"Ah Yuan, do I look like a fool?"
The fourth prince was extremely frustrated. He left Chen Guang and the others in the front hall and rushed back to the backyard.
Princess Xu: ...
How am I supposed to respond to that?
Should I tell the truth, or tell the truth, or tell the truth?
However, remembering Xie Yuan's reminder, Princess Xu shook her head seriously, "Of course not!"
"I've said it before, you are wise in your apparent foolishness!"
"Those people outside are blind and stupid; that's why they're trying to fool you!"
Princess Xu's eyes were clear and her tone was sincere.
The fourth prince seemed to have been cured, "That's right! I'm not stupid!"
He's just not obviously smart, which is why a bunch of idiots treat him like a fool.
"They even said they were willing to help me return to the capital. Ha! My Prince Yong's mansion is strong and well-equipped. Do you think I'm lacking guards?"
"Without them, do you think I can't return to the capital?"
The fourth prince grew angrier the more he spoke.
He wasn't oblivious to the unspoken meaning behind those people's words.
Chen Guang and other powerful families in Yuezhou wanted to instigate him to run back to the capital to compete with Helian Jue for the throne!
What do they want to do?
Is it because they think Helian Huang's life isn't leisurely and comfortable enough?
He's a good-for-nothing and doesn't have any real skills.
But he has a capable princess who manages everything inside and outside the palace, so he doesn't have to worry about anything, big or small.
All he needs to do is eat, drink, and have fun!
Besides the princess, he also has Helian Jue as his "elder brother".
Although there was no real affection between them, they were allies with mutual interests.
The Yongwang Mansion made a fortune from just one salt-making method.
With the princess as his steward, and Helian Jue securing his livelihood and future prospects, what else is there for him to fuss about?
To challenge Helian Jue for the throne is tantamount to courting death.
No one knows better than the Fourth Prince how petty and ruthless Helian Jue is.
Besides, does becoming emperor guarantee a life of luxury?
His own father was emperor for over twenty years, but he was first overwhelmed by the Turks and had no choice but to marry a Turkic princess as his empress.
Then, they fought a fierce battle with the Southern Dynasty.
After finally unifying the country, powerful families monopolized the court.
In order to weaken the powerful families, the father even promoted a clown like Jia Yi, which directly caused public resentment and chaos in the capital.
This ultimately led to the Tangquan Palace Coup, and the father was so angered that he suffered a stroke and died.
Yes, even though he was far away in Yongzhou, the Fourth Prince could still receive the latest news from the capital.
Perhaps three to five days later than Helian Jue next door, but definitely more well-informed than Chen Guang and his bunch of bumpkins.
Consort Cui and Xu Liang, the father of Princess Xu, maintained contact with the Prince of Yong's residence.
The Fourth Prince and Princess Xu would quickly learn of any disturbances in the capital.
The fourth prince also knew that Helian Jue had ascended the throne, and that Turkic cavalry had appeared near the capital.
"These Turks are truly incorrigible. They were driven far away to the grasslands by Father just three years ago, but I never expected them to come back again!"
When the Fourth Prince received the letter, he muttered to Princess Xu, "Luckily we didn't rush back to the capital, otherwise we would be surrounded by the Turks in the capital now."
Of course, the fourth prince believed that with Helian Jue's skills, he would definitely be able to repel the Turks' siege.
However, things can change.
A wise person does not stand under a walled enclosure!
The fourth prince already valued his life, and now that his princess was pregnant, he was even less willing to die!
Hmph, he's going to have a powerful little brat, so he can take on four opponents at once.
The Fourth Prince had just finished celebrating when the powerful clans of Yuezhou came looking for him, urging him to go to the capital!
The fact that the Fourth Prince didn't overturn the table on the spot is a testament to the fact that he has developed some self-control over the past two years of marriage, working closely with the Princess.
Otherwise, if it were the same "absurd" behavior he displayed in Beijing back then, he would have overturned the table and chased people away long ago!
"Their intentions are probably not as simple as just 'assisting' the prince!"
Princess Xu touched her already protruding belly, and while thinking, she slowly said, "I guess they still want to make a move against my sister-in-law."
Since learning that Helian Jue had ascended the throne and made Xie Yuan his empress.
Princess Xu then changed the way she addressed her, turning "elder sister" into "sister-in-law".
Princess Xu knew that from now on, her relationship with Xie Yuan would no longer be that of simple best friends, but rather that of a ruler and his subject.
Princess Xu changed her words in advance to avoid accidentally saying something wrong after returning to the capital, which would give others a handle to use against her.
The fourth prince didn't care about any of that. He widened his eyes and asked, "Are they crazy?"
The fourth prince wasn't angry, but surprised—even if these people were incredibly stupid, they were still single-mindedly seeking death.
But there are many ways to court death, so why provoke Xie Yuan!
That woman is the wife of the great demon king Helian Jue, a woman who is his equal.
The soldiers of the Yue King's mansion were all trained according to her methods.
I heard she also has female soldiers under her command!
This woman, though she herself doesn't know martial arts, has people around her who are all extremely fierce.
And she was a ruthless woman no less so than her queen!
Which major event in Yuezhou wasn't her involvement behind the scenes?
Even the major families like Chen Guang must have suffered losses at Xie Yuan's hands.
Why don't these people learn from their mistakes?
"They're probably trying to use someone else to do their dirty work!"
As a wife, Princess Xu understood the meaning behind the Fourth Prince's words.
Her expression turned somewhat grim, and her words carried a chill, "They only received news from Empress Dowager Ashina summoning the prince and the emperor back to the capital, but they did not know that the late emperor had passed away and the emperor had ascended the throne."
Judging from the surface of that imperial edict alone, people would misunderstand and think that both the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yue were candidates for crown prince.
Becoming the crown prince means he's only a step away from the throne.
That's the throne of the supreme ruler, ruling the world—how noble it is!
Chen Guang and others judged others by their own standards, concluding that the fourth prince would develop "ambitions".
They came to instigate a conflict between the Fourth Prince and Helian Jue.
Not only after returning to the capital, they could vie for the throne, but also eliminate any potential threats before leaving.
Killing Xie Yuan and her four children was tantamount to taking half of Helian Jue's life.
Having suffered such a blow, Helian Jue might be at a disadvantage in the struggle for the throne.
Moreover, for the Empress and court officials, when choosing a successor, the Fourth Prince, whose wife was pregnant, had a greater advantage than Helian Jue, whose wife and children had all died!
...Princess Xu is indeed intelligent. She was able to guess their thoughts and plans just from the words of Chen Guang and others relayed by the Fourth Prince!
"Using someone else to do their dirty work? Bah! Who do they think they are? They're just local tyrants, how dare they scheme against the royal family?"
The fourth prince was furious.
This time, it wasn't just for himself, but also for Xie Yuan and their four children.
Although he was quite afraid of Xie Yuan, he had seen the four little ones with his own eyes. They were all fair-skinned and adorable little cubs, his own nephews and nieces.
And those people actually wanted to kill them!
They were still trying to instigate him to take action!
"Damn it, I'll slaughter their entire family!"
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