The carefree sixth prince, my father respectfully invites me to ascend the throne.

Even if the emperor wanted to depose Yang Jingyu, he would never do so openly and honestly. He would only secretly hint at it to Yang Jingyu or simply find an excuse to exile him to the frontier.

Green Oriole was confused, but seeing that Yang Ling seemed confident, she felt relieved and said, "Since Young Master is certain that the Emperor will not depose Yang Jingyu, then we servants are at ease."

Yang Ling nodded and instructed Lüying, "Go tell Granny Yang that I'm hungry and ask her to quickly prepare some food and bring it in."

"Yes, young master." Green Oriole curtsied and left.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yang Ling lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

He had been practicing martial arts every day, which had exhausted him. In addition, he had been harassed by Yang Jingyu for a long time today, which left him exhausted. He fell into a deep sleep soon after.

In the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door.

Yang Ling groggily opened her eyes, then frowned, reached out and pulled the quilt over her head, turned over, and continued to sleep.

Yang Jingyu pushed open the door and entered the room. He tiptoed to Yang Ling's bedside, bent down and looked down at the sleeping Yang Ling. His eyes flickered, and he wore a strange smile.

The next day, when Yang Ling woke up, it was just getting light. Birds chirped and insects sang outside the window, and the air was filled with the scent of grass.

He sat up, yawned, put on his clothes, got out of bed, dressed properly, and then slowly washed up before going to the yard to practice his boxing.

At that moment, a slender figure appeared at the courtyard gate.

She wore a pale yellow dress, her hair styled in a bun, her face rosy and delicate, standing tall and graceful.

"Brother!" The girl saw Yang Ling and ran over to hug him happily.

"Little sister, what brings you here?" Yang Ling stopped what she was doing, reached out and ruffled her hair, asking gently, "Up so early?"

"I dreamt about my brother last night, so I got up early just to see him." Yang Xin hugged Yang Ling's arm and shook it, her pretty face full of sweet smiles.

"Silly girl, you dreamed about your brother, so your brother has come back to life, hasn't he?" Yang Ling pinched her fair cheek and said with a smile.

"Hehe, yes." Yang Xin laughed happily, pulled Yang Ling into the house, and said, "Father said that when Brother wakes up, please invite him to the main hall for a meal."

Yang Ling nodded and let Yang Xin lead him into the house.

As he walked, he listened intently to the sounds outside the house and discovered that only a burly old woman remained in the courtyard, guarding the area under the shade of a tree.

Yang Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at Yang Xin: "Have you had any guests at home these past two days?"

"No, the manor is much quieter now," Yang Xin replied. "Father said that all the bandits have been captured and brought to justice, and no one will dare to bully us again."

"So that's how it is. I thought it was because others were afraid of the Yang family's power."

"Who would dare to mess with the Yang family? They're asking for trouble!" Yang Xin snorted. "I heard from Father that the mastermind behind those bandits is actually the Crown Prince!"

"Oh?" Yang Ling raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure it's Yang Jingyu?"

Although Yang Jingyu is a playboy, he wouldn't be so audacious as to send someone to kidnap him, would he?

“I’m sure!” Yang Xin nodded firmly. “Father personally interrogated the gang of thugs. They all said that the Crown Prince sent them, but they also said that the Crown Princess ordered them to do it.”

"So, the Li family wanted to kill me?" Yang Ling narrowed her eyes, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.

Yang Xin was startled: "Brother, weren't we suspecting His Highness the Crown Prince? How did we get involved with the Crown Princess?"

“We can’t doubt the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.” Yang Ling’s smile faded, and her expression turned serious. “Remember, the Crown Princess is my sister-in-law and my elder. Our Yang family is a century-old family with strict rules. We cannot bully others by abusing our power, or we will be punished according to family law.”

Yang Xin obediently replied, "Yes."

Yang Ling gently stroked Yang Xin's soft black hair and then instructed her, "Go and tell your mother and grandmother not to make wild guesses, lest they cause trouble."

"Yes, brother, I know what to do," Yang Xin said with a smile.

Yang Ling smiled and nodded, patted Yang Xin on the shoulder, and turned to walk into the house.

"Master!"

As soon as I stepped into the house, I heard Bitao's shouts.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Ling felt a gust of wind rushing towards her face.

Yang Ling dodged quickly, spun around to steady himself, and then looked up at Bi Tao.

Bitao missed her target and fell to the ground.

"Bitao, what's wrong?" Yang Ling quickly stepped forward to help her up and asked with concern.

Bitao pouted and said in a wronged tone, "Young Master, you always avoid me, do you hate me?"

"How could that be? How could I hate you?" Yang Ling chuckled, reached out and pinched Bi Tao's rosy cheeks, and said softly, "Get up quickly, the ground is cold."

Bitao did as she was told, got up, hugged Yang Ling's waist, leaned against his strong body, and said coquettishly, "Young Master, are you not angry with Bitao anymore?"

Yang Ling chuckled: "You're so cute and beautiful, how could I bear to be angry with you?"

Bitao immediately beamed with joy, wrapped her arms around Yang Ling's neck, and giggled, "Young Master speaks so sweetly."

Yang Ling lowered his head and kissed her forehead, saying affectionately, "Get up quickly, let me change my clothes first."

"it is good."

Yang Ling released his arm and turned to go inside, but then he heard Bi Tao's suppressed, painful groans behind him. He turned around abruptly, picked Bi Tao up, and cried out in alarm, "Bi Tao, what's wrong?"

Bitao's face was deathly pale, her eyes were closed, her body was stiff, and she looked like she was having difficulty breathing and was on the verge of death.

"Bitao?" Yang Ling shook her in a panic.

Bitao remained unresponsive, like a corpse.

"Cuihong, go and invite the old lady," Yang Ling instructed Cuihong.

Cuihong accepted the order and withdrew.

Yang Ling gritted his teeth and endured the aching and fatigue throughout his body, forcibly circulating his internal energy to help Bi Tao regulate her disordered vital energy. It wasn't until an incense stick had burned that he slowly opened his eyes and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Cough cough..."

Bitao, who was in a coma, coughed and spat out a few grains of rice stained with blood. Her complexion gradually regained its color.

Yang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, fetched some hot water, and wiped the corners of her mouth.

"Master..."

Bitao slowly woke up and called out weakly.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Yang Ling asked.

"It hurts!" Bitao cried out, clutching her stomach.

"Where does it hurt? Let me rub it for you." Yang Ling touched Bi Tao's burning face and asked with concern.

"My stomach hurts..." Bitao frowned in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. "My stomach hurts terribly."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling frowned and hurriedly began massaging her stomach according to the methods described in the medical classics.

Bitao let out a soft moan of comfort, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep once again.

Yang Ling sighed helplessly, picked up a damp cloth from the table, wet it with cold water, and wiped her face.

A moment later, Cuihong rushed over with a food box. Seeing Bitao lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), she asked with concern, "Young master, how is the young lady?"

"He's still not awake," Yang Ling said, getting up from the bed.