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Actually, later Xiao Yao learned that there was another major reason for coming to the Palace in Zhili for the summer, and that was the return of the Eldest Princess.
The Eldest Princess is the sister of the current Sovereign, Princess Nanjing.
Years ago, when the He Family was defeated outside Yanmen Pass, in order to seek peace, they had no choice but to marry off the then unmarried Princess Nanjing to Tubo, hoping to secure peace with Dafeng. They swore an oath for thirty years of friendly peace between Tubo and Dafeng.
The Eldest Princess spent her whole life in Tubo, and finally, after the death of the Khan of Tubo, she used her means to have her son become the new Khan. Naturally, she went from being an outsider princess to the biological mother of the Khan, wielding great power and able to act as she pleased.
The first thing she wanted to do was return to her hometown to take a look.
Considering that Qidi is now nearly fifty years old, it is likely that the Eldest Princess is also in her forties. Xiao Yao pondered this and asked He Yu if he had ever seen the Eldest Princess.
He Yu shook his head, "How could I have seen her? I was just a few months old when I was brought back to the capital. The Eldest Princess got married in the same year I was brought back, so I naturally haven't seen her in all these years. The Crown Prince should have seen her, though."
"Oh, right." After thinking for a moment, since the Crown Prince is several years older than He Yu, he must have been able to remember things back then. However, Xiao Yao then asked, "By the way, there's a question I've wanted to ask you for a long time but often forget."
"What question?"
"Why doesn't the Emperor have any daughters?" Xiao Yao asked curiously. "I've actually wanted to ask this for many years, but I often forget when I'm busy."
"…I don't know either." After thinking for a moment, He Yu couldn't come up with an answer. "From what I remember, there have only been princes in the palace; no princesses have been born."
"Well then, it can only be attributed to the strong hereditary nature of royal boys." Xiao Yao shrugged in explanation. Since this wasn't a major issue, she didn't dwell on it. She then thought of something else and said, "Oh right, since you're going with the Crown Prince this time, who will be governing in his absence?"
"This time it's mainly handled by the cabinet," He Yu didn't hide anything from Xiao Yao. "For ordinary matters, the cabinet takes care of them. Urgent matters will be sent directly to the Emperor's garden overnight, so there's no need to worry too much about that."
"Oh," Xiao Yao thought for a moment and tentatively said, "Can I interpret this as the Emperor being cautious of the Crown Prince?"
He Yu was slightly taken aback but soon smiled. "Alright, now you're analyzing the situation; you really are influenced by those around you."
"Hmph! Why aren't you influenced negatively?" Xiao Yao turned her face and shot a glance at He Yu.
"He Yu" didn't care and chuckled a few times, saying, "That's right, your thoughts are correct. The only fear is that the Emperor has long had misgivings about the Crown Prince. Now that the Emperor is over fifty, his health is naturally declining, and what he fears most is someone taking his place."
"So, he wants to keep the Crown Prince close, under his watchful eye?" "Xiao Yao" speculated.
"Yes, you're about eighty percent right. Yesterday, I discussed this issue with the Crown Prince, and our thoughts were similar."
"What do you plan to do?" "Xiao Yao" couldn't help but feel a bit worried. "He Yu" smiled slightly, "There's nothing to be done; we just need to maintain the status quo."
"Mm." Although "Xiao Yao" didn't understand what maintaining the status quo meant or what their so-called status quo looked like, since "He Yu" said so, it meant they were already confident in their plans, so she naturally wouldn't ask further.
Both of them were quite happy to be able to go out and have fun.
After all, even though the "Xuanping Prince's Mansion" wasn't particularly lively, it was usually just the two of them there, which could get boring.
However, the children clearly had another layer of concern. "Mother, if we leave, who will take care of Wu Yun and Liu Jin?"
Wu Yun and Liu Jin were currently each adopted by one of the children. They had originally planned to wait until the two kids grew a bit older before making any decisions.
But plans never keep up with changes.
Two years ago, when the brothers were only three years old, they were happily playing in the yard. "Xiao Yao" knew her own yard well and felt at ease, so she had someone open the window while she worked on her sewing, occasionally glancing outside.
Although the brothers were quite different in temperament—one active and one quiet—they still managed to get along well. After all, "He Zi'an" only appeared quiet on the surface; in reality, he was quite mischievous! Whenever "He Ziyi" got into trouble, it was usually because "He Zi'an" had encouraged him.
However, the problem lay with the maid on duty; she was a new attendant sent from the "Internal Affairs Office."
On one hand, the Emperor sent attendants from the "Internal Affairs Office" to show favor to "He Yu," but on the other hand, these attendants rarely stayed for long. They would typically be replaced every six months to a year under the pretext of removing those who weren't clever enough to avoid upsetting the naturally spoiled and arrogant "Xuanping Wang."
In reality, it was to prevent the "Xuanping Prince's Mansion" from becoming too tightly knit; while the Emperor could remain unaware of what was happening within it, he absolutely could not allow everyone in the mansion to unite like a tightly sealed barrel.
It is evident how deeply Qidi is on guard against He Yu.
The maid guarding the door was suddenly startled when two leopards appeared before her, so frightened that she didn't dare make a sound. In fact, over the past few years, Wuyun and Liujin rarely came to the Central Courtyard. To appease Wuyun and Liujin, Xiao Yao would occasionally visit Lin Mountain House while the two children were in class, spending some time playing with them.
After the renovations, Lin Mountain House was fully equipped with heated floors. He Yu had somehow brought in hot spring water and added some plants. The beast trainer often threw in rabbits and live chickens for them to catch. As a result, Wuyun and Liujin naturally stopped venturing into the Central Courtyard.
This time, it was likely because Xiao Yao was busy making clothes for the two children and neglected them. Missing their mistress, Wuyun and Liujin came looking for her on their own, completely ignoring the terrified maid at the door as they walked straight into the courtyard. By the time the two leopards entered, the maid was so scared that she wet herself. Once she regained her senses, she screamed in shock, "Leopard! There’s a leopard! Leopards!!"
This immediately caused other maids to scream as well, turning the entire perimeter of the Central Courtyard into chaos.
Yun Yue and Yun Bi, hearing the commotion, exclaimed that it was bad news and hurried outside. They saw that Wuyun and Liujin were completely unfazed by the surrounding screams, casually swishing their tails as they made their way toward the main house of the Central Courtyard.
Although Yun Yue and Yun Bi were not afraid of Wuyun and Liujin, they knew that these two leopards only listened to the princess and prince; they could barely be trained by the beast trainer. As for anyone else, they wouldn't even spare a glance.
"Oh no! The eldest young master and second young master are still in the courtyard!" Yun Yue and Yun Bi exchanged glances and quickly rushed toward the Central Courtyard. Little did they know that when the leopards saw them running, they thought something was happening too! The two leopards started running after them.
How could two legs outrun four? Moreover, leopards are famously fast runners.
With a few agile leaps, Wuyun and Liujin easily dashed into the courtyard. Yun Zhu gasped in surprise, "How did Wuyun and Liujin get here?"
At that moment, Xiao Yao was startled; she looked up to see her two sons facing off against the two leopards!
She had been too careless!
Dropping what she was holding, Xiao Yao rushed outside. Even though she knew that Clouded Leopards didn’t eat people, these were her sons! How could she be so negligent? At this moment, regret filled her heart; all she wanted was to quickly bring her children back inside.
However, just as she reached the door, Xiao Yao was stunned to see an astonishing sight: Wuyun approached her sons and gently sniffed them before lying down with its white belly exposed. Upon seeing this, Liujin also approached and mimicked Wuyun, sniffing as if confirming something before lying down as well.
What a display! This was clearly both a show of affection and submission, leaving everyone in the Central Courtyard dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what was happening.
However, Xiao Yao realized that these were her children, flesh and blood from her own body.
Moreover, spending every day with the children, making clothes for them, and engaging in various intimate interactions, she gradually picked up the scent of both children, while they also absorbed the scents of her and He Yu.
Thus, Wu Yun and Liu Jin naturally believed that these two children were their owners because they shared the same scent.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yao felt relieved.
Later on, after He Yu heard about this from Xiao Yao, he decided to let each of their two sons adopt a Clouded Leopard. Wu Yun was lively and playful, naturally becoming closer to the eldest son. Liu Jin was relatively quiet and liked to sleep by the heater. When in the study, while Second Brother was reading at the desk, Liu Jin would curl up in a corner of the desk and sleep until their owner left, at which point it would stand up, shake its fur, stretch lazily, and wag its tail to follow its owner outside.
After two years of companionship, the two leopards and the two brothers were almost inseparable. Once it was confirmed that his sons were not afraid of Wu Yun and Liu Jin, He Yu no longer restricted their movements unless there were guests at home; otherwise, he generally allowed them to follow the brothers around causing mischief.
In He Yu's words, being mischievous was a sign of intelligence; after all, they wouldn't cause too much trouble with so many people watching over them.
As a result, the frequently mischievous He Ziyi was often covered in various bandages and bruises. The esteemed prince of the Xuanping Wang family was raising his children like wildlings, which made Xiao Yao admire He Yu even more.
This time they were going out for an extended period, and when the family raised concerns about taking care of Cloudy Golden Flow, it truly caught Xiao Yao off guard. She didn't know what to do; did they really have to bring it along? But there would be so many people at the summer resort—what if it caused a commotion? Wouldn't that lead to big problems?
Xiao Yao hesitated; she didn't immediately respond to her sons. She decided to wait until their father returned to discuss it further.
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