"Deputy Commander Xie, what are you doing following us so late? Shouldn't you be with your colleagues?" Ye Jinghe asked, feigning confusion.
"My duty is to protect His Highness the Crown Prince's safety, so naturally I must escort him back to his palace to complete my mission!" Xie Chang'an replied expressionlessly.
Ye Jinghe gritted his teeth and cursed the emperor a thousand times in his heart.
Ye Jinghe's side hall was closer to the training ground, and Ye Jingchen would have to pass by his side hall to return to his bedroom. However, he did not return to the side hall, but continued to follow Ye Jingchen.
This time, it was Xie Chang'an's turn to feign confusion.
"Fifth Prince, haven't we arrived at your side hall? What are you following us for?"
"There are ill-intentioned people around my brother, so I naturally have to personally escort him back to his palace to feel at ease," Ye Jinghe said with a smile.
Xie Chang'an looked at him coldly.
"Brother, look at the way Xie Chang'an is looking at me, it's terrifying, like he wants to eat me alive!" Ye Jinghe reached out and grabbed Ye Jingchen's sleeve, looking very scared.
Ye Jingchen glanced at Xie Chang'an and found that Xie Chang'an was also looking at him, and his eyes did look like he wanted to eat him alive.
"Since you haven't decided a winner tonight, let's continue tomorrow night until a winner is decided," Ye Jingchen said with a smile after exchanging glances with Xie Chang'an for a moment.
"By the way, no fighting in private. If any of you have injuries, I'll consider it a fight, and I'll punish both of you," he added.
"Alright, I've arrived. You can all go back now!" Standing at the entrance of the bedroom, Ye Jingchen freed his sleeve from Ye Jinghe's grasp and waved to the two of them.
Xie Chang'an instinctively wanted to follow, but Ye Jinghe stopped him.
"Vice Commander Xie, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to continue following along, would it?"
Taking advantage of Xie Chang'an being stopped, Ye Jingchen calmly walked into the bedroom and closed the door in front of the two of them.
Ye Jinghe and Xie Chang'an stood facing each other with their eyes at the entrance of the bedchamber for a long time before turning around and leaving.
Seeing that the two had finally left through the window, Ye Jingchen breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
He had heard people say before that the relationship between sisters-in-law is just like that between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and it is difficult to reconcile. Although Ye Jinghe is not a sister-in-law and Xie Chang'an is not a sister-in-law, the meaning is similar.
Since they both have so much energy, let them have more opportunities to practice together.
After taking a shower, Ye Jingchen lay in bed thinking about how to reconcile the relationship between Ye Jinghe and Xie Chang'an, but before he could come up with an effective solution, he drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Fangfei woke me up. After washing up, I went outside and saw Ye Jinghe and Xie Chang'an exchanging glances.
"Did you know that overusing your eyes can easily cause strabismus? And if you become strabismus, you won't be cute," Ye Jingchen said to them with a smile.
Ye Jinghe and Xie Chang'an stiffened upon hearing this and simultaneously looked away.
Besides being lazy, Ye Jingchen has another well-known flaw: he likes cute little kids.
Although they've grown up now and aren't little kids anymore, and can no longer be described as cute, Ye Jingchen absolutely cannot be allowed to think they're 'not cute'!
On his way to the morning court session, Ye Jingchen told Xie Chang'an that after the session he would go to Chengqian Palace to see the emperor, submit evidence of collusion between the aristocratic families and the Northern Barbarians, and report to the emperor about his trip to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
"I'll wait for you outside Chengqian Palace after the court session," Xie Chang'an said.
The little madman went to the guard camp during the day; he couldn't let go of any opportunity to spend time with Ye Jingchen!
Ye Jingchen did not refuse.
The Imperial Garden is beautiful. If Xie Chang'an waits for him outside Chengqian Palace, they can stroll through the Imperial Garden together on their way back, which can be considered a date.
Anyway, Xie Chang'an had eaten quite a bit before leaving the East Palace, so he shouldn't be hungry for a while.
The emperor appeared listless during the morning court session, his back hunched as he sat on his throne, as if crushed by something heavy.
Looking at the emperor like this, Ye Jingchen felt guilty for three seconds.
The ministers didn't know what had happened, but they knew that such an emperor was not to be trifled with. Even the most stubborn censors remained quiet and didn't cause any trouble, so the morning court session ended very quickly.
After the Director of Ceremonial Affairs announced the end of the court session, the emperor rose and left.
"Father, wait for your son!" Ye Jingchen rushed up the high platform and shouted after the emperor.
The emperor acted as if he hadn't heard anything and strode forward.
Ye Jingchen didn't care about his attitude and quickened his pace to follow behind the emperor.
Ye Jingming and the others were the last to leave. After witnessing this scene, they all understood who had offended their father.
Perhaps only the emperor's elder brother/crown prince can get away with offending the emperor without facing any punishment.
But they weren't envious at all, because their elder brother/crown prince had earned their father's favor through his own abilities!
After exiting the imperial road, Ye Jingchen darted to the emperor's side and behind, taking Zhang Shunde's place.
"Father, I have brought evidence of collusion between the aristocratic families and the Northern Barbarians. Would you like to see it now?" Ye Jingchen followed closely behind the emperor and asked in a low voice.
"I don't want to see it!" the emperor said irritably.
"Then I'll give it to Eunuch Zhang first, and you can look at it when you want," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.
"You're still laughing? How can you even laugh?" The emperor caught sight of the smile on Ye Jingchen's face and was immediately enraged.
"If I don't laugh, should I cry? But even if I cry every day, I can't change the predetermined fate!" Ye Jingchen said calmly.
Back at Chengqian Palace, the emperor dismissed all the palace servants, leaving only the father and son in their bedroom.
"How did you discover that you are impotent? Do you perhaps have someone you wish to sleep with?" The emperor thought about it all day yesterday and didn't sleep well at night, still finding it hard to accept this terrible news.
Although the two most skilled physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy had examined Ye Jingchen, the emperor still felt it was unbelievable and needed more evidence.
The question the emperor is asking now is the breakthrough he finally came up with after thinking about it for a whole day.
If the crown prince hadn't had someone he wanted to sleep with, how would he have discovered his inadequacy?
The girl who could make the usually abstinent Crown Prince have such thoughts, he must bring her back to the Eastern Palace and put her under the Crown Prince's nose. With his beloved girl as an inspiration, who knows, maybe one day the Crown Prince will be able to do it again?
"No!" Ye Jingchen denied decisively.
"I realized I was impotent because ever since I became enlightened, I've never had that urge again. I read in a book that this is abnormal, so I consulted Imperial Physician Zhang to confirm it." Ye Jingchen's words shattered the emperor's illusions.
Ye Jingchen didn't want to discuss this dangerous topic with the emperor, so he quickly changed the subject, "Father, I have something to discuss with you today!"
"What is it?" the emperor asked.
"I haven't visited the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion since I returned from the northern frontier. The Duke of Zhenguo taught me military strategy for three years. It is only right and proper that I take the initiative to visit him!" Ye Jingchen said.
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