When Xie Chang'an heard Xie Geng report that Ye Jingchen had taken the Crown Prince away from the school, he was indeed worried that Ye Jingchen might harm the Crown Prince, so he rushed over.
His thoughts were laid bare, yet Xie Chang'an refused to admit it. They say an emperor's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, but Ye Jingchen guessed his thoughts perfectly every time. Didn't he have any pride?
"I've only come to see the Crown Prince and, incidentally, test his studies," Xie Chang'an said expressionlessly, before entering the octagonal pavilion.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!" You Ning stood up and bowed to Xie Chang'an, but Ye Jingchen remained seated, showing no intention of rising to bow to Xie Chang'an.
You Ning couldn't help but look up at Ye Jingchen, feeling quite worried for him.
He liked Brother Ye very much and didn't want him to be punished by the Emperor for being impolite.
"Get up." Xie Chang'an gestured for You Ning to stand up and asked, "How far have you been in your studies lately? Is there anything you don't understand?"
Surprisingly, no one pursued the matter of Ye Jingchen not bowing.
You Ning felt a surge of admiration for Ye Jingchen.
"Father, I am learning the way of a gentleman, and there were some things I didn't understand at first. After asking Brother Ye, he explained them to me and I understood them all! Brother Ye is so amazing!" You Ning said excitedly.
"What did you call him?" Xie Chang'an asked with a somewhat distorted expression.
"Brother Ye, he's the one who told me to call him brother. Can't I call him that?" You Ning asked in confusion.
"You want my son to call you brother? What, do you want to be my son too?" Xie Chang'an looked at Ye Jingchen, his expression somewhat complicated.
“In my world, he’s my brother’s brother, shouldn’t he call me brother?” Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
“But here, he is my son!” Xie Chang’an said through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t say he wasn’t your son, but you yourself said you’re not my Crown Princess, so why can’t your son call me brother?” Ye Jingchen asked.
At first, Xie Chang'an did not acknowledge the other identity, but now that Ye Jingchen has denied it, he has started to feel uncomfortable.
Ye Jingchen's man looks exactly like him, has the same name and identity, and even thinks the same way. He can deny that the man is him, but Ye Jingchen cannot deny that he is not that man!
Moreover, he's the only one here; that person isn't here!
"What Crown Princess? What here and there? Father, Brother Ye, what are you talking about?" You Ning asked, completely bewildered.
"It's good that there's nothing he doesn't understand in his studies. Yunzhou, escort the Crown Prince back to the classroom to continue his lessons," Xie Chang'an said to the palace maid who had been following Ye Jingchen.
“Your Highness, please come with me—” Yunzhou said hurriedly.
"Brother Ye—" You Ning looked at Ye Jingchen with reluctance.
"Go ahead, I'll come visit you at the East Palace when I have time." Ye Jingchen smiled and waved to You Ning.
"Goodbye, Brother Ye!" You Ning followed suit and waved to Ye Jingchen as well.
Xie Chang'an looked at Ye Jingchen with a complicated expression. They had only met once, yet this man had already won You Ning over. His ability to bewitch people was simply terrifying.
"What does Your Majesty want to say to me?" Ye Jingchen watched You Ning walk away, then looked at Xie Chang'an and asked.
"Don't try to lead my crown prince astray!" Xie Chang'an warned.
"You can rest assured, I'm a professional when it comes to taking care of children. You Ning is my brother's brother, so naturally I won't lead him astray," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.
"Which younger brother of yours?" Xie Chang'an asked.
As far as he knew, the deposed crown prince had a bad relationship with none of his brothers.
But if it's this person, then everything is hard to say.
"Jinghe, didn't you bring Youning back to the palace because you thought he looked somewhat like you?"
"I'm not!" Xie Chang'an denied without even thinking.
“I only took pity on him, and I just happened to need a son to inherit the throne.”
"Alright, so that's what the Crown Princess thinks. After we got married, the Crown Princess didn't forget her adopted son from her previous life. She found him and gave him to Jinghe."
Xie Chang'an said he couldn't understand his other self's thought process, "Why doesn't he raise it himself, but instead gives it to the little madwoman? Does the little madwoman know how to raise a child?"
"To correct you, in the other world, Jinghe isn't crazy. He's perfectly fine. It's just that he's quite clingy to me, which makes the Crown Princess a little jealous, so she gave Youning to him to raise."
Xie Chang'an's expression twisted again.
"Isn't His Majesty going to deal with your mountain of memorials today?" Ye Jingchen glanced at his expression and changed the subject with amusement.
"I'll go back and approve it right away," Xie Chang'an said in a deep voice.
"Honestly, with so many ministers, you don't need to take on everything yourself. If you don't trust them, then pick a few capable people with differing political views to help you handle things, so that they can supervise each other. You only need to make the final decision yourself."
"Now that you've become the most honored person in the world, you should naturally learn to enjoy life even more. Otherwise, what was the point of all that hard work you put into overthrowing the previous dynasty, only to be a beast of burden, toiling away every day?"
Xie Chang'an's lips twitched slightly.
This was the first time he had ever heard anyone describe being an emperor as "working like an ox or a horse, toiling away every day," but only when he was in that position did he realize how accurate those two words were.
"If I don't handle state affairs, am I supposed to be like you, spending all day eating and sleeping? If the Great Abyss is handed over to someone like you, even without me, someone else will come to overthrow you!" Xie Chang'an said with a sneer.
"I may be very free, but I have many people behind me who are carrying the burden for me! So rest assured, my country is peaceful and prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. I don't expect it to last for thousands of generations, but at least in my generation, it will only get better and better!" Ye Jingchen said confidently.
"Is it something to be proud of when others bear the burden for you?" Xie Chang'an asked, puzzled.
Shouldn't being the crown prince be even harder than being the emperor? Why can this person comfortably act as a hands-off ruler?
Were his six brothers all vegetarians?
"If it were just ordinary officials carrying the burden for me, it would be nothing to be proud of, but what about the Crown Princess and my brothers and sisters?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
"The Crown Princess is the most virtuous and capable. She has basically solved the internal and external troubles of Dayuan. My brothers occupy important positions in the six ministries of the court, and my sisters' business association controls the economic lifeline of Dayuan. With their concerted efforts, Dayuan has a clean government and prosperous people. Isn't this something I should be proud of?"
Xie Chang'an could understand every single word Ye Jingchen said, but he couldn't understand the meaning when they were put together.
Leaving aside the virtuous Crown Princess, he felt that his other self had definitely been bewitched and had completely lost his autonomy. But were all the princes and princesses also bewitched?
What happened to the promise of brothers fighting each other and killing one another?
Why does the style change completely when it comes to this person?
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