When Ye Jingchen climbed down from the palanquin, his face was bright red and he was puffed up with anger.
He had sacrificed so much this time just to help the little dough ball win favor!
The Emperor had gotten addicted to pinching his cheeks and had pinched them until they turned red!
“Imperial Father, you’re being too much!” Ye Jingchen complained, glaring at the Emperor with a resentful look.
Being cheek-pinched by an adult man who was about his actual age was simply too humiliating!
Being forced to sit on the Emperor’s lap was just as bad!
It seemed that being excessively doted on by the Emperor was not necessarily a good thing!
Seeing Ye Jingchen’s bright red cheeks, the Emperor felt, for once, a little guilty.
“If anyone’s to blame, it’s only Chen’er being too adorable. Your father couldn’t help himself and pinched you a few extra times,” the Emperor said solemnly.
Ye Jingchen found the words vaguely familiar.
Oh, that was exactly what he had said when pinching Ye Jingyu’s little face.
He and the Emperor really were father and son!
He could understand the Emperor’s behavior. After all, cubs were the cutest creatures in the world, but…
Understanding was one thing; the Emperor still could not just knead him like a ball of dough!
Besides, that kind of thing was addictive. Once you started, you simply could not stop.
Ye Jingchen did not want his face to suffer any more!
As the saying goes, better for a comrade to die than for me to suffer…
“All my imperial younger brothers are cuter than me. If Imperial Father really wants to pinch someone, go pinch them!” Ye Jingchen tried to push the trouble elsewhere.
After all, he had originally intended to lead the Emperor step by step into paying attention to the other imperial princes.
The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind. He did not want to be that “tall” tree.
Being favored by the Emperor was a good thing, but being doted on and on by the Emperor was far too easy a way to make enemies and invite resentment.
The Emperor very much wanted to say that teasing the other imperial princes was nowhere near as interesting as teasing Ye Jingchen, but if he said that, Ye Jingchen would probably get into a fight with him.
So he only looked at Ye Jingchen and gave a meaningful smile.
Though the Emperor said nothing, that smile was enough to put Ye Jingchen on guard.
“Imperial Father, are you tired? Do you want to rest in the Eastern Palace for a while?” He decisively changed the subject and circled around the Emperor with eager concern.
The Emperor appreciated his concern, but being Emperor was no easy task. He had mountains of official business to handle every day, and he really did not have much time to enjoy family happiness.
The Emperor did not enter the Eastern Palace, so Ye Jingchen’s plan to freeload another meal of imperial dishes fell through. But since everything else had gone smoothly today, missing one imperial meal did not seem so important.
Imperial dishes were tempting, but the food in the Eastern Palace was not bad either.
He had gone out today and spent both physical and mental energy. He had burned through quite a lot, and at lunch Ye Jingchen could not resist eating a few extra bites. Sure enough, he was stuffed again.
He sent all the palace attendants out of the bedchamber and paced alone around the hall to digest his meal, while also thinking about his next plan.
Running into Fifth Imperial Prince Ye Jinghe in the Imperial Garden today had been an accident.
A fortunate accident.
He had originally planned to use Ye Jingyu as the breakthrough point, but now it seemed that Ye Jinghe might be more suitable.
And there was also Consort De…
Harming an imperial heir, especially the heir apparent, was absolutely a capital crime that could lead to the extermination of one’s entire clan.
Of course, Consort De was the birth mother of Second Imperial Prince Ye Jingming. He naturally would not let Consort De be wiped out along with her clan, or he and the second prince would become mortal enemies.
Moreover, although there was testimony from a palace attendant about this matter, that was only witness testimony, with no physical evidence. It was impossible to convict Consort De so easily.
So he sent the person to Ji Wushuang and let Ji Wushuang stir things up as she pleased. As long as Ji Wushuang made a scene, word would spread to the Emperor.
Consort De’s family held considerable influence at court. The Emperor could not easily move against her without conclusive evidence, but the Crown Prince was the Emperor’s beloved and his sore spot. If Consort De wanted to harm the Crown Prince, then even without conclusive proof, the Emperor would never let her off easily.
At that moment, Ye Jingchen sincerely felt that being a child was great, because no one would be on guard against a child. He could quietly lay out his plans little by little in secret.
Humming an off-key tune, Ye Jingchen happily walked around the bedchamber several times. When he got tired, he went to the bed and took a midday nap.
He had gotten up early today, walked so much, climbed so many steps, and used his brain too. Ye Jingchen was truly exhausted. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
The Eastern Palace was peaceful, but the entire imperial city was thrown into turmoil because of Ye Jingchen.
Chengqian Palace.
Just as the Emperor’s palanquin reached the palace gate, he saw Consort Shu waiting there.
Not only was Consort Shu there, but the palace maid beside her was also holding Seventh Imperial Prince Ye Jingning in her arms.
Consort Shu had come to beg forgiveness, but she had brought along the Seventh Imperial Prince, who was only one year old.
The Emperor stepped down from the palanquin and could not even be bothered to look at her.
“Your Majesty, it is all because this consort was too lax in disciplining my subordinates that palace attendants were able to mistreat Jinghe. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!” Consort Shu said as she knelt gracefully, her posture elegant, like a butterfly in flight.
Consort Shu, Li Shuyao, had a look that matched her name: quiet, elegant, gentle, and lovely.
But that was only the Emperor’s impression of her from before.
After seeing Ye Jinghe in the Imperial Garden today, looking like a beggar child, the Emperor deeply understood that one could not judge by appearance alone.
If Consort Shu had given that child even a little attention, he would not have ended up disheveled, skin-and-bones thin, barely clothed, and eating flowers to stave off hunger.
Although the Emperor did not care about his other children, he absolutely would not allow anyone else to look down on them!
“Lax discipline?” The Emperor sneered, looking down at her as he said lightly, “If you cannot even control a few palace attendants, then you do not need to be the mistress of this palace.”
All the color drained from Consort Shu’s face in an instant.
The harem had a strict hierarchy, and only concubines above the pin rank could be the mistress of a palace. The Emperor’s meaning could not have been clearer.
Consort Shu was gnashing her teeth in hatred, but on the surface she could only force a smile. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This consort has always treated Jinghe as if he were my own son and has taken meticulous care of him. It’s just that Jingning has been ill recently, and this consort has been caring for him through the night without rest. I was physically and mentally exhausted, so I inevitably neglected Jinghe a little, which allowed the palace attendants to bully their master. It was this consort’s failure to notice in time that caused Jinghe to suffer. From now on, this consort will certainly take personal charge and care for Jinghe myself, and I will never let him suffer the slightest grievance again!”
The Emperor looked down at her for a long while, enjoying Consort Shu’s uneasy expression, and only then said coldly, “Then I will be waiting to see!”
Just as the Emperor was about to leave, Consort Shu slowly stood up, raised her head, and looked at the Emperor with hopeful eyes. “Your Majesty, would you like to take a look at Jingning?”
The Emperor could no longer remember when he had last gone to see his youngest child. The little baby was too fragile and not very good-looking, so instinctively the Emperor did not want to get too close.
But then he thought that Chen’er seemed to hope he would spend more time with the other imperial princes, and he also remembered the different feeling he had had when holding Chen’er and Ye Jingyu. In the end, he became a little interested.
He walked up to the palace maid holding Ye Jingning and directly reached out to take the child into his arms.
“Your Majesty, no…” Consort Shu had only wanted the Emperor to take a look at the child. She had never expected him to actually pick the baby up, since he had never done so before.
Who would have thought that the Emperor would act so out of character this time?
Holding a baby was not the same as holding a child. Even if a child felt uncomfortable while being held, he could still endure it a little. But a baby did not know what patience was, and would not give anyone face.
The little baby had been sleeping soundly, comfortably held by a familiar scent. Suddenly, he was exposed to an unfamiliar scent, with too much force and the wrong posture, and he immediately burst into loud cries.