CHAPTER 574: CHAPTER 456 TREASURE PIGGY ACHIEVES GREAT MERITS AGAIN_3

Lu Yuan waved his hand, "You go."

Chen Long asked, "You’re not going?"

Lu Yuan replied indifferently, "If we go together, we’ll be too obvious and easily spotted. It’s better to act separately."

Chen Long said coldly, "You’re just trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?"

Lu Yuan boldly put his hands on his hips, "Since you know, why aren’t you leaving yet?"

Chen Long had truly never encountered someone so shameless before—stay and get frustrated, leave and hold it in.

Meng Qianqian curled the corners of her lips, "Prince Changsun should go with my brother for mutual support. Once you reach the Crown Prince Mansion, you’ll need Prince Changsun to arrange things properly."

Lu Yuan’s feathers were smoothed out, and he willingly followed his brother-in-law.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Ling was pacing back and forth near the courtyard wall.

"It’s been so long, could something have gone wrong?"

Just as he was about to risk his life to investigate, the two returned—or rather, three, as there was someone lying on Chen Long’s back.

He leaned backward in surprise and said, "All this time, you were at the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion stealing people? Wait, that didn’t sound like a good thing. Who’s that?"

Chen Long: "Don’t know."

Shangguan Ling opened his mouth, "Uh... fine."

These guys had done all manner of wild things, stealing an unknown person was nothing.

Shangguan Ling escorted them out of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Crown Prince Mansion.

Treasure Piggy, who had been pranked by her unreliable father, was utterly furious.

Lu Zhaoyan exhausted all his tricks to finally lull the little one to sleep, feeling completely drained.

"At last, I can go see Xiao Bai."

Lu Zhaoyan exhaled deeply, pulled open the door with a broad smile.

Bam!

He slammed the door shut.

Then turned to climb out through the window.

As he pushed open the lattice window, there was the "hauntingly persistent rebel" staring back at him.

He looked at the door, then at Lu Yuan, "How did you do it?"

Lu Yuan replied, "Qinggong."

Lu Zhaoyan’s lip twitched; he regretted not practicing martial arts, lamenting his missed opportunity!

He said, "Zhaozhao is asleep."

"Oh, I came for you."

Lu Yuan calmly said and snapped his fingers. With a bang, the locked door was pushed open. The heavy bar dropped to the floor with a thud as Chen Long entered carrying the man.

Lu Zhaoyan stared dumbfounded.

Lu Yuan said, "Dad, hand this person over to you. Hide him well."

Lu Zhaoyan asked, "Where did this person come from?"

Lu Yuan answered, "Stolen from Thousand Mechanism Pavilion."

Lu Zhaoyan’s body shook: Rebel, repeat what you said! What have you done?!

Out of all the things to learn, you learned theft! And you stole from the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion! Are you trying to get your father killed?!

Having a father was great.

Lu Yuan leisurely returned to his own courtyard, leaving behind Lu Zhaoyan cursing and cleaning up the mess left by his rebellious son.

-

Among the people, the call to depose Lu Zhaoyan and replace him with Prince Jin as Crown Prince grew increasingly loud.

The controversy over the True Phoenix Girl stirred waves, but with the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion fanning the flames, most of the populace still believed in Gongsun Liuying. Some even fostered disdain for Emperor Liang for "shielding" Yan Xiaojiu.

If the matter of the Crown Prince position further incited the people’s anger, it would undoubtedly lead to chaos in Great Liang’s current state.

Petitions to impeach Lu Zhaoyan piled up on the court.

Prince Jin’s lineage and reputation far exceeded Lu Zhaoyan’s.

Lu Zhaoyan had won the position because he ensured the succession of the Great Liang Imperial Family’s bloodline.

Now that the Qilin belonged to Jin Prince Mansion, the Crown Prince position rightfully belonged to Prince Jin.

The endlessly pressured Emperor Liang summoned his uncle, Prince Wei, after court.

Prince Wei was elderly, one of the oldest members of the Imperial Family.

As the younger brother of the late emperor, the siblings shared a close bond, and Emperor Liang had deep respect for his uncle.

Emperor Liang sat beside Prince Wei and sighed, "Your nephew has encountered troubling matters lately, is uncertain about what to do, and seeks your wise counsel."

Prince Wei smiled kindly, "You actually have matters you’re indecisive about."

In Prince Wei’s eyes, Emperor Liang had always been a decisive person, never easily swayed.

Prince Wei had heard more than once of his nephew being called authoritarian, but he understood that while his nephew was indeed resolute, he was not devoid of reason.

Emperor Liang described the court’s circumstances. "Ultimately, this is a battle of the Qilin, but Zi Wu and the State Preceptor each hold different views."

Prince Wei replied, "If Yuan’er is the True Qilin, even if he doesn’t ascend the throne, Prince Jin will surely spare his life. If Yuan’er is a False Qilin, then there’s even less reason for concern. Zhao Yan lacks ambition and doesn’t have the support of a rebellious maternal clan, he poses no significant risk. Prince Jin wouldn’t ruthlessly eliminate them, but to showcase his virtue, he’d treat father and son well."

He continued, "On the other hand, should Zhao Yan ascend, his first act would be to eliminate the highly threatening Prince Jin, followed by Consort Hu’s maternal clan. At that point, too many would be involved, and the Imperial City would be soaked in blood."

Emperor Liang’s mind flashed with images of fratricide.

Prince Wei chuckled, "This room is quite damp."

Emperor Liang said, "I’ll accompany Uncle to take a stroll in the Imperial Garden."

Treasure Piggy had taken a nap in the Crown Prince Mansion and early the next morning clamored to return to the palace—only there could she attend her mother’s riding lessons.

Treasure Piggy led her little pony and planned to visit Nie’er in Consort Jiang’s palace.

Members of Consort Hu’s family were visiting someone at the palace, including Hu Family’s young master, who was the same age as Nie’er.

By coincidence, the two children crossed paths in the Imperial Garden, and somehow ended up fighting.

Treasure Piggy saw her little brother being beaten. Could she tolerate it?

She charged forward and bit Hu Family’s young master!

Hu Family’s young master cried out in pain.

By the time Emperor Liang and Prince Wei heard the commotion and arrived, Palace Attendants had separated the children.

Hu Family’s young master was fuming and pointed arrogantly at Treasure Piggy’s nose, shouting, "What’s so great about you? My uncle is the Guardian Qilin! When he and my great-uncle become emperors, they’ll kill your whole family!"

Emperor Liang’s expression darkened, "Who taught you to say that?"

Everyone’s faces turned pale at the sound of the Emperor’s voice.

The nanny of the Hu Family quickly covered the young master’s mouth.

But it was too late.

How could a five or six-year-old child come up with such a thing on their own?

It had to have been said by someone else.

"Your Majesty!"

The nanny immediately knelt to apologize, "Just now, Miss Zhao Zhao bit the young master, causing him to speak out in anger momentarily. Please forgive him, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Liang ignored her, his gaze landing on the little one.

The little one didn’t run to him as usual but stood there with her head lowered, looking unsure of what to do.

Emperor Liang called out to her, "Zhaozhao, come here."

Treasure Piggy clutched her little bottom.

Emperor Liang said, "I won’t spank you."

Only then did Treasure Piggy cautiously, carefully, step forward bit by bit.

"Great-grandfather, don’t hate Zhaozhao. Zhaozhao won’t bite people anymore, Zhaozhao isn’t a bad baby..."

As she spoke, large teardrops began to fall.

Emperor Liang’s heart ached terribly.

Though soft and cute on the surface, the little one had a fiery streak to match that of Consort Jiang.

She’d need a powerful father to protect her.

Thinking of the day when he would no longer be around and the little one might be left without support, the thought filled him with despair.

He bent his noble stature and picked up the tiny one, "Let great-grandfather have a look—did you lose a tooth biting?"

Treasure Piggy obediently opened her mouth, "Ah—"

Sure enough, one of her baby teeth had loosened.

Emperor Liang said tenderly, "Next time, don’t bite yourself."

Treasure Piggy pondered, "Then can I let dad bite instead?"

Just arriving at the Imperial Garden, Lu Yuan: "...!!"

Emperor Liang was both amused and exasperated, "I’ll get you a little puppy—if anyone bullies you, let the little puppy bite them."

Treasure Piggy said seriously, "Dad’s fiercer than a dog."

Lu Yuan: "..."

So, this joke will never be let go, will it?

People closed doors and released dogs, while his daughter locked doors and released her dad.

Emperor Liang was thoroughly entertained by the little one and patted her round little head, "Zhaozhao, do you want to be a princess?"