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Secondly, it was indeed reported that Consort Xuanping and the future Consort visited Duke Wei's Residence, and the news of Lin Shangshu's family having a delightful conversation with Consort Xuanping spread throughout the high society of the capital. Naturally, the news that the Sun Family had once again offended Xuanping Wang also circulated.
While everyone looked down on Duke Wei and Lin Shangshu's family, they expressed disdain for the Sun Family's Primary Wife once more. It was clear that she was a concubine who relied on tricks to rise to her position, lacking any quality, which led her to engage in such unrefined behavior. Now, people didn't even bother to regard the legitimate wife of the Sun Ping Family.
However, no one knew about Xiao Yao's carriage being startled by the Eldest Prince's horse on the way, as the Eldest Prince passed by quickly and didn't even notice whose carriage it was. During court, He Yu watched the Eldest Prince Yang Yunfeng chatting and laughing with other officials, his fists clenched tightly as he glared at Yang Yunfeng with resentment.
The Crown Prince, standing not far away, furrowed his brows upon seeing He Yu's expression.
After court, the Crown Prince patted He Yu on the shoulder and asked, "How is it? Your Daughter-in-law was fine yesterday, right?"
He Yu shook his head. "She was fine; just a bit startled. Her health is okay." The Crown Prince nodded in relief. "That's good. Qingye was worried and hardly slept all night. Since you're saying this, I can rest easy."
"Thank you for your concern," He Yu forced a smile.
Yang Yunqing noticed He Yu's forced smile and frowned. "Do you have other worries?"
"It's just some family matters; nothing worth mentioning," He Yu's gaze flickered slightly, as he didn't want outsiders to know too much about his household affairs.
Seeing this, Yang Yunqing said, "Earlier in the main hall, I noticed you staring at the Eldest Prince. Did something happen yesterday?"
With the question reaching this point, He Yu couldn't avoid it any longer. Lowering his head, he said, "Actually, yesterday..." Before he could finish, a loud voice interrupted him. "Oh, Second Brother and Hong Ming seem to have a good relationship!"
It was the voice of Eldest Prince Yang Yunfeng. Upon hearing this voice, He Yu felt a surge of anger and raised his head with a half-smile. "As a companion to the Crown Prince, it's only natural that our relationship is good; there's no need for Eldest Prince to worry about this."
As soon as He Yu spoke these ambiguous words, Yang Yunfeng's face darkened significantly. He secretly cursed He Yu for being overly clever. However, he wouldn't show it on his face. Although Yang Yunfeng was somewhat inferior in social dealings compared to the Crown Prince and Fourth Brother, he had been in the palace for many years and had learned a thing or two.
Thus, Yang Yunfeng imitated He Yu's ambiguous tone. "Oh, Hong Ming doesn't see it this way. Now everyone in the capital knows about your close relationship with the Crown Prince. Since the Crown Prince hasn't married yet, Su Family's sister is already as close to your Wangfei as sisters are; some things shouldn't be made too obvious!"
"Big Brother." The Crown Prince frowned disapprovingly, "My Consort was bestowed by Father Emperor. Do you really want to interfere?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, Yang Yunfeng realized his mistake and awkwardly closed his mouth. However, He Yu had no intention of letting Yang Yunfeng off the hook. With a cold smile, he said, "I wouldn't know. But if the Emperor finds out that the Eldest Prince was recklessly galloping through the streets yesterday, how do you think he would react?"
Since the beginning of the Dafeng Dynasty, Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong had decreed that unless it was an urgent matter of utmost importance, no noble families, including royal families, were allowed to ride horses on the streets. If they disturbed the normal lives of the common people and the Emperor found out, regardless of who it was, they would face Fifty Strikes!
Upon hearing He Yu's words, the Eldest Prince's expression immediately changed. "You... how do you know?"
He thought there shouldn't have been anyone on the street at that time yesterday, which is why he had galloped a bit faster, believing no one would know. Who would have thought that He Yu would bring it up today? If He Yu knew about it, then Father Emperor...
Yang Yunfeng dared not think further and could only hurriedly avert his gaze. "I... I just remembered I have something to attend to. I'll take my leave!"
With that, he fled in utter embarrassment. The Crown Prince and He Yu watched Yang Yunfeng's awkward retreat and burst into laughter. He Yu finally felt a bit better and asked the Crown Prince, "Are you really planning to tell Father Emperor about this?"
"How could I?" He Yu shook his head and looked toward the palace gate at the end of the road. "This matter needs to be reported to the Emperor, but it cannot come from your mouth or mine. We need to let someone else say it."
Yang Yunqing pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement. "You're right; this matter shouldn't come from us."
However, He Yu then changed the subject with a smile. "Currently, there's a rumor circulating in the upper circles of the capital that you and Xuanping Wang are very close. Shouldn't you avoid any misunderstandings?"
"Hmm?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, a rare smile appearing on his lips. "Everyone knows that the most charming prince in the capital is favored by the Emperor's heart. Although he is favored and attends court, aside from enjoying banquets with the Emperor, he holds no real power."
If anyone else had heard such words, they would surely have turned hostile on the spot. But upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, He Yu laughed heartily and patted Yang Yunqing on the shoulder. "Then Wang must thank you for such a high evaluation."
"Good, good." The Crown Prince rarely joked like this and pretended to clasp his fists in a serious manner.
The two good brothers were laughing together when a male voice with a hint of amusement came from behind them. "The Crown Prince and Wang are so happy; do you not care about others' feelings at all?"
It was the voice of Yang Yunzhe, and now He Yu didn't even spare him a glance, lifting his eyelids not at all as he said, "This place is less than twenty steps from the palace gate, and we have long kept our distance from Taihe Palace. I really don't know how leisurely the Fourth Prince is to eavesdrop on our jokes."
Yang Yunzhe was silenced by He Yu's words, his face turning dark. He was already feeling quite pleased because the Sun Family had embarrassed themselves in front of He Yu again.
Moreover, the entire capital was buzzing with rumors that it was because the Sun Family had repeatedly offended Consort Xuanping that she had become angry. Such repeated offenses deserved to be punished. Even before marrying into the royal family, they were already acting like royalty, truly not treating themselves as outsiders.
There were even some people who applauded Xiao Yao for punishing the Sun Family.
In short, no one stood on the side of the Sun Family. Everyone knew that Sun Ruoxue was to be the future Fourth Prince's Consort, but with things escalating to this point, Yang Yunzhe felt embarrassed and hadn't even gone out to see his own residence for several days.
Seeing these two laughing and chatting today while he was filled with displeasure naturally made him want to say something sharp, but he didn't expect He Yu to directly refute him.
The Crown Prince listened to He Yu's reasoning and smiled, saying, "Oh, I've noticed your wit has become sharper lately."
"Of course," He Yu replied proudly. "Having a sharp-tongued Daughter-in-law at home means my tongue has to be quick too." Hearing He Yu's somewhat helpless yet mostly proud words, the Crown Prince laughed and patted his shoulder, saying, "When I returned yesterday afternoon, Qingye said the same thing. Qingye, you really must have accumulated virtue in your past life to find this Daughter-in-law."
He Yu chuckled happily and proudly replied, "Of course! My Daughter-in-law is someone I must cherish after going through countless hardships across lifetimes."
"You've gotten fat; you're really getting bold with me," the Crown Prince said as he punched He Yu's arm. He Yu didn't dodge much and just laughed foolishly as he looked at the Crown Prince walking out with him. "Are you leaving the palace?"
"Qingye is waiting for me in the peach blossom grove. Do you want to come along?" the Crown Prince invited.
"I'll pass; I need to hurry back to see my Daughter-in-law," He Yu said with a wry smile.
"Is the situation not looking good?" Seeing He Yu's expression, the Crown Prince asked with concern.
He Yu nodded. "Yes, she's hurt her internal organs a bit. Imperial Physician Yao Yao is already quite weak; this time it's not light. She can't even take medicine and can only rely on food to recover slowly."
Yang Yunqing frowned, not expecting it to be this serious. If that were the case, the meaning behind He Yu's glance at the Eldest Prince earlier seemed to become clearer to him. Putting himself in He Yu's shoes, if it had been Qingye who was injured, he would probably have felt like going to the Prince's Residence in the middle of the night to give the Eldest Prince a beating.
He Yu was already showing remarkable restraint. Now that the imperial physician had come to check, the Crown Prince felt he couldn't be of much help, so he said, "Then let Qingye check in from time to time. With Xiao Yao here alone and Xiao Mo Yi sent out on an errand, it's good for a girl to have someone to talk to."
"That's true," He Yu nodded at the Crown Prince's words. "Girls often have topics we men can't join in on. Perhaps Sister-in-law should visit more often; if Yao Yao feels better, she might recover faster."
"Exactly."
"Thank you," He Yu looked at Yang Yunqing with gratitude in his eyes.
Yang Yunqing patted He Yu's shoulder and said, "What can I say? We're closer than real brothers. If it weren't for you last year, I might not even be the Crown Prince anymore. I should be thanking you."
"You will be a good emperor; you truly care for Dafeng's nation and its people," He Yu said seriously. "I help you solely because of that."
"I know," the Crown Prince nodded. "I will work hard."
Finally, the Crown Prince smiled and said, "I need to hurry to the Peach Blossom Forest now; you should head back too. Daughter-in-law is still waiting for you."
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