After much persuasion, Ye An finally brought Princess Ye Lian back to the palace.
At the same time, the secret guards who went to look for several princes also sent back news one after another.
The second prince Ye Heng was wandering around the imperial city like a headless fly. He once did something brave and saved a woman who was selling herself to bury her father. This made the woman want to commit suicide and pledge her life to him. The secret guards had a lot of trouble to persuade her to leave. The second prince turned around and went to the downtown area to buy some food, and ate all the way to his maternal grandfather's home in the Taifu Mansion.
Mu Xuan, the son of Mu Li and Jiang Jing, is about the same age as Ye Heng and Ye Ke. He was summoned into the palace by Ye An when he was very young and became the second prince's study companion. Ye An guessed that Ye Heng had gone to find his study companion.
Because of the example of the prince marrying Su Xie, Ye An couldn't help but wonder whether the same rule would appear in Ye Heng. However, Ye Heng was a very heartless guy. Besides loving food and money, he didn't seem to care much about anyone other than his family.
His love of food had been evident since he was a child. His love of money was probably due to the years of poverty he had experienced with Ye An outside, so after entering the palace he always felt a sense of unreality. The second prince liked to hide all his valuables, and his own residence did not even have any decorations, but instead looked more like an inn. No matter how hard Ye An tried to persuade him, he could not get used to it, so he could only let him go in frustration.
Ye An was quite relieved when Ye Heng went to the Taifu Mansion. Taifu Mu was Ye An's elder. Ye An was worried that the secret guards would come to the mansion to arrest him, so he ordered the secret guards to wait until Ye Heng had enough fun before taking him back to the palace.
The Third Prince Ye Ke has a very different personality from the Second Prince Ye Heng. Ye Ke has always been an obedient little sweetheart. Although they sneaked out together this time, they just wandered around in crowded places and did not have any conflicts with anyone, nor did they do anything shocking. It was very easy for him to follow the Third Prince's secret guards all the way. It is estimated that he is on his way back now, and they will meet soon. Ye Anyong just needs to wait.
As for the scheming Fourth Prince Ye Chen, he directly threw off the experienced secret guards as soon as he left the palace. The secret guards who were responsible for following the Fourth Prince were extremely anxious. They could not find the Fourth Prince's whereabouts outside the palace. The Fourth Prince was still young, so where could he run to? There was no way to report it to the Emperor and ask him to make a decision. Ye An also became anxious, and pulled Mu Ci to look for Ye Chen. When they passed by Zhaoyang Palace, he found that the scheming boy had returned by himself and was drinking tea leisurely.
Ye An was so angry that he went up to him and gave him a gentle slap without saying a word. This unfilial son always teased his own father. He sneaked out without saying a word and sneaked back without saying a word!
Ye An's father's attitude towards his son and daughter is completely different.
Ye Heng, who stayed in the Taifu Mansion, was warmly received by the Taifu and the Xiao family. Mrs. Xiao personally cooked a table full of delicious food for her grandson. Ye Heng was like a fly fallen into a honey jar and did not want to leave.
After eating a full meal, Ye Heng was satisfied. Thinking of the purpose of coming to the Taifu Mansion this time, he said seriously: "Grandfather, can you marry my uncle to Heng'er?"
The eldest prince married his study partner Su Xie, and Ye Heng was afraid that his father would also ask him to marry a study partner. He did not like his younger cousin Mu Xuan, and privately thought that the older uncle Mu Yuan was not bad, so he wanted to ask if he could change him.
Upon hearing this, Master Mu, Madam Xiao, Mu Li, Jiang Jing and Mu Yuan himself all dropped their chopsticks.
Tutor Mu had reached a consensus with Mu Ci in private a long time ago to try their best to prevent the Mu family from producing another Crown Princess or Prince Consort, so as to avoid the Mu family having to take sides among the princes. But they didn't expect that there would be someone like the Second Prince who would come to them directly for help. The Second Prince, he, he is only thirteen years old, right? Mu Yuan is my uncle, how can this be possible? !
Mu Li stood up, not caring whether he was a prince or not, and grabbed Ye Heng's collar and carried him out of the hall.
Master Mu rebuked: "Ali, he is the prince after all, what is your attitude?"
Mu Li gritted his teeth and said, "The order of seniority is messed up, what attitude do you want!"
Mu Li was a little angry that Ye Heng looked down on his son Mu Xuan. Ye Xiaoan didn't like him before and liked his elder brother. Now Ye Xiaoan's son doesn't like his son and likes his younger brother. What is going on?
It wasn't that he had to insist on his son entering the palace, but the sudden feeling of frustration was so strange that he couldn't talk about it.
Ye Heng was not angry when Mu Li rudely kicked him out. He thought for a moment and went back in and said, "Grandfather, I just asked you this question. If it's not possible, then it's not possible. Just pretend I never mentioned it."
Master Mu's family: "..."
Your Highness, is this all the sincerity you have?
Mu Yuan's hand holding the cup was shaking slightly, and he was having a hard time holding back his laughter. He simply put down the cup and refused in a gentle voice, "Heng'er, your uncle doesn't want to enter the palace, and it's not suitable for you."
Ye Heng nodded sensibly. He had guessed this. His father said that a real man should be able to take things and let them go. Ye Heng bowed his hands without any grudge and said, "Heng'er understands. Thank you uncle for speaking frankly."
Ye An's sons all have similar preferences. Ye Heng is not as steady as Ye Xi. Ye Xi gave up after just a brief thought, and then found true love. Ye Heng was young and impulsive, so he came directly to ask. In fact, he also knew that the hope was slim. In Ye Heng's heart, Mu Yuan was more of a thought, an idol-like existence. Being rejected was equivalent to putting a perfect end to his life. As for sadness, the heartless Second Prince did not feel any such feeling. Having said this, he went back to eating and drinking.
The Mu family: "..."
Ye Heng earned a meal without spending a penny and fulfilled his wish. He then strolled back to the palace with the secret guards, and was given a proper lesson by Ye An.
Tutor Mu followed him into the palace. Ye An learned about the foolish things the Second Prince had done. He scolded Ye Heng again and personally apologized to Tutor Mu and Mu Yuan on behalf of Ye Heng. Ye Heng finally understood that his grandfather, father, and empress had no intention of asking him to marry a study companion. Ye Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye An couldn't help but wonder in his heart, Heng'er is in love at such a young age?
In fact, Ye An was wrong. The second child had not yet fallen in love. He was just scared by his eldest brother's marriage and ran away from home temporarily.
The second prince and the third prince are twins who have been together since childhood. Naturally, their relationship is deeper than that of other brothers. Ye Heng mistakenly thought that he was going to marry Mu Xuan, but since he was marrying a member of the Mu family, he would rather marry his uncle. He secretly told Ye Ke about it. In order to help him leave the palace, Ye Ke came up with a bad idea to distract him. Unexpectedly, his younger brothers and sisters also followed suit, which almost made Ye An's old father jump up and down.
Ye Heng quickly forgot about the experience of sneaking out of the palace. However, Ye Ke encountered a little accident on the way back to the palace, which directly led Ye Ke to embark on a life path completely different from Ye Heng.
At the Third Prince's place, Ye Ke was sitting in a teahouse drinking tea and eating snacks. He estimated that Ye Heng should be almost done, so he took the initiative to summon his secret guards and said, "I'm tired, take me back to the palace."
The third prince had a gentle personality and was always easy to serve. The secret guards had already made preparations for his return to the palace in advance and had brought a green sedan chair and a fine horse. Ye Ke didn't like riding in a sedan chair. His brothers, including his little sister, were all very good riders. Ye Ke waved his hand to refuse the sedan chair and climbed on the horse himself.
Because they were in the imperial city, the Third Prince was afraid of riding his horse and disturbing the people, so he just sat on the horse and let the horse go slowly. Several secret guards dressed up as servants and followed closely beside Ye Ke, making him look like a rich family's young man outing.
His trip out of the palace was going smoothly. When he was two streets away from the palace gate, a dirty man suddenly jumped out from the passers-by, rolled in front of Ye Ke's horse, and blocked his way.
The secret guard became alert and immediately stepped forward to grab the man with a fork. However, since Ye Ke's horse was a good one, it was not frightened. Ye An's father had been threatened several times, so he would give his children safety education every now and then. Ye Ke's ears were almost callused from being nagged by others, so he would never rashly let anyone get close to him in such a situation. Considering that the man might be a local resident, he ordered the secret guards to send him away.
Unexpectedly, the man refused to leave and knelt down and said loudly: "Sir, I am the son of the emperor's wet nurse, Madam Li. Because of a change in my family, I am in such a situation. I still beg you to give me a little. If there is a turnaround in the future, I will definitely thank you."
Ye Ke was shocked. This man looked dirty, with long hair covering his face, and one of his right arms was empty. However, he spoke in a gentle manner, as if he had studied for a few days, and he claimed to be the son of the current emperor's wet nurse...
Ye Ke signaled the secret guard to take a look. The man was afraid that Ye Ke would not believe him, so he pulled out a half-broken cane from his sleeve and handed it to the secret guard.
"This was given to my mother by the Queen Mother on her birthday. It can be used as a keepsake."
The secret guard took the cane and shook it in his hand. It must be made of fine huanghuali wood, which ordinary people could not afford. He then looked at the top of the cane. The place where the jewels should have been inlaid was now empty. Near the top of the cane, the words "made by imperial decree" and a seal of the empress dowager were engraved. It was impossible to be fake, and no one dared to fake it.
The secret guard nodded slightly to Ye Ke.
Ye Ke had previously thought that suspicious people should not get close to him, but now that it had been confirmed that the person was from his father's wet nurse's family and was kneeling in public to beg him, if he turned around and left, wouldn't people criticize the royal family for ignoring the wet nurse?
Soon, he heard the onlookers whispering that since the man was from the emperor's wet nurse's family, why didn't he just report his difficulties to the emperor? Why did he have to beg on the street? Could it be that the emperor was ungrateful and refused to help?
Ye Ke wanted to defend his father and said, "I heard that the emperor would give money to the wet nurse every month. How could you do this?"
The man said ashamedly: "It's a long story, it's really a family shame. My brother is addicted to gambling. Not only did he lose most of my parents' life savings, but he also owed a large debt. Even my right hand was lost because of it. It's true that the emperor gives my family money every month, but it's not enough for my brother to pay off his debts..."
The people laughed: "It seems that the emperor doesn't want to clean up the gambler's ass because he owes too much money."
Being addicted to gambling is not a good thing. Ye Ke didn't want to help others pay off their gambling debts for no reason. Since he had seen the other party, he would just give some money on behalf of his father.
Ye An turned to the secret guard and said, "Give him some money and ask him to leave."
The secret guard took out a few silver bills and handed them to the man. The man gratefully accepted it and knelt on the ground but refused to get up: "Master, please be merciful. Can you allow me to kowtow to you a few times?"
Ye Ke agreed.
After the man kowtowed, he said, "Please allow me to get closer and take a look at your appearance. Just one glance is enough. My eyesight is not very good. I want to go back and draw your appearance, and burn incense day and night to pray for blessings..."
The man was disabled and had a head full of blood, looking really pitiful. A bunch of people watching nearby felt pity for him and spoke up for him. After all, Ye Ke had never come into contact with any evil criminals, and he still remembered the simple people he lived with when he was two or three years old in Yunzhou. He thought to himself that it would be better to let the man get closer, and there shouldn't be any danger.
Ye Ke allowed the man to take two steps closer, but maybe he didn't get too close. The man nodded repeatedly and said some words of gratitude. When he stood up, he suddenly slipped and couldn't stand firmly, and rushed towards Ye Ke.
Because they were close, the secret guard quickly pulled the man's back, but the man fell over with great force and he couldn't be pulled. Ye Ke dodged instinctively, thinking that he had really slipped, but a skinny hand stretched out from the man's empty sleeve, holding half a pair of sharp scissors, and was about to stab Ye Ke.
"I know who you are. They said I slandered you and kicked me out of the palace. I didn't slander you. No! I just wish you didn't exist in this world!"
The man laughed like a madman as he spoke, revealing his eyes hidden under his long hair. Those were a pair of eyes filled with hostility. He stared at Ye Ke fiercely, wishing he could eat him alive.
Although Ye Ke had learned martial arts, he was only thirteen years old after all. He had never experienced such a horrifying scene. For a moment, he did not realize that he knew martial arts. He just stared at the man, unable to move.
Several secret guards nearby had drawn their swords and hit the man hard, but the man's hatred was too strong and he was determined to hurt the boy in front of him with his last breath. For a moment, everyone thought that the boy was dead for sure.
At the critical moment, a feather arrow flew over from not far behind Ye Ke and accurately shot into the man's left eye.
The man yelled, dropped the scissors and fell to the ground, his whole body shaking with severe pain.
Before he died, he saw an unexpected acquaintance with his only remaining eye.
"You, you...how could it be you?"
The man let out a low roar, and died in anger, feeling unwilling and without even having the chance to finish his words.
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Do you know who this dead man is?
It was Li Guiji from that year.
Who is the other acquaintance? Escape with the pot lid on your head.
Thank you for your encouragement, I'm already planning it!
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