Chapter 148
Li Yu asked Qin Shi about the life of a widow. In this dynasty, a woman who did not remarry after her husband died and remained a widow for her husband was called a chaste woman. Although chastity was not written into the law, the imperial court would reward a woman who remained chaste for her entire life. There were chaste women, and naturally, there were people who remarried. However, the latter usually received disdain and were despised by the world.
Liang Shi’s situation was more complicated and difficult. A normal woman could remarry without any reputation, but Liang Shi had almost no possibility of remarrying. Even if the Sixth Prince had been expelled from the imperial family, Liang Shi was still considered a member of the imperial family. The Emperor would not allow a former imperial concubine to remarry. Moreover, Liang Shi and Mu Tianxiao’s marriage was set by the Emperor. If she had any intention of remarrying, it would be considered a rebellion.
The Emperor hated Mu Tianxiao and did not even ask about Liang Shi. Although the Marquis Ding Bei residence was Liang Shi’s maternal home, there would inevitably be gossip if she lived there for a long time. In order to not burden her parents, Liang Shi moved to a farmstead. Even so, she would be treated coldly when she went out.
“Could it be that Master wants to act as a matchmaker for her?” Qin Shi asked with a smile.
Generally, people who took the initiative to inquire about widows had a purpose. Qin Shi had an older sister and had a husband in the past. Because her husband died of illness, she had suffered enough of being a chaste woman. Later, her widowed life was worse than death. Fortunately, her older sister remarried and was living a good life. She often came back to visit Qin Shi.
Because of her older sister’s experience, Qin Shi approved of Liang Shi’s remarriage. She thought that Li Yu wanted to act as a matchmaker for Liang Shi.
Li Yu was stunned. Matchmaker? Matchmaker?
If Liang Shi and Mu Tianxiao were in love, and Liang Shi was willing to be a widow for Mu Tianxiao, Li Yu naturally could not say anything. However, Liang Shi was clearly disappointed in Mu Tianxiao. Forcing her to be a widow, how was this different from moral kidnapping?
Why would a perfectly fine person hang herself on a withered, crooked tree?
If a man lost his wife, he had never heard of these men keeping chastity for their wife. People only felt that men needed to be taken care of. It was reasonable for a widower to remarry, but if a widow remarried, she would be criticized behind her back. This was too much of a double standard.
However, Li Yu didn’t want Madam Liang to marry anyone else. Mu Tianxiao was dead, so Madam Liang had nothing to do with Mu Tianxiao. She should live the life she wanted to live.
Li Yu shook his head. “I don’t do matchmaking.”
He only wanted Madam Liang to completely break free from Mu Tianxiao’s shadow. Then, if she wanted to remarry, she could remarry. If she wanted to be quiet, she could be quiet.
Li Yu had plans to help Liang shi, but as for how to do it, he had not thought of it yet. Li Yu had a deep relationship with the Crown Prince. If he asked the Crown Prince for help, the Crown Prince would definitely help him think of a way.
Li Yu shared his thoughts with Qin shi. Qin shi sighed: “If we can truly receive your help, it would be Madam Liang’s fortune. I just don’t know if she’s willing … ”
Breaking off all ties with one’s original husband’s family was, in the end, turning away from the secular world. It required the person to have the courage to endure confusion and abuse.
When Qin shi’s older sister remarried, she was scolded by her relatives and neighbors for not abiding by the virtues of a woman. After her remarried husband got married, he took her away from her hometown. Only then was she able to face her new life with ease.
Li Yu never thought that there would be this layer. Was it possible for Madam Liang to refuse his good intentions?
Li Yu decided to send Qin shi to sound out Madam Liang’s intentions first.
The news she received was that Madam Liang did not want to change the current situation. When asked for a reason, she only said, “Gossip is a fearful thing.”
After all, she could live alone and peacefully as Mu Tianxiao’s wife. But with her own identity, she had to endure the world’s cynicism.
This was not something that could be solved by changing a person’s identity. It needed to change a group of people.
The series of arrangements that Li Yu originally wanted to make for Madam Liang were all ruined.
It seemed that there was no need to discuss it with the Crown Prince …
No, he still had to go. Even if Madam Liang did not need it, it did not mean that other women did not need it.
This was a society’s problem, not a person’s problem.
Even if with his power, he could only change the world a little. Even if it was just being more tolerant of widows, it would be fine.
Li Yu ran to find the Crown Prince. After searching a few places, he could not find him. From afar, he saw the Crown Prince’s imperial bodyguards standing guard outside the study.
Li Yu went over to ask. It turned out that the Crown Prince and Heir Ye had a secret to discuss. Li Yu consciously turned to leave. However, the imperial bodyguard said that the Crown Prince did not forbid others from approaching, but he did not forbid the Crown Princess from approaching.
Li Yu: What does this mean??
Did it mean that it was fine for him to go in directly?
Since the Crown Prince did not need to avoid him, Li Yu did not need to be polite in his own home. After entering the study, he heard Ye Qinghuan’s voice.
Heir Ye said solemnly, “Tianchi, answer me. Is he a human or a demon?”
Li Yu:???
In reality, Li Yu was not a demon. However, he was very sensitive to the term ‘demon’. After all, he was pretending to be a carp demon. When Ye Qinghuan mentioned ‘demon’, Li Yu immediately connected the dots. Could it be that his disguise was so unreliable? First, there was Chu Yanyu, and now there was Ye Qinghuan. Everyone was suspecting him …
Chu Yanyu suspected him because his transformation was seen by a palace maid. What was going on with Ye Qinghuan?
Li Yu was very sure that he did not transform in front of Ye Qinghuan. He held his breath and continued to listen.
In the face of Ye Qinghuan’s questioning, Mu Tianchi was a trustworthy person after all. He did not directly answer. Instead, he pondered for a moment before asking, “Why do you say that?”
Ye Qinghuan said, “… That day, he suddenly appeared at the lotus pond and entrusted the tiger tally to me. However, he refused to go ashore. He even told me not to let anyone near him. It was very … strange. However, when I asked the gatekeeper afterwards, the gatekeeper said that he did not see him enter the fu. ”
Mu Tianchi listened without batting an eyelid. The tiger tally was a secret. There were very few people outside who knew about it. However, everyone knew that the Crown Princess secretly ran out of the palace to call for help.
The Emperor had seen the fish take the tiger tally away with his own eyes. The Crown Prince took advantage of the situation to make the Emperor think that it was the fish that handed the tiger tally to the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess then thought of a way to call for help. This way, it would match the rumors outside. The Emperor did not suspect anything. In reality, only the Crown Prince and Li Yu knew. There was no relay between them. Li Yu was the one who delivered the tiger tally to the fish.
Because the rebellion of Princess Langya had been successfully resolved, the Crown Prince did not think much of it. However, Ye Qinghuan found it suspicious. Now, it seemed that he had been negligent.
However, the Crown Prince would not be so easily exposed by these few words. He raised his eyebrows and said, “What can this prove?”
“Nothing,” Ye Qinghuan said, “I also thought that it might be cousin-in-law who sneaked in when the gatekeeper was unprepared. Later on, a commoner came to the Duke Cheng ‘en Mansion to seek an audience. On the way, he ran into a half-fish, half-human monster with a fish head and a human lower body. This monster escaped into the river outside the Duke Cheng’ en Mansion. I originally did not believe it and reprimanded that person, telling him not to talk nonsense. However, later on, I discovered that the river and the lotus pond were connected … ”
Mu Tianchi and Li Yu: “…”
Li Yu: Holy shit! It can be connected?!
When he delivered the tiger tally, he had to transform several times due to the complicated route. When he arrived at Duke Chengen Fu, he was in his mermaid form. He hid his tail well in the water, so Ye Qinghuan could not get close to him. After that, he did not say anything, so Li Yu thought that everything was fine. He did not expect Heir Apparent Ye to still be suspicious of him.
There was also the fish-head witness. Sigh, he was also in a hurry. Fortunately, he was encountered by Ye Qinghuan … He was in a hurry to save Old Gong and completely forgot!
The Crown Prince frowned in deep thought and did not speak again. Ye Qinghuan said hesitantly, “Actually, all of this does not prove anything. Yes … Later on, I heard that Noble Lady Chu slandered the Crown Princess, saying that the Crown Princess was a fish that you raised. I-I remembered … That day when he was hiding in the water, I saw a silver shadow at the bottom of the water. I originally did not think about what it was, but after hearing Noble Lady Chu’s absurd words, I actually felt that it should be a fish tail … ”
“Tianchi, no matter what, I still want to ask you first.”
Ye Qinghuan pondered for a long time and repeatedly pondered over the events of that day. Actually, he already had some conclusions in his heart.
The reason why he had delayed until now was because he had finally made up his mind and wanted to obtain confirmation from the Crown Prince.
What Noble Lady Chu, Noble Lady Wang? Ye Qinghuan was a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince and only cared about the Crown Prince’s safety.
Regardless of whether Li Yu was a person or something else, he could be sure that Li Yu did not have any ill intentions towards the Crown Prince or his family. This was a fact that had become clearer and clearer in his mind after dawdling for so long.
Ye Qinghuan had guessed correctly. Li Yu was so embarrassed that he could dig out a large fish tank from the ground. However, he did not dare to appear face to face with Heir Ye.
What if Heir Ye asked him to answer? What should he say?
It was easy to refuse to admit it, but Ye Qinghuan had already seen his tail … If he did not admit it, would Ye Qinghuan not suspect anything?
He was afraid that this would not solve the problem, but rather deceive himself!
Moreover, he was friends with Ye Qinghuan’s husband. He could not possibly make a move against Ye Qinghuan. Li Yu did not want to hurt his friends … and he did not want the Crown Prince to hurt his friends because of him.
The Crown Prince was also in a difficult position. He probed, “If you knew, what would you do?”
“Nothing.” Ye Qinghuan said, “He saved His Majesty, saved you, and saved me. He also helped you cure your muteness and gave birth to children for you. I will not tell anyone, including the Princess. I only want to know the truth. I don’t really want to do anything to him. ”
If he had really done something, Ye Qinghuan would not have delayed for so long and come to meet him in private.
Li Yu, “!!!”
Ye Qinghuan, well done! As expected of the man who called him cousin-in-law. Li Yu was so moved that he could not stop!
He recalled the day when he gave the tiger tally to Prince Liqin. It was Ye Qinghuan who helped him even though Prince Liqin did not believe him. Even if he was suspicious, Ye Qinghuan had always taken care of him.
Mu Tianchi sized up Ye Qinghuan. The Crown Prince understood Ye Qinghuan’s temperament. Ye Qinghuan’s expression was serious, and he was not lying. The Crown Prince did not hide anything and simply nodded. “Indeed, it is as you think.”
Ye Qinghuan, “…”
“So, he really is?”
“… Yes.”
Even though Ye Qinghuan was mentally prepared, his mouth was still wide open.
No wonder Li Yu could give birth to children and help the Crown Prince so much. He really was a demon!
There really were demons in this world!
“Why, why does he stay by your side?” Ye Qinghuan stuttered.
Prince Ye revered ghosts and gods, but he also revered demons. He could not understand why a demon would lower herself to marry a mortal.
The Crown Prince calmly said, “Because I have a fate with him for a hundred lifetimes. I will be his husband for a hundred lifetimes. This is the first lifetime.”
Li Yu, “…”
Li Yu thought the Crown Prince would say that he was going to undergo a tribulation or something like that, but the Crown Prince did not. The Crown Prince felt that this was Xiaoyu’s secret. He would rather be beaten to death than say anything.
Li Yu finally understood that the Crown Prince was not spouting nonsense. He was simply slapping dog food on the table!
Prince Ye slapped his thigh in realization. “So that’s why you have that kind of fetish for fish, right? I, I understand now.”
The Crown Prince, “?”
Li Yu, “…”
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