Chapter 1012: Chapter 1012: The Struggle for a Daughter
Baili Zhengrong’s hand stiffened for a moment, then quickly retreated to his side.
As long as his sister was still willing to rest her hand on his arm, it indicated that she held him dear in her heart.
Soon, a smile appeared on his handsome face.
The siblings strolled leisurely, sometimes discussing state affairs, other times talking about personal matters, with laughter occasionally breaking out.
Ye Yiheng stepped out of the study in the small building and gazed at the siblings by the lakeside from a distance. Watching them laugh, his expression suddenly turned cold.
Watching them circle the lake repeatedly, Ye Yiheng remained standing still.
Mo Chen asked, "Your Highness, aren’t you going over there?"
"No."
Ye Yiheng initially wanted to stand there a bit longer, but at that moment, he decided against it and turned back to the study in the small building.
As a small luncheon was being held in the palace at noon, Eunuch Ma came to the Eastern Palace with the Emperor’s decree, stating that the Emperor and Crown Prince of Nandian had arrived in Tiancheng, and the formal palace banquet would take place in the evening. A simple meal would first be served in the palace at noon.
He first delivered the decree to Ye Yiheng in the study in the small building.
"I hope the Crown Prince will attend promptly!"
Ye Yiheng nodded.
Eunuch Ma bowed and retreated, then went to deliver the oral message to Leng Yu Yan.
By chance, Baili Zhengrong was also there, and he laughed, "The Emperor’s intention is such that the Crown Princess Consort is certainly to attend with the Crown Prince later, and since the Prince of Nandian is also here, we might as well all go to the Imperial Palace from the Eastern Palace."
Baili Zhengrong asked, "What about my Father Emperor and Mother Empress?"
Eunuch Ma respectfully replied, "Prince of Nandian, rest assured, someone has already been sent to invite them!"
"That’s great," Baili Zhengrong said to Leng Yu Yan, "Father Emperor and Mother Empress are eager to see elder sister, they’ve been anticipating this for a long time."
He didn’t want to mention that Father Emperor and Mother Empress also hoped she would soon be with child.
Thinking of elder sister having the child of the sinister and cold Ye Yiheng made him unhappy.
Leng Yu Yan said to Baili Zhengrong, "I miss them too." Pausing slightly, she said to Eunuch Ma, "Alright, we are aware, we will attend promptly later."
Eunuch Ma nodded, stepped back a few paces, and left the Eastern Palace.
Nearing noon, Ye Yiheng finally emerged from the small building.
He deliberately came out late, only to find his own Crown Princess Consort still chatting with Baili Zhengrong.
Upon seeing the young man, she almost forgot about her own husband, didn’t she?
Seeing Ye Yiheng approaching, Leng Yu Yan asked with a smile, "Your Highness, are you done with your work? Shall we head to the palace now?"
Ye Yiheng’s expression was calm, disregarding Baili Zhengrong’s gaze, and he took Leng Yu Yan’s hand and started to walk.
Leng Yu Yan turned her head and waved to Baili Zhengrong, "Xiaoshan, hurry, follow us."
Ye Yiheng felt a twinge of jealousy.
The hand holding hers gently tightened.
Leng Yu Yan noticed this and realized he was probably feeling jealous, which made her smile gently.
Her fingertips lightly tickled his palm, signaling that she would soothe him, at which point he relaxed his grip.
Leaving the Eastern Palace, the three got into the horse carriage.
In the carriage, the two men remained silent towards each other.
Leng Yu Yan chuckled, "When Xiaoshan used to be in our Eastern Palace, things weren’t like this."
Baili Zhengrong said, "Sister, it’s different now; mainly because brother-in-law doesn’t look at me kindly."
Ye Yiheng gave a cold snort and retorted, "Do you not also look at me unkindly?"
If they continued, the two of them seemed about to quarrel, Yan Funing intervened, "For my sake, consider beyond our personal friendships, we must also think of the people across the world, especially with a war that might erupt at any time."
Speaking of warfare, Baili Zhengrong promised, "Before any major events, I will stand behind Sister and brother-in-law, lending you support."
Ye Yiheng nodded, "Shall Nandian face challenges one day, neither I nor Tiancheng will stand idly by."
On significant matters, they understood each other clearly.
Before long, the horse carriage arrived outside the Imperial Palace.
The three got off, with Leng Yu Yan walking in the middle, while Ye Yiheng and Baili Zhengrong walked on either side of her.
When they reached Xiande Hall, Emperor Ye Yuan was already engaged in a chat with the Nandian Empress and Emperor.
"Look here, they’ve arrived," Ye Yuan laughed heartily.
Empress Yu looked at Leng Yu Yan with a smile, "My child is becoming more beautiful with each passing day," she said, beckoning to her.
Leng Yu Yan, dutifully, performed a courtesy, then moved to Empress Yu’s side, calling out, "Aunt." Then addressing the Emperor of Nandian, "Uncle."
Since they had accepted her as their daughter, addressing them as the Emperor and Empress of Nandian seemed inappropriate.
And without her parents’ consent, she thought it prudent to address them as Uncle and Aunt for the time being.
As expected, the Emperor of Nandian feigned anger, "You little girl, I traveled all this way to see my beloved daughter and you just call me Uncle?"
Ye Yiheng wanted to laugh but managed to hold it back, sitting down.
Baili Zhengrong said, "Father Emperor and Mother Empress, aren’t you constantly yearning for sister day and night? The matter of her calling you is trivial, but seeing her in person is significant, aren’t you happy?"
Empress Yu cast her husband a look, "Xiaoshan is right, don’t frighten our daughter."
At this moment, a strong, robust voice came from the palace door, "Somebody trying to take my granddaughter away!"
Speaking was Lai Taihong, striding with dragon-like steps, accompanied by the Old Princess Consort. Behind them were Lai Ran and the Yun Family, followed by Lai Yuyue and Ye Jiu.
Lai Ran also spoke up, "I had heard before that the Emperor of Nandian wanted to take my daughter, and today, I finally see it with my own eyes."
Seeing their arrival, especially since they were all Leng Yu Yan’s family, Baili Shuo and Empress Yu rose to greet them.
"It’s not stealing; it’s called genuine affection," Baili Shuo candidly stated. "Little did I know the girl would become the Tiancheng Crown Princess Consort. She cured my stubborn headache and once saved Xiaoshan, so I wanted her to be my daughter-in-law."
On hearing this, Ye Yiheng maintained a calm demeanor.
Baili Shuo explained further, "How was I to know the daughter-in-law would belong to Tiancheng’s Ye family? Since Nandian can’t compete, Yu and I decided we might as well acknowledge her as our daughter instead."
Seeing Lai Ran’s beautiful face showing discontent, Baili Shuo raised his voice, "Prince Zhenbei, see how old I am, with only Xiaoshan as my son."
In his anxiety, he even forgot to use "I" as he spoke.
Lai Ran, with Yun Family, his son, and daughter-in-law, saluted Emperor Ye Yuan, then said to Baili Shuo, "I have only one daughter."
One completely omitted mentioning how many daughters there were, the other forgetting how many sons he had.
Ye Yuan couldn’t hold back his laughter, laughing heartily, inviting the Leng family members to take a seat.
Lai Ran nodded and took a seat.
Baili Shuo and Empress Yu sat down again.
"I’m only recognizing your daughter as a daughter, not taking her away to Nandian, why refuse?" Baili Shuo noticed Lai Ran was still quite young and added, "Have more daughters with the Princess."
"Why don’t you try having them?" Lai Ran laughed in exasperation.
"I’m old, can’t have them anymore," Baili Shuo was insistent, "I just want to acknowledge your daughter as mine!"
Lai Ran stopped smiling, "Everybody in the world knows that the Emperor of Nandian already has plenty of daughters. Yet you crave the one precious girl I have, what logic is there in that?"
Baili Shuo was momentarily speechless.
After a while, he turned to Ye Yuan, "Emperor Tiancheng, help me say something."
Ye Yuan, never one to shy away from a lively scene, laughed heartily, "No matter how you argue, Beilan is still my daughter-in-law."
