Chapter 36, First Official Release: "Your subjects request the execution of the King of Yue"...
Apart from the emperor, the imperial concubine, and the emperor's trusted eunuchs and bodyguards, there was no one else in the palace.
There were no palace servants present, even though the concubine was dressed in her personal attire. The thick stench of blood in the room was so strong that Yu Xiao could smell it clearly from several meters away.
Besides these people, there was only one man dressed as a eunuch but with a beard, lying at the feet of the imperial concubine.
The man had long since fallen silent, a gold hairpin tucked into his neck. Yu Xiao recognized the style before; it belonged to a concubine.
Shuang'er was generally not very strong, but when the Imperial Concubine saw the Emperor arrive, she killed the man before he could get angry.
Yu Xiao silently tried to cover her younger brother's eyes and ears, and wanted to take the little guy away, but Yueyue pushed her hands away, "Brother, let me continue watching."
This younger brother had always liked to stick close to Yu Xiao since he was a child, and he had learned a lot more while Yu Xiao was receiving royal education, so he roughly knew what was going on inside.
The little one was still biting his finger, the sound almost squeezed out from his throat, very soft but extremely sad:
"Let me take one last look, because I'll never see my mother again..."
The person inside was no longer his father, but...
Xiao Shuang'er felt extremely sad and almost cried when she thought about what might happen next.
He stood by the window, too afraid to approach and meet the imperial concubine.
Yu Xiao looked at Yueyue, who was trembling with tears, and indeed did not leave.
"Watch it if you want."
He patted Yueyue's head and watched the painful drama that was about to begin with him.
Time was running out before their personal palace attendants arrived.
Yu Xiao only had this short time to spend with his younger brother.
The Empress and the Imperial Concubine did not have a very good relationship, but that did not stop Yu Xiao from liking the younger brother that the Imperial Concubine had given birth to for him.
If Yueyue doesn't survive this ordeal, her life will be even more difficult in the future. The little one will have to grow up in this extremely painful environment.
It's likely that the Imperial Concubine was with a man on the ground before, and if Shuang'er, a woman in the deep palace, couldn't bear the loneliness, she might commit adultery.
Yu Xiao had only heard about these palace secrets before, but unexpectedly, he stumbled upon them today, and one of the people involved was the biological mother of his favorite younger brother.
I don't know if this was the first time, but it's clear that the emperor discovered the concubine's actions and came over in a rage to catch them in the act.
The imperial concubine was also decisive. Knowing that the emperor was coming, she knew that her lover could not be saved. In order to preserve the deceased's dignity, she decided to kill him first.
Yu Xiao looked at her younger brother, who was biting his finger tightly and not daring to breathe, and then at the imperial concubine who was being held up by eunuchs in the room.
Although he had never had any palace maids or servants to teach him about human affairs, he had grown up in the royal family, a place where there was no shortage of filth and sordid affairs. He was already quite familiar with those things that were not meant to be told to outsiders, so he naturally knew what had happened inside.
As for the emperor, he stepped forward and began to fondle the concubine's face:
"Alright, it's all in the past. Yueyue is also my son, isn't he?"
What a despicable and overconfident person.
It seems the Imperial Concubine was so disgusted by this guy that she didn't make a sound for a long time, only looking around in vain from her shackles, as if trying to find something.
Then Yu Xiao saw that Yueyue was biting her fingers even tighter in his arms, as if she was afraid that she might make a sound if she didn't.
In this situation, it would be impossible for the child not to make a sound when he sees his mother searching for him.
As if bound by a mother's heart, the Imperial Concubine's gaze unconsciously fell upon the window where Yu Xiao and Xiao Yueyue were hiding.
Yu Xiao knew there was little she could do; all she could say to the Imperial Concubine was one sentence:
"Your Highness, please go ahead. I will take good care of my younger brother."
Yu Xiao has always been known for his virtue in the court, and the Imperial Concubine couldn't possibly be unaware of this, so his offer to take good care of Yueyue from now on is basically 80-90% believable.
The Empress had a legitimate eldest son and had always been at odds with the Consort, but when she saw Yu Xiao playing with Yueyue, she casually remarked:
"She's just a gigolo, we can play together, I won't make things difficult for a gigolo."
That's how they are; as long as it doesn't involve Yu Xiao's future position as crown prince, they will never make things too difficult for the concubines and imperial offspring in the palace.
Moreover, the Imperial Concubine has no other choice at the moment.
Rather than continue living in humiliation, I'd rather die now and give my son a new mother.
After listening to Yu Xiao's words, and looking at Yueyue, who was hiding behind Yu Xiao and didn't even dare to cry, and the emperor beside her whose face was turning green with anger, the Imperial Concubine finally made a great decision.
"He's not your child."
He suddenly broke free from the eunuch's restraints and slammed against the wall:
"You tyrannical ruler who forcibly took your subject's wife, keep committing your evil deeds, I'll wait for you to suffer a terrible death!"
Bright red flowers bloom on the wall.
It seemed that even the heavens mourned the tragedy within the palace, for a gust of wind blew the windows open.
Xiao seemed to want to pick up the mosquito net that was still a child and smash it to death, but ultimately didn't.
It's likely that the words the imperial concubine spoke before her death truly shocked the emperor, prompting him to seek some good karma.
"Big Brother, what do you think we should do about your younger brother?"
Dalang is Yu Xiao's nickname.
Yu Xiao moved the little Yueyue she was holding from her chest to her back, trying to protect her from the emperor's hawk-like gaze.
His usually impeccable calm face remained composed as he said, "Just do what needs to be done."
"Such a vast royal family, can't even support a little Shuang'er?"
"Father, it was only after the Consort's husband died in exile that he took pity on the Consort and her newborn child and brought them into the palace to take care of them, showing them endless respect."
Therefore, there was never any story of a concubine committing adultery. The concubine was just a pitiful woman who was forced to marry after her husband's death. If the news of the concubine being treated well were spread and known to the world, everyone would praise the emperor.
At least on the surface, they would praise the emperor for his compassion for orphans and widows; what they did behind the scenes, well, that's for us to say.
In this way, Yu Xiao and Yueyue escaped a calamity. Moreover, because of his timely intervention, the palace servants caring for the two of them did not see anything they shouldn't have. This saved them from committing a bloody crime.
"Brother..."
With everyone in the Imperial Concubine's palace dead, it was clearly uninhabitable for a while, so Yu Xiao had to take her small mosquito net and move to her own palace.
Little did they know that this temporary care would lead to them never being separated again.
The little dumpling, who survived the ordeal, developed endless admiration for her older brother.
It felt good to be so attached to Xiao Shuang'er, so Yu Xiao continued to pat her half-brother's head, telling him not to be afraid anymore.
No one would not be afraid after witnessing their birth mother being executed, let alone Yueyue who is still so young.
He tried hard not to make a sound, lest he annoy Yu Xiao, but unknowingly, he had soaked the boy's expensive clothes with his tears.
"Brother, please don't abandon me."
After experiencing the series of events in the Consort's palace today, Yu Xiaocai realized that her younger brother looked neither like her father nor the Consort, but somewhat resembled the man who was stabbed to death by the Consort with a hairpin. She thought that the man must be Yueyue's biological father.
Rumor has it that the Imperial Concubine was a second-time bride, but unexpectedly, she still has lingering feelings for her former lover. It's truly a tragic entanglement.
And now, the only person this poor little guy can rely on is Yu Xiao, so Yu Xiao hugged him even tighter.
If Yu Xiaoben had already wanted to give up on this awkwardly positioned "younger brother," he would have stood by and watched everything unfold when the cuckolded emperor tried to kill Yueyue, and wouldn't have cared about anything.
The fact that he is still willing to keep Yueyue shows that he really wants to keep her.
However, the young child, having just experienced the pain of losing his mother, has lost his basic ability to think and is extremely afraid.
"I won't abandon you."
Then I straightened the little guy's head, which was rubbing against my shoulder and neck, to stop him from continuing to whine.
"It's just so you can live a better life in the future..." Yu Xiao solemnly grabbed Yueyue's hand, "From now on, you have to change your way of living, Ling Yue."
Little Shuang'er, who was just a child, seems to have grown up overnight just because she has a formal name.
"I will repay my brother well." The little guy tugged at Yu Xiao's hand, trying his best to show his brother and master his worth. "From now on, I will raise myself as a boy and I will definitely be able to do something for my brother. Don't worry about what will happen to you."
The puppy, who had just lost its mother, grew up rapidly and tried its best to tell Yu Xiao about its value.
"I have complete faith in Yueyue."
On the pebble path in the Imperial Garden, Yu Xiao half-squatted down, hugged Ling Yue, and rubbed against him again.
At this point, Yu Xiao stopped holding Ling Yue in his arms. He released him, placed the small child on the ground, and solemnly pressed down on his shoulders, as if he were no longer a child, but a comrade-in-arms whom he would have to fight alongside from now on, and...
...
Time flies like water.
The old emperor had long since retired to the second line and become the retired emperor, and the newly enthroned emperor was still Yu Xiao, who had once been the crown prince.
There are not many people in this world who can successfully rise from crown prince to emperor, and Yu Xiao is fortunate enough to be one of them.
Over the years, Yu Xiao has always kept her younger brother by her side and has also used new rumors to cover up the rumors outside the palace.
He protected Ling Yue very well in his own way, and the little dog did indeed reciprocate, becoming Yu Xiao's solid support.
Since Yu Xiao ascended the throne, Ling Yue even bypassed his brothers and was directly named the King of Yue.
It is unimaginable for outsiders to bestow the title of prince upon someone of Shuang'er's body. However, since Ling Yue promised Yu Xiao that he would become his sword, Ling Yue's current identity to the outside world is that of a man.
No one remembers that Consort Ling gave birth to Shuang'er after entering the palace. Everyone knows that Consort Ling remarried with a boy in tow, yet she was still the most favored concubine in the harem. Even her son from her previous marriage was granted the title of Prince and was highly regarded by the Crown Prince.
And this level of esteem is excessive...
After countless memorials were submitted to the Imperial Study suggesting that the prince, who had been incompetent since the Golden Emperor's ascension to the throne, be dealt with, Yu Xiao simply ignored them, following those rather unpleasant memorials.
As the ministers' faces grew increasingly grim, as if they were about to die on the spot remonstrating with the emperor, demanding that he remove the treacherous king.
"Brother Emperor~"
A soft, sweet voice rang out in the imperial study, drowning out the chatter of the court officials and silencing them completely.
The person who came was none other than the legendary Prince Yue, also known as Ling Yue. When he entered, he didn't even need the eunuchs outside to announce his arrival. Instead, he sat down in Yu Xiao's lap with a sword in hand, seemingly disregarding all the rules and regulations. Nothing could restrain him. He truly embodied the phrase "spoiled and arrogant."
After entering the Imperial Study, he sat down on Yu Xiao's lap without any hesitation.
Although the identity of this prince, who was of the highest rank, was rather unworthy of respect, these old ministers, who had originally intended to remonstrate with him to the death, now had a new understanding of just how much favor the emperor had for him.
It's unclear which sensible old minister realized they couldn't stay any longer, but they took the lead in saying goodbye to Yu Xiao, picked up their tablets, and hurriedly left. Then, the old ministers who wanted to impeach Ling Yue followed closely behind, and in a corner where Yu Xiao couldn't see them, they practically took off running and fled in panic.
This is not how a prince should act, it's simply...
As for Ling Yue, the emperor's most loyal henchman, he didn't appear at all like the terrifying figure outsiders would imagine. Instead, he continued to be very affectionate with Yu Xiao.
"Brother, I've done something for you again this time. Did I do a good job?"
Who would have thought that almost everything Ling Yue did outside was at the behest of his elder brother, Yu Xiao?
With the political situation just settled and the dynasty having just changed, it's a very unstable time, and it's impossible for Yu Xiao to handle everything perfectly.
So Ling Yue, whom he had raised since childhood, came into play and volunteered to be his elder brother's gloves.
Ling Yue would be the first to propose and strive to do what his elder brother wanted to do, and as the emperor's most loyal dog, he would also disregard his own reputation and take the initiative to do things for the emperor that his elder brother would find difficult to do on the surface.
It doesn't matter if you are impeached or have a bad reputation.
Because all Yu Xiao needs to do is pat his head when he's being insulted by everyone.
Yu Xiao looked at the transparent light screen floating next to Ling Yue's head.
His mood, which had been somewhat down after hearing the ministers' words about impeaching him, was gradually improving because of his caresses.
His puppy isn't invincible; it can become vulnerable because of certain things, but as long as he pets its head, the dog's mood will improve.
This is a very well-behaved puppy, making Yu Xiao's life much easier, which is no wonder given Yu Xiao's endless pampering of him since he was a child.
"Brother, hug me again..."
The puppy is really greedy. A simple petting through her clothes is not enough to satisfy her. She needs an almost imprisoning hug to bring her precarious mood back to a relatively healthy level.
After the Consort died suddenly, the story told to the outside world was that the young prince was terrified by his mother's death. Fortunately, Yu Xiao, who was still the Crown Prince, took good care of his younger brother and often carried him around in his arms, raising him in this way.
Ling Yue's existence was indeed an endless humiliation for the emperor. He wanted to kill Ling Yue at all times and even tried many times, but ultimately failed. This was also thanks to Yu Xiao's care for this younger brother.
If Ling Yue hadn't stayed with Yu Xiao throughout his childhood, sharing meals and living with him, it would have been extremely difficult for him to escape the emperor's murderous intent.
Yu Xiao had always thought Ling Yue was a good kid, and it turned out he was right.
After finally defeating that damned old man and avenging his biological parents, the good boy, without even wiping the blood from his face, rushed into Yu Xiao's arms.
"Your Majesty, you can be the emperor in the future! You will definitely be the best emperor!"
In a puppy's world, there is only its owner, so everything the owner has is the best in its eyes, and the owner is the best too.
Ling Yue showed no aggression in front of Yu Xiao and remained a very obedient dog.
It seems that the ferocious human who previously displayed extremely high combat power and skills was not Ling Yue.
And when their father grew increasingly old and senile, even wanting to depose Yu Xiao, his eldest son, the two joined forces to launch a palace coup, successfully sending the old and still-living emperor to become the retired emperor.
From then on, Ling Yue was second only to Yu Xiao and above everyone else, enjoying unparalleled fame for a time.
Mood value +1
The system silently announced the puppy's gradually increasing mood value.
Yu Xiao obtained this relatively systematic thing when he was very young, but at first he did not understand how to use the system, and he could not even understand many of the words on the system. However, after a little research, Yu Xiao realized that the system was a tool to help him take good care of his younger brother.
Yu Xiao also clearly remembered the opportunity when the system appeared beside him: it was after the death of the Imperial Concubine that he took Ling Yue to live with him.
At first, Yu Xiao thought that this thing called the system was a sign that Heaven took pity on Ling Yue's difficult fate at such a young age and specially appeared in front of people to descend to Yu Xiao's side so that he could take better care of Ling Yue.
However, as time went on, Yu Xiao discovered that the system seemed to have more uses than he had imagined.
Regardless, Yu Xiao began to regularly follow the system's prompts to raise her younger brother Ling Yue, ensuring that his various stats would not deviate from the expected levels. In this way, she raised Ling Yue without any problems.
Even just now, Yu Xiao could see that Ling Yue was dissatisfied because he was impeached by the court officials. So Yu Xiao could use the numbers prompted by the system to gradually bring the puppy back to its original low mood.
The system's products are trustworthy.
However, once Yu Xiao petted the puppy to a certain extent in the areas detected by the system, the puppy's mood level stopped struggling to rise.
Hmm, it seems the puppy has encountered something that's really upsetting him.
So Yu Xiao asked Ling Yue a question, playing with Shuang'er's face in men's clothing, "
This scene, by a twist of fate, overlapped with one from many years ago, but the two people in the imperial study were so focused on each other that they subconsciously failed to notice.
Moreover, as a well-behaved dog, Lingyue quickly and proactively answers its owner's questions:
"Why does Your Majesty want to send people into the Prince's mansion?" The puppy hugged Yu Xiao even tighter. "It's not good at all."
"Aren't those women good enough to raise Shuang'er?" Yu Xiao calmly stroked the puppy's fur, but found that no matter what she did, she couldn't calm the puppy back to its precarious mood. It seemed that the puppy was really unhappy.
Yu Xiao felt somewhat speechless. Her younger brother, who had been treated like a man since childhood, had always acted no differently from a man, and even often…
Although he didn't go all the way, the man's actions were already reckless enough.
This was quite unbelievable for Yu Xiao, who was nearly thirty and still had no harem. He couldn't understand what his younger brother thought of him.
Therefore, Ling Yue had no choice but to explain to his "clueless" elder brother that his relationships with those women outside were not what Yu Xiao thought:
"In front of Shuang'er, there are only decorations that can be played with by her husband and have no function. In addition, they are not very strong, so their relationship with the women is more like that of best friends..."
Yu Xiao found it incomprehensible. Even setting aside the fact that Ling Yue was raised as a man, and that Shuang'er was often used as a toy, it wasn't like people could be manipulated without Shuang'er.
Perhaps a man like Yu Xiao, who is forever devoid of emotional fluctuations, will never understand those so-called best friend relationships.
"And how can outsiders compare to the real characters?"
Ling Yue suddenly kissed Yu Xiao on the neck.
After the death of the Imperial Concubine, Yu Xiao rarely held Ling Yue, so the cute little guy who used to be so close to his elder brother had fewer opportunities to be close to Yu Xiao.
Earlier, Ling Yue always enjoyed listening to Yu Xiao kiss the seemingly respectable Crown Prince so hard that his face and neck were covered in saliva, which nearly made the palace servants who were serving him faint. Yu Xiao, however, just smiled at the little guy.
They might even kiss back.
But ever since Ling Yue grew up overnight, he has never kissed his nominal half-brother again.
The fact that the two men, both holding the position of external council member, have such an intimate relationship is highly inappropriate.
Not to mention that Ling Yue is actually a twin with no blood relation to Yu Xiao. He wanted to have close contact with his elder brother when he was young, but it was better when he was older...
Ling Yue must have known all this before, and he rarely bothered Yu Xiao. He only became very dissatisfied after the court officials began to impeach him.
So, Ling Yue, who was in a bad mood, started doing things that were completely different from before.
The puppy clung tightly to its owner, trying to assert its ownership:
"I want my imperial brother."
"I don't want those ordinary, vulgar women."
Yu Xiao's demeanor and bearing far surpassed those of the people he bestowed upon Ling Yue.
The fact that Ling Yue brought up again when they were together seemed more like a compliment than an unspoken hint of wanting to get closer.
Yu Xiao watched the system panel where the puppy was secretly increasing its value, but remained unmoved and didn't even react as expected.
Only Ling Yue had the right to be so presumptuous in front of him.
Yu Xiao watched as this little dog, whom she valued so much, started to take advantage of her kindness and wanted to...
Their feelings hadn't changed much; they simply embraced each other more intensely in the imperial study, where it was just the two of them.
Ultimately, they failed to take the final step.
Ignoring Ling Yue's gaze, Yu Xiao understood what the little dog wanted, so she began to comfort it again:
"Okay, what does our baby want as compensation?"
Those court officials secretly spoke ill of Ling Yue, and Yu Xiao, as a proper older brother, certainly had to comfort Ling Yue.
Seeing that his puppy didn't speak, Yu Xiao took it upon herself to arrange the reward.
...
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