Su Yuyao’s gaze swept past the chaotic mess on the floor, landing precisely on Xiao Luoning.
How could Xiao Lin and Pei Qingci possibly have a child?
“Your Highness, where did this little beggar come from? Why is she here?”
“Shut up!”
A fierce, childlike roar erupted out of nowhere.
Xiao Luoning, who had been cowering like a frightened rabbit just moments before, instantly transformed into a lit firecracker.
She darted half a step out from behind the pillar, her greasy little finger pointing straight at Su Yuyao, her voice clear and bright:
“You wicked woman with all that flirty nonsense! You must be that evil Su Yuyao who pretends to be sick and pitiful to seduce my foolish father, right? You’re nowhere near as good as my mother!”
Her little mouth chattered nonstop, the crisp child’s voice filled with undisguised disgust:
“Your face isn’t as fair as my mother’s! Your waist isn’t as slender as my mother’s! Your voice is as unpleasant as a strangled duck’s! It’s awful!”
The perfect facade Su Yuyao had meticulously maintained instantly cracked.
That delicate, fragile demeanor froze on her face, instantly twisting into an extremely ugly expression.
She was a top-tier villainess, specialized in sabotaging the relationships between the male and female leads, and had never failed before.
Yet now, she was being scolded to her face by a three-year-old wild child.
“Nonsense!”
She shrieked, unable to maintain her gentle tone, her voice sharp and piercing.
Su Yuyao’s body swayed slightly, as if she couldn’t withstand the immense impact of this humiliation. She clutched her chest, her face instantly turning three shades paler.
“Enough!”
Xiao Lin’s voice was as heavy as iron grinding against stone, suppressing a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Before he could even process the absurd “ironclad proof of fatherhood,” this little devil had already provoked Su Yuyao.
Luo Luo looked up, glaring fiercely at Xiao Lin: “Foolish father is so shallow.”
“What did you say?”
Xiao Lin swept his wide, dark golden brocade sleeve and accurately pinched the chubby, cheeky little face that had been taunting him.
“Owwww!”
An earth-shattering howl erupted.
Luo Luo’s small body went limp, and without any warning, she thudded onto the thick Persian rug spread on the floor, immediately starting to roll around.
She rolled with remarkable technique: her small fists clenched tightly against her chest, her short legs kicking alternately, executing a high-difficulty, continuously rotating spiral roll.
Even more impressively, while rolling, she occasionally lifted her little face, tearfully accusing:
“Waaah! Bad father is trying to poison me! Beating his own biological daughter! Life is unbearable! This baby doesn’t want to live anymore!”Her childish voice rose sharp and bright, the tail end carrying a broken, sobbing tone with a very strong penetrating quality.”
Xiao Lin: “…”
The throbbing vein at his temple, which had been twitching all morning, now pulsed even more vigorously.
“Little ancestor! Get up, get up quickly! The prince’s body has been invaded by cold energy!”
Liu Bo rushed over in three quick steps, his old face wrinkled with heartache.
He carefully helped the little princess to her feet.
Liu Bo gently patted the little dumpling’s back, his gray beard trembling as he accused:
“Your Highness, look! How old is the little princess? Her little face is as soft as tender tofu! How could you bear to lay a hand on her?”
Luo Luo’s small hands tightly gripped the steward’s lapel. She sniffled hard, though there were no tears to wipe, and nodded frantically like a pecking chick, her large, watery eyes glaring accusingly at Xiao Lin.
She even found time to make a big, extremely provocative face at her father.
“That’s right, Grandpa Liu is correct! I’m still a delicate-skinned baby! Stupid daddy is a bad guy!”
Xiao Lin’s handsome face tightened, his thin lips curling into a cold, humorless smile.
“Baby? What kind of ‘baby’ would blow up their own father’s carriage?”
Luo Luo’s small hands unconsciously released Liu Bo’s collar as she hung her round head low.
“That… that was all your fault…”
She didn’t dare look at her father’s icy expression, but her accusation stubbornly squeezed through her clenched teeth.
“It’s because you were so determined to break off the engagement with my fairy mother.”
Her small shoulders shook in sync as she continued in a mosquito-like whisper.
“I just got too anxious in the moment, my little hands couldn’t control themselves… they just trembled a bit…”
Su Yuyao widened her eyes: “The Prince didn’t call off the engagement?”
Luo Luo immediately gained energy, pointing at Su Yuyao’s nose.
“You evil woman, don’t think you can destroy my daddy and mother’s relationship!”
Su Yuyao weakly hid behind Xiao Lin.
“Your Highness, the young princess doesn’t seem to like me.”
Luo Luo stared stubbornly at Su Yuyao with both eyes.
She must be using these tricks to bewitch daddy out of his senses.
Her useless father…
This infuriates baby!
Xiao Lin sat high above in the main seat. Before him on the expansive rosewood table inlaid with marble were the customary delicacies of the prince’s mansion.
Crystal shrimp, clear-steamed squab, fresh seasonal vegetables, and several exquisitely crafted desserts – their colors and aromas were captivating.
Yet at this moment, they only served as backdrop to two starkly contrasting figures.
To the left, Su Yuyao sipped bird’s nest soup in small mouthfuls, her posture still elegant.
To the right was Xiao Luoning, sitting in an utterly unrestrained manner.
Before her were piled specially moved pastries and half a roast chicken, one greasy little hand gripping a honey-glazed drumstick that she was munching on noisily.
Her other small hand wasn’t idle either, desperately trying to stuff a rose pastry into her already full mouth.
The area around her small mouth was smeared with shiny grease and crumbs. The expensive Hangzhou silk cushion was inevitably stained with oil.
“Your Highness.”
Su Yuyao set down her jade spoon, her gentle gaze sweeping over Xiao Luoning’s greasy, shiny cheeks.
“Luo Luo is still young. She might not be able to digest such rich food.”
“Huh?”
Luo Luo raised her small head from the chicken leg in the midst of her busy eating, blinking her grease-clumped long eyelashes as she struggled to swallow the food in her mouth.
“Can digest! Very digestible! Daddy’s bowls are too small! Not enough to eat!”
With that, she grabbed a delicate, translucent Crystal Shrimp Dumpling from the jade plate before her and stuffed it into her mouth without looking, chewing with loud smacking sounds.
Just then, outside the door, the steward bowed and whispered about urgent matters requiring report.
Xiao Lin left his seat and walked toward the outer chamber, his black python robe cutting through the slightly cool air.
Su Yuyao instantly withdrew her tender gaze fixed on Xiao Lin and turned her eyes toward Xiao Luoning.
She picked up a delicate, small pea cake, stood up, and moved to Xiao Luoning’s side.
“Little Luoluo, it’s not good to only eat meat. Here, try this…”
While appearing to offer the snack, her fingertips carried a sharp edge.
“Ah!”
A horrific, roof-lifting scream erupted without warning.
Luo Luo tumbled from the brocade stool onto the floor.
Her small hands covered her cheek as tears poured forth like a breached flood.
“The bad woman pinched me, she pinched my face, she wants to ruin my looks! She wants to kill this well-behaved little baby!”
The sharp child’s voice resounded throughout the dining hall, every word filled with heart-wrenching grievance and accusation.
Xiao Lin, who had just stepped outside, abruptly halted. His tall, imposing figure swept back in with a furious gust of wind, radiating shock and anger.
Su Yuyao’s face turned deathly pale, her flowery beauty now drained of color. One hand remained frozen mid-air, while the other clutched a trembling piece of pea cake.
“Your Highness! I did no such thing! The little princess is wronging me! I only meant to offer her food.”
How could His Highness punish her over some little wild brat who appeared out of nowhere?
Su Yuyao was certain—Xiao Lin would never punish her because of this little abomination!
“Waaah… it hurts, Father! She wants to kill Luo Luo. She pinched Luo Luo. Luo Luo is going to die, going to become an ugly monster.”
Luo Luo sobbed in Xiao Lin’s arms, smearing snot and tears all over his expensive brocade robe.
Her deafening wails hammered against his eardrums until they buzzed.
In front of everyone’s astonished gaze, the ever-impassive Prince Regent did something that made the entire dining hall drop their jaws.
Frowning deeply, he crouched down and extended a hand stained with the blood of countless battles, gently wiping the tear-streaked, greasy little face.
His thin lips parted as he stiffly blew a small puff of air.
“Stop crying now!”