071 Godfather
The peaceful days did not last two days. The Fifth Prince secretly fled from the capital, established himself as king in the southwest, and joined forces with Cao Zheng, the general of the southwestern army, to lead his troops north.
The Emperor was furious and imprisoned Cao Zheng's family. He ordered General Zhou Lian to lead 100,000 troops to the southwest to suppress the rebellion. Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince of the capital petitioned to go along. However, the Fifth Prince was a member of the royal family, and Zhou Lian's status was insufficient. The Emperor granted the Eighth Prince's request and ordered him to depart on a chosen day.
When Li Yang learned of this news, a day had already passed. The reason was simple: Yuan Yue was serving under the Eighth Prince and had gone with him to the front lines.
Yuan Heng and his wife were both angry and worried at home. Fortunately, Yuan Chongyue still had some connections in the army and asked his old friend to go and search for him.
The person was found, but not brought back. Yuan Yue said she saw the battlefield situation and was deeply concerned about the country and its people. She decided to go to war with the Eighth Prince, saying that life and death were predestined, and if she died, it would be considered as sacrificing herself for the country.
Upon hearing Yuan Yue's words, the army had already set off for two days, and by then, they could no longer find her. Helpless, Yuan Chongjing personally went to Prince Yu and asked him to write a letter to the Eighth Prince, requesting that he take care of Yuan Yue out of respect for Prince Yu.
"What did His Highness say?" Li Yang asked nervously.
Yuan Chong nodded: "His Highness has already written a letter and sent it to the Eighth Prince."
"That's good. When Yue'er comes back, I'll definitely give her a good talking to. How could she take such a serious matter as life and death so lightly?" Li Yang said.
Yuan Chongjing smiled and said, "I don't need you. Mother said she's going to break her legs when she comes back."
“Absolutely. If Mother hits her, I’ll definitely hand her a thick stick.” Li Yang wrinkled her nose and said seriously.
Yuan Chongjing was amused by her expression, and reached out to pinch her ear and rub it: "I'll remember what you said."
Li Yang turned her head away but couldn't dodge, so she reached out and pinched his ear.
Yuan Chongjing, taking advantage of being taller and having longer arms than her, grabbed both of her hands, trapping her completely. After teasing her for a while, he stopped laughing and said, "Little Peach, I'd like to take you and her to His Highness's place as a way of thanking him for helping us contact the Eighth Prince."
Li Yang understood his meaning; he wanted to take this opportunity to let Xiao Taozi and His Highness get to know each other better and cultivate a relationship, so that when Xiao Taozi really returned to His Highness's side in the future, she wouldn't be too unfamiliar with him.
"Okay. You wait here, I'll go get Little Peach."
Prince Yu gave them an extremely warm welcome, especially to Xiao Taozi. Prince Yu doted on her and within half an hour, she became the number one favorite person in Xiao Taozi's life.
Seeing that the sun was already setting, His Highness Prince Yu calmly placed a new type of rattle drum in front of Xiao Taozi: "The kitchen has prepared dinner. Chongjing, Madam Yuan, if you're not busy, why don't you have dinner here?"
Little Peach lifted her head in his arms and clicked her tongue: "Does dinner here have delicious meatballs too?"
When they arrived at noon, Prince Yu was having lunch. Little Peach managed to join him for lunch and then fell in love with one of the dishes, the Three Delicacies Soup.
Prince Yu pinched her cheek and laughed, "Of course, Little Peach can have as many as she wants."
"Okay~ Little Peach will have dinner here, Mother, Father?"
Li Yang said, "Alright, Little Peach, remember to thank Your Highness."
"Oh!" Little Peach replied cheerfully, looking up at Prince Yu with a sweet and lovely smile: "Thank you, Your Highness~"
“You’re welcome,” Prince Yu smiled. “If you’d like anything else to eat, just tell Xu Shan.”
Little Peach jumped off the couch and ran outside, shouting with joy.
After dinner, it was already getting dark, but Prince Yu made no mention of sending them back. He continued to play the handkerchief-throwing game with Xiao Taozi with great enthusiasm. Xiao Taozi, sleepy, finally opened her drowsy eyes and tried to find Li Yang.
Prince Yu then handed the little peach to her.
Little Peach fell asleep in Li Yang's arms in no time. Li Yang and Yuan Chongjing exchanged a glance, and were about to suggest leaving to return to their residence when Prince Yu spoke up: "Chongjing, Madam Yuan, I have an idea that I would like you two to consider."
Yuan Chongjing said, "Your Highness, please speak."
His Highness Prince Yu looked at Xiao Taozi with tender eyes: "I really like Xiao Taozi. In addition, there were rumors some time ago that Xiao Taozi is my daughter. So I thought, since Xiao Taozi and I are so destined, why not confirm this rumor and make Xiao Taozi my goddaughter? What do you two think?"
Neither of them expected His Highness Prince Yu to say such a thing. Now that he had recognized her as his adopted daughter, it would be difficult to restore Xiao Taozi's true identity in the future. This was tantamount to Prince Yu having made a decision: Xiao Taozi's identity in this life would end with her being his adopted daughter.
"This..." Yuan Chongjing hesitated. For him and Li Yang, this was undoubtedly the best solution. However, he didn't believe that Prince Yu would easily give up Xiao Taozi. Prince Yu's actions likely concealed other motives.
Prince Yu said, “It’s alright. I know you two need to discuss this matter. How about this, it’s late now. I’ll have Xu Shan prepare a place for you to rest. If you don’t mind, you can stay here tonight. Otherwise, it’s getting late and the dew is heavy outside. If Xiao Taozi catches a cold, it won’t just be you who will be worried.”
After he finished speaking, without waiting for Yuan Chongjing and Li Yang to reply, he called out directly, "Xu Shan, is everything ready?"
Xu Shan responded, "Chongjing, Madam Yuan, please come with me."
With the two of them singing in unison, Yuan Chongjing and Li Yang had no choice but to take Xiao Taozi to the room that Xu Shan had prepared for them.
While Yuan Chongjing and Xu Shan were exchanging pleasantries, Li Yang carried Xiao Taozi into the inner room, placed her on the bed, and gently patted her for a while until she fell asleep. After Yuan Chongjing saw Xu Shan off, he quietly entered the inner room.
Li Yang looked outside: "What does Your Highness mean by this?"
Yuan Chongjing shook his head: "I feel like something's not right. His Highness did so much, it seems like he just wanted us to stay overnight."
Li Yang didn't pay attention to his words; her mind was all on Xiao Taozi: "I was talking about adopting Xiao Taozi as his goddaughter. Didn't you say before that you wanted to bring Xiao Taozi to live with you? It's only been a few days, how did it turn into adopting a goddaughter? Does he not want Xiao Taozi anymore?"
Yuan Chongjing said, "Xiao Taozi is still young, and His Highness may be worried that she cannot accept it."
"What? We only took her in because she's young. What's the point of taking her in when she's older and can remember things?"
Yuan Chongjing didn't speak again. He felt uneasy, as if he had missed some important information.
Li Yang, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly said, "I understand!"
"What!"
“It’s His Highness,” Li Yang suddenly realized. “Xiao Taozi’s birth mother has passed away. If there are no accidents, His Highness will definitely remarry a princess in the future. He was afraid that Xiao Taozi would suffer, so he adopted her as a goddaughter. This way, Xiao Taozi and the world will think that we are her biological parents. And as long as he loves her, no one will bully Xiao Taozi anywhere.”
The more she talked, the more convinced she became of her idea. If His Highness were to ascend the throne in the future, then Little Peach would be a princess. As long as His Highness loved her, who cared whether she was his biological daughter or not? Perhaps Little Peach's status would even be higher than that of the biological daughters later on.
As long as His Highness knows that Little Peach is his eldest daughter and has suffered a lot of injustice, that's enough.
Yuan Chongjing, however, astutely grasped the meaning of her words.
Little Peach's birth mother, Princess Consort of Yu.
He said urgently, "Yangyang, have you noticed that His Highness mentioned Princess Yu several times today?"
Li Yang thought about it carefully: "Yes, isn't that what he wanted to tell us through this that he felt very guilty towards Princess Yu and Xiao Taozi?"
Yuan Chongjing, however, thought more deeply. Based on his understanding of Prince Yu, there must be some other deeper meaning behind this.
"What is the reason, Princess Consort Yu? What is the connection between him forcing us to stay?"
Li Yang was making the bed when she heard this and suddenly said, "Could it be that His Highness wants to silence us? He used the matter of recognizing a goddaughter to deceive us, but actually wants to silence us so that he can openly recognize Xiao Taozi back? Otherwise, why would he insist on keeping us on his territory tonight?"
Yuan Chongjing was amused by her bold idea, and his tense mood immediately relaxed. He explained, "No, you're overthinking it. Even if he doesn't care about us, he'll care about Xiao Taozi."
Li Yang thought it made sense. Besides, Yuan Chongjing had been with him for so long, even if the Prince of Yu did something ruthless, he wouldn't be so blatant as to silence them.
"It's getting late, let's go to sleep first, we can talk about it tomorrow."
Yuan Chongjing hummed in agreement, blew out the lamp, closed his eyes, and lay down on the bed. With the sleeping Xiao Taozi between them, Li Yang slept on the innermost side of the bed. By the moonlight streaming through the paper window, Yuan Chongjing looked at the silhouette of her face and said softly, "If Your Highness brings this up again tomorrow, I'll agree. It'll be better for everyone this way."
Li Yang opened her eyes: "Okay."
"Go to sleep."
***
Perhaps because she was constantly on edge, Li Yang slept very restlessly tonight. Twice, she even woke up with a start, only feeling somewhat relieved to see Xiao Taozi sleeping soundly.
Looking outwards along Xiao Taozi's body, Yuan Chongjing was not in bed on either occasion.
She was woken up by an itch in the morning. When she opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Taozi's big eyes, and then she took Xiao Taozi's hair and used it to scratch Li Yang's cheek.
Seeing her open her eyes, Little Peach immediately closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep and not yet awake.
Yuan Chongjing was still not in bed.
Li Yang sat up, pinched Xiao Taozi's cheek, and said threateningly, "You little rascal, how dare you disturb your mother's sleep? Do you want your little bottom to get a spanking again?"
Little Peach giggled with her eyes closed, but upon hearing Li Yang's last words, she opened her eyes, scrambled to her feet, and hugged Li Yang's neck, pleading, "Mother, Mother, Little Peach was wrong~"
Li Yang hugged her sideways and patted her chubby bottom twice, making Xiao Taozi laugh loudly: "Daddy, save me! Mommy's going to spank Xiao Taozi's bottom, Daddy, come save Xiao Taozi!"
Yuan Chongjing came in carrying a basin of water. He put the basin on the shelf, walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, patted Xiao Taozi's back and patted her twice: "Did you make your mother angry first thing this morning?"
"I didn't!" Little Peach sat on Li Yang's lap, hugging his neck and refusing to let go. "Daddy hasn't slept with Little Peach and Mommy in so long. It's clearly Daddy's fault. Mommy should be spanking Daddy's bottom! Mommy is biased. She doesn't spank Daddy when he makes a mistake!"
Li Yang looked at Yuan Chongjing, who was already dressed neatly, with clear eyes and no signs of fatigue on his face, as if he had had a good night's sleep and had replenished his energy.
She looked away and said to Little Peach, "Little Peach, get up quickly. After we finish breakfast and have some energy, we'll give Daddy a good spanking!"
Yuan Chongjing laughed heartily, took Xiao Taozi's body, and carried her out with one arm, saying disdainfully, "You little brat, you think you can hit Daddy? Believe me or not, Daddy can knock you down with just one finger!"
Little Peach shook herself twice but couldn't break free, and said indignantly, "Little Peach can do it when she grows up!"
"Alright, Father, we'll wait!"
"snort!"
Amidst their commotion, Li Yang finished washing up in the inner room. When she came out, Yuan Chongjing had already helped Xiao Taozi change her clothes, and even her hair was styled into two delicate little braids.
Seeing her come out, Little Peach excitedly said, "Mother, let's go quickly and have dinner."
Yuan Chongjing explained, "Xu Shan just came to deliver a message that His Highness has invited us to have breakfast together."
Let's go.
Little Peach held her father's hand in one hand and her mother's hand in the other, skipping and hopping forward. She was in a good mood. She woke up early in the morning to find herself lying in her father's and mother's arms. Now she was going to eat a delicious meal with them, and there was also a prince she especially liked with her. No matter how she thought about it, she felt happy.
Humming the little tune Li Yang had taught her, she walked into the main hall with a smile. Seeing His Highness Prince Yu in the distance, Xiao Taozi let go of Yuan Chongjing and Li Yang's hands and ran towards him: "Your Highness!"
Prince Yu broke free of his arms and caught her: "Our little peach is so happy?"
"Mmm!" Little Peach nodded, then whispered in Prince Yu's ear, "Yesterday, Daddy and Mommy slept together holding Little Peach~"
Prince Yu smiled and asked, "Does Little Peach like her father and mother very much?"
"Of course, Little Peach loves Daddy and Mommy the most!" Little Peach exclaimed.
Prince Yu feigned grievance: "Yesterday, Little Peach said she liked me the most, how come she's changed her mind today?"
"Hmm," Little Peach blinked and thought for a moment, "If Your Highness gives Little Peach lots and lots of sparkly jewels, then Little Peach will like Your Highness the most!"
Prince Yu reached out and tapped Little Peach's forehead, laughing as he said, "You greedy little devil, alright, I'll prepare another big box for you later, okay?"
"Okay, okay, thank you, Your Highness~" Little Peach leaned close to his face and gave him a big kiss.
“Little Peach,” Li Yang walked to her side and said patiently, “His Highness likes Little Peach very much. Yesterday he told his father and mother that he wanted to adopt Little Peach as his goddaughter. Is Little Peach willing?”
Little Peach looked at Li Yang, then at Prince Yu: "Is Your Highness Little Peach's godfather?"
"Yes, does Little Peach understand what her godfather means?"
"I know, I know, Sister Pear has a godfather," Little Peach interjected. Every time Sister Pear's godfather came to visit, he would bring lots of gifts, which she envied greatly. She looked at Prince Yu: "Then is Your Highness Little Peach's godfather?"
Li Yang said, "Yes, Little Peach, quickly call out so your godfather can hear you."
Little Peach smiled at Prince Yu and said somewhat shyly, "Father!"
Prince Yu's eyes twitched and turned slightly red. He reached out and hugged Xiao Taozi into his arms, saying with difficulty, "Good, Father's good daughter!"
She was somewhat confused, but seeing that Li Yang didn't move, she stood obediently and let the Prince of Yu hold her for a long time.
Finally, Prince Yu realized he had lost his composure and turned away somewhat awkwardly, allowing Xu Shan to serve breakfast.
The meal was a joyous occasion, and Xiao Taozi and Prince Yu became almost as close as father and daughter. Even when she finally left, she felt a pang of reluctance.
Prince Yu stroked her cheek: "How about you come to see Daddy again when Little Peach misses him?"
Little Peach nodded and, imitating him, touched Prince Yu's face: "Father, Your Highness, please take good care of yourself. Little Peach will come to see you again next time."
She felt that it was difficult to distinguish between her two fathers, so she gave the Prince of Yu this title.
Prince Yu said, "Alright, then Your Highness will wait for Little Peach."
The carriage started moving, and Xiao Taozi waved, lowered the curtain, and sat on Yuan Chongjing's lap.
Li Yang found a fun toy among the gifts given to her by the Prince of Yu, which quickly distracted Xiao Taozi, and together they explored how to play with the new toy.
The carriage arrived at the entrance of the Yuan residence. Li Yang had no suspicions. Since she hadn't returned for several days, she decided to stay there for a while and then go to see Song Xi in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Chongjing took her and Xiao Taozi back to the courtyard. After sending Xiao Taozi and Jinghe to play, he took Li Yang back to his room.
Li Yang asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Jing, is there something you want to say?"
Yuan Chongjing nodded: "A fire broke out at Song Xi's residence last night."
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