Chapter 571: Chapter 571: Astonishing Hearing Luckily, Miao Zhu and Song Guo were sitting obediently outside the carriage with Mo Chen at that moment; otherwise, Leng Yu Yan would have died of embarrassment. She brushed away the jade-like fingers from her chin. “I really didn’t have enough to eat.” Ye Yiheng withdrew his hand smoothly, laughing wickedly. “I felt the same. Let us hurry back and have another meal at the Prince Mansion.” Leng Yu Yan nodded, and Ye Yiheng then asked Mo Chen to speed up. The carriage left the bamboo forest and headed north into the capital city district. Upon reaching the bustling streets, the carriage was forced to slow down due to the heavy pedestrian traffic. Leng Yu Yan lifted the carriage curtain and looked out the window, seeing the traders coming and going. She turned to the person sitting dignifiedly inside the carriage, “Your Highness, may I let Song Guo and Miao Zhu go buy some snacks?” Ye Yiheng looked at her intently. Was this girl not hungry, but rather craving snacks? The vegetarian meal they had earlier was indeed bland. With that thought, he was about to speak when suddenly Leng Yu Yan, pointing outside, said, “Your Highness, look quickly, isn’t that Ye Zhengmo ahead at the tavern, and isn’t that Li Qi not far from him?” Ye Yiheng leaned forward, following the direction of Leng Yu Yan’s pointing finger, and indeed saw Ye Zhengmo and Zheng Liqi entering Ji Qingyu’s tavern, one after the other. “How did these two end up together?” murmured Leng Yu Yan, then she turned her head to the person behind her. “Shall we go and see?” “Don’t want snacks anymore?” “We’ll talk about snacks later,” Leng Yu Yan giggled, then continued seriously, “Li Qi and I don’t see eye to eye, and she might be up to no good. So, I want to take a look. You agree, right?” “Alright.” Ye Yiheng nodded. They might as well have some food at the tavern as well to keep his little lady from getting too hungry. First, Ye Yiheng had Mo Chen find out in which private room Ye Zhengmo and Zheng Liqi were and then took Leng Yu Yan to the adjacent room. Once the ordered dishes and drinks were served, Mo Chen closed the door tightly. Leng Yu Yan perked her ears up against the wooden wall to listen to the movement in the next room, but no sound was heard for a good while. She couldn’t help muttering, “Why aren’t they talking?” Ye Yiheng was leisurely eating his meal and slowly said, “They are busy drinking and eating, not talking yet.” Leng Yu Yan sat back beside Ye Yiheng, surprised, “You can even hear the sound of eating?” Ye Yiheng just smiled and said nothing. Song Guo chimed in: “Your Highness has remarkable hearing.” Even though she knew he had remarkable hearing, Leng Yu Yan couldn’t help asking, “With two rooms so close, can Your Highness hear everything from the other room?” Ye Yiheng hummed affirmatively. Leng Yu Yan bit her index finger joint. So, during the nights he spent in her room, he could hear everything clearly even if he was in the bedroom while she was washing up in the bathroom? Embarrassed, she casually picked up a cup of wine and poured it into her mouth. Ye Yiheng softly chuckled, “Yanyan, I’ve already drunk from that cup.” Leng Yu Yan moved the empty cup in front of him, stiffly saying with both shyness and awkwardness, “We are about to get married, and we will need to drink the wedding wine. What’s wrong with me drinking half a cup of your wine now?” After speaking, she realized her blunder. It was as if she was really eager to marry him. Hastily, she covered her mouth. Mo Chen and the others sat on the other side, laughing joyously and eating merrily. Seeing her lips still glistening and her face slightly flushed, Ye Yiheng smiled warmly, “It’s my honor that Yanyan is willing to drink what I’ve had.” Kisses were exchanged, and drinking his half-drunk wine wasn’t so embarrassing. Thus, Leng Yu Yan persuaded herself and nodded firmly. Then, as if nothing had happened, she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. Soon after, Ye Yiheng suddenly said, “They are talking next door.” Leng Yu Yan quickly set down her chopsticks and walked to the wall, pressing her ear against the wooden partition, and indeed voices were coming through. At that moment, in the adjacent private room, Zheng Liqi personally poured wine for Ye Zhengmo. “Soon, the Seventh Prince will come of age, have you considered what kind of Princess Consort you are looking for?” Ye Zhengmo swirled his wine cup, raised an eyebrow, and asked directly, “Is Lady Zheng offering herself?” “Today, I arranged to meet the Seventh Prince for this very purpose, the Seventh Prince surely understands why he accepted the invitation, doesn’t he?” Zheng Liqi gave a charming smile and sat down, gathering her skirts. “Lady Zheng has always been on good terms privately with the Crown Prince, why would you choose me instead?” “With Crown Prince and Leng Yu Yan’s wedding already arranged, how could I, the proud daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, settle for being a minor wife in the Eastern Palace?” Zheng Liqi scoffed disdainfully, “That is simply out of the question!” On the other side of the wooden wall, Leng Yu Yan wrinkled her nose and chuckled, this Zheng Liqi had previously kneeled and begged to become a concubine, now she is glorifying herself. Suddenly, another conversation came from next door. Zheng Liqi said, “My father is the Left Minister, and though his power is not as great as the Right Minister’s, if the Seventh Prince chooses me, surely my father would support the Seventh Prince wholeheartedly.” Such a statement was merely modesty. The power of a Prime Minister was something many envied and longed for. Ye Zhengmo smiled slightly, “Actually, I have no major demands for the choice of Princess Consort, except for one…” He paused, his cold eyes looking at Zheng Liqi, deliberately keeping her in suspense. As expected, Zheng Liqi eagerly asked, “Please enlighten me, Your Highness!” Ye Zhengmo drained the wine from his cup, then said, “First, bear me a son, and I shall certainly marry you.” His gaze was quite cold, showing little attraction towards her. Zheng Liqi, who prided herself on her unparalleled beauty, did not expect her elaborate attire to fail to catch his eye. And his words shocked her even more. “Bear a son first, and then marry?” she couldn’t help but ask. Ye Zhengmo nodded, “The eldest is long gone, the second is a eunuch, the third has become a human skin lantern, as for the fourth, let’s put him aside for now, the Fifth has a son and a daughter, and the Crown Prince — the Sixth — is not humane…” He paused, then added, “After the Eighth, none of the younger brothers are promising, do you understand?” Zheng Liqi realized, although the Fifth Prince, Prince Duan, had a son and a daughter, he feared Princess Duan, and even if he wanted to take a concubine, he would not dare to do so openly. Currently, the Emperor had only one grandson. If Ye Zhengmo had a son, it would greatly benefit his future. But the condition to first bear a son before marrying her was something she found hard to accept. Zheng Liqi looked at the somewhat good-looking Ye Zhengmo before her; although he wasn’t as handsome as Ye Yiheng, at least this man had no hidden defects. Thinking this, she could not help but ask, “What if she bears a daughter instead?” “If Lady Zheng is willing to continue trying, then we can talk about marriage once she bears a son.” Ye Zhengmo placed his cup heavily on the table, leaving no room for negotiation. Zheng Liqi tightly clenched her fingers, her face bearing a bitter smile; it seemed she had to become his wife in in fact without any official status before contemplating the next step. The pride and dignity of being the Prime Minister’s daughter made her reluctant to think further. “The Seventh Prince’s way of rejecting people is certainly sharp, I willingly admit defeat!” Despite considering her social status, Ye Zhengmo looked at her sidelong and said, “Won’t you reconsider? Think about it, after the Sixth is deposed, which Prince has the qualifications to become the next Crown Prince?”