Chapter 255: Another Brother‑in‑Law of a Sister‑in‑Law Who Falls Into a Trap

Has the Prince of Yue been placed under house arrest?

Or was he placed under house arrest jointly by Li Shimin and Empress Changsun?

Chen Yan was momentarily stunned by the words, then grew interested and whispered, "What's going on?"

"Isn't the Prince of Yue the Father Emperor and Mother Empress's favorite fatty?"

"What exactly caused them to both order his house arrest?"

"About that..." Li Chengqian glanced over, saw Li Shimin and Empress Changsun engrossed in conversation with Gao Yang, not paying attention to them, and whispered back, "Actually I'm not too sure; it has something to do with the merit monument that's been erected recently."

"Father Emperor assigned this to me; the Prince of Yue somehow tried to insert himself, and that very night Father Emperor scolded the Prince of Yue harshly."

"Later, after more than half a month, the Prince of Yue suddenly rushed to Mother Empress, said something unknown, which angered her; since then the Prince of Yue has been under house arrest and hasn't been released yet."

"Hmm..." Chen Yan's expression shifted, then he asked, "Do you know why Mother Empress got angry?"

"Is it because the Prince of Yue still wanted to meddle with the merit monument, or perhaps other reasons?"

"It should be other reasons." Li Chengqian mused, "I have a guess: those days, Father Emperor used the pretext of corruption to employ many overt and covert methods to purge certain people, including the Prince of Yue's followers."

"When Mother Empress got angry, it coincided with the purge of the Prince of Yue's people; I reckon the Prince of Yue was pleading for mercy or trying to clarify something."

"The Prince of Yue is that foolish?" Chen Yan said incredulously, "Even you know Father Emperor has decided to cleanse the Court, yet the Prince of Yue still rushes to get involved?"

"Isn't that plainly opposing your Father Emperor?"

"Ah, that's a bit complicated to explain." Li Chengqian smiled faintly, "Father Emperor seems to want to keep the Prince of Yue out of power, so many plans weren't disclosed to him."

"For example, the flood disaster and its subsequent response methods, the erection of the merit monument, and the final purge of Court officials—only I and a few elders know about these matters."

"Moreover, most importantly, among the people Father Emperor intends to suppress is the Prince of Yue's brother‑in‑law, who has been flaunting himself in Chang'an for a long time; many have curried favor with the Prince of Yue through him and reaped many benefits."

"So that's it!" Chen Yan understood.

Another brother‑in‑law of a sister‑in‑law who is a trap.

"Hmm... perhaps Li Shimin also wanted to suppress the Prince of Yue's power."

"These years, the little fatty has relied on Li Shimin and Empress Changsun's favor, recruiting countless officials; Li Shimin likely realized his previous unequal treatment of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yue, causing many to pick sides, and he suppressed them accordingly."

"That's good for you, congratulations," Chen Yan said, genuinely happy for Li Chengqian.

"That fellow was indeed too tragic in the original history; now it seems his hardships are finally turning sweet."

"What congratulations?" Li Chengqian shook his head, his gaze toward Chen Yan filled with an indescribable gratitude.

He never forgot Chen Yan's help; everything, he kept it all in his heart.

One could say, without Chen Yan, he might still be facing the Prince of Yue's relentless suppression, watching helplessly as the Prince of Yue's power grew ever larger.

Until the Prince of Yue seized everything he had.

By then, his fate need not be imagined.

Being born into the Imperial Family, that position isn't something you can simply choose not to fight for.

The blood‑stained lessons of history lie before him, and Li Chengqian dares not be even slightly careless.

"Don't worry." Sensing Li Chengqian's thoughts, Chen Yan patted his shoulder and said firmly, "I will help you!"

When those words left his mouth, somehow Li Chengqian felt a sourness in his heart, and his eyes involuntarily grew moist.

I will help you!

What a familiar phrase.

Even though Chen Yan has said it many times, each time he hears it, it still moves him deeply.

A light, airy promise, yet for Li Chengqian it feels heavier than mountains.

The person before him keeps acting, always standing behind him.

How could it not stir one?

Beside them, Crown Princess Su smiled gently at the two, also feeling grateful for her husband.

She is glad he could meet a friend like Chen Yan.

"Alright, stop that nonsense." Chen Yan said with a disdainful face, "Look, my eyes are about to stretch into threads—aren't they disgusting?"

"Look at your wife, I have no Longyang pleasures."

Li Chengqian: "......"

Crown Princess: "......"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gao Yang and Li Shimin and his wife were also having a good chat.

"Two months already?" Empress Changsun, in good spirits, patiently reminded, "Your belly hasn't swelled yet, but you must be careful; early pregnancy requires a lot of attention for women."

"Zi An's medical skill is superb; for daily diet matters, you should listen to him more."

"From now on, don't cause a ruckus like before; you can endure it, but the child in your womb cannot."

"You have grown up and are about to become a mother; Mother Empress has nothing more to teach you, only to tell you that now you have a family and a child, so from now on you must consider things an extra layer, think of your husband and your child, understand?"

"Your servant understands." Gao Yang took Empress Changsun's words to heart, smiled, "Chen Yan is far more nervous than I am; it's fine, rest assured."

"Of course he's nervous!" Li Shimin glanced at someone whispering with Li Chengqian, and said irritably, "It's his Chen family bloodline; if he's not nervous, who would be?"

Empress Changsun was helpless.

Li Shimin, sometimes he's like a child who never grows up, always nitpicking with a kid.

Fine, she didn't even bother to intervene.

She patted the head of Sizi in her womb, Empress Changsun was delighted, "Sizi, have you missed mother?"

"Miss duck?" Sizi, with a small face rubbing against Empress Changsun's enlarged belly from pregnancy, said softly, "Mother, am I about to have a little sister?"

"Sizi, how do you know it's a little sister? What if it's a little brother?" Li Shimin interjected.

"Because I want a little sister, duck?" Sizi said without thinking, "Then I can play with my little sister during the day and take her to sleep at night."

"Mother, could you give birth to a little sister, please?"

The child didn't understand much, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

While they were talking, Li Lizhi slowly walked over and softly said to Gao Yang, "Gao Yang little sister, congratulations."

Gao Yang turned her head and replied with a smile, "Thank you, you'll have it too someday."

Hm?

This abnormal attitude actually left Li Lizhi momentarily stunned.

Before coming, she had already prepared herself to be ignored by Gao Yang, or to be treated coldly, even to be mocked and glared at.

She didn't expect Gao Yang to actually… smile at her?

And said that she would have it too in the future.

What's this situation?

"......"