“Chen’er, how did you get here? Are you tired?” the Emperor said, personally wiping the sweat from Ye Jingchen’s forehead with his sleeve in front of all the officials.
But he was wearing a dragon robe.
Seeing this, someone could not help but gasp sharply.
They knew the Emperor doted on the Crown Prince, but they had not expected him to dote on him to such an extent that he would actually use a dragon robe to wipe the Crown Prince’s sweat!
At once, a remonstrating official wanted to speak up and offer admonition, but thinking of Old Imperial Censor’s fate yesterday, he swallowed the words and forced his feet back into place.
“Your son wanted to see Imperial Father, so I came. Your son also brought Imperial Father a gift…” Ye Jingchen said as he held the flower out to the Emperor as though presenting a treasure, then asked hopefully, “Does Imperial Father like your son’s gift?”
The Emperor ruled over the whole world. What good things had he not seen? But receiving a gift from his son, even if only in form, was a first.
Even if it had been a plain leaf or a dull little pebble, he could have praised it to the skies, let alone the fact that Ye Jingchen had given him a very beautiful flower to begin with.
“This flower is very beautiful. Imperial Father likes it very much!” The Emperor took the flower, his face beaming with delight.
Ye Jingchen pursed his little mouth and said, “What your son is giving Imperial Father is not just a flower!”
The Emperor grew interested. He examined the flower in his hand carefully, looked at it for a long while, and smelled it several times. In the end, he concluded that it really was just a peony, only a particularly valuable variety.
“Then tell Imperial Father, Chen’er, besides being a flower, what else is it?” the Emperor asked with interest.
“What your son wants to give Imperial Father is the whole spring!” Ye Jingchen said forcefully.
What does spring have to do with a flower?
The Emperor looked at him with clear confusion.
“The flowers in the garden are blooming especially beautifully. They carry the taste of spring, and your son likes them very much. I wanted to share them with Imperial Father, so I picked the most beautiful flower in the garden and brought it to Imperial Father. Then when Imperial Father sees this flower, it is just like seeing spring!”
To compare one flower to the whole spring…
Even the concubine in the harem who was best at using words to flatter the Emperor could not have spoken such sweet things as the little Crown Prince.
At the very least, at this moment, the Emperor’s heart felt as if it had drunk honey. It was as sweet as could be.
And the officials who had witnessed this scene of deep father-son affection felt different things. Some were envious, some were sour, some did not care, and some thought that the Crown Prince, so young already, was so skilled at pleasing the Emperor that he did not seem like the makings of a wise ruler.
“The morning court has already ended. Why are you all still standing here? My dear ministers, aren’t you rushing home to enjoy family happiness?”
The Emperor began driving people away. Although he called them “my dear ministers,” there was not a trace of affection in the way he looked at them, only deep disdain.
The ministers left with their own thoughts. The Emperor carried the Crown Prince into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, passed through the side door and shortcut that only the emperor should use, and returned to Chengqian Hall.
Inside Chengqian Hall, palace attendants were arranging the imperial dishes. The Emperor first handed the peony in his hand to Zhang Shunde and ordered him to find a beautiful container and make sure the flower was carefully tended.
He then ordered the palace maid of Chengqian Palace to bring water. He personally washed Ye Jingchen’s face and hands, then led him to the dining table.
By then, the imperial dishes had already been set out.
“Chen’er, will you accompany Imperial Father to eat a meal?” the Emperor asked with a smile as he bent down to look at Ye Jingchen.
How could Ye Jingchen, who had come precisely to mooch a meal, possibly say no?
His eyes shining, he looked at the full table of rich dishes and nodded again and again.
The meal left both father and son thoroughly satisfied.
The Emperor enjoyed the warm atmosphere of father-son affection, while Ye Jingchen’s taste buds were completely satisfied.
He patted his bulging belly and sincerely felt grateful that he had transmigrated into a fictional dynasty with far fewer rules.
If he had transmigrated into a Qing Dynasty imperial prince…
He would not even have enough to eat, let alone enjoy delicious food. When he grew up, he might even face the prospect of being homeless. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
So…
This bargain father of his was really great!
“Imperial Father, you are so great!” Ye Jingchen exclaimed from the heart.
The Emperor had been thinking about what reward would be worthy of Ye Jingchen’s gift, and then he heard Ye Jingchen’s sincere praise. His already softened heart was moved beyond words, and he wanted nothing more than to give Ye Jingchen his entire private treasury.
But then the Emperor thought again: Ye Jingchen was his heir, and after his death, his private treasury would naturally belong to Ye Jingchen anyway. Giving him treasures from the treasury could not show his sincerity at all.
“Chen’er, you gave Imperial Father such a precious gift, and Imperial Father is very happy. Do you have any wish? Imperial Father can help you fulfill it.” The Emperor’s usually cold face blossomed into a smile, and even his voice had become so gentle it seemed as if he had been possessed by something strange.
It was said that an emperor’s word was worth nine tripods. When such words were spoken, Ye Jingchen, an outsider who did not have a deep understanding of the supremacy of imperial power, did not react much, but the palace attendants of Chengqian Hall and the Eastern Palace were secretly shocked.
At this moment, if the Crown Prince said he wanted the stars in the sky, the Emperor would probably find a way to pluck them for him, wouldn’t he?
As for a wish…
In his previous life, Ye Jingchen most wanted to be a wealthy idler. As for wealth, he had already automatically gained it the moment he transmigrated into the novel and became Ye Jingchen. As for idleness…
That depended on the Emperor. The longer the Emperor lived and the better he governed the country, the more leisurely this Crown Prince could be.
“My only wish is that Imperial Father stay healthy and live a hundred…”
“Aiyo… my Crown Prince, His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, the Lord of Ten Thousand Years. A hundred years isn’t enough? That’s unlucky!” Zhang Shunde, who was standing by to attend them, quickly interrupted Ye Jingchen before he could finish.
“Mind your tongue!” The Emperor shot him a murderous look. “What’s wrong with living a hundred years? Looking through history, which emperor has ever lived to a hundred? In my opinion, the Crown Prince’s wish is excellent!”
Since the Emperor himself said it was good, who would dare say otherwise and bring trouble upon him?
“Your Majesty’s rebuke is correct. This servant spoke out of turn. The Crown Prince has the heart of a child, yet he is perfectly kind and filial. He will surely move the heavens, bring down blessings, and protect His Majesty!” Zhang Shunde secretly hated his own quick tongue for making the Emperor unhappy. Right now, he could only smile and flatter him in agreement, hoping not to be resented by the little Crown Prince.
Ye Jingchen had also slipped up for a moment and forgotten the many taboos of emperors in feudal dynasties. Fortunately, the Emperor doted on the Crown Prince enough to not hold it against him.
He knew Zhang Shunde had been reminding him out of goodwill, so he naturally would not resent him. He smiled at him.
But when Zhang Shunde saw the little Crown Prince’s smile, he only became more uneasy. What did the Crown Prince mean by that? Why was he smiling at him so… so meaningfully?
“Chen’er, don’t mind what that old fellow said. Between father and son, we don’t play these empty formalities. Your filial devotion, your father has felt it. If you do not want anything now, that is fine. When you think of something later, just come tell Imperial Father then!” the Emperor promised generously.
Ye Jingchen understood very clearly that the reason his actions today had moved the Emperor so much was only because he wore a child’s face, and because the Emperor viewed this child through an eight-hundred-fold filter. If it had been his real self doing this, the Emperor would probably have ordered someone to drag him out and behead him on the spot.
If he truly tried to use the fact that he had given the Emperor a flower to ask for something precious, or to make the Emperor do something difficult, it might very well make the Emperor unhappy and wear away the father-son bond between them. Wouldn’t that go against the original purpose of giving the flower in the first place?