“Your son doesn’t want anything, but your son wants to go see Third Imperial Brother. Imperial Father, can you accompany your son to Weiyang Palace?”
This was what Ye Jingchen had decided on last night after planning to freeload imperial dishes. By bringing the Emperor to Weiyang Palace, he would not be turned away at the door by the Noble Consort, and he could also do the love-brained Noble Consort a favor.
Mm, yes. The Emperor was that favor.
The Noble Consort Ji Wushuang mentioned in the novel was the legitimate youngest daughter of a thousand-year reclusive family. She was raised very well, simple and straightforward, unpretentious, and her likes and dislikes were clear.
She fell in love with the Emperor at first sight and, despite her clan’s opposition, insisted on entering the palace as a consort.
Knowing how influential the family behind her was, the Emperor naturally would not neglect her on the surface. Not only did he make her the Noble Consort, the head of the four consorts, but in matters of bedchamber visits and rewards, he was also more frequent than with the other palace consorts.
In this harem, she held a noble status and the Emperor’s favor, so she always thought he also liked her. Until the Crown Prince tried to push Ye Jingyu into the water and instead fell in himself, she went to argue with the Emperor, only to be severely punished by him without any explanation. Not only was her body hurt, but the Emperor also began to cold-shoulder her and Ye Jingyu.
The harem had always been a place where the strong trampled the weak. When she enjoyed the Emperor’s favor, naturally everyone wanted to curry favor with her and flatter her. Once she was abandoned by the Emperor, anyone could come and step on her. Not to mention that the struggles in the harem had always been full of deadly schemes, killing people without spilling blood.
After suffering countless setbacks, hurting both body and heart, Ji Wushuang turned dark. She gave up on the Emperor and set her heart on the throne.
Of course, unlike the other consorts, her desire for Ye Jingyu to fight for the throne was not because she cared that much about that position. It was simply to take revenge on the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
That was the original plot of the novel. After Ye Jingchen transmigrated into the Crown Prince, he immediately stopped the Emperor from punishing Ji Wushuang, so at least she would not be injured and left with a chronic illness from kneeling as punishment for too long, as in the original story.
Ji Wushuang herself had no ambition. The biggest ambition of a love-brained person was to capture the heart of the man she liked. If she did not turn dark, she would not pose a threat to Ye Jingchen.
So Ji Wushuang was the best breakthrough point here.
However, Ji Wushuang herself had a personality that clearly distinguished likes and dislikes. The original body had wanted to harm Ye Jingyu, so Ji Wushuang definitely would not like the original body. Although Ye Jingchen had already had Chenxi send the two people that Consort De had planted in the Eastern Palace to Weiyang Palace early in the morning as a door-opener, he still was not sure whether Ji Wushuang would agree to let him see Ye Jingyu.
But if he dragged the Emperor along, Ji Wushuang surely could not turn the Emperor away at the door too, could she?
“What are you going to see Jingyu for?” the Emperor asked in surprise.
“When I fell into the water, Jingyu was also there. He was still so young, so he must have been frightened. As his brother, I naturally have to go see him.” Ye Jingchen put on a serious little face and said solemnly.
The Emperor found it amusing and could not help reaching out to pinch his beloved son’s chubby little face.
With that pinch, he found that the little chubby face was actually quite elastic and felt good to the touch, so he could not help pinching it a few more times.
“Imperial Father, what are you doing?” Ye Jingchen quickly grabbed his hand, trying to save his little face.
The Emperor found him amusing and deliberately teased him for a while, until Ye Jingchen cried out in pain with tears in his eyes, and only then did he quickly withdraw his hand.
When he looked again, there was indeed a red mark on the fair little face.
Feeling somewhat guilty, the Emperor picked up Ye Jingchen in one motion and ordered the palace attendant, “Prepare a palanquin. We are going to Weiyang Palace.”
The palace attendant accepted the order and went to prepare the ceremonial escort. By the time the Emperor carried Ye Jingchen out of Chengqian Palace, the palanquin was ready, one large and one small. However, the Emperor ordered the small one to be removed, and he sat in the large one with Ye Jingchen in his arms.
Being held while sitting on the lap of a grown man made Ye Jingchen extremely uncomfortable. He could only distract himself by looking around as much as possible and forcefully ignore the person’s presence beside him.
From Chengqian Palace to Weiyang Palace, they had to pass through the Imperial Garden. When the palanquin reached the Imperial Garden, Ye Jingchen could no longer sit still.
“Imperial Father, the flowers in the Imperial Garden are blooming so beautifully. Why don’t we walk over?” he asked, shaking the Emperor’s hand.
Thinking of how Ye Jingchen had just compared flowers to spring as a gift to him, how could the Emperor bear to refuse such a small request? He ordered the palanquin to stop and carried Ye Jingchen down from it, but he did not put him down. Instead, he planned to carry him like that all the way.
“Imperial Father, I am very heavy. Don’t tire yourself out. Put me down. I want to hold your hand and walk,” Ye Jingchen said, gently struggling a little.
“The Imperial Garden is very large. You would get tired if you walked by yourself.” The Emperor was somewhat reluctant, because carrying the little bundle in his arms felt very good.
Although he had many children, the only ones he had personally carried were the pair of children born to the Empress. Now that his daughter was grown, he could no longer carry her, so he could only carry his son to satisfy himself.
“Then when I get tired, can Imperial Father carry me again? Chen’er also worries that Imperial Father will get tired,” Ye Jingchen negotiated with the Emperor.
With his son being so considerate, how could the Emperor say no?
He put Ye Jingchen down, and with a big hand holding a small hand, they walked toward the Imperial Garden, followed by a large crowd behind them.
The flowers in the Imperial Garden were more varied than those in the Eastern Palace garden, competing in splendor and fragrance.
“Although the flowers in this garden are also very beautiful, the one I gave Imperial Father is the most beautiful!” Ye Jingchen said shamelessly, lying through his teeth.
The flower he gave had to be the most beautiful; otherwise, how could its value be reflected?
“Chen’er is right. These flowers cannot compare to the one Chen’er gave Imperial Father,” the Emperor said with a smile.
Later, when the Emperor learned that the flower had been picked by the Crown Prince, who had gotten up before dawn and spent half a day choosing it in the garden, he was even more moved.
But that was a later story. For now, Ye Jingchen held the Emperor’s hand and walked along happily, admiring the precious flowers in the Imperial Garden and breathing in their refreshing fragrance, feeling very pleased.
The sky was as blue as a mirror, the gentle wind brushed his cheeks, the brilliant flowers bloomed freely, and the relaxed, pleasant mood was something that could absolutely not be felt in modern times.
“Chen’er, why are you so happy?” The Emperor felt the simple joy of the child beside him and was also affected by it, his brows unconsciously relaxing quite a bit.
“The flowers are very beautiful, the wind is very gentle, and Imperial Father is with me. I am very happy,” Ye Jingchen said.
Although the words were very simple, for some reason the Emperor felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction from the bottom of his heart after hearing them.
That kind of satisfaction had never appeared even on the day he ascended the throne.
He held Ye Jingchen’s soft little hand and only felt that his own heart had become as soft as that hand, soft beyond words.
The Imperial Garden was large, the road long, and every view was different. Every time Ye Jingchen thought a cluster of flowers was already beautiful enough, he felt that perhaps around the next bend he would see something even more beautiful.
The more he looked, the more excited he became, not feeling tired at all.
And when they reached a patch of flowers as tall as a person, Ye Jingchen’s eyes lit up. He broke free from the Emperor’s hand and leaned in close to look at the flowers.
He did not know what kind of flower this was. It looked like a peony and also like a herbaceous peony. The blossoms were large, but the petals were more delicate than either peonies or herbaceous peonies, and their colors were either as white as snow or as red as blood, which was especially magical.
Ye Jingchen studied them excitedly, but suddenly, through the gaps between the petals, he saw a pair of pitch-black eyes.
“Ah! There’s a ghost!” With a cry of alarm, Ye Jingchen instinctively backed away and hid behind the Emperor.