choosing a Crown Princess for you!" Ye Jingming said with amusement.
After hearing Ye Jingming's explanation, Ye Jingchen realized that the "congratulations" Ye Jingming and Prime Minister Wang used, as well as the strange looks from all the court officials, were not what he had come to understand.
The good news is: his face was saved.
The bad news is: his father is being unreasonable and is forcing him to choose a crown princess again.
And this time, I didn't even tell him!
It seems he'll have to have a serious talk with his father after the court session ends today.
In the afternoon, when he went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Xie Chang'an was waiting for him at the gate as always.
"Congratulations, Your Highness." Xie Chang'an offered his congratulations upon seeing him, though his expression was somewhat strange.
"What's the joy about?" Ye Jingchen asked with a forced smile.
"Of course, congratulations on Your Highness finally getting it!" Xie Chang'an said.
Ye Jingchen suddenly looked at Xie Chang'an.
He thought he saw a smile on Xie Chang'an's face, but upon closer inspection, he only saw a blank expression.
"Were you just laughing at me?" Ye Jingchen asked fiercely.
"Why would I laugh at you?" Xie Chang'an retorted.
Of course, it's meant to mock him for only becoming sensible at fifteen and a half!
Ye Jingchen rolled his eyes at him and ignored him.
Xie Chang'an was even more capable than he had imagined. He had placed people in Chengqian Palace or the East Palace, or perhaps he had people in both places. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known about this news so quickly.
"I'm very curious, what made Your Highness suddenly enlightened? Could it be related to me?" Xie Chang'an asked abruptly.
Ye Jingchen's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface and used a question to shut Xie Chang'an up.
"Didn't you say you didn't like me? Then why are you still curious about this?"
Although he only had an epiphany after dreaming about Xie Chang'an, he didn't feel that he had any special feelings for Xie Chang'an.
The reason he had that dream must be because Xie Chang'an kissed him during the day. He had never experienced such a shock in his thirty or forty years of life, so having that dream is normal and doesn't prove anything.
Moreover, when he looks at Xie Chang'an now, his heart is as calm as a still well, exactly the same as before.
Therefore, he definitely has no interest in Xie Chang'an.
To be honest, before seeing Xie Chang'an, Ye Jingchen was actually a little worried. He was worried that if Xie Chang'an's friendship was ruined by a dream, he would be very troubled.
Now he can finally relax.
"Your Highness was so oblivious before, but suddenly became clear-headed the day I confessed my feelings. Naturally, I'm a little curious and want to see if I still have a chance?" Xie Chang'an probed, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"It's not because of you!"
"It has nothing to do with you!"
"You have no chance. My father has already started choosing a crown princess for me!" Ye Jingchen directly refused three times in a row.
Moreover, in order to make Xie Chang'an believe him, he even revealed that his father was going to choose a crown princess for him.
However, Xie Chang'an even knew about his private matter of becoming enlightened. His father made such a big fuss about choosing a crown princess for him, so he didn't believe Xie Chang'an wouldn't know.
Xie Chang'an's expression had been relatively normal, but upon hearing this, it instantly turned cold. "Then I, Xie, will first congratulate His Highness the Crown Prince!"
His voice was as cold as ice shards.
A man's words are deceitful!
He used to say he didn't want to marry the Crown Princess, but his mind changed as soon as he realized it!
Want to marry the Crown Princess? Dream on!
Ye Jingchen touched his nose and subconsciously moved a little further away from Xie Chang'an.
He was doing this for Xie Chang'an's own good. So-called love is just hormones at work; once the impulse is over, it's nothing.
How can a romantic relationship be as stable as a relationship based on mutual benefit?
Their alliance is unbreakable and will never change!
Seeing Ye Jingchen walk away, Xie Chang'an was even angrier. He took a few quick steps and left Ye Jingchen behind.
Ye Jingchen involuntarily reached out to grab Xie Chang'an, but realizing that his thoughts were wrong, he immediately pulled Er Kang's hand back with his other hand.
That afternoon, Ye Jingchen was subjected to countless glares from Xie Chang'an. If looks could kill, he felt he would be torn to pieces by Xie Chang'an.
After class, when Xie Chang'an saw him off at the mansion, he kept glaring at him with sharp eyes, making Ye Jingchen feel like a heartless man.
"Xie Chang'an, people really shouldn't talk about feelings. Once you do, you lose your mind!" Before leaving, Ye Jingchen reached out and patted Xie Chang'an on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.
Xie Chang'an clenched his fist, really wanting to show him what true 'dementia' really meant!
As the carriage left the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Ye Jingchen lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to peek at Xie Chang'an, who stood motionless at the door as if he had been transformed into a stone statue.
Suddenly, his gaze met Xie Chang'an's, and he quickly lowered the curtain.
He needed to find a way to prevent Xie Chang'an from talking about feelings with him, while also preventing their relationship from deteriorating.
He cannot lose Xie Chang'an as an ally!
After returning to the palace, he saw Ye Jingshu and Ye Jingming in the East Palace and remembered that today was the day he was supposed to pay his respects to the emperor.
Before going to Chengqian Palace together, Ye Jingchen carefully looked at Ye Jinghe's face and made sure that the dark circles under his eyes had faded very much before he felt relieved.
However, Ye Jingshu's words soon made his heart jump into his throat again.
"Brother, I heard that Father Emperor issued an edict last night to select a Crown Princess for you. Will the Eastern Palace soon have a mistress?" Ye Jingshu asked excitedly in a low voice.
But no matter how low or soft her voice was, Ye Jinghe, who was sitting right next to her, could hear it clearly.
Ye Jingchen saw that Ye Jinghe's face turned pale instantly.
"Royal sister, don't talk nonsense. I'm only fifteen years old. How could I possibly get married now?" Ye Jingchen quickly said.
"Besides, didn't I tell you before that the best time to consider marriage is after eighteen? Before that, it's not good for your health!" he said with a serious expression.
"Brother..." Ye Jinghe murmured as he called out to him.
Ye Jingchen looked at him and felt a hand grab his hand through the sleeve. The hand was smaller than his and was trembling slightly.
"Don't be afraid, your brother is here!" Ye Jingchen sighed inwardly and grabbed Ye Jinghe's hand.
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