"Your Highness."
Yang Heng stared straight at Yang Cheng.
Three months ago, he'd been beaten up by Yang Cheng. Ever since then, he'd been training hard every day.
This whole time, he'd been waiting for another chance to face the crown prince.
He thought the main reason he lost last time was that he'd underestimated Yang Cheng too much.
Now he was taking Yang Cheng seriously. And with more than three months of tough training behind him, he was sure he could redeem himself.
"We haven't seen each other for over three months. Since we've run into each other today, how about a little sparring?" Yang Cheng said.
"Really?" Yang Heng asked excitedly.
"Cut the nonsense," Yang Cheng replied.
"You two brothers having a little spar sounds like a good thing," the Madam of Duke Wei said with a smile. "But Heng'er, Cheng'er is the crown prince and he's younger than you. You must be careful not to hurt him."
Three months ago, when Yang Heng was beaten up, Yun Yirou thought it was too embarrassing to tell anyone. So the Madam of Duke Wei had no idea what had happened.
She assumed her three-year-old grandson could easily handle a one-year-old like Yang Cheng.
Since it had been over three months since he got beaten, Yang Heng had already regained much of his confidence. And after hearing the Madam's words, he was even more certain of victory.
But he kept his guard up this time. He didn't say anything stupid about letting Yang Cheng use just one hand like he had before.
Yun Liyue didn't say a word either.
After their conversation today, she'd gained a much deeper understanding of her one-year-old son.
Don't be fooled by his tiny age—Yang Cheng's intelligence far outstripped Yang Heng's.
So she didn't think her son would overestimate himself.
Plus, thinking back to what happened three months ago, she had a strong gut feeling: Yang Heng was probably the one who'd get thrashed again.
But knowing Yang Cheng's personality, he wasn't someone who'd pick a fight for no reason.
'Is Cheng'er doing this to stand up for me?' Yun Liyue couldn't help wondering if she'd guessed the truth.
At the same time—
Yang Cheng and Yang Heng were already standing face to face in the center of the hall.
"Your Highness, over the past three months, I've been practicing a martial art called 'Piercing Step Fist.' Please give me some pointers," Yang Heng said as he threw a punch.
Crack!
A faint cracking sound split the air. Yang Heng's fist moved so fast it was like a blur, and in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Yang Cheng.
The Madam of Duke Wei's face changed instantly.
She hadn't expected Yang Heng to use a martial technique.
This clearly wasn't holding back at all.
How could the tiny crown prince possibly withstand such an attack?
'Heng'er's gone too far—he's going to cause big trouble now,' the Madam thought in a panic.
Bang!
A muffled thud rang out.
The Madam squeezed her eyes shut without thinking.
She was sure that the moment she opened them, she'd see Yang Cheng flying through the air from Yang Heng's punch.
But something felt off almost immediately. It was way too quiet around her.
That uneasy silence made her slowly open her eyes.
The next second, she was frozen in shock.
And she wasn't the only one—everyone in the hall was completely stunned.
In the middle of the room, Yang Heng's fist hovered just a foot away from Yang Cheng's forehead.
But that last foot was like an unbreakable wall—Yang Heng's fist couldn't move forward at all.
Because his fist was caught by a chubby little hand.
The owner of that pudgy hand was, of course, Yang Cheng.
Everyone watching felt like their eyes were about to pop out of their heads.
Who could've imagined that this small child, Yang Cheng, could have such astonishing strength?
His tiny hand effortlessly stopped Yang Heng's attack, and his expression hadn't changed a bit.
Just seeing that was enough to tell everyone: stopping Yang Heng wasn't difficult for Yang Cheng at all.
Just how strong was Yang Cheng's power?
Everyone could clearly feel that Yang Heng was using his full strength with his blood and qi, but Yang Cheng wasn't using any internal force at all.
That meant Yang Cheng was relying entirely on his raw, physical strength to block Yang Heng.
This made everyone think of one phrase: innate divine strength!
Yang Cheng smiled at Yang Heng. Then, under Yang Heng's terrified gaze, he stepped forward.
In an instant, Yang Cheng grabbed Yang Heng's wrist. Without any hesitation, Yang Cheng swung Yang Heng up and slammed him straight into the ground.
Bang!
Yang Heng was smashed so hard his head spun, stars dancing in front of his eyes.
The Madam of Duke Wei gasped in shock. "Heng'er!"
Earlier, when Yang Heng punched at Yang Cheng, she had closed her eyes. But now that Yang Heng was getting beaten up, she stared wide-eyed, full of panic.
All of this was clearly seen by Yun Liyue. And this was exactly one of Yang Cheng's goals.
He wanted to show Yun Liyue through this that it wasn't just Yun Yirou—she couldn't trust the entire Yun family.
Yang Cheng didn't stop. He grabbed Yang Heng and started pummeling him without mercy.
This brat had tried to attack him using a martial technique earlier, clearly with bad intentions.
Since that was the case, Yang Cheng had no reason to hold back.
In just a few breaths, Yang Heng's face was covered in bruises.
"Stop it!" the Madam of Duke Wei yelled, torn between heartbreak and fury. "Your Highness, he's your elder brother—how could you be so ruthless?"
Yang Cheng looked innocently at the Madam. "Grandmother, Father told me that in martial sparring, getting a few bruises is perfectly normal. If someone can't handle a little pain, they shouldn't walk the martial path at all. Earlier, Fourth Brother attacked me with a martial technique, and you didn't stop him. I thought your views were the same as Father's. Was I wrong?"
"This… this…" the Madam stammered, completely at a loss for words.
All the palace maids watching from the side felt an unexpected sense of relief and satisfaction.
The Madam's obvious favoritism was clear to anyone who wasn't blind.
But she was the Empress's mother. Even with Yun Liyue's high status, she couldn't openly criticize her mother without being accused of being unfilial.
They'd all expected today to end in quiet humiliation for the crown prince.
But they never imagined the crown prince would turn the tables, giving Yang Heng a brutal beating that left the Madam flustered and made them feel secretly delighted.
Yang Cheng didn't spare the Madam another glance. He turned his gaze back to Yang Heng. "Fourth Brother, do you yield or not?"
Yang Heng shivered all over, feeling like he was back in that nightmare three months ago.
Back then, he'd also been crushed by Yang Cheng, and Yang Cheng had asked him the same question: "Do you yield?"
He'd answered "I don't yield," and what followed was an even worse beating.
Remembering that, terror flooded him.
He definitely didn't want to get pummeled again, so he quickly cried out, "I yield, I yield!"
That reaction was actually pretty normal for a three-year-old.
But the problem was that, standing opposite him, Yang Cheng made for a stark contrast.
Which made Yang Heng look especially pathetic.
The Madam's face instantly flushed with embarrassment.
She hadn't wanted Yang Heng to get hurt, but she also couldn't stand seeing him look so weak and spineless.
Yang Cheng grinned and gave Yang Heng a hard kick on the butt, sending him rolling back to the Madam's side.
"Fourth Brother, remember I'm the crown prince. From now on, whenever you see me, you'd better bow properly and greet me. Otherwise, I'll come find you for another spar."
Yang Cheng spoke calmly.
"Grandmother, I don't want to stay here—take me away now!" Yang Heng wailed, bursting into tears.
He was terrified of Yang Cheng now and just wanted to get as far away as possible.
"How can you be so useless?" the Madam scolded angrily.
That only made Yang Heng cry even harder.
In the end, the Madam's heart softened for her grandson. She hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, Grandmother will take you away right now."
Before leaving, she couldn't resist warning Yun Liyue again, "Your Majesty, remember—don't make a fuss over this. Keep things quiet and protect your sister's status as a consort."
Yun Liyue said with a meaningful look, "Mother, rest assured. I will definitely protect my sister's title as a consort."
"As expected of my good daughter," the Madam said, breaking into a smile.
Once the Madam left, all the palace maids gathered excitedly around Yang Cheng.
"Your Highness is amazing!"
"I never imagined Your Highness would have such innate divine strength!"
If it weren't for the massive difference in status, they would've wanted to pick Yang Cheng up and lift him into the air in celebration.