Murong Xu, watching the little one closely, even listened carefully to what he was mumbling.
“Don’t die, don’t die…”
His little one kept repeating those words.
Murong Xu choked up.
What on earth was his little one doing?
The little one didn’t care about his uncle’s complicated feelings. He stuck closely to his uncle, nervously predicting his future.
Soon, the little one saw a vision of what was to come.
This time, his uncle wasn’t imprisoned, nor was he shot to death by a volley of arrows.
But, once again, there was blood.
He was dressed in wedding robes, but there was no joy on his face, only helplessness.
In front of him stood a bride in equally beautiful wedding attire, her face delicate and pitiful.
The little one heard his uncle say that they were now married, and that he would take responsibility for her.
But the bride threw herself into his uncle’s arms and stabbed him in the chest with a dagger, crying as she said that his uncle had no feelings for her.
She said that if he had shown her even the slightest affection, she wouldn’t have done this.
She also said that on the night of last month, his uncle hadn’t touched her. She had only slept by his side while he was drunk.
She cried, full of resentment that his uncle didn’t love her.
She had been sent to his uncle as a pawn, meant to watch over him.
She didn’t want to be a pawn anymore. She wanted to die with Murong Xu on their wedding night.
After seeing this vision, the little one was completely stunned.
“Ah, Ah Wu…”
After seeing the future, the little one had developed the habit of calling for Ah Wu.
This time, he called for him again.
Ah Wu responded, “I’m here. What’s wrong?”
The little one was on the verge of tears. “Why is Uncle so unlucky? He’s in trouble again.”
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu: “What’s the new way he’s supposed to die this time?”
Choking back tears, the little one explained his uncle’s new death scenario to Ah Wu.
After a moment of silence, Ah Wu said, “That’s easy to fix. Just give the Murong family a heads-up and tell Murong Xu to stay away from women and not to drink alcohol.”
If he didn’t get drunk and didn’t get involved with women, Murong Xu wouldn’t get into trouble again.
The little one nodded firmly.
After finishing his conversation about his uncle with Ah Wu, the little one mentioned that he would be leaving soon.
“Ah Wu, wait for me. I brought you a gift.”
“Okay.”
After agreeing, Ah Wu asked, “Do you need me to pick you up?”
“No.”
The little one shook his head. “I’ll take the carriage by myself.”
The guards would escort him, so there was no need for Ah Wu to come.
After finishing his chat with Ah Wu, the little one opened his eyes and looked at his uncle.
His uncle’s handsome face was getting closer, but the little one, filled with frustration, immediately reached out and yanked on it.
“Uncle, why are you so unlucky!”
“Ouch—ouch, that hurts!”
Murong Xu, his face pinched by the little one, hurriedly lifted him up to keep him away from his face.
“What’s gotten into you?”
Murong Xu held the little one at a distance, confused. “Why are you so mad all of a sudden?”
The little one didn’t want to be angry either.
But his uncle was just too much to worry about.
“Uncle, don’t get married,” the little one said, pouting as he advised his uncle. “Wait until you’re older to marry.”
In the vision, his uncle had been very young. Such a young and handsome uncle, only to die on his wedding night.
Murong Xu didn’t have strong feelings about marriage.
He didn’t have any girl he fancied, nor was he eager to start a family.
His older sister was still unmarried, and Murong Xu was more inclined to take over her responsibilities. His ambition lay in fighting on the battlefield and defending the border.
And with that ambition, he was destined to live a life fraught with danger.
If he gets married and ends up leaving a young widow, that wouldn’t be good.
Murong Xu didn’t really care about whether he got married or not, but the little one was very concerned about this big life decision of his.
“Uncle, I don’t want a bad aunt.”
The little one snuggled up to Murong Xu again, wrapping his arms around his uncle’s neck. He emphasized, “I want a good aunt.”
“Alright, I’ll do my best to find you a good one.”
The little one nodded in satisfaction and asked his uncle to carry him around for a stroll.
As they walked, the little one saw Ling Fu and Ling Ning and quickly asked his uncle to put him down. He wanted to play with them again.
“Go ahead, go ahead.”
Murong Xu waved them off as he saw the group of kids, telling them, “Be careful while you play, don’t bump into anything.”
The group of children heard his reminder and, while running off, replied, “Got it!”
As they ran away, the little one, who would soon be leaving the palace, looked at Ling Fu, Ling Ning, and then at Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou, who had also joined them.
“When I’m not here, you guys can play together.”
The little one was especially worried about his fifth sister, so he reminded Ling Fu, “Sixth Brother, play with Fifth Sister more often. Even if you don’t go outside, you can still keep her company.”
“Okay, don’t worry, I’ll play with her.”
Even though Fifth Sister had trouble in the predictions, the little one had taught her how to swim and asked Sixth Brother to stay with her. With this double protection, the chances of her getting into trouble should be smaller.
“Little Seven, how long will you be gone this time?” Ling Fu asked, feeling a bit reluctant about the little one’s departure. “Will you be back only by winter?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
The little one blinked and said, “I’m saving up my vacation time, so I can stay home longer.”
As they played, a child approached from not far away, seemingly heading toward them.
The little one hadn’t seen this child before, so he curiously asked Jiang Yan, who was next to him, “Jiang Jiang, who is he?”
“He’s the new shizi of Yong Wang’s mansion. Ignore him.”
Jiang Yan had no fondness for anyone from Yong Wang’s family.
The little one originally planned to greet him, but upon hearing he was from Yong Wang’s mansion, he immediately retracted his greeting hand.
“Fifth Princess, Sixth Prince, Seventh Prince, I am Ling Ti.”
The new shizi of Yong Wang’s mansion, who was a bit younger than the previous shizi Ling Xing, greeted the princes politely.
Jiang Yan didn’t give him any face. Seeing Ling Ti approach, he immediately said, “Let’s play hide-and-seek in the Imperial Garden.”
“Sure,” Ling Fu was the first to respond.
After agreeing, Ling Fu grabbed Fifth Sister with one hand and Little Seven with the other, following Jiang Yan to the garden.
Ling Ti watched them leave, his previously friendly expression vanishing completely.
In the Imperial Garden, the group of children began discussing who would seek and who would hide.
“Little Seven, you guys hide first, I’ll seek!” Ling Fu volunteered to be the seeker, counting to a hundred while the others ran off to hide.
The children loved playing hide-and-seek, even the usually quiet and honest Chen Zhou was the first to dash off and hide.
Ling Fu covered his eyes with his hands, counting to a hundred before starting his search.
He was very good at finding people.
In no time, Jiang Yan and the others were found.
The only one left was the little one, who often gave away his hiding spot with his little bottom sticking out. This time, however, a round-faced, smiling maid pointed him to a gap in an artificial rock formation.
The gaps in the rock formation were quite large, and the little one squeezed and squeezed, eventually managing to wedge himself inside.
Once he was in, the round-faced maid covered the gap with something.
This made his hiding spot much more secure.
Listening to Ling Fu find everyone else without finding him, the little one was delighted, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter.
But just as he was focused on hiding, a nest of centipedes crawled over from the bottom of the rock formation.
The little one’s eyes widened in fear when he saw the centipedes.
He tried to squeeze out of the gap, but for some reason, perhaps because he was too nervous, his chubby little body only got more stuck, and he couldn’t get out at all.
By now, calling for help was useless.
The centipedes were small, and the guard who was watching over him only saw that he was hiding inside, completely unaware of the centipedes.
As the centipedes crawled closer, the little one, who wasn’t afraid of insects but was terrified of this many, was so scared that he reverted to his original form with a pop.
A fluffy little white ball came running out of the gap, squeaking in fright, even stepping on one of the centipedes with its paw.
The little ball darted out just as Ling Fu spotted it.
But Ling Fu, puzzled, thought, “Whose pet is this in the palace?”
He had never seen anything like it before, but it sure was cute.
After the little one hopped out, he quickly hid in another spot.
When he emerged again, he had reverted to his human form as the little prince.
“Little Seven, I found you!” Ling Fu shouted, catching him. “You’re caught, come out!”
Ling Fu had found the little one, but he was still a bit confused. “That’s strange. I checked this spot earlier, and there was no one here.”
“I was here,” the little one lied, trying to cover up his secret. “I’ve been hiding here the whole time.”
“Alright, maybe I just missed you.”
Luckily, Ling Fu didn’t think too much of it and didn’t doubt the little one’s words.
“Little Seven, now it’s your turn to seek. We’ll hide!”
“Okay!”
The game of hide-and-seek continued, and the little one happily went off to find his friends.
They took turns hiding and seeking, and by the end of it, each one of them was flushed red with exhaustion.
The little ones were playing in the imperial garden, and when they got tired, they sat in the pavilion, drinking sweet water and chatting.
“A lot of people came today. Little Seven, maybe your future aunt is among them,” Jiang Yan said as he sat in a chair, holding a cup of honey water, speaking to the little one.
The little one, who was gulping down his drink, was caught off guard by Jiang Yan’s words and immediately choked on his water.
He coughed uncontrollably, his little face turning bright red.
Ling Fu, startled, quickly rushed over to him and patted his back.
Ling Fu’s chubby hand pounded away.
The little one wasn’t choked to death by the water but was nearly pummeled to death by his sixth brother’s hand. His eyes welled up with tears from the blows.
“Sixth Brother, it hurts,” the little one whimpered.
Ling Fu, rubbing his back, said helplessly, “If I didn’t help you, you would’ve choked to death. I can’t be without my little brother.”
Hearing Ling Fu’s last words, the little one sniffled and stopped complaining about the pain.
“I’m going to find Uncle.”
The little one decided he needed to keep a close eye on his uncle today and not let him talk to any girls. He wasn’t ready for an aunt just yet.
“Jiang Jiang, do you know where my uncle is?”
“Yes, all the young adults are gathered together. I overheard my mother saying that there are girls of suitable age at this banquet. If your uncle fancies someone, the two families can start discussing marriage.”
The little one, upon hearing this, put down his cup and hurried off to find his uncle with his short little legs.
When he arrived, he saw a few blushing girls near his uncle. Uncle was with a few young men, chatting away, completely unaware of the girls around them.
Murong Xu was very personable; even with people he didn’t know, he could easily strike up a conversation. They were chatting and laughing, clearly enjoying themselves.
The little one didn’t care if there were strangers around; like a little cannonball, he launched himself into his uncle’s arms.
“Uncle!”
The little one clung to his uncle and refused to leave. “Take me with you to play.”
Murong Xu squeezed his chubby foot. “Why aren’t you playing with your little friends? What are you doing here with me?”
It was all adults around him, and the little one wouldn’t have as much fun as with his friends. Murong Xu told him to go play elsewhere, but when the little one stayed put, he was happy to hold him in his arms.
The others around them saw the little prince in Murong Xu’s arms and started talking to him as well.
The little one waved his tiny hands and obediently greeted everyone one by one.
“His Highness is the most adorable and well-behaved child I’ve ever seen,” someone remarked.
Seeing how cute and well-behaved the little prince was, the people surrounding Murong Xu couldn’t help but comment in admiration. Just watching the little one made them all like him.
Murong Xu listened to them praising the little one for a while, but eventually, he couldn’t help himself and cleared his throat. “He’s only cute because of his looks.”
This cute little face could fool anyone.
“His Highness isn’t just cute. I’ve heard that he’s also very well-behaved and filial.”
“Yes, I’ve heard the same.”
“Seeing him in person, I’d say he’s even more adorable than the rumors.”
Hearing all these compliments made the little one feel dizzy with joy. He grabbed his uncle with his chubby hands, his eyes sparkling.
Murong Xu listened to the praises for quite a while, and by the end, his ears were practically ringing. Unable to take it any longer, he picked up the little one.
“Well, the little prince needs to go relieve himself. I’ll take him for a quick break,” Murong Xu said, using it as an excuse to slip away with the little one.
In his arms, the little one squirmed unhappily. “I don’t need to go! Uncle, you’re lying!”
He had already gone earlier and didn’t need to go again now.
Murong Xu held him by his little bottom, ignoring his protests, and carried him off to the side.
Just as they started walking, a handkerchief suddenly dropped in front of them.
Murong Xu: “…”
Little one: “…”
The little one quickly covered his uncle’s eyes with his hands, trying to prevent him from seeing the handkerchief.
Not only did he cover his uncle’s eyes, but he also struggled out of his uncle’s arms, picked up the handkerchief, and ran to return it to the girl who had dropped it.
“Big sister, here you go,” the little one said.
The girl who dropped the handkerchief looked at the cute little one, and although he was very adorable, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
She accepted the handkerchief, but her eyes drifted to the little one’s uncle.
The little one followed her gaze and nervously whispered, “My uncle isn’t getting married yet.”
The little one, who was about to leave soon, was terrified that once he left, his uncle might end up with a bad aunt. So, to prevent any misfortune, he lied, “My uncle has a bad fate, he can’t get married this year.”
The girl sighed deeply after hearing this.
She had made her interest in Murong Xu quite clear, so clear that even the little one had noticed.
But Murong Xu, standing there with his eyes closed, showed no interest in responding to her.
“Forget it,” the girl said with a sigh. Seeing that no one else was around and taking the opportunity while Murong Xu wasn’t looking, she reached out and patted the little one’s head. “I won’t try for your uncle anymore. I’ll go look for someone else.”
She had reached the age of marriage, and her family had already suggested a few potential matches, but none of them had caught her eye. At this banquet, she had hoped to find a suitable young man, but it seemed she’d have to keep looking.
Seeing that Murong Xu wasn’t interested, the pretty lady swiftly moved on to her next target. Her criteria: handsome, ambitious, and obedient.
“Goodbye, sister!”
The little boy waved obediently as the pretty lady walked away.
Besides that girl who dropped her handkerchief, the little one stayed vigilant, making sure his uncle didn’t pay attention to any of the girls at the banquet.
“Look at me! I’m the cutest!”
The little one tried his best all day, and by the end, Murong Xu was helpless. He finally realized that his nephew was dead serious about not letting him get married.
Throughout the banquet, the little one had kept himself quite busy. After the banquet ended and everyone dispersed, the little one returned to Fenghua Palace to continue packing his little belongings.
Emperor Ling had packed several carts of luggage for him.
The little one carefully went through his things, while elsewhere in the palace, someone whispered about the events of the day.
“You mean… he’s some kind of demon?”
“That explains it, explains why he’s so good at bewitching people.”
“Everyone in the palace has fallen under his spell.”
“Niang Niang, he’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“No matter. He’ll be back. And when he does…”
The rest of the words were lost in the night.
Back in Fenghua Palace, the little one finished sorting through his things and clung to Emperor Ling and Noble Consort Yi, chatting with them.
As his departure neared, the two adults couldn’t help but worry.
Raising the little one had been tumultuous; he had gotten sick, injured, and nearly drowned twice when he was very young, surviving by sheer luck.
Emperor Ling had invested so much effort in raising him that this boy, in his eyes, was different from all his other children.
“Little Seven, take more silver with you this time. Guan Shan Academy doesn’t allow servants, so use the money to pay others to help you.”
Emperor Ling, who normally loved deducting the little one’s pocket money, didn’t hold back this time.
Lying on his father’s lap, the little one shook his head. “I don’t need much pocket money! There are people to take care of me. The children in my class are great—they all treat me well.”
Emperor Ling wasn’t so convinced. After all, the kids who were sent to Guan Shan Academy were often less than kind.
They talked late into the night, and by the end, the little one was so drowsy that he fell asleep with his mouth wide open.
The next day, the little one’s last day in the palace, he visited all his brothers and sisters to say goodbye.
When he found his eldest brother, the little one grabbed his hand and seriously asked him for a favor.
“Please don’t let my uncle get married! I can tell the future, and if he marries, he’ll have bad luck.”
His request was so sincere that his brother, Ling Chen, had no choice but to agree.
But the little one didn’t stop there. He asked all his siblings, including Shui Shui.
After listening to the little one’s request, Shui Shui seemed to be deep in thought.
“Don’t let him get married, huh?”
After pondering for a moment, Shui Shui offered, “I can brew a potion for him.”
“Huh?” The little one looked puzzled. “What kind of potion?”
Staring at him calmly, Shui Shui said, “A potion that will stop him from getting married. If he drinks it, he’ll end up like Eunuch Lu Guang.”
“!!”
The little one’s eyes widened in shock, trembling as he responded, “N-no! That’s not allowed!”
His little uncle couldn’t become an eunuch!
Seeing the little one’s rejection, Shui Shui seemed slightly disappointed. “That would’ve been the most effective solution.”
The little one shook his head vigorously, looking like a rattling drum. “No, no! My uncle can’t become an eunuch.”
