Chapter 379 The Son I Don't Like
The Crown Prince currently has no son. If Li Yingxue can give birth to a son who will become the Crown Prince's eldest grandson, the Crown Prince will not hesitate to give her the position of Crown Prince's concubine.
She didn't take the Crown Prince's words to heart, but they sounded incredibly sweet to Li Yingxue.
For the past six months, she has endured humiliation and schemed relentlessly, all for this one guarantee, isn't it?
Li Yingxue was happy, but Madam Yan was not. They were both ladies in the Crown Prince's residence, so why was Li Yingxue qualified to be promoted to a concubine?
If, as the Crown Prince said, Li Yingxue really gives birth to a son and becomes a concubine, then what status will she, as the current wife, have in the future?
Putting everything else aside, the position of the mistress of the Crown Prince's residence will naturally not fall to a concubine after the arrival of a secondary consort.
If this were the former Lady Yan, perhaps Chunxiang wouldn't have cared who controlled the Crown Prince's inner quarters. But ever since the Crown Princess left and Chunxiang took over the management of the Crown Prince's household, she has become addicted to this power.
"Your Highness is truly biased. Lady Xue was given the position of concubine as soon as she gave birth to a son. Meanwhile, I have found so many beauties for Your Highness!"
Lady Yan deliberately pouted, her adorable, defiant look prompting the Crown Prince to give her a hard pinch on the cheek.
Thinking of the vigor Lady Yan had displayed in bed just now, the Crown Prince couldn't help but feel a little distracted again.
"Alright, congratulations are in order. Now you should go back and rest!"
The Crown Prince felt a strong urge to make a move on Chunxiang in front of Li Yingxue, but he couldn't do so in front of her. So he waved his hand and told Li Yingxue to go back first.
Seeing this, Fei'er wisely stepped forward and helped Li Yingxue walk outside. However, even after reaching the courtyard gate, Li Yingxue couldn't help but turn back to look at the two people in the courtyard.
"She really is a shameless slut, trying to seduce His Highness in front of so many people. If this were back in the Marquis's mansion, she would have been beaten to death with sticks long ago."
Li Yingxue looked indignant, but Fei'er couldn't help but feel contempt.
Back then, Li Yingxue used every trick in the book to seduce the Crown Prince in order to enter his residence. Now that she's pregnant and can no longer serve him, she's suddenly become all high and mighty.
No matter how fiercely Lady Yan and Lady Xue fought within the Crown Prince's residence, it wouldn't cause the slightest ripple when the Crown Prince returned to court to discuss matters.
Lu Youming had been holding back his anger in the court all morning, but as soon as he returned to the Third Prince's residence, he unleashed a torrent of fury.
Xu Yunzhi looked at the mess of broken pieces scattered all over the floor by Lu Youming, and slowly walked around into the house.
"Your Highness can't even take a beating? The Crown Prince hasn't even returned to court yet. What will Your Highness do if the Crown Prince does return?"
Lu Youming listened to some of Xu Yunzhi's words, but he was still angry that the emperor had to bring up the crown prince at this time to suppress him.
“I know my father doesn’t like me. He has disliked me since I was a child. No matter how outstanding I am compared to the Crown Prince, or how sensible I am compared to Xiao Wu, he can never see me. He always thinks that both the Crown Prince and Xiao Wu are better than me.”
Lu Youming had always kept these words to himself, but today, facing Xu Yunzhi, Lu Youming revealed his true feelings for the first time, as well as his dissatisfaction with the emperor over the years.
They were born the same person, so why did the emperor dislike him?
Lu Youming couldn't understand it himself, and Xu Yunzhi naturally understood it even less. The bond between royal fathers and sons was inherently thin; even if they liked each other, what difference did it make? Faced with absolute self-interest, even the deepest kinship was less substantial than a bowl of water.
"We cannot control who His Majesty likes or dislikes, but let's not forget one thing: the Crown Prince has already made mistakes. If something else were to happen to him, Your Highness, how long do you think he could remain Crown Prince?"
Xu Yunzhi's words were like a wake-up call. Thinking about the mistakes the Crown Prince had made before, Xu Yunzhi's heart gradually calmed down.
Xu Yunzhi was right. His father had already considered deposing the crown prince. If it weren't for the fact that the crown prince was born of the legitimate wife and that the court officials had the power to protect him, the crown prince would probably no longer be the crown prince, and there would be no way he would return to the court.
"Brother Xu is truly my lucky star. Every time I talk to you for just a few words, I feel like I've suddenly gained some enlightenment."
Lu Youming was absolutely telling the truth. Whenever it was a crucial moment, or when he couldn't figure things out, as long as Xu Yunzhi appeared, it seemed that everything would be resolved.
"It is my good fortune to be valued by His Highness."
After Xu Yunzhi finished speaking, he smiled at Lu Youming, then glanced at the servant boy peeking in by the door. With a wave of his hand, a group of servants immediately entered the room to clean.
The next day in court, just when everyone thought Lu Youming would secretly sabotage the Crown Prince, unexpectedly, Lu Youming remained as respectful and attentive as ever, serving the Crown Prince without the slightest negligence.
Looking at Lu Youming like this, some ministers in the court unconsciously felt a greater sense of goodwill towards him.
Even the emperor, seeing him like this, couldn't help but feel a little more satisfied.
Regardless of what this son is planning, the fact that he didn't make things difficult for the crown prince shows that he is more magnanimous than his other sons.
Lu Yuanbin was placed under house arrest, the Crown Prince returned to the court, and Lu Youming willingly retreated to the background. For a time, the entire court seemed to return to a state of normalcy.
Unfortunately, the calmer the surface, the more turbulent the undercurrents. Everything was merely preparing for an explosion.
The Lantern Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Gu Shuyan got up early, did her makeup, and went to the old lady's courtyard.
Having arranged to meet Gu Yuxin and Gu Yuhe at the lantern festival early in the morning, the three sisters bid farewell and left the mansion after having breakfast with the old lady.
It was the first time for all three of them to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Beijing. They were all dazzled by the bustling traffic on both sides of the road.
The Lantern Festival in the capital was even more lively than the Lunar New Year. The carriage of the Marquis of Yi'an moved into the main urban area, but was forced to stop before it could even squeeze into the bustling city.
"Miss, the road ahead is blocked, our carriage can't get through."
The driver, seeing the convoy already completely blocked ahead, turned back to report to Gu Shuyan inside the carriage.
Upon hearing this, Gu Shuyan lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, and sure enough, she saw that the carriages in front were completely blocked.
"Turn around here and drive the carriage to a quiet place where there are few people to wait for us."
After Gu Shuyan finished speaking, she turned around and looked at the two sisters in the car.
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