"Brother Yu is already Mother's godson. What good will it do Mother if the Duke's Mansion is disgraced? Mother should help Yanran find a marriage partner instead, which can be considered as preventing future troubles."
As Shen Yu spoke, she closed her eyes and leaned against Madam Mu, pretending to be indifferent, but inwardly she was extremely anxious and needed to straighten Yanran up quickly so as not to implicate Liu Yu.
"Miss, this is a sedan chair from the Prince Yan's residence."
Shen Yu peeked through the curtain and saw that the sedan chair of Prince Yan's mansion had stopped in front of the Peony Pavilion. It must be Hong Yu and Lian Xiang looking for Prince Yan.
------
Inside the sedan chair, Hongyu looked at the note and couldn't help but feel heartbroken, her eyes reddening. More than twenty places! She never imagined that the Prince of Yan favored Liu Yu so much that he had taken him to so many places for eating, drinking, and having fun.
Two hours had passed, and the guards she had sent out had not yet returned. Hongyu was sweating with anxiety and peeked out from behind the curtains.
Lianxiang, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, leaning against the sedan chair and closing her eyes to rest. "Be content with living a life of luxury, Consort Yu. Don't expect the favor of Prince Yan."
"It seems that Yan Wang has a firm grip on Hongyu's heart."
"As long as Prince Yan doesn't leave the capital, we'll definitely find him. As for how to bring him back to Prince Yan's residence, you'll have to figure that out yourself."
After Lianxiang finished speaking, she opened her eyes and saw that Hongyu was already in tears. Alas! This infatuated nature is probably inherited from Lu Qing'er. Lianxiang sighed helplessly, and then heard someone outside the sedan chair report, "Consort Xiang, Prince Yan is in Yixiang Garden."
Yixiang Garden is different from brothels; the singers and dancers there are all dressed as men, which is why Prince Yan stayed overnight at Yixiang Garden.
The hour of Chou (1-3 AM).
Flames soared into the sky at Yixiangyuan, where crowds thronged. A group of soldiers surrounded Yixiangyuan, and couples of men were led out of their guest rooms and made to kneel on the first floor.
The Crown Prince led a man with a dignified face and dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes into the Yixiang Garden.
This person is none other than the Emperor.
Originally, the Crown Prince invited Liu Yu to meet at Yixiang Garden, but instead found Prince Yan there with two women on either side. It should be noted that the Crown Prince has always been jealous of Prince Yan's favor with the Emperor and Empress. If the Emperor were to see Prince Yan secretly meeting with his lovers, he certainly wouldn't be as soft-hearted and protective as the Empress.
At this moment, King Yan was fast asleep, unaware that the door had been broken open by soldiers.
"You audacious Prince Yan, your behavior is outrageous and immoral! Tie him up!"
Yan Wang suddenly awoke with a start, and pulled back the curtain to see that the Crown Prince and the Emperor had arrived.
The Crown Prince was just hoping he would indulge in frivolous pursuits and neglect his duties, so why did he suddenly expose him? Without time to think, he jumped out of bed in a panic and knelt before the Emperor.
"Yan'er didn't know... Father has come here, Yan'er..."
With a loud thud, the Emperor kicked Prince Yan to the ground.
The Emperor, furious, sat on a round stool, leaning on the table and panting, and shouted angrily, "Scoundrel! Guards! Lock up the male concubine on the bed and interrogate him properly."
Prince Yan was terrified. If he imprisoned his male favorites in the Imperial City Guard, the Crown Prince would surely kill them. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, grabbed the Emperor's leg, and pleaded, "Father! It was all my doing! Don't implicate the innocent! They were just trying to make a living..."
"Shut up! How dare you talk back to your father! I want to see what kind of man has made you so infatuated and disrespectful to your elders."
As he spoke, the Crown Prince walked toward the bed, lifted the curtain, grabbed one of the arms, and dragged him in front of the Emperor.
The person was curled up with their arms crossed, their long hair hanging down to the ground, covering parts of their body that couldn't be exposed to the light, vaguely revealing their fair skin, which was completely visible.
The prince brushed aside the long hair in front of the person and leaned down to look. The person had a delicate face, fair skin and red lips. Although he could not see the eyes, he could tell from the long and curly eyelashes that they must be captivating eyes.
The crown prince's eyes lit up, thinking to himself that it was no wonder the Prince of Yan was so obsessed with his male concubines; these playthings were no less attractive than women.
Unable to resist the temptation, the prince lifted a strand of the man's long hair and placed it to his lips, murmuring in admiration, "Wonderful! Beautiful! Fair and delicate face, smooth and lustrous hair, truly worthy of being a male favorite..."
What? The Crown Prince has taken a liking to a male concubine?
King Yan was surprised and turned to look. The Crown Prince was sniffing the man's hair and slowly pulling the hair closer to the man's face.
The man covered his face with his hands, and there was a red mole the size of a red bean on his wrist.
Yan Wang was horrified. He knew that Hong Yu had a red mole the size of a red bean on her wrist, and looking at the petite figure of the man, he was definitely not the male concubine from last night.
"Don't touch her! Stop!"
Yan Wang shouted, got up and rushed over, knocking the crown prince away. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was indeed Hongyu.
He knelt beside Hongyu, frantically tearing off his only garment and wrapping it around her body. He himself was bare-chested, and shouted:
"Someone come quickly! Someone come quickly! Help Consort Yu get dressed..."
Jade concubine?
The Crown Prince and the Emperor were astonished and squinted as they carefully examined Hongyu.
Fair skin, crescent-shaped eyes, thin lips, and a woman's curvaceous figure revealed beneath a sheer white dress. She's definitely not a gigolo!
The Emperor was stunned, but still tried to cover Hongyu's face. With a wave of his hand, Eunuch Cui signaled the soldiers to leave and closed the door.
Although Hongyu was still scared, she was also glad that she had saved Yan Wang.
The reason she was here was because last night she had invited Prince Yan back to his residence, but he refused to see her. So, she and her maid disguised themselves as men and sneaked into Yixiang Garden to stay with the unconscious Prince Yan overnight, which could be considered as giving the Empress an explanation.
It was just too dangerous.
Just now, when the Crown Prince dragged her off the bed, she was naked and could only use her long hair and hands to cover the parts of her body that could not be exposed to the light.
Thinking of the smell of lard from the Crown Prince and his frivolous behavior towards her, she felt nauseous and terrified. Leaning against the Prince of Yan's chest, she looked down and wondered why the black mole on the Prince of Yan's abdomen had disappeared.
Hongyu looked up in confusion and saw that it was indeed that familiar face.
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