Mischievous wife

  "Prince Yu, the Emperor has summoned you to the imperial study." Just as Feng Ye Yan was about to follow the other officials out of the court, a eunuch suddenly caught up and announced.

  No time to think of the reason, just quickened his pace and followed up.

  "I pay homage to Your Majesty!" Although they were brothers of the same family, once someone sat on the dragon chair, that layer called etiquette was unavoidable.

  "Alright, let's dispense with these annoying formalities in private." Feng Ye Zhong irritably brushed off his sleeve, extremely displeased with these ceremonial courtesies between ruler and subject.

  "Yes." Feng Ye Yan smiled faintly. Although they were not born of the same mother, their feelings had always been good. Even after Big Brother ascended to the throne, he had never distanced himself from them or suspected and harmed them. Big Brother entrusted each of his brothers with important tasks according to their talents and specialties, and Second Brother was no exception.

  "Sit down." Feng Ye Zhong lazily leaned back into the soft couch and patted the spot beside him.

  "Hmm. Big brother, you asked me to come, is there something important to discuss?" Feng Ye Yan asked with a serious expression after sitting down.

  "Can't I find you if there's no state affairs to discuss? Since ascending the throne, it's been rare for me to chat with you all. Today, let's not talk about state affairs, but private matters instead, how is that?"

  Fortunately, except for the second brother, these brothers are not interested in the throne. Otherwise, the fraternal feelings would have disappeared long ago. It's just that the emperor repeatedly warned that he absolutely cannot let the throne be given to the second brother, otherwise there will be no peace forever. The second brother's resentment is too deep, and it is indeed possible to fulfill the emperor's words, so this big brother can only sit in this thorny position.

  "Alright, but what private matter does big brother want to discuss with me?" To be honest, big brother's proposal had indeed moved Feng Ye. Within the royal family, despite the distance between ruler and subject, being able to put everything aside and talk about private matters was truly rare.

  Feng Ye stretched out his hand and pointed to his eyes. "First, let's talk about these dark circles under your eyes. I've given you too many tasks, and you've been up all night, haven't you?"

  Although he trusted every brother very much, San Di Feng Ye Yan was undoubtedly the person he trusted most and who could help him share his worries and difficulties.

  The wind was blowing strongly at night, and he smiled awkwardly with his eyes cast down. He had thought of finding an excuse to brush it off, but then he thought that sharing these feelings with his older brother wouldn't be bad either. So, after Le You woke up, he told him about how his mood had changed greatly, and how the night before, he had unknowingly crawled into his bed and teased him.

  "Hahaha...!" Feng Ye Zhong couldn't care less about his imperial image, and burst out laughing. "Third brother, so these two wheels of yours are actually a result of unfulfilled desires?"

  Feng Ye Yan looked at the young emperor who was laughing to the point of being unrecognizable and furrowed his sword-like eyebrows. "Big brother, don't be too excessive, you've already laughed long enough."

  "Okay... haha... okay, I'm not laughing anymore, pfft... I really am not laughing anymore." Seeing his brother's face turn serious, Feng Ye Zhong stopped being so reckless. But those puffed up cheeks and shoulders that kept shrugging up and down, even an idiot would know he was still secretly laughing.

  However, it's not like he can be blamed. His normally serious and taciturn third brother actually stayed up all night with wide eyes because of this. If something so amusing couldn't make him laugh, then he wouldn't be human.

  "Hey, Third Brother, I really need to go to the palace one of these days and see what kind of person Empress Yu has become. She's actually capable of doing something so adorable. It's a relief from having to deal with those women in the harem who are all trying to outdo each other in being virtuous, it's enough to give me stomach cramps."

  "To be honest, I'm not sure if her personality has changed for the better or worse. These past two days, I've heard from others that she's been doing many things that might stir up trouble between wives and concubines. I'm afraid that if she continues to act recklessly, she'll bring me another heap of troubles. Big brother, you know, I hate dealing with those petty jealousies the most."

  A hot-blooded man should work for the country and the people's welfare, how can he waste his precious time on these trivial matters. But those are his women, he cannot let them go unchecked, or they will make even more trouble.

  The stormy night finally calmed down, and she looked at him quietly for a moment before smiling and saying: "Actually, Third Brother, you don't have to look for trouble yourself. Since you dislike these troublesome things the most, why not let her help you with them? She is originally the mistress of the Yu Wang Fu, just like the empress in the imperial harem, and should be managing these matters. As long as you confirm that she's a kind-hearted person who knows her place, it'll be fine."

  "She's definitely got a good heart, but with this kind of personality, she might just attract trouble and it'll be hard to keep things under control. If she can't even help me solve problems and instead creates more troubles, that would be terrible." That impulsive Xingzi, it's really hard to believe she can handle things calmly.

  Feng Ye Zhong smiled slightly and took a sip of tea. "If you pay attention, you'll know that straightforward people aren't just troublemakers. The fact that you're worried about her means you've already started to care about her. Just this point alone is something to be thankful for. You should know that for us royals, having someone who makes you want to dote on them exclusively is a very fortunate thing."

  "Big Brother——" Feng Ye knew that Big Brother was thinking of that woman he couldn't protect in the end.

  Feng Ye waved his hand and used the action of drinking tea to cover up the bitterness in his heart. "I'm fine."

  That person is now like a distant memory. But the pain remains so vivid and profound. In the dead of night, memories will tear open the wound again.

  Feng Ye looked at the lonely figure standing in front of the window, his heart heavy. Although his brother had dominated the world and was above everyone else, he still couldn't protect the people he wanted to protect. Nor could he have a simple yet warm relationship like ordinary people.

  "Third brother, the imperial palace is so big, under the vast sky, yet there isn't a single place that belongs to me." He raised his head to look at the sky, and the scorching sun suddenly lost its golden color, becoming dull and dim.

  The wind howled through the night, but he couldn't say a word. His older brother had once said that only in front of that person could he be an ordinary man, with flesh and blood, with joys and sorrows. Not the emperor of the people, not the ruler of the world, but not a wooden puppet without emotions either.

  There is always a period of sorrow in everyone's life.

  "Hey, eat quickly. You must be starving." Tao Le'er carefully placed the things she had personally searched for in the kitchen onto the table, giving Yan Xi a big smile.

  Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks to eat, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't washed her face yet. With a dry smile, she stood up. "Xi Xi, you go ahead and eat first. I'll go back and tidy myself up."

  Without waiting for her response, she took off running, where was the slightest bit of princess-like demeanor? A complete mischievous and playful wild girl.

  Yan Xi's rare, faint smile appeared, and in just a moment, she had already become the "Xi Xi" in Tao Le'er's mouth. Although it wasn't clear what was true or false, at least she felt that she could be trusted.

  Feeling hungry myself, I picked up the chopsticks and started eating slowly. As I looked towards the end of the corridor, at that small door which was the only way out.

  "Ah——" Yan Xi, who was quietly eating, suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed to the ground. His intestines felt as if they had been twisted off, the pain was excruciating.

  "Madam Wu, what's wrong? Madam Wu——"