The scumbag was secretly having an affair, while I was openly having an affair with the prince.

Chapter 161 Eavesdropping Provoked Him

Qi Sui returned to the palace.

Ye Shishu and Gu Simo went back to their rooms to pack their belongings, preparing to leave the city when it opened at dawn.

Ye Shijun was summoned to the study by Yuchi Ling.

Looking at the sword on the desk, he was extremely excited. Touching the lifelike dragon pattern on the scabbard, he was practically drooling.

"Your Highness...this...this is the Jade Kun Sword?"

"Ah."

"Are you really going to give it to me?" Ye Shijun glanced at his brother-in-law's reaction, afraid that he would change his mind.

“This sword was personally forged by my grandfather, the Emperor. It accompanied two emperors on their campaigns. When my father gave it to me, he entrusted it with the mission of eliminating evil and protecting the country and its people.” Yuchi Ling picked up the sword and handed it to him.

Ye Shijun straightened his back and solemnly accepted the gift with both hands. "Your Highness, rest assured, Shijun will not fail in his mission!"

It was rare to see him put away his playful expression, so Yu Chi Ling smiled slightly. "Alright, go and prepare. We'll leave the city at dawn."

Ye Shijun could not hide his excitement.

It wasn't because of the sword in her hand, but because of her brother-in-law's background.

He already knew the purpose of their trip to Jeju: to obtain evidence that the Prince's brother-in-law was the Empress's biological son. If the Prince's brother-in-law was indeed the Empress's biological son, then Yuchi Rui's good days were over…

And if the prince's brother-in-law becomes the crown prince, he will be a powerful and influential imperial brother-in-law when the emperor ascends the throne!

Haha!

Tell me, who wouldn't be excited?

……

Upon learning that his son was going to Jeju, Yuchi Sheng didn't say anything, but he was secretly depressed.

He wasn't blind; of course he could see that his son didn't want to join the court.

To put it bluntly, I was just being stubborn with him.

For such a thing as switching a prince for a princess is a grave dereliction of duty on the part of the emperor. And for the past twenty-two years, Consort Lan's attitude towards Prince Cheng has been unbearable even for outsiders, let alone for Prince Cheng himself to bear.

That's it!

It's fine to let him go to Jeju. Duke Wei is his maternal grandfather, so it's only right that he goes to pick up his maternal grandfather.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have arrived. Shall we let them in?" Qi Sui asked as he entered the bedchamber.

"I won't see you," Yu Chisheng replied without looking up from his seat at the small table.

"Yes."

outside the temple.

After being rejected, Yu Chi Rui and Zhu Huaning looked rather grim. However, Zhu Huaning still considerately said to Qi Sui, "Father-in-law, then we won't disturb Father's rest any longer. Please take good care of him and make sure he takes good care of his health."

"This old servant will," Qi Sui said, bowing as he saw them off.

The couple returned to the East Palace.

After dismissing the palace servants, Zhu Huaning frowned and said, "Your Highness, it's okay to lose this time. There's no need to hold a grudge."

Yu Chi Rui cursed, "I thought Hua Ping was so capable, but he's nothing special! If I had known, I would have sent the Qilin Guard to make a move, and I would have made sure that Father Emperor and Yu Chi Ling would never return!"

Zhu Huaning's crescent-shaped eyebrows furrowed even deeper. "We overestimated Hua Ping, but we can't just let the Qilin Guard do this kind of thing. Didn't you hear what the Empress said? Father might have already become suspicious that he took Yuchi Ling to the Imperial Mausoleum. If he's suspicious, he'll definitely be wary of you and the Empress. Not only can you not let the Qilin Guard get involved, but you and the Empress also need to be discreet and discreet in your words and actions from now on, and absolutely cannot let anyone discover any more suspicious points!"

Yu Chi Rui glared at her irritably, "You want me to do nothing? How am I supposed to get rid of that bastard Yu Chi Ling?"

Zhu Huaning rolled her eyes inwardly, but outwardly she patiently comforted him, "There are many ways to get rid of Yuchi Ling, but definitely not by confronting him head-on. Just because Hua Ping didn't make good use of this opportunity doesn't mean we have no chance."

"Isn't the envoy from Beilin Kingdom about to arrive? Although they are coming to recognize Luo Lixian as a relative, the decades-long feud between Daye Kingdom and Beilin Kingdom doesn't necessarily mean that the relationship between the two countries will be eased just because Luo Lixian has become your concubine."

"Luo Lixian is now involved with Wei Yonghuai, and Wei Yonghuai has a grudge against Ye Shishu. If we make good use of the people of Beilin, we can also use the Beilin envoys to deal with Yuchi Ling and Ye Shishu!"

Upon hearing her idea, Yu Chi Rui's sinister aura vanished instantly, replaced by an evil smile. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about this! If we let that bastard Yu Chi Ling create animosity with the envoy from Bei Lin Kingdom, causing relations between the two countries to sour, Father Emperor will surely despise that bastard Yu Chi Ling!"

Zhu Huaning's brow relaxed, and she said softly to him, "So, what Your Highness needs to do now is to stay calm. Let others do the killing. There are plenty of pawns that can be used. There's no need to get so worked up over just one of them."

Yu Chi Rui pulled her into his arms, a smug look on his face. "The Crown Princess is truly my strategist! The greatest blessing of my life is marrying you!"

Zhu Huaning nestled gently against him and suddenly said, "Your Highness, I have good news to tell you."

"Hmm? What good news is it?" Yu Chi Rui asked, looking down.

"Two days ago, I suddenly fainted at the Prime Minister's residence. I thought it was because I was exhausted from handling my mother's funeral, but I didn't expect the physician to say that I was pregnant."

"What? You're pregnant?" Yu Chi Rui was overjoyed.

They had been married for two years but had no children. It would be a lie to say he didn't mind. He just didn't dare to show it because of her status as the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family.

Zhu Huaning nodded shyly, "The physician said it's only been a little over a month, and he told me to rest in bed as much as possible."

Yu Chi Rui quickly helped her back to her palace.

After escorting her to her bedchamber, Yu Chi Rui summoned all the palace servants and attendants to him and gave them detailed instructions.

This is his legitimate son, and also the eldest grandson of the Yuchi family. He doesn't need any reminders about how important this child is.

After instructing the palace servants, Zhu Huaning told them, "My pregnancy is still in its early stages. Do not reveal my pregnancy until it is stable, understand?"

Yu Chi Rui echoed with a stern face, "It must not be leaked! Anyone who dares to leak it will not be spared by me!"

"Yes!" the palace servants replied in unison.

……

Jeju Island is about 100 miles from the capital.

It took Ye Shishu and his group two days to reach Jeju City.

Unsure how long they would stay in Jeju City, they rented a courtyard house in the city.

After settling in, Yuchi Ling asked Wenyan and Wenmo to inquire about the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Before long, Wenyan and Wenmo brought back some news.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, we heard that the Duke is ill. The Duke's mansion has been closed to visitors for the past two days, and we have been unable to obtain any further information."

Yu Chi Lingfeng frowned slightly and said, "Then we'll investigate again in a couple of days. You're all tired, go and rest."

"Yes."

After Wenyan and Wenmo left, Ye Shishu climbed onto the newly made bed, too exhausted to speak.

Yu Chi Ling sat on the bed, took off her shoes and outer garment, then lay down beside her, first pulling her into his arms, then slipping his hand inside her clothes.

Ye Shishu opened her eyes, grabbed his wrist with a wry smile, and asked, "Aren't you tired?"

Yu Chi Ling lowered his head and took her lips into his mouth, seemingly just a light taste, yet also a tease.

Looking at the desire in his eyes, how could Ye Shishu not understand?

This guy, he never seemed to get impatient even after holding it in for so long before, but he couldn't stand it after just a few days!

She placed her hands on his waist, unbuckled his belt, and then grabbed his collar and tore it open.

After doing this, her cheeks were already flushed.

He enjoyed doing that kind of thing, and she enjoyed looking at his body just as much.

Yu Chi Ling's lips curved into a smile, and he kissed her deeply with amusement in his eyes—

"Little sister..." Ye Shijun and Gu Simo came to find them. Suddenly hearing the sound from inside the house, Ye Shijun's raised hand froze in mid-air, and then his face turned red.

He had no idea he would run into something like this, especially since it wasn't even dark yet!

But that's not the most awkward part.

The most awkward thing was that Gu Simo was right next to him!

He turned his head and saw that, sure enough, his wife's face was as red as if she had applied rouge.

Gu Simo tugged at his sleeve and quickly returned to their room.

She was about to go to the table to pour herself a drink when she was suddenly hugged tightly from behind.

“Xin’er…we…” Ye Shijun began hoarsely, but could not utter a complete sentence.