The next day, when Bai Quan came again.
Yong Cheng’an used the system’s Favorability Check function on him.
On the deep blue panel, the red number was surprisingly high.
“Bai Quan, Favorability: 90.”
Yong Cheng’an unconsciously opened his mouth. A favorability of 90—probably even Emperor Yong and the Empress didn’t have a favorability as high as Bai Quan’s.
This was the first time Yong Cheng’an had used the Favorability Check function.
How could Bai Quan’s favorability toward him be so high?
With this doubt in mind, Yong Cheng’an carefully observed Bai Quan.
His little head turned everywhere as Bai Quan moved around.
Bai Quan had long noticed Yong Cheng’an’s little actions and deliberately walked to a place where Yong Cheng’an couldn’t see him.
Yong Cheng’an strained his neck, trying to see what he was doing, but his head was too heavy to lift at all.
In his urgency, Yong Cheng’an exerted a burst of strength and actually managed to roll over.
He was surprised for a moment, his round eyes instinctively curving into a smile.
He had learned to roll over!
They say babies roll over at three months, sit at six, crawl at seven, and roll around at eight.
Now that he could roll over, how far could the day he could walk be?
Although his body was weaker than other children his age, he was still an adult inside. Learning to walk should be a piece of cake!
Yong Cheng’an thought confidently.
Bai Quan had also been paying attention to Yong Cheng’an and saw him roll over on the bed.
Immediately, he strode over to the bedside, pinched his little arm, and then pinched his chubby legs.
Meeting Qiushuang’s gaze, Bai Quan showed no guilt.
“His Highness the Crown Prince just rolled over. I’m checking his bones.”
Hearing this, Qiushuang didn’t doubt him.
Only Yong Cheng’an felt that Bai Quan was definitely using his position for personal gain, taking the chance to pinch him!
After rolling over for the first time, Yong Cheng’an became much more skilled afterward. He spent the entire afternoon happily rolling over on his own.
In the evening, Emperor Yong came to Qiankun Gong.
After Qiushuang informed them that His Highness the Crown Prince had learned to roll over,
the Emperor and Empress became interested.
After washing up, the two placed Yong Cheng’an in the center of the bed, each occupying one side.
Emperor Yong was on the left, holding a fine mutton-fat jade pendant, waving it in front of him.
“An’er, if you want it, roll over to Father’s side.”
The Empress was not to be outdone. She took out a string of imperial green jade beads, each small and just the right size for him.
“An’er, come to Mother’s side.”
Yong Cheng’an looked left, then right.
He fell into hesitation.
The one on the left was definitely valuable, but the one on the right also looked good.
After thinking for a while, Yong Cheng’an finally made up his mind.
Emperor Yong and the Empress held their breaths, waiting to see Yong Cheng’an’s choice.
Without the slightest hesitation, Yong Cheng’an gathered his strength and rolled over to Emperor Yong’s side.
He reached out his little hand to grab the jade pendant in Emperor Yong’s hand.
Emperor Yong laughed heartily and let go, hanging the pendant on his hand.
“I knew it! An’er likes me the most!”
“Empress, you lose.”
Emperor Yong looked at the Empress with some pride, feeling immensely happy. As expected of his Crown Prince, he actually liked his father this much.
The Empress lowered her eyes slightly, somewhat disappointed that An’er hadn’t chosen her.
But then she thought, how old was An’er? What did he understand?
He was probably just attracted to the bright red tassel hanging from the jade pendant.
Children are all like that—they like looking at brightly colored things.
Emperor Yong’s laughter abruptly ceased. The Empress snapped back to reality, surprised to discover that Yong Cheng’an had somehow rolled over to her side.
After rolling twice in a row, Yong Cheng’an was exhausted, his mouth open as he panted for breath.
Yet he still stretched out his hand, trying to pass the jade pendant Emperor Yong had hung on his wrist to the Empress.
The Empress tentatively took the pendant from his hand. “An’er, are you giving this to Mother?”
The pendant was quite heavy, and Yong Cheng’an let out a sigh of relief the moment the Empress took it.
He looked up at the Empress with a smile, both little hands reaching upward, asking to be held.
“Ah ah!”
He babbled in infantile sounds the Empress couldn’t understand, as if saying, “Yes, yes!”
“An’er!”
The Empress was instantly moved to tears. She picked up Yong Cheng’an.
Generously, she placed her bracelet onto Yong Cheng’an’s wrist. “Mother doesn’t want it. It’s all for An’er.”
Yong Cheng’an immediately smiled, his eyes crinkling. He had known it would turn out this way.
Mother and son snuggled affectionately.
The Empress glanced at Emperor Yong, who had been proudly showing off earlier, and remarked casually, “It seems Your Majesty has lost. An’er still prefers me.”
Emperor Yong coughed awkwardly, shamelessly insisting, “Empress, you must have misheard. I said An’er likes both of us the most.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps I did mishear.” The Empress simply smiled, going along with Emperor Yong’s words.
Yong Cheng’an gave Emperor Yong an approving look. That’s more like it—both of them were his providers and the ones he needed to please.
He couldn’t afford to offend either of them.
He reached out again to grab Emperor Yong’s hand.
Emperor Yong immediately beamed with joy.
He wrapped an arm around the Empress’s shoulder while his other hand was held tightly by Yong Cheng’an.
The family of three enjoyed a harmonious and joyful moment.
Yong Cheng’an took the opportunity to check Emperor Yong and the Empress’s favorability toward him.
Emperor Yong’s favorability was seventy-three, while the Empress’s was eighty-five.
With Bai Quan’s ninety and the Empress’s eighty-five as a baseline, Emperor Yong’s mere seventy-three favorability was hardly worth mentioning.
Yong Cheng’an secretly grumbled in his heart. So, Emperor Yong, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you act so fond of me, but your favorability is only seventy-three!
Hmph!
Yong Cheng’an rolled his eyes at Emperor Yong.
Slowly, he turned over in the Empress’s arms, presenting his little backside to Emperor Yong.
Emperor Yong was taken aback. Did An’er just roll his eyes at him?
He must have imagined it. An’er was only a few months old—how could he possibly know how to roll his eyes?
Emperor Yong tried to convince himself.
From that day onward, Yong Cheng’an redoubled his efforts to increase Emperor Yong’s favorability.
This effort continued all the way until the New Year.
Yong Cheng’an was born in June and was now nearly eight months old.
He could already sit up quite agilely.
His current goal was to quietly work hard and stand up, dazzling Emperor Yong.
Yong Cheng’an first rolled to the head of the bed, then exerted himself to sit up.
After resting for a moment, he used the headboard for support to stand up.
After many attempts, he finally succeeded!
Yong Cheng’an grinned with delight.
But before he could celebrate for more than a few seconds, his legs trembled and gave way. Yong Cheng’an flailed his hands in the air, trying to grab onto something.
“Thump!”
He fell heavily onto the quilt, bouncing slightly.
With thick winter clothing and a well-padded bed, he was unharmed, though his head felt a bit dizzy.
Qiushuang had initially thought he was still asleep, but upon approaching, she realized the Crown Prince was already awake, simply staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, let this servant play with you.”
Qiushuang was originally the chief palace maid serving the Empress, but due to previous incidents, the Empress did not trust anyone else. She could only transfer Qiushuang to Yong Cheng’an’s side, where Qiushuang would serve him from then on.
As the year-end approached, the Empress was extremely busy and had no time to play with him every day.
Fearing that Yong Cheng’an might cry or fuss if he missed seeing Her Majesty the Empress, Qiushuang racked her brains daily to keep him entertained.
She worried he might remember the Empress and insist on seeing her.