Troublemaker Prince C24 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 24.1
"This prince is not here—could he be under Third Brother's bed perhaps?"
This sentence carried an indescribable mockery, as if all the despicable and underhanded schemes behind their backs had been seen through by the victim before them. In that moment, Li Yuan felt as if he had been stripped naked and displayed in public.
Meanwhile, the onlookers, unless they were fools, could guess that this incident was aimed at the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince had detected it in advance, causing the Third Prince's faction's scheming to backfire spectacularly.
You Yusui sat on his sedan chair with an indifferent expression, watching everything before him. As expected, the Third Prince's faction's methods were not just despicable—they were becoming increasingly so, even willing to sacrifice an innocent woman's reputation.
Huo Xiling, watching this scene unfold, felt immensely grateful. If his subordinates had not overheard what Li Yuan said at the Hualou Li, would it be the Crown Prince lying here with that woman now? At this moment, Huo Xiling wanted nothing more than to cut the person who devised this scheme into a thousand pieces.
You Yusui looked at the surrounding crowd's heated discussions and said coldly, "What are you all crowding here for? Does the young lady not care about her reputation?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and turned their heads away. After this incident, how could the granddaughter of Prime Minister Su have any reputation left to speak of?
A moment later, You Yusui had the crying Su family maid dress her young mistress properly, and called several strong women to watch over Miss Su to prevent her from seeking death when she awakened.
As for the Third Prince still lying on the ground, You Yusui had someone splash a basin of cold water on his face, but he still didn't wake up.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan had also calmed down. Why wasn't the Crown Prince in this room, but instead it was the Third Prince lying here? It must have been the Crown Prince's doing!
"You must have framed the Third Prince!" Li Yuan realized this and stepped forward, pointing at You Yusui.
You Yusui narrowed his eyes and slightly lifted his chin, saying, "Oh? Did this prince make the Third Prince run to my resting room by himself? Do you have evidence?"
"Furthermore, show this prince some respect. Last time you were disrespectful to this prince, you lost your heir apparent position. What do you want to lose this time?"
You Yusui's words were threatening, carrying a hint of murderous intent that made everyone around particularly alarmed. The Crown Prince's gentle and refined image seemed to have completely vanished.
You Yusui didn't care what others were thinking. He simply tilted his head, supporting his chin with his hand, casually uttering threatening words.
"Oh, and if you can't produce evidence, slandering the Crown Prince is a serious crime."
Li Yuan was sweating profusely in his anxiety. Where could he find evidence? So he directly asked in return, "Then why weren't you in this room?"
"How dare you!" Huo Xiling narrowed his eyes and directly slapped Li Yuan, making him see stars, then said, "Is His Highness's whereabouts something you can question?"
Inquiring about the heir apparent's whereabouts—the next step would be spying on the emperor's movements. After all, the Sixth Prince You Yuliu had fallen precisely because of this.
Huo Xiling then pinched You Yusui's dangling sleeve—he had vented his anger for the Crown Prince.
Seeing this, You Yusui couldn't help but lower his head and chuckle softly. The little wolf cub was truly adorable.
Subsequently, You Yusui raised his head to look at Li Yuan, who had been slapped back to his senses, and said with a smile, "There's no harm in telling you. After this prince woke up, feeling stuffy staying in the room, this prince had someone take him to the stream to catch fish for fun."
"If you don't believe it, you can ask those two scholars who came with me."
The two scholars in blue robes, named by You Yusui, had no choice but to step forward and say, "Indeed, His Highness was admiring the scenery by the stream at that time, while the other young master was catching fish in the stream."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the full fish basket carried by You Yusui's servants behind him and knew that You Yusui's words were true.
Huo Xiling smiled—all these fish were caught by him to nourish the Crown Prince's health.
Li Yuan stared wide-eyed at everything before him, somewhat at a loss.
So he continued asking, "Then how do you explain the Third Prince appearing in your room?"
Upon hearing this, everyone knew that Li Yuan was pushing his luck. The Crown Prince had already explained to everyone why he had left, yet still demanded that the Crown Prince explain why the Third Prince had appeared in his room—that was truly making unreasonable demands.
You Yusui's expression turned cold as he said, "This prince is not a tapeworm in Third Brother's belly—how would this prince know whether Third Brother walked over by himself or was invited by someone?"
"If you truly want to know the reason, why don't you investigate it yourself and uncover the truth? If you can't investigate on your own, you could ask First Brother for help. After all, he organized this Spring Banquet, and with such incidents occurring, he cannot escape responsibility."
"This prince is tired and will leave first." After You Yusui finished speaking, he seemed to lose all strength and leaned against the sedan chair's backrest. His pale, delicate face showed signs of illness, making him look like a beautiful, exquisite white porcelain doll that could shatter at any moment.
The Crown Prince was truly seriously ill—everyone present thought so.
Thus, You Yusui, without knowing it, had once again deeply imprinted his weak and fragile image in everyone's minds.
However, Li Yuan, upon hearing these words, asked, "Then where is First Prince?"
The Spring Banquet was organized by the First Prince, yet with such a major incident occurring, the First Prince had never appeared—this was suspicious.
At the same time, some people recalled that since the very beginning of the Spring Banquet, the First Prince had been absent, and missing along with the First Prince was...
Those with keen observation couldn't help but glance at the bewildered Li Yuan. Missing along with the First Prince was also Li Yuan's cousin, the granddaughter of the Empress Dowager's elder brother.
Everyone looked at the tightly closed door, then at Li Yuan who still didn't realize the gravity of the situation. Today's events were indeed intriguing!
Finally, everyone's gaze fell upon You Yusui again. The Crown Prince was now the person of highest rank present, and only the Crown Prince could handle this matter now.
However, You Yusui had no desire to handle this affair. Whether covering up the Third Prince's scandal or making a big fuss about it, he didn't want to do either—it was too exhausting, and if not done well, he would still be scolded by Father Emperor. Better to finish this quickly and take Xiao Huo out to play and celebrate his birthday.
"If First Brother is not here, then go find him. Why are you looking at this prince?" You Yusui couldn't help but press his fingers against his temples.
Because you're the only one who can take charge! everyone thought inwardly.
You Yusui didn't want to take on this hot potato, so he proactively led people to search for the First Prince. In any case, he wouldn't get involved in this matter, or it would become his responsibility.
Seeing that You Yusui was unwilling to take over this matter, everyone had no choice but to join the search for the First Prince.
Finally, with many hands making light work, through the continuous recollections of those who had seen the First Prince, everyone determined the general direction where the First Prince might have gone.
"Let's go." You Yusui said, yawning as he sat on his sedan chair.
The place they were heading to was a peach grove. This location was secluded and quiet, and it was spring, with peach blossoms blooming all over the trees—a perfect place for couples to express their love.
However, the Spring Banquet had not yet officially begun. Whether they were heir of noble families or poor scholars, none would come here unless they no longer wanted to excel at the Spring Banquet.
Having obtained the specific location, everyone entered the peach grove. You Yusui sat on his sedan chair with his eyes closed, pretending to doze. His servants dared not make the slightest sound, walking softly, while the others who had followed also dared not shout loudly, only using their eyes to search for the First Prince's whereabouts.
However, the First Prince had gone to a place even more secluded than they had imagined—already at the deepest part of the peach grove.
Just as they were about to approach closer, a woman's questioning voice came from behind the artificial hill dozens of meters away from them.
"His Majesty has already decreed that relatives within three degrees of kinship cannot marry. You can no longer marry your cousin! The Third Prince also cannot marry me! Since that's the case, why won't you marry me?"
Upon hearing this voice, everyone's expressions became strange, and You Yusui couldn't help but inwardly exclaim "wow." No wonder his First Brother had managed to narrowly defeat the Third Prince in over ten lifetimes—it was because there was such a mole beside the Third Prince.
Li Yuan, however, completely lost his composure. He had already recognized who the questioner was—it was his cousin, his great-uncle's granddaughter, who was supposed to marry the Third Prince alongside the Eldest Princess's daughter.
A nearby person who wanted to eavesdrop quickly covered Li Yuan's mouth and advised, "You must never let this matter get out—it would be bad for the young lady's reputation."
Upon hearing this, Li Yuan rolled his eyes repeatedly. With dozens of people here now, including both noble families and commoners, how could this still be considered "not getting out"?
Meanwhile, the woman's voice continued from over there as she said loudly, "I can no longer marry the Third Prince to help you gather intelligence, and moreover, I'm pregnant with your child."
A thunderbolt on a clear day stunned this group of sheltered noble sons and poor scholars.
"Ch-child!"
"I-I didn't mishear, did I?"
At that moment, Li Yuan's thought was that it was all over—completely over. Not only was his cousin's reputation ruined, but the reputations of all unmarried women in the Li family were finished. With one Li family woman pregnant before marriage, how would others view her sisters?
Just as Li Yuan was feeling desperate, the First Prince spoke.
"Don't be so impulsive. I will definitely marry you, but being pregnant before marriage is always unseemly. Why don't you abort the child first, and then I'll petition Father Emperor for an edict to marry you? This way, we'll have enough time to prepare for the wedding, and you can marry in glory."
The First Prince's gentle voice rang in everyone's ears, giving them all goosebumps. They hadn't expected that the usually refined and elegant First Prince would be such a wolf in sheep's clothing.
You Yusui thought that his brothers' methods were getting dirtier and dirtier.
So You Yusui curled up the corners of his mouth, deciding to fulfill the lovesick Miss Li's wishes.
"First Brother need not be so heartless as to kill his own child. This prince has already decided to tell Father Emperor and have Father Emperor select an auspicious date for your wedding."
As soon as he finished speaking, the First Prince walked out from behind the artificial hill with an ugly expression, originally intending to threaten the Crown Prince not to meddle, but what he hadn't expected was that upon coming out, he would face dozens of pairs of eyes.
Everyone: ...
You Yusui looked at You Yuyi's iron-blue, ugly face and was delighted. This matter was completely out of his hands now—let them torment each other. He was going to take Xiao Huo out to play.
The First Prince's originally gentle and elegant face instantly became twisted and ugly. He had never imagined that behind You Yusui stood most of the important figures from the Spring Banquet.
Among them were sons of the Five Great Families and Seven Noble Houses, as well as students of his maternal grandfather, including many talented poor scholars. To make them all keep quiet and prevent this matter from spreading was simply impossible, even as a prince he couldn't silence everyone, especially those noble families.
The next moment, First Prince You Yuyi met You Yusui's eyes. He saw the Crown Prince's eyes were full of smiling intent, as if he had just watched a good show.
The First Prince then looked at Li Yuan, who was being held and gagged by others, knowing in his heart that he and the Li family had formed a deep grudge, and wondering how much of his conversation with Li Xiyue the people present had heard.
At this moment, Li Yuan broke free from everyone's restraint and suddenly rushed toward the First Prince, enduring the pain from his injuries as he hit and kicked the First Prince.
Everyone was stunned by Li Yuan's behavior—that was a prince! Even if he had seduced a young woman first, Li Yuan assaulting a prince was no small crime.
"You beast in human clothing! She hasn't even come of age yet!" Li Yuan was furious to death, his eyes red with rage. He wanted nothing more than to tear apart these two shameless lovers.
Even if Li Xiyue had fallen in love with the First Prince, couldn't she have spoken clearly with her family?
Miss Li from the Li family, Li Xiyue, heard Li Yuan's voice from behind the artificial hill and couldn't help but walk out with her tear-reddened eyes. Upon emerging, Li Xiyue discovered that the place was full of people, including several of Chang'an City's most prominent noble sons.
In an instant, Li Xiyue's face turned deathly pale. She couldn't help but step back several paces, leaning against the artificial hill to barely avoid falling to the ground.
Li Yuan, who was being restrained by the First Prince, endured his inner fury and said to Li Xiyue, "Come home with me."
Li Xiyue looked at Li Yuan with difficulty and said, "Cousin Uncle."
She truly hadn't expected that her affair with the First Prince would be heard by so many people.
The First Prince nearby, seeing that Li Yuan had no intention of continuing to hit him, released his grip on Li Yuan. He then walked directly to You Yusui and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You did this on purpose?"
At this moment, First Prince You Yuyi's eyes were like those of a poisoned snake, wanting nothing more than to bite You Yusui to death immediately.
"First Brother might not know that there was some scandal involving Third Brother at the Spring Banquet. With everyone leaderless and this prince being in poor health, everyone could only come to find you, the organizer, to handle it. However, no one expected to encounter such a scene." You Yusui replied quietly.
Finally, You Yusui added another sentence. "First Brother has truly surprised this prince." The sarcasm was extremely heavy.
You should know that First Prince You Yuyi had always appeared before everyone as a modest gentleman who greatly valued propriety. Today's actions could be called a complete image collapse.
However, You Yuyi was extremely composed. He stepped back and bowed to You Yusui gratefully, saying, "Miss Li and I are true love. Thank you, Crown Prince, for your support."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped and looked at the First Prince—how could this person's face be so thick?
You Yusui laughed upon hearing this. He looked at You Yuyi with interest and said, "True love?"
True love mixed with calculation and exploitation—his First Brother's true love was truly cheap.
Thinking this, You Yusui couldn't help but grasp the hand of Huo Xiling, who was clutching his sleeve. Then, after taking a puff of the tobacco specially prepared by Imperial Physician Cui for coughing and lung moistening, he said, "This prince will only speak a few words for you before Father Emperor. Whether it succeeds depends on how true First Brother's true love really is."
After speaking, You Yusui revealed an extremely sarcastic smile.
You Yuyi nearby didn't get angry and directly bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Crown Prince."
On the other side, Li Yuan insisted on taking Li Xiyue away, but Li Xiyue was afraid that the Li family would make her commit suicide to preserve their reputation, so she refused to leave with Li Yuan no matter what.
"Go separate them," You Yusui instructed.
What if Li Xiyue lost her child during the struggle? How would he watch the upcoming farce then?
So You Yusui scolded, "Stop pulling and tugging! Miss Li is carrying this prince's First Brother's eldest son!"
As soon as he spoke, You Yuyi's face turned iron-blue, while the noble sons suppressed their laughter—an eldest son conceived before marriage. Only some poor scholars couldn't laugh, as they had admired Prime Minister Su's integrity and valued the First Prince's gentlemanly character, but reality was too disappointing, making them question themselves.
You Yusui's words prevented Li Yuan from laying hands on Li Xiyue again.
You Yusui continued, "Miss Li carries royal blood in her womb. You must not be disrespectful to her in the slightest. If there's even the tiniest harm, His Majesty will not easily forgive you."
Thus, Li Yuan's hand, reaching for Li Xiyue, froze in mid-air.
The royal blood in Li Xiyue's womb was something the Li family could least afford to dispose of carelessly. As long as the child existed, Li Xiyue would be safe.
Li Xiyue, as if understanding You Yusui's words, reached out to tightly protect her belly, and her face lost its previous fear.
Li Yuan forcibly endured his physical pain and said to Li Xiyue, "Come home with me first. Your great-uncle certainly won't harm you."
Li Xiyue nodded. She also knew that continuing to be watched by others like this was not a solution. Although the Li family might abandon her as a daughter, as long as the child in her womb existed, she would have a way to survive. Not only that, under the Crown Prince's guarantee, she might very well marry the First Prince successfully.
Finally, Li Yuan took Li Xiyue away. After the story's heroine left, everyone felt somewhat disinterested.