“Little Seven, what are you humming about?” asked Ling Fu, who was holding Little Seven’s hand in one and a chicken leg in the other, which he had just grabbed from the banquet.
He held the leg up to Little Seven’s mouth for him to take a bite before eating it himself.
Little Seven took a bite of his sixth brother’s chicken leg and shook his head, “Nothing much.”
He had only managed to make his father less fond of the bad monk for now, but that didn’t count as fully dealing with him yet.
As long as that bad monk stayed in the palace, Little Seven knew he had to stay vigilant.
“Sixth Brother, let Fifth Sister have a bite too.”
The chicken leg from the banquet had cooled a little, but it was still delicious. After taking a bite, Little Seven noticed his fifth sister watching them, so he suggested Ling Fu offer her a bite.
Though a bit reluctant, Ling Fu handed the chicken leg over.
But Ling Ning didn’t eat it.
She touched her stomach and said, “I’m full.”
Seeing she didn’t want it, Ling Fu quickly devoured the chicken leg in just a few bites.
After finishing the leg, the three of them asked the palace servants to bring out wooden swords, and they began playing war games.
At first, Ling Ning didn’t want to join in, but seeing how much fun Little Six and Little Seven were having, she couldn’t resist and joined the game.
The children ran around chasing each other with their wooden swords, full of energy and excitement.
While Little Seven was running after Sixth Brother, someone suddenly appeared from the side, startling him so much that he dropped his wooden sword on the ground with a thud.
The person who appeared out of nowhere was Ling Ti, the new shizi of Yong Wang’s estate.
“Your Highness, can I join you in your game?” Ling Ti asked in a gentle tone, picking up the wooden sword for him.
Little Seven gripped his wooden sword tightly and, with a serious expression, rejected him, “No, I don’t want to play with you.”
With that, the little one continued chasing after his sixth brother.
Ling Ti stood behind, watching his retreating figure, his eyes darkening. “What an ungrateful child,” he muttered.
He had tried multiple times to befriend this little prince, but every time, he was met with rejection.
His father was Yong Wang, the Emperor’s own brother. As Yong Wang Shizi, his status was not much lower than that of the princes.
This little prince, born of a disgraced consort, would have been nothing had he not been favored by Noble Consort Yi and the Emperor. Between the two of them, Ling Ti believed he was clearly the one with the more prestigious background.
Ling Ti watched Little Seven with a cold gaze, though he had no immediate plans to act. For now, it wasn’t his place to do anything.
The Emperor’s excessive pampering of Little Seven had already made the child a thorn in many people’s eyes.
Little Seven, having left Ling Ti behind, continued playing with his sister and brother for most of the day.
They played until the banquet ended, and Ling Ning had to leave with Consort Shu.
When the palace attendants came to fetch her, Ling Ning was reluctant to go but obediently followed them.
As she was being taken away, the palace attendant smiled at the two boys and said, “If the two young princes wish to play with the Fifth Princess again, you’re welcome to visit our palace anytime.”
“Consort Shu said she would be happy to have you.”
After delivering the message, the palace attendant left with the Fifth Princess.
Ling Fu, glancing at the sky, also told Little Seven, “Little Seven, I have to go now. It’s getting late.”
His mother was very strict about him not staying up late.
Ling Fu had privately shared with his mother that her insistence on an early bedtime wasn’t really about health. She had just heard that staying up late was bad for the body and made it easier to gain weight.
She said he was a healthy chubby boy now, but if his health declined and he became a sickly chubby boy, that would be a disaster.
“Little Seven, you should go to bed early too.”
Ling Fu patted the little one on the shoulder, giving him a reminder.
The little one, who had been staying up late quite frequently, nodded obediently.
After seeing Sixth Brother off, the little one was taken back by Ji Yan, who came to fetch him.
“Young Master, next time we play games, let’s do it during the day, okay? It’s getting late now, and no matter how bright the lights are, it’s still not as good as daylight.”
“If you fall, the Consort will worry.”
Ji Yan wasn’t against him playing games late at night; she just didn’t like him playing with a wooden sword at that time. It was too risky—what if he poked himself?
“Mhm, I understand,” the little one replied with his usual good temper.
When they returned to the palace, Noble Consort Yi had already bathed and changed.
The little one rushed over and hugged her neck for a while before going to take his bath.
When he came out, he saw Noble Consort Yi and Ji Yan had finished their conversation.
“Little Seven, come here.”
Noble Consort Yi waved him over with a smile. “Today, Consort Ru mentioned that children shouldn’t stay up too late, or they won’t grow tall. It’s time to establish a better sleep routine.”
The little one leaned against her, whining without giving a clear response.
After the family banquet.
Despite offering the temple’s treasure to Emperor Ling, Shikong’s treatment in the palace remained the same, with no visible rewards from the emperor. Yet, he remained unhurried.
When Emperor Ling summoned him, he offered his advice. When he was not summoned, he sat and meditated, continuing as always.
However, during his meditation, the young prince frequently sat beside him, imitating the meditation. It wasn’t long before the little one’s head started nodding off in sleep. Shikong pretended not to notice.
As the little one continued listening to the scriptures, several palace servants began falling ill, exhibiting signs of madness.
The Daoist priestesses drew talismans and instructed everyone in the palace to wear them close, claiming they had the power to ward off evil.
Noble Consort Yi also received a talisman, but with her slender, fair fingers, she disdainfully tossed it into the fire. “Superstitious nonsense.”
The “evil” in this palace couldn’t be driven away by a simple piece of paper.
Naturally, if Noble Consort Yi didn’t wear the talisman, neither did Ji Yan, her attendant. Ji Yan gently reassured her, “We’re getting closer to solving the mystery of Zhaoxi Palace.”
Zhaoxi Palace had always been fine, and now there were sudden rumors of hauntings. Even though Noble Consort Yi couldn’t enter the palace to investigate, she had her own ways of finding things out.
While they were speaking, the little one who had also received a talisman didn’t wear it either.
The little one went to Shui Shui’s courtyard, asking him how to cure madness.
“I need to see the patient,” Shui Shui replied.
The little one nodded and took Shui Shui to where the ill palace servants were kept. When they arrived, guards were posted at the door.
The little one didn’t go alone. He brought his third, fourth, and sixth brothers along. With several princes present, the guards had no choice but to let them through.
Once inside, Shui Shui examined the patients.
After the examination, he simply said, “They can be cured.”
Hearing these words, the little one’s beautiful eyes sparkled with admiration. He looked at Shui Shui with wide-eyed awe. “Shui Shui, you’re amazing!”
Although Shui Shui said they could be cured, he added, “Their madness was caused by fear. In addition to medication, their emotions need to be soothed.”
“Got it!”
The princes stayed with Shui Shui the entire afternoon, and miraculously, the ill servants began to show signs of improvement.
“They need to continue taking the medicine for a while,” Shui Shui said as they left, “but they will recover.”
“Alright, we’ll come back with you tomorrow,” the third prince replied, noticing how late it had become. “It’s getting late. Let’s head back for now.”
Each prince returned to their respective palaces, and Shui Shui left with the third prince.
That night, however, the palace servants treated by Shui Shui suddenly died.
All the ill servants died mysteriously after drinking the decoction Shui Shui had prepared, putting Shui Shui in grave danger. However, the little one and his brothers rushed to Emperor Ling.
“We drank Shui Shui’s medicine too,” the little one stated, bringing along a guard who witnessed everything.
The third and fourth princes also spoke up, confirming that they had all consumed the medicine.
The medicine Shui Shui had prepared was meant to calm their spirits. It was harmless, even if taken by those who were not ill.
With the evidence of the medicine recipe and the testimonies of the princes and the guard, Shui Shui’s crisis was averted.
Though the danger had passed, the little one still got scolded.
“Do you think you can just drink any random medicine?”
Emperor Ling scolded the little one with a stern face, “If this happens again, you’ll see what punishment you get.”
The little one clung to his father’s leg, obediently promising not to do it again.
The sudden deaths of the palace servants only fueled more rumors in the palace, and the gossip focused on the late Consort Xi.
Even Master Shikong, when asked about the situation, chanted Amitabha, tacitly acknowledging that the unrest in the palace was indeed caused by evil forces.
The matters of the harem eventually reached the court. Some officials submitted petitions, urging Emperor Ling to have Master Shikong suppress the evil forces in the palace, fearing for the emperor’s safety.
The little one heard the rumors while spending time with his sixth brother and fifth sister.
Furrowing his brows in displeasure, he grumbled, “There are no ghosts in the palace, so why does everyone think there are?”
Ling Fu, sitting beside him, remarked, “Maybe it’s because of Master Shikong. People believe whatever he says.”
Buddhism held a high status, and as a revered master, Shikong’s words carried weight.
With rumors intensifying, court officials voicing concerns, and Shikong’s ambiguous stance, Emperor Ling found himself with a growing headache.
That night, the little one quietly returned to Emperor Ling’s palace and climbed into his father’s lap, sipping from the emperor’s cup.
“How many times have I told you? Grown-ups’ tea isn’t for children.”
Emperor Ling chided, but when the little one buried his face in his father’s chest without saying a word, the emperor softened. He patted his head and asked gently, “What’s wrong? Who upset you?”
“Daddy, do you dislike me?” the little one mumbled, wrapping his arms around Emperor Ling’s neck.
The emperor chuckled, “Of course not. Why would I dislike you?”
This little one he had raised, staying up countless nights by his side when he was sick—how could he possibly dislike him?
“Daddy, I really like you. I like you and mother.”
The little one was never shy about expressing his feelings. If he liked someone, he said it outright. He never hesitated to show his affection.
Emperor Ling, holding him, gave a soft “Hmm” in response.
“Daddy knows.”
This straightforward confession, filled with trust, was something Emperor Ling quite appreciated.
He loved Noble Consort Yi precisely because she always expressed her emotions clearly.
She never hid her joys, angers, sorrows, or happiness. When she was happy, she would embrace and kiss him. When she was angry, even though he was the emperor, she would refuse to let him come near, not even showing him a kind face.
Emperor Ling held the chubby little butt of the baby in his arms, comforting him with a few words, and only then did they both fall asleep.
But the little one didn’t sleep that night. He laid there, eyes wide open, staring at the canopy, his little mind clearly occupied with something.
The next day, at dusk.
The Zhaoxi Palace, guarded with no one allowed to enter, suddenly caught fire.
The fire consumed Zhaoxi Palace entirely.
The palace servants worked tirelessly to put out the fire, but whenever they extinguished one section, another would ignite.
By the end, nothing was left of Zhaoxi Palace.
The little one responsible for the fire solved the rumors of the palace being haunted from the source.
With no palace left, how could there be ghosts?
The little one even scorched his own fur in the fire. He licked his fur, tidied himself up a bit, and then went to find Shikong.
The fire had been so sudden that even after it was extinguished, people were still in shock.
The little one, avoiding the busy crowd, waddled over with his short legs to where Shikong was.
Shikong was meditating. The little one reached out his tiny hand and touched Shikong’s arm.
In the next moment, he closed his eyes.
He wanted to see this bald monk’s future. After seeing it, he would complain to Ah Wu!
