Chapter 209 - Serves Him Right
Tang Yue's injuries took him more than ten days to heal. Luckily, he didn't have any internal injuries or spine injuries. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to cry.
Little Luoyuan was frightened by this. This period of time was much quieter. He often had nightmares at night. He usually slept with Yangu, but ever since this happened, he had to be in Tang Yue's arms at night to be able to sleep peacefully.
At that time, it was probably Tang Yue who protected him in his arms, which gave him a sense of security.
Tang Yue was fine. Apart from being woken up a few times every night, he had someone come in at night to pee and feed him some food. It was okay.
Crown Prince Zhao was almost driven crazy by this little devil. He was busy during the day and could not sleep well after a tiring day. Even his daily welfare was taken away.
Tang Yue was still young and strictly limited the number of times they had sex. It could be said that Crown Prince Zhao was looking forward to and was very serious about every single time they had sex.
However, ever since they had such a small thing in bed, the number of times they had loved each other had plummeted. It was rare for Tang Yue to agree to this, but he was interrupted midway by the crying of this kid.
The feeling of being suddenly restrained almost made Crown Prince Zhao lose his manhood at such a young age.
For the first time in his life, Crown Prince Zhao felt like crying but had no tears when facing such a small thing that he could not beat or scold.
Crown Prince, who was unable to satisfy his sexual needs, naturally vented his anger on his subordinates.
Wang Dingjun had only rested for four hours for three nights in a row. He had a pair of panda eyes on his face, as if he had been beaten up.
Zhang Chun bumped into him again at the gate that day. After saying that he was unlucky, he pointed at him and laughed out loud. “Yo, how did you become a national treasure? Could it be that you have recently gotten a new beauty?”
Wang Dingjun naturally did not know what a national treasure was. Only after hearing Zhang Chun's description did he know that it was an animal in his hometown called a cat and a bear.
However, since when did that thing become a national treasure?
“You like it?” Wang Dingjun asked Zhang Chun in confusion. He did not care about his teasing at all.
“Panda?” Zhang Chun asked. “Of course I like it!” Is there anyone in China who doesn't like pandas?
Wang Dingjun heard him say the wrong name again and again. He thought he remembered it wrong. It seemed that only Yu Xin City and Qinyang City had this kind of animal.
Thinking of this, a thought arose in his heart. Since the young duke liked this kind of animal, then Crown Princess must also like it. If he could make Crown Princess happy, Crown Prince would definitely be happy as well. He would be happy. His life would not be so sad.
Wang Dingjun's eyes lit up. He patted Zhang Chun's shoulder and said, “Young Marquis is still smart. I will let you see the true national treasure another day.”
Zhang Chun's shoulder hurt. He grinned and took a cold breath. He cursed with a fake smile, “You're crazy!”
He dashed into the backyard and found Tang Yue trimming a tree, with a little boy by his side, plucking flowers with his tiny hands.
He gently took the delicate bloom from Little Luoyuan's grasp and gestured to his own nose. “Little Luoyuan, flowers are meant to be admired, not plucked. You're still too young to pick them.”
Little Luoyuan promptly clung to Tang Yue's leg upon seeing him, seeking refuge under Tang Yue's attire. He pretended not to see anything and scolded, “Naughty person!”
“Hey, didn't I give you a good scare last time? Don't tell me you're holding a grudge? A young man shouldn't be so timid,” Zhang Chun smirked. The last time in the garden, he spotted Little Luoyuan playing with butterflies, so he hid in the grass. As he got closer, he leaped up suddenly to startle him.
While he had achieved his goal, it had also earned him Little Luoyuan's avoidance. Little Luoyuan hadn't looked at him for days.
Tang Yue rolled his eyes at him and remarked, “You got what you deserved! It serves you right!”
It had taken significant effort to help Little Luoyuan overcome his fear, but Zhang Chun's scare had undone all that progress. Little Luoyuan had nightmares for two consecutive nights.
Due to this incident, Crown Prince Zhao nearly unsheathed his sword against Zhang Chun. One must understand that Little Luoyuan's psychological healing had been set back a day, and his happiness had arrived a day later. How could he not be furious?
“Furthermore, he picked up this flower from the ground. He intended to apologize for wrongly accusing others.”
Zhang Chun chuckled and ruffled his hair. He pulled Little Luoyuan out from beneath Tang Yue's clothing, lifted him up, and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Alright, alright. It was Uncle Chun's fault. Uncle Chun apologizes. Uncle Chun, can you give Little Luoyuan a piggyback ride?”
Little Luoyuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. A radiant smile graced his face, clearly recalling the joyous day when he rode on a horse.
Zhang Chun hoisted him onto his shoulders and raced around the garden with him. He panted heavily from the exertion but finally earned Little Luoyuan's approval.
Yangu stood nearby, her expression serene yet content. She was now certain that bringing the young master into the Crown Prince's Palace was the right decision. Alone, she could never have bestowed such happiness upon him, no matter what she did.
Crown Prince and Crown Princess were genuinely kind-hearted people who treated the young master well. She observed from the sidelines with a calm demeanor. For the foreseeable future, it seemed that no one would disrupt the bond between these two. In other words, the young master need not fret about losing their favor anytime soon.
When Crown Prince had his own child and the young master grew older, the time would come to reveal the truth. Would the young master be disappointed then?
She intended to make the most of these coming years to find a few dependable individuals to surround the young master. When he grew up, he would have a reliable support network.
Yangu contemplated this and suddenly furrowed her brow. Among the few servants that Crown Princess had assigned to the young master, one of them appeared to be somewhat peculiar.
She approached Tang Yue with hesitation and asked, “Young Master, do you happen to be acquainted with that servant named Tu?”
Tang Yue halted his activities and turned to face her. “Tu? Who is he?” Given the multitude of servants in the Crown Prince's Palace, he couldn't possibly know them all.
The selection of servants for Little Luoyuan was overseen by the butler, who was more familiar with everyone in the residence than Tang Yue was, as the Crown Prince.
“He's a thirteen or fourteen-year-old young man. He possesses delicate features, captivating eyes, and stands about this tall…” Yangu gestured the height with her hand. “There's a mole at the corner of his eye.”
“Ah, I recall him now.” Tang Yue remembered there was indeed such an individual attending to Little Luoyuan. “Is there something amiss with him? Did he not serve well?”
Yangu bit her lip and shook her head. “No, that's not it. It's just that his recent behavior has been rather peculiar.”
“Could you elaborate?”
“Initially, he was the most enthusiastic among the group of servants. He was especially attentive to the young master, earning the young master's trust the quickest. However, in the past few days, he seemed preoccupied, spoke less, and was generally in low spirits. This has caused some concern for the young master.”
Tang Yue was initially surprised that Little Luoyuan, at such a young age, could be concerned about such matters. He responded, “Have you tried talking to him personally? Could there be some family issue bothering him?”
Yangu lowered her head with a hint of guilt. “I haven't spoken to him directly. It's just that he doesn't have any known family issues, so I don't believe that's the cause.”
Tang Yue's expression shifted. “You mentioned he doesn't have any relatives? That's improbable!” When he had instructed the butler to select the children, he had specified they should be chosen from within the Crown Prince's residence.
Such servants, who had no outside family ties and whose families were exclusively associated with the Crown Prince's residence, were valued for their loyalty and were less susceptible to bribery or outside influence.
“I believe I heard from the butler that although he lacks known relatives, he has been in the Crown Prince's residence since the age of seven. It appears he was a child taken in by the butler.”
Tang Yue wondered why he had never heard of this person before. However, this wasn't his primary concern; he cared more about the individuals around Little Luoyuan.
“Apart from this, have you noticed any other recent anomalies with him? When did this change begin, and was there any specific trigger before that?”
Yangu pondered it carefully, “It appears to have started following Young Master's recent trouble. Prior to that… Oh, he's the one who whispered in Young Master's ear, suggesting that he take Young Master out to have some fun. While it was only mentioned a few times, I remember it clearly because I even scolded him for it.”
“He recommended that I take Little Luoyuan out for leisure?” This didn't seem like typical servant behavior.
Yangu recalled the situation at that time. Back then, it didn't strike her as inappropriate. During those days, the Crown Princess was occupied, and Little Luoyuan was feeling a bit down. That servant called Tu proposed that when the Crown Princess had some free time, she should take him out to enjoy.
She could see that Young Master was quite enthusiastic about the idea. Being young, he found the vibrant world outside highly enticing.
But now that she considered it, could he have had something to do with Young Master's assassination? After all, if Young Master hadn't gone out, he might have been safe.
While this reason might seem far-fetched, Yangu wasn't willing to let anyone suspicious off the hook. She cared more about Little Luoyuan's safety than anyone else.
Tang Yue's gaze turned frosty. He beckoned Ke over and inquired, “Do you have any knowledge of Tu?”
“This servant is acquainted with him.”
“What can you tell me about him?” Tang Yue inquired further about Tu's background.
“I haven't had much interaction with him. I recall he was a child the butler found outside. He had lost his family and was raised within the residence. However, since he was quite young and couldn't perform any tasks, the butler housed him in the outhouse on the backstreet. I believe he was brought into the residence to serve when he grew older.”
Typically, servants in the Crown Prince's Palace were at least twelve years old. Regardless of how young a child might be, they were often playful and lacked maturity, which didn't sit well with the Crown Prince.
Tang Yue whispered something in Ke's ear, causing Ke's expression to drastically change.
“Are you implying…?”
Tang Yue shook his head and replied, “It's merely a conjecture. Have Vice General Wang investigate it first.”
Ke quickly nodded and said, “Understood, I will inform Vice General Wang.”
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