Mo Junyang replied helplessly, “Second Prince did come here, but he has just left when I went there.”

It happened that he failed to meet Mo Junwen by a narrow chance.

“Where is your sister?”

At the mention of this, s.h.i.+ Qingxue had a headache. She told Mo Junyang about Baojing's weird reaction and sighed with helplessness. “What is she thinking?”

Mo Junyang was surprised. Before he did anything, s.h.i.+ Baojing shrank unexpectedly. However, he didn't explain but showed that he was also confused. “I don't know what she is thinking.”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was at a loss. She even thought that she had heard the disappointment in Mo Junyang's words.

Then she thought that in the beginning, she incited Mo Junyang to be with s.h.i.+ Baojing, but now Baojing backed off for no reason. Did it mean that Mo Junyang was going to lose his lover?

This realization made s.h.i.+ Qingxue quiver. It was improper and she felt sorry for Mo Junyang.

She didn't dare to meet Mo Junyang's eyes and faltered, “Maybe my sister really has something urgent to do.”

“Maybe. I saw in the distance just now that Lady Baojing met Second Prince at the door of the restaurant and went away together after chatting for a while.” Mo Junyang seemed not to notice s.h.i.+ Qingxue's embarra.s.sment and sighed emotionally. “I have never seen Lady Baojing so relaxed. It is…”

The disappointment in his tone made s.h.i.+ Qingxue more awkward. She changed the topic in a hurry. “Speaking of which, I have ordered some dishes. They are all famous dishes in this restaurant. Have a taste. They must be delicious. By the way, it's early spring now. How about we go out for a walk later? Then…”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue tried her best to distract Mo Junyang's attention, for fear that he would feel sad because of s.h.i.+ Baojing. Meanwhile, she couldn't help but complain in her heart, “Baojing, you have feelings for Mo Junyang, but why did you back off easily?”

She couldn't understand what Baojing was thinking and felt so guilty that she agreed without hesitation when Mo Junyang asked her to attend the spring outing dinner with him.

Mo Junyang was a good actor as a victim, but when Mo Junyu heard about it, he disdained him. “Someone just plays hard to get even when he wants it badly. Someone is you.”

Mo Junyang didn't care about Junyu's disdain. And he didn't think there was something wrong with his pursuing plan. He said casually, “You don't understand. She would never agree until I make her realize the possibility that we could be together.”

Mo Junyu didn't understand indeed. “Are all women so weird? You have a high position and are nice to her. What can dissatisfy her?”

Mo Junyang couldn't explain to Junyu about something annoying that happened in the previous life worsened their relations.h.i.+p to the extreme. He had even guessed that s.h.i.+ Qingxue would detest him, but fortunately, she didn't. On the contrary, she changed the att.i.tude toward him, which was a miracle.

That was enough, so far.

But as King Rui's eldest son, Mo Junyang couldn't allow anybody to defame his future wife. He raised his eyebrows. “So, do you mean that you won't refuse any woman who has a high position and is nice to you?”

It was a question, but a word was written in Mo Junyang's eyes: low.

Mo Junyu was speechless. He learned a lesson and didn't want to have a heart-to-heart talk with a guy who would lose his marbles at the mention of s.h.i.+ Qingxue.

While fis.h.i.+ng, he asked seriously, “Why did Mo Junwen go to the Juxian Pavilion at that time? It couldn't be a coincidence.”

“Why couldn't it be?” Mo Junyang didn't think so. “Don't think too much. Mo Junwen doesn't even have a subordinate. How could he have the ability to plan a coincidence?”

“If Mo Junwen really met me by chance and had lunch with me, I might suspect if there was something wrong, but he left before I went to see him. Obviously he did that in order to avoid arousing suspicion. He would never come to the Juxian Pavilion to intentionally let me know that he had come.”

Mo Junyu couldn't retort but he was really worried. “All of my brothers are difficult to deal with. Don't be too careless.”

“Hmm,” Mo Junyang answered leisurely. Suddenly he asked, hitting the nail on the head, “What has happened in the imperial palace recently to make you so nervous?”

After being exposed, Mo Junyu didn't hide the truth. “General s.h.i.+ has controlled many soldiers and gets more popularity after the victory in the northwest. Someone begins to have the sense of crisis.”

“Who?”

“Who else can it be? Of course it's my suspicious father.” Mo Junyu laughed sarcastically.

Mo Junyang frowned. “I remember that Duke s.h.i.+ always behaves like a loyal official. He doesn't side with any faction or get close to any prince. Why would His Majesty be worried about such a person?”

Mo Junyu glanced at him. “General s.h.i.+ doesn't l.u.s.t after power or beauty. n.o.body can find fault with him as both his moral quality and behavior are good. But such a person tries to be alone. Do you think my father will agree?”

“Then what does he want?”

Mo Xiangbin had been the emperor for about ten years, but he didn't make any contribution to get praised. Moreover, he was suspicious, partial and heartless. Mo Junyu called him father but didn't respect him when he talked about him.

“Of course he will try every means to relate General s.h.i.+ to the royal family. I hear that after the first lady of the s.h.i.+ Family was t.i.tled as Infanta not long ago, the extremely wealthy men in the capital city don't dare to propose marriage to her.”

Mo Junyang immediately understood what the crown prince tried to express. “Indeed, many people think General s.h.i.+ wants to marry Lady Baoning into the royal family.”

Mo Junyu was excited. Before he could speak, Junyang continued slowly, “Qingxue wouldn't agree to let Baoning marry a prince.”

“If she doesn't agree, can the s.h.i.+ Family stay out of the fight for the throne?” Mo Junyu responded coldly and didn't take s.h.i.+ Qingxue's thought seriously.

But Mo Junyang laughed. “General s.h.i.+ wouldn't marry his eldest daughter to a prince who is in the ascendant, no matter if it is Mo Junhao or Junjiu…or you.”

The crown prince was seen through, and his face turned red. Feeling depressed, he said, “I don't want to marry s.h.i.+ Baoning. But no matter if she marries Junjiu or Junhao, it would be troublesome. You don't want the sisters in the s.h.i.+ Family to go against each other, do you?”

In the final a.n.a.lysis, Mo Junyu felt restless. He was clear about s.h.i.+ Qingxue's influence on Mo Junyang, so he couldn't wait to win over the s.h.i.+ Family. Otherwise, Mo Junyang might follow another prince in order to please his dream lover.

But the crown prince still didn't know Mo Junyang might defeat all the princes and take the throne. If he knew that, he would be scared to death.

Mo Junyang leered at him, looking calm, which made Mo Junyu think he knew what was on his mind and feel guilty. Then he heard Junyang saying, “You truly don't need to think of s.h.i.+ Baoning. You could never marry her.”

Before Mo Junyu glared at him, Mo Junyang continued to explain, “Now the situation in the imperial court is unclear. Third Prince's and Fourth Prince's followers counterbalance each other, so you can keep your position as the crown prince for so many years. If they find that you draw Duke s.h.i.+ and the s.h.i.+ Army over to your side, believe it or not, your two brothers would skin you alive.”

Mo Junyu was scared to shrink his neck by the accurate description. Even if he was reluctant, he had to admit that Mo Junyang was right. The ones who had no power didn't qualify to be arrogant.

He was nervous. “Then we will watch s.h.i.+ Baoning marry Junjiu or Junhao?”

Mo Junyang smiled meaningfully.

“Don't keep me guessing. Say it now.” Mo Junyu was anxious and didn't even want to grab his fis.h.i.+ng rod. He threw it aside and stared at Mo Junyang.

Mo Junyang glanced at the lake surface and pulled his fis.h.i.+ng rod. After he was sure that the fish in the lake were frightened by his companion to leave, he put down the rod and said unhurriedly, “Why are you nervous? s.h.i.+ Baoning wouldn't marry either of your two brothers.”

“Why?”

Mo Junyang stood up and patted his clothes. He received the water bottle from Wei Zichao and drank some water. After the man went away, he replied, “It is a game. Empress Liang wouldn't allow Mo Junhao to marry s.h.i.+ Baoning, and His Majesty wouldn't want to see Empress Liang's relatives grab all the power. If most of the military power in the Mo Dynasty is in the hands of Her Majesty's relatives, wouldn't he be left as a powerless emperor?”

The right prime minister Liang Yuanming was Mo Junjiu's maternal grandfather and controlled most of the imperial guards. If the s.h.i.+ Army joined them, Mo Junjiu could force the emperor to give the throne to him.

Mo Junyu thought it over and felt more relieved, but he was still worried. “My father wouldn't give up so easily. He wouldn't believe that General s.h.i.+ is loyal to him until someone from his family marries into the royal family. If it is not s.h.i.+ Baoning, it would be…”

Before he mentioned s.h.i.+ Qingxue's name, Mo Junyu was stopped by Junyang's cold glance.

Fine, he didn't have the courage to challenge Mo Junyang's bottom line, but he indeed asked to the point.

Mo Junyang kept silent. He had thought that as long as s.h.i.+ Qingxue married him, Mo Xiangbin would surely feel relieved, but now it was uncertain when she would marry him. Even if she married him, it wouldn't be easy to make the man next to him rest a.s.sured.

“Well, don't worry. I know what I should do,”

Mo Junyang said decisively and didn't want to continue this topic. “I hear that Empress Liang wants to introduce another lady from the Liang Family to you recently. How could you have the energy to care about those trifles?”

Mo Junyu's face darkened as expected, and he said helplessly, “She is determined to arrange a woman around me and even mentioned Liang Ying this time.”

Liang Ying was a favored legitimate daughter in the Liang Family. Liang Jingxian had coveted the position of the crown princess for a long time, but this was an abandoned child. They hadn't expected that Liang Jingxian would have done that.

Mo Junyang was surprised and then couldn't help laughing. “Liang Ying! She is really nice. Have you considered her?”

Mo Junyu had a grievance on his face and wanted to curse, “Why would I consider her? I don't have any interest in such a hot-tempered n.o.ble lady.”

These years, he had always been conservative and humble in order to keep his position in the East Palace. If he married Liang Ying, he would be controlled by the Liang Family. He was not so stupid.

Unfortunately, the East Palace was not powerful. The good daughters were waiting in the boudoir to be betrothed or were in the families of Third Prince's or Fourth Prince's followers. It was not easy for Mo Junyu to select a good wife as the crown princess.

Mo Junyang seemed not to notice Junyu's annoyance and smiled. He looked up at the sky and found that it was almost time to go out. “The spring outing dinner is held today. Why don't you set out?”

Mo Junyu had to stand up and complained, “It's Yuzhen's idea. It's not funny. I want to leave after I show up. Let's…”

“I am going to pick up Qingxue. Please help yourself.”

As the crown prince stared openmouthed, Mo Junyang left.