Jiang Yan Chuan carefully cradled the little one in his arms.
Jiang Yingcheng had originally intended to play pitiful before her Father Emperor, and now that she was genuinely in pain, she burst into tears, crying as if the world were ending.
With a composed expression, Jiang Yan Chuan held Jiang Yingcheng and walked past the trembling Noble Consort Rou without even a glance, heading straight toward the main seat.
It wasn’t until Changshun Gonggong gave a light cough that the people in the hall seemed to snap back to reality, instantly kneeling in unison.
Even Jiang Huaian, with the support of a palace attendant, struggled to rise and knelt as well.
All traces of his earlier arrogance had vanished.
After paying their respects, everyone breathed lightly, the hall falling silent except for the little one’s heart-wrenching sobs and the occasional soft pats Jiang Yan Chuan gave on her back.
After a long while, the crying gradually subsided until she began to hiccup intermittently.
However, Pan Jingwan’s fear only grew thicker with each pat.
Having been in the palace for years, she had never seen the Mingze Emperor show such tenderness. He had always been cold and detached, not even thawing the ice on his face when facing Jiang Huaian.
What kind of bewitching potion had Jiang Yingcheng given the Mingze Emperor?
And how much had the Mingze Emperor heard of what had just happened?
Over the years, Pan Jingwan had dared to act recklessly in the rear palace precisely because the Mingze Emperor showed no interest in its affairs. But now, Jiang Yingcheng had become an exception.
Pan Jingwan’s fingers began to tremble slightly, and she quickly clenched them into fists to hide it.
Don’t panic, things haven’t…
“Rou Fei,” Jiang Yan Chuan suddenly spoke, his voice stripped of its earlier tenderness and now filled with coldness.
Pan Jingwan hurriedly responded, her unease deepening. “Your servant is here.”
Jiang Yan Chuan’s hand continued to pat Jiang Yingcheng’s back rhythmically, the scene warm and tender, but his words were exceptionally harsh. “It seems you and your son are dissatisfied with my judgment yesterday.”
Pan Jingwan’s heart sank to the depths.
He had indeed heard everything!
Her mind raced as she scrambled to find excuses to defend herself. “Your Majesty, Huaian returned covered in injuries yesterday. As his mother, how could I not feel heartbroken?”
“I was momentarily blinded by anger. I beg Your Majesty to understand a mother’s devotion.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a handkerchief she carried and dabbed vaguely at the corners of her eyes.
Under the cover of the handkerchief, her gaze shot directly toward Jiang Huaian.
Jiang Huaian kept his head deeply bowed, not daring to look up at the Mingze Emperor.
His useless demeanor made Pan Jingwan’s head spin with dizziness, and her anger burned even fiercer than before.
Jiang Xingran had dared to step forward when his mother was in trouble, but now, when she was in peril, the son she had coddled and cherished was too frightened to even lift his head?!
She clenched her fists tightly, her neatly trimmed nails leaving indentation after indentation in her palms.
For a moment, her rage even overshadowed the fear the Mingze Emperor instilled in her.
But—
A light chuckle from the Mingze Emperor quickly pulled her thoughts back.
“So that’s how it is. It seems it was my fault,” Jiang Yan Chuan said indifferently.
He had never wished to become deeply entangled in the conflicts of the inner court, preferring to devote his energy to expanding the empire’s territories. However, this did not mean he failed to understand the schemes of these individuals.
“Since Huaian’s pitiful state has unsettled Rou Fei,” Jiang Yan Chuan nodded and instructed Changshun, “then send Huaian to Consort Yan to be cared for in her stead.”
Jiang Yan Chuan’s expression remained as cold and detached as before, as if he had merely stated the most ordinary thing. Yet his words caused Noble Consort Rou and Jiang Huaian, who were kneeling on the ground, to jerk their heads up, their faces deathly pale.
“Your Majesty,” Noble Consort Rou’s voice trembled, her eyes filled with disbelief, “what do you mean by this?”
Consort Yan already had a son of her own. In recent years, Jiang Huaian had been domineering throughout the palace, and that child was among those he had bullied. Consort Yan had endured it all this time solely due to the Pan family’s influence.
But if Huaian were sent to Consort Yan’s palace, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t seize the opportunity for revenge.
Moreover…
The Mingze Emperor had not specified a time limit.
How long would he be sent there?
Only during Huaian’s recovery period, or would he never be returned?
Noble Consort Rou’s mind swarmed with one question after another. Her head already felt heavy and confused, made worse by Jiang Huaian’s incessant wailing during this time.
His mournful cries were even more pitiful than Jiang Yingcheng’s had been earlier.
“Father Emperor, your son doesn’t want to go to Consort Yan’s place!”
Ignoring the pain in his body, Jiang Huaian pushed himself up from the ground and tried to crawl toward the Mingze Emperor: “Your son was wrong, your son will reflect deeply on this. Please don’t send your son to Consort Yan’s place, wu wu wu…”
When he had bullied Jiang Qiuyu before, he had seen Consort Yan’s resentful yet restrained gaze more than once. At the time, he had felt triumphant.
No matter how angry she was, what could she do? She could only swallow her pride out of fear for his maternal family’s power.
But now, he felt nothing but cold dread throughout his body.
If he were sent to Consort Yan’s palace today, he would surely suffer!
Although his maternal family’s influence remained, the methods of torment in the palace were hardly limited to those done openly.
He absolutely did not want to be sent to Consort Yan.
Seeing that Father Emperor remained silent with a furrowed brow, Jiang Huaian quickly turned toward his mother: “Mother, please beg Father Emperor for mercy! Your son doesn’t want to leave you, wu wu wu…”
Pan Jingwan also panicked, sweat pouring from her temples more profusely than Zitan’s had earlier: “Your Majesty, your servant cannot be separated from Huaian…”
Jiang Yan Chuan found the noise from these two individuals headache-inducing. Just as he was about to order someone to carry Jiang Huaian away, he felt Jiang Yingcheng carefully stepping on the edge of the soft chair, clutching his arm to struggle upright and lean close to him—pat pat—
Two small hands covered both his ears, one on each side.
Jiang Yan Chuan: “…”
The little one’s face was still wet with tears, but when he looked up, she gave him a big smile: “Noisy, don’t listen!”
[Fourth Brother even made Eighth Brother imitate a dog’s barking before! Quickly send Fourth Brother to Consort Yan’s palace to bark a couple times and pay it back!]
The little milky voice was fuming, chattering nonstop: 【And, and later Fourth Brother will push Eighth Brother into the garden pond, and, and even stop the guards from rescuing him! Because of this, Eighth Brother was bedridden for over half a year, and even after recovering, his constitution remained weaker than ordinary people. He passed away before even reaching thirty!】
Jiang Yan Chuan’s eyes darkened abruptly.
Has the imperial harem changed its surname to Pan or something?!
Changshun Gonggong stood slightly behind the Mingze Emperor, his head bowed very low.
This was already the countless time he sighed silently in his heart.
Hearing such imperial secrets was distressing enough, but what made it even more distressing was that His Majesty was fully aware that he had overheard these secrets.
Ah…
Being able to hear the Little Princess’s inner thoughts was indeed an honor, but he didn’t want it anymore.
His gaze shifted slightly.
The little one seemed tired from standing and had rested her head on the Mingze Emperor’s shoulder, her rosy cheeks brimming with happiness.
Changshun’s eyes began to wander back and forth.
Well… the Little Princess is just too adorable…
Maybe… he’ll keep listening after all?