Chapter 623: Chapter 623: Admit it, You Do Care

Now it was Jiang Ning’s turn to be puzzled.

“How do you know that?”

She was certain that Jiang Ruobai would not have gone to inform the Crown Prince right after telling her.

But she quickly figured it out.

Without waiting for Zhao Yuanjing’s answer, she laughed and said, “It seems that although the Crown Prince verbally doesn’t care about the matter of the Emperor’s illegitimate son, he is still very concerned on the inside.”

Li Hongyuan elegantly sipped his soup and said lightly, “Emperor Father has entrusted the East Palace with the task of receiving the Prince and Princess of Silla Kingdom. Shouldn’t I know a bit about it?”

“Admit it. You are very concerned about Li You’s return.”

“…” Li Hongyuan put down his spoon, elegantly wiped his lips with a napkin, then calmly looked at her and said, “If you won’t be satisfied until I admit it, then I will.”

Jiang Ning leaned in and asked, “How long have you known about this?”

Li Hongyuan picked up his teacup, “Which matter are you referring to?”

“Don’t drink tea right after a meal, it’s bad for your stomach.” Jiang Ning took his teacup away, “I mean the matter of Li You being captured by Silla Kingdom.”

“Probably not later than your father found out.”

“Knowing it so early, why didn’t you take action?”

“What action?”

“Of course…” Jiang Ning mimicked the action of slitting throat.

Li Hongyuan glanced at her, “Are you addicted to killing?”

“This is a struggle, brother.”

Li Hongyuan stood up, leaned over the table with his hands on it, gazing at her and said softly, “Jiang Seventh Daughter, do you think that Li You is so formidable that he can pose a threat to me, or am I so weak that I can’t even handle a Prince?”

Jiang Ning leaned back against the chair to maintain distance from his face and laughed, “I naturally affirm the Crown Prince’s ability. But why not eliminate potential threats in advance?”

Li Hongyuan pondered seriously and asked, “What do you think is the probability I can stretch my hand into Silla, successfully kill Li You, and do it so flawlessly that Emperor Father absolutely won’t find out?”

Jiang Ning, “…Seven out of ten chances?”

“Even if there’s a tiny chance of failure, I wouldn’t do it.”

“I didn’t realize it, but you are quite cautious.”

“No.” Li Hongyuan shook his finger lightly, “I prefer to take the moral high ground when I do things. There’s a world of a difference between retaliating against someone who harms me, and me actively harming others.”

He stood up straight, smiling, “After all, I don’t want to be seen as a fratricide in Emperor Father’s eyes. Nor do I want to be seen as a brutally ruthless Crown Prince in the minister’s and people’s eyes.”

Jiang Ning chuckled, “That’s true. As a Crown Prince, having a good reputation is indeed important.”

“No, as a person, one should have a good reputation.”

“I don’t care.”

“Is that so?”

Li Hongyuan slowly nodded and said, “How about I give you a slightly inappropriate example?”

“Let’s hear it.”

“In the future, if I ascend to the throne, I will face the issue of establishing my Empress. Right?” Li Hongyuan looked at her.

“Yes.”

“According to the ancestral rules, I must establish the Main Consort, which is you, as the Empress. But what if I love another woman, Li Yuanyuan, more and I want to elevate her to Empress and leave you as a consort?”

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, “Would you do that?”

“Maybe.” Li Hongyuan was noncommittal, “This matter is not entirely up to me. If you have a virtuous reputation, once I have this idea, naturally there will be countless ministers and scholars standing up to oppose it. But what if you have a bad reputation?”