"I just donāt like the way you talk, girl." Yang Chuxia flicked her forehead.
"Sigh, you canāt speak the truth these days." Yueyue shook her head and continued to look down at the book in her hand. Who knows what she was reading; even a boring geographical atlas could keep her engrossed.
Ye Ziāan came in with a smile after listening outside for a while.
"You donāt have to worry about your Ye Batian." Ye Ziāan laughed and said, "During todayās morning court, I heard the Emperor say that heās already ordered him to return to the Capital City."
"Really?"
This was truly an unexpected surprise; Yang Chuxia jumped up from the chair.
"Is it true? Is the Emperor really calling him back?"
"Of course, itās true." Ye Ziāan laughed and said, "Itāll probably take him a little over a month to arrive in the Capital."
"This time when he comes back, we canāt let him leave easily." Yang Chuxia said, "Heās been gone for years; Iām starting to doubt if Iāve missed giving birth to a son."
"Heās now a registered third-rank Assistant General; itās not like you can just tell him to stay home, and heāll stay home."
Ye Ziāan shook his head and said, "A few days ago in the Imperial Study, from what the Emperor said, he wants him to return to Shandong, because apparently, thereās been some pirate activity over there recently."
"That rascal." Yang Chuxia was speechless, "Why does he love fighting so much? Canāt you plead with the Emperor? Let him stay at West Mountain camp to train troops, thatās good too."
"Mom, some people are just born for this." Lele couldnāt help but say, "If you trap him in the Capital City, heāll be like an eagle with clipped wings, gradually declining. Besides, the West Mountain camp is granduncleās place; do you think the Emperor just randomly brought granduncle back to the Capital City?"
Ye Ziāan asked, "Why?"
"Dad, are you testing me again?" Lele pouted and said, "On the surface, itās because granduncle wanted to retire, and heās getting old and needs someone to look after him. But actually, itās to curb granduncleās military achievements. The State Duke of Defenseās residence is already quite prestigious. Although granduncle has been stationed in the south without any battles these years, his achievements arenāt small. Plus, with the small countries down south getting restless these past two years, who knows if theyāll unite. If a war starts, granduncle will definitely gain more military achievements. All those achievements combined, the Emperor would have no choice but to title him a different surname king. But, a different surname king with military achievements is much more conspicuous than someone like me without them."
Lele continued with a shrug, "Once heās titled a different surname king, even if the Emperor doesnāt want to think otherwise, the court officials will constantly remind him to think otherwise. At that point, granduncleās days will be tough. The Emperor doesnāt want to sour this relationship, so heās bringing granduncle back to the Capital City to take over West Mountain camp, which isnāt without an arrangement. Plus, the West Mountain camp is the Emperorās trusted army."
"Son, youāre so capable; donāt you want to enter the court?"
"Mom, please donāt do this to me." Lele said, speechless, "A few years ago, when the Grand Emperor passed away, he called the Emperor in for a long conversation. After that, I noticed the Emperor started looking at me with a bit more scrutiny."
"Could you be overthinking it?" Yang Chuxia was surprised.
"Absolutely not."
Ye Ziāan smiled and nodded. Indeed, these past two years, the Emperor has been casually inquiring about Lele, but heās always managed to steer the conversation away.
Although Ye Ziāan didnāt know what the Emperor intended, he planned to let this son keep a low profile. Little did he know the son had already sensed it himself and was doing a great job at it.