“Imperial Father! I’m not a child anymore. How could you do this?!” Ye Jingchen glared at the Emperor, his voice filled with grief and indignation.
“What am I doing?” The Emperor found Ye Jingchen’s reaction amusing. He knew the answer but deliberately teased him.
Ye Jingchen was just about to argue with the Emperor when he caught a glimpse of Ji Wushuang’s increasingly cold expression. Sensing that something was wrong, he quickly pulled the Emperor toward Ji Wushuang.
“Imperial Father, just hold him for a bit! Jingyu, little brother is so adorable. Don’t you really want to hold him?”
Although the novel had described Ji Wushuang as love-brained at first, Ye Jingchen’s own observations told him that even if she had a love-brained side, it was not very serious.
Besides, she now had a child and was a mother. A woman becomes stronger when she becomes a mother, and given the Emperor’s indifference toward Ye Jingyu, her love-brained tendencies might one day cure themselves.
In the imperial household, a clear-headed mother was far more troublesome than a love-brained one!
Ye Jingchen used all his strength, and perhaps sensing his determination, the Emperor finally agreed to cooperate.
He strode up to Ji Wushuang, who quickly stood up with the child in her arms, looking at the Emperor in disbelief.
The Emperor reached out both hands toward Ye Jingyu in Ji Wushuang’s arms and asked with a smile, “Jingyu, would you like Imperial Father to hold you?”
The little bun’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He hesitated only for a moment before happily reaching out to the Emperor.
Ji Wushuang felt a little bitter, but also somewhat relieved. She cooperatively handed Ye Jingyu to the Emperor.
Ye Jingyu was two years younger than Ye Jingchen, not only shorter but also much lighter. Still, his body was very soft, with a faint milky scent about him.
Although the Emperor had been somewhat unwilling to hold him at first, once he did, a hint of fatherly joy rose in his heart.
Especially when he saw the reverence and longing in Ye Jingyu’s eyes as the child looked at him. That was quite satisfying.
After holding him for a while, Ji Wushuang worried that the Emperor might lose patience, so she found an excuse and took the child back.
Ye Jingyu’s brief father experience card was over.
When he returned to his mother consort’s arms, there was still a tiny bit of disappointment on his face.
Unlike his mother consort’s gentle, fragrant embrace, Imperial Father’s arms were warm and broad. Just as his cheap brother had said, they felt very safe.
The Emperor was in a fairly good mood. He praised Ji Wushuang a few times, saying she had raised the Third Imperial Prince very well, and rewarded her with quite a lot.
The Emperor had a handsome face; otherwise, Ji Wushuang would never have fallen in love at first sight with him back then. Besides, those in power were always skilled at winning people over. As long as he showed even a little tenderness, Ji Wushuang’s happiness was visibly apparent.
After placating her, the Emperor left Weiyang Palace with Ye Jingchen.
Chengqian Palace and the Eastern Palace were in the same direction, but in different places. After carrying Ye Jingchen onto the palanquin, the Emperor ordered them to go to the Eastern Palace first.
The palanquin passed through the Imperial Garden.
Sitting in the palanquin gave them a much wider view, letting them see more scenery.
As the saying goes, the first time is strange and the second time is familiar. After repeated exposure, Ye Jingchen could barely tolerate sitting on the Emperor’s lap.
He had no choice. The palanquin was only so big. If he did not sit on the Emperor’s lap, where else could he sit?
Spring was the season when flowers bloomed in full splendor, and none of the flowers cultivated in the Imperial Garden were ordinary. As Ye Jingchen admired the garden’s beauty, he felt as though he could not take it all in.
“Chen’er, why are you being so generous today? Weren’t you always very unhappy when Imperial Father got close to your younger brothers?” the Emperor suddenly asked.
Ye Jingchen withdrew his gaze and looked over, meeting the Emperor’s somewhat probing eyes.
Ye Jingchen’s heart skipped a beat.
In Weiyang Palace, he had been too focused on building goodwill with Ji Wushuang and her son, and had overlooked the fact that, given the original body’s personality, it was absolutely impossible for him to actively let the Emperor hold Ye Jingyu.
Of course, given the original body’s personality, he would also never have brought gifts to visit the Noble Consort and her son. Humiliating them would have been more like it!
But since he had replaced the original body, he certainly could not keep walking the old path. He had to make changes.
And if he wanted to change, suspicion was inevitable.
Fortunately, he had already prepared his explanation and countermeasures.
Ye Jingchen’s previously excited expression visibly faded. He took a moment to gather himself, let out a deliberately fake sigh, and then said, “Actually, just now when I saw Imperial Father holding Third Imperial Brother, I wasn’t happy at all.”
“If you weren’t happy, then why did you do it?” the Emperor asked in confusion.
“Before, I was afraid that Imperial Father would like the newly born younger brothers more and stop liking me. That’s why I didn’t want Imperial Father to get close to them. But after falling into the water this time, I thought I was going to die. I was very scared, and I regretted it very much. If I really had died, how sad would Imperial Father have been? If there were other younger brothers by your side at that time, would your sadness have been a little less?” Ye Jingchen said, looking into the Emperor’s eyes. His own eyes gradually turned red.
They say that speaking while looking into someone’s eyes is the most sincere. Ye Jingchen did not know whether the Emperor could see his sincerity, but he could clearly see the Emperor’s emotion.
The Emperor hugged Ye Jingchen tightly, as if he were holding his own heart and soul.
“Imperial Father, in the Noble Consort’s palace, even the pillars are made of gold. Is she very rich?” Ye Jingchen asked curiously after letting the Emperor hold him for a moment.
He naturally knew it was just gold plating; he was asking on purpose.
Sure enough, the Emperor laughed at his naive words.
“That is just a layer of gold plating on the outside of the pillars. But the Noble Consort is a daughter of the Ji family, so she is indeed quite wealthy.”
Maybe even wealthier than I am, the Emperor silently added in his heart.
After all, the Ji family had a thousand years of heritage, while Dayuan had only been founded for a little over a hundred years.
“Is the Ji family very powerful?” Ye Jingchen asked in feigned confusion. Before the Emperor could answer, he said confidently, “Definitely not as powerful as Imperial Father!”
The Emperor smiled but said nothing.
An emperor would absolutely never admit that he was inferior to anyone else, especially not in front of his own child!
“But the golden, glittering palace is really beautiful! I wonder if the Noble Consort would be willing to gold-plate the other palaces too?” Ye Jingchen continued his ‘childish words.’
The Emperor laughed heartily.
As he laughed, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Ji Wushuang was not a money-giving child, so she would naturally not gold-plate other palaces for no reason!
But what if she were put in charge of the palace treasury?
The Emperor quickly dismissed that sudden idea.
Ever since the Empress had died of illness, the palace treasury had always been managed on Consort De’s behalf. Over all these years, she had never made a single mistake, so he had no reason to replace her suddenly.
“Imperial Father, is Jingyu, little brother very soft?” Ye Jingchen changed the subject again.
“What?” the Emperor asked in confusion.
“When I held his hand, it was fleshy and soft, like holding a dough ball. I even secretly pinched his cheek. It was tender and soft, and I really wanted to hug him!” Ye Jingchen exclaimed sincerely.
The Emperor: …
He abruptly reached out and pinched Ye Jingchen’s cheek. Indeed, just as Ye Jingchen had said, it was tender and soft, with excellent texture.
The Emperor could not resist and pinched it a few more times.
“Imperial Father, stop it!!!”
Ye Jingchen quickly grabbed the Emperor’s hand.
He had said that to stir the Emperor’s affection for Ye Jingyu, not to make himself the victim!
“Imperial Father, if you want to pinch someone, pinch Jingyu, little brother instead. He is cuter. Your son is already grown up and is not easy to pinch anymore!” Ye Jingchen said seriously while tugging at the Emperor’s mischievous hand.
The result was that his cheeks were victimized again.