He had taken only two steps when a strong sense of unease struck him.
Turning back, he looked again at the “princess” sitting on the large rock.
The kids were still play-fighting when they noticed someone intruding on their game.
“Stop!”
The kids yelled at Ah Wu, who had walked up to the rock. “You can’t steal our princess!”
Ah Wu: “…”
With a dark expression, Ah Wu pulled the cloth off the little one’s head.
Looking at the innocent face beneath the patterned cloth, he asked, “What are you doing?”
“Playing a game.”
The little one confessed honestly, “We’re playing house.”
Ah Wu glanced at his dress and asked, “You need to wear a dress to play house?”
The little one pouted and stayed silent.
With Ah Wu’s sudden intervention, neither the dragon nor the warrior managed to rescue the princess.
The princess they were fighting over was carried away by Ah Wu.
“Jiu Jiu, we’ll play again tomorrow!”
The little princess, now perched on Ah Wu’s shoulder, waved goodbye to the glaring kids behind him.
“Ah Wu, let’s go see Daddy.”
The little one clung to Ah Wu, sticking close. “Daddy went for a check-up. He said I could see him after it’s done.”
Ah Wu hummed in response and took him to see their father.
The group of kids behind them was left fuming as they watched the two leave.
The little one turned his attention away from the kids and, hugging Ah Wu’s neck, asked, “Ah Wu, did you see Big Brother and Third Brother in the palace? How are they doing?”
“They’re fine.”
Knowing he’d ask, Ah Wu replied, “They have people looking after them. Nothing will happen to them.”
As they walked and talked, Ah Wu eventually learned the real reason why the little one was wearing a dress.
“Did you put medicine on your scrape?”
“Yes, but it stings.”
“Let’s ask the Big Boss for some more medicine later. Apply it properly, and you’ll heal quickly.”
“Okay!”
With Ah Wu carrying him, it didn’t take long for them to reach the place where Emperor Ling was receiving his check-up.
By then, the check-up was almost finished. Emperor Ling was lying on the bed, resting.
There was a needle mark on the back of his hand—he had just had some blood drawn.
“If your treatment methods were used outside of Guan Shan Residence, people would protest.”
Leaning against the pillows, Emperor Ling chatted with the doctor in the room. “Is that why you won’t come with me to Qi Dynasty?”
The doctor: “…”
The doctor coolly replied, “No, I just don’t have the habit of being someone’s servant.”
Emperor Ling was left speechless.
He glanced at the doctor, who was preparing to administer another injection, hesitated, and then said, “If you were willing to go to Qi Dynasty, I could grant you special privileges.”
The doctor: “?”
The doctor responded, “How is it that an emperor like you, who rules from afar, can be so clueless?”
The doctor cast a sidelong glance at Emperor Ling, as if looking at an idiot. “I don’t need any special privileges to avoid being a servant in Guan Shan Residence—that’s my normal right.”
“And if I need you to grant me special privileges in your place, I would have gone mad.”
“Alright, stop asking for trouble. If it weren’t for Little Seven, I would’ve already used the thickest needle on you.”
The female doctor was too lazy to argue any further, fearing she might not be able to stop herself from scolding him more.
“Your health has deteriorated significantly since your last trip,” the doctor said. “Prepare yourself mentally.”
Emperor Ling knew exactly what she meant by “mentally prepare.” He was about to undergo another round of painful treatments for quite some time.
While they were chatting in the ward, the little one in the dress bumped into the Chief Examiner on the way.
The moment the little one saw the Chief Examiner, he instinctively hid his face.
“Don’t let Big Boss see me.”
He buried his face into Ah Wu’s neck, whispering, “Big Boss will laugh at me.”
Ah Wu, holding him, noticed that the Chief Examiner had already walked over. It seemed difficult to avoid him.
“Why are you just standing there?”
The Chief Examiner glanced at the frozen Ah Wu and the child in the dress he was holding. His eyes narrowed. “Who are you holding?”
Feeling the little body in his arms tense up, Ah Wu hesitated before replying, “No one.”
The Chief Examiner raised an eyebrow. “You don’t just hold random people.”
Saying this, he moved closer to investigate.
Hearing the footsteps behind him, the little one panicked, tightening his arms around Ah Wu’s neck so much that Ah Wu could barely breathe.
Ah Wu shifted his stance, trying to block the Chief Examiner’s view.
But the more he avoided it, the more curious the Chief Examiner became.
“Other than Little Seven, you don’t even touch other children,” the Chief Examiner circled around Ah Wu, eyes fixed on the child in his arms. “Come on, let me see. Who’s wearing the little pink dress?”
Ah Wu kept dodging in different directions.
But the Chief Examiner, driven by his mischievous curiosity, refused to give up.
After a bit of back-and-forth, the little one, dressed in a pink princess dress with his flushed, beautiful little face, was finally caught.
“So, it’s Little Seven,” the Chief Examiner raised an eyebrow. “That dress looks great on you. I’ll send over a couple more later.”
“Even if you send them, I’m not wearing them!”
The little one, hugging Ah Wu’s neck tightly, was on the verge of tears from frustration.
Seeing the little one getting upset, Ah Wu’s face stiffened. “Big Boss, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take Little Seven and go. You can head back and cook.”
With that, Ah Wu walked away with the little one in his arms, not looking back.
As the Chief Examiner thought back to the sight of Little Seven in the pink dress, he felt a twinge of regret that he hadn’t taken a picture.
“Zai Zai, don’t be mad.”
Ah Wu walked quite a distance and could still sense the little one’s anger, as he showed no signs of calming down.
He comforted Little Seven while subtly criticizing the Chief Examiner.
After some time, by the time they reached Emperor Ling’s hospital room, the little one had finally been soothed.
Once calmed down, the little one wriggled out of Ah Wu’s arms.
“Daddy.”
The moment his feet touched the ground, he pushed open the door and ran inside to see his father.
Ling Rui had changed into hospital clothes for the treatment and was lying on the bed, with several tubes connected to his body.
By now, he had grown accustomed to the tubes attached to him. Seeing Little Seven enter, he smiled and asked, “Did you finish playing with your friends?”
“Yes! We played house, and they made me be the little princess.”
“Our little Little Seven makes a very pretty princess.”
Looking at the little one in the dress, Emperor Ling sincerely thought that whether his child was a little prince or a little princess, his looks were impeccable.
Emperor Ling had always been confident in his looks in his younger years, but now, looking at his son, he genuinely believed that when Little Seven grew up, he’d be even more handsome than he ever was.
“I’m not a little princess.”
Little Seven had a clear understanding of his gender. He pulled over a stool and sat beside Emperor Ling’s bed.
Emperor Ling chuckled. “Little Seven isn’t a little princess. But one day, when you have a daughter, she can be a princess.”
Even if Little Seven didn’t become emperor, his daughter could still be made a princess.
Hearing this, Little Seven immediately shook his head. “I don’t want to have children.”
Emperor Ling laughed out loud. “Of course, you can’t have children. But your empress can give you children.”
Little Seven stubbornly shook his head again. “I don’t want children. Children are hard to raise.”
He knew that raising him had already been tough on his parents.
If he ended up having an even more mischievous child, he didn’t want to have to deal with that.
While the father and son discussed the issue of having children, Ah Wu quietly listened at the door without interrupting.
It wasn’t clear if it was because Emperor Ling had returned to Guan Shan Residence too late or if he had been angered by palace matters, but his health had suddenly deteriorated after his return.
He had been resuscitated three times, barely clinging to life.
Little Seven was incredibly worried about him.
That night.
Seeing how listless Little Seven had become lately, Lian Qing sent the Chief Examiner away and laid down with Little Seven, chatting with him late into the night, just like old times.
He tried to explain to Little Seven that farewells were a natural part of life.
But Little Seven couldn’t accept it and stubbornly said, “I just want Daddy.”
He didn’t care about farewells or anything else—he just couldn’t accept his father dying.
Lian Qing looked at the little one as his eyes began to redden with tears. He sighed softly, realizing there was no way to convince him otherwise.
“I’ll talk to the people there and have them do everything they can to find a treatment plan for your father.”
“Okay.”
“And stop crying so much. Your father is still okay, isn’t he?” Lian Qing gently patted his back, trying to comfort him. “If you’re really that worried, why not look into what the ancient books say? Don’t they record ways to pray for blessings here? You can dance and make gestures, and wish for your father to get better.”
Praying for blessings, as recorded in the ancient texts, had been passed down through generations in this place. Though Lian Qing had started teaching courses to dispel superstition, he didn’t believe in such things himself. He only suggested it to distract the little one and shift his focus elsewhere.
The little boy was constantly watching over his father, and whenever he looked at him, he would burst into tears. Crying so much, he even lost his appetite.
If this continued, his chubby, bun-like cheeks would be at risk of disappearing.
Lian Qing definitely didn’t want to lose the chance to pinch those little cheeks.
“Little one knows how to dance.”
The little one had learned several traditional dances.
Lian Qing patted his chubby little cheeks and reassured him, “Good, if you already know how, there’s no need to learn more.”
With something else to focus on, Little Seven’s heavy heartlightened. The next day, he woke up and ate a large bowl of rice for breakfast.
The Chief Examiner glanced at Lian Qing as he saw the little one with a round, full belly, his eyes seeming to say, “You’re pretty good at comforting him.”
Lian Qing raised his chin proudly, also feeling quite proud of himself.
After breakfast, the little one, now full of energy, ran off.
Ah Wu followed him, watching him meet up with his other little friends.
Seeing Little Seven playing with them, Ah Wu finally felt a bit more at ease.
But as soon as Ah Wu left, Little Seven quickly gathered his friends and discussed the plan to pray for his father.
Although all of them had taken science classes, none of the kids opposed the idea when Little Seven brought it up.
“Little Seven, let’s check the books again and see how it’s written.”
“Yeah!”
Little Seven’s eyes sparkled as he looked at his friends. At that moment, he believed in it—he believed that praying for his father could make him healthy again.
The group of children was highly efficient. They gathered a bunch of books and patiently read through them.
Afterward, they even built a stone altar for the ritual.
Building the altar out of stone was no easy task.
Not wanting his friends to work too hard, the little one put in the most effort himself, carrying the stones.
Even after the others left, he would come back later and continue working on the altar.
For several days, the little one stayed behind after everyone else to finish building the stone altar. He worked so hard that he would go home with his little face covered in dust.
Meanwhile, Ah Wu also worked overtime.
Since he couldn’t stop the little one from building the altar, Ah Wu helped by smashing the stones, making it easier for the little one to carry them.
Smashing stones was an even harder job than stacking them.
Despite all this, when the little one visited his father, he looked clean, dressed in fresh clothes, and appeared full of energy.
But he was so exhausted that as he sat by his father’s bed talking, his little head would eventually droop, and he’d fall asleep mid-sentence.
Emperor Ling looked at his worn-out son, utterly puzzled.
“Is school that tiring lately?”
Since his bed was large, Emperor Ling carefully placed the little one next to him, tucking him in properly.
The once restless sleeper was now so tired that he could sleep through the night without stirring.
Having spent so much time lying in bed, Emperor Ling wasn’t sleepy. He gazed down at his son, fast asleep, and his attention was drawn to his small face and hands.
As he looked, his gaze froze.
He saw the palms of the little one’s hands—once soft and smooth, now scraped and blistered from carrying stones.
Emperor Ling’s eyes darkened as he noticed the small cuts and bruises on the little one’s face.
The next day, when the little one didn’t fall asleep at his father’s bedside, Emperor Ling found him sleeping at the door—curled up like a small, white dumpling.
The little dumpling, who had once been seen in the palace, had now appeared at Guan Shan Residence.
Just as Emperor Ling’s eyes landed on the little dumpling, the Chief Examiner walked by and scooped him up.
“Wake up.”
The little dumpling was limp as he was shaken, not even opening his eyes.
If you weren’t paying close attention, you might think he had fainted.
After shaking him several times with no response, the Chief Examiner clicked his tongue in frustration and carried the little dumpling away.
He brought him back home and tossed him onto the couch beside Lian Qing.
“He’s done for. Better stew him up with some extra ginger.”
Lian Qing caught the little dumpling and, like the Chief Examiner, instinctively shook him a bit.
“Hey, what’s going on with him?”
If the little dumpling wasn’t still breathing, Lian Qing might have thought he was a goner too.
Standing up, Lian Qing carried the dumpling and followed the Chief Examiner to the kitchen.
The Chief Examiner, wearing an apron, was preparing to cook.
Lian Qing, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong with him? Why is he like this?”
The Chief Examiner, washing rice, shook his head. “No idea.”
He had checked the dumpling earlier. His pulse and breathing were normal—it seemed like he was simply exhausted.
Neither adult knew what was wrong with the little dumpling, but Lian Qing said directly, “Make some chicken soup, too. He needs a good meal.”
“Are you going to kill the chicken?”
“No, I faint at the sight of blood.”
Lian Qing was only responsible for giving orders, not for actually doing the work. After requesting chicken soup, he laid back down on his sofa, holding the little dumpling.
The Chief Examiner stood in the kitchen and pressed his temples in exasperation.
That evening, the meal brought to the table was indeed plentiful.
The little dumpling, catching a whiff of the food, wriggled his nose.
He opened his mouth, ready to eat, but his eyes remained closed.
Lian Qing carried him to the dining table, and his little body, soft like dough, sprawled across the table.
“Just how tired is he?” Lian Qing couldn’t resist and fed the little dumpling a piece of meat, even though the child still hadn’t opened his eyes.
As they ate, Ah Wu returned.
Finally, the two adults had someone to ask about what was going on.
They pointed to a chair, motioning for Ah Wu to sit down.
“Tell us, what’s going on with Little Seven?”
Although the little dumpling could eat and sleep, his current condition was clearly not normal.
Ah Wu sat down and served himself a bowl of rice. After taking a few bites to fill his stomach, he finally began to explain.
“Little Seven has been building an altar.”
“He insisted on doing it himself, saying that since he’s a small divine beast, building the altar himself would bring more blessings.”
If it weren’t for the fact that it was physically impossible for the little one to build the entire altar alone in such a short time, Ah Wu was sure he would’ve refused any help.
“He’s just too exhausted, which is why he’s falling asleep everywhere.”
It was also because of the fatigue that the little dumpling couldn’t control himself and reverted to his beast form.
When Lian Qing heard the reason, he let out a “hiss.”
“I just wanted to give him something to do, to distract him so he wouldn’t be sad and worried all the time.”
Well, now he wasn’t worried or sad, but instead, he was even more pitifully exhausted.
“I’ll talk to him again, tell him to take a break.”
“No need,” Ah Wu interrupted Lian Qing as he continued eating, his tone calm and steady. “The work is almost done. If you stop him now, everything he’s done so far will have been for nothing.”
Lian Qing fell silent.
He scooped up some more meat and rice and continued feeding the little dumpling.
Throughout the meal, the little dumpling only opened his mouth but didn’t open his eyes.
After the meal, Ah Wu gave the little dumpling a bath, then reverted to his beast form and nestled the little dumpling in his arms.
Cuddling the little dumpling close, Ah Wu soon fell into a deep sleep himself.
Emperor Ling couldn’t figure out what was going on with Little Seven. He couldn’t find any answers and even consulted a doctor, but the doctor also had no clue.
“Can I go out for a bit today?”
Feeling restless from lying in bed for so long, Emperor Ling adopted his most agreeable demeanor, trying to negotiate with the doctor. “I’ll just be out for a little while, back by evening. I need to visit the academy.”
The doctor, understanding what Emperor Ling was trying to do, offered an objective suggestion. “There’s no need for you to go. The academy has never mistreated its students. Little Seven has probably just been playing too much, and that’s why he’s been so sleepy.”
“Little Seven has always had plenty of energy. There’s no way playing with other kids would tire him out like this.”
Emperor Ling didn’t believe the doctor’s explanation.
He was still determined to see for himself. After some consideration, the doctor gave him an injection, allowing him to go out for a short time.
“Remember to come back quickly. If something happens to you out there, we won’t be responsible.”
“I understand.”
Emperor Ling changed his clothes and got out of bed. “I’ve been feeling fine these past few days. It won’t be a problem for me to go out.”
The doctor didn’t comment further.
Emperor Ling’s organ failure could progress quickly or slowly. It was possible he might suddenly deteriorate completely, or the decline could stabilize for a while. No one could predict his condition with certainty.
Dressed and ready, Emperor Ling headed out with a clear goal: to visit the academy at Guan Shan Residence.
He wanted to question the teachers there—what kind of assignments were they giving, or what they were teaching, to make his son so exhausted. Seeing the little one’s blistered little hands, it was hard for Emperor Ling not to hold a grudge against the teachers.
He had even prepared his angry words for the teacher along the way.
As an emperor, his status didn’t carry much weight in the egalitarian Guan Shan Residence. However, as a parent, he certainly had the right to question if the academy was mistreating his child. If they were, he wouldn’t let it slide.
With a belly full of frustration, Emperor Ling marched toward the academy.
After a while, he reached his destination.
One of the teachers at the academy spotted him and seemed quite surprised.
“Little Seven’s father, what brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see Little Seven.”
“He’s still in class.”
“I’ll watch him from outside.”
Without showing any emotion, Emperor Ling stood outside and observed the little one in class.
The little one, though sleepy at night, was fighting to stay awake in the classroom during the day.
He sat upright, paying full attention to the teacher, listening with intense focus.
Sometimes, when he got too tired, he would pinch himself to stay awake.
Seeing this from outside, Emperor Ling felt a pang of heartache.
He watched for a while longer before approaching the little one’s teacher after class.
Once he found the teacher, Emperor Ling coldly questioned whether the teacher had assigned extra work that had exhausted his son.
The teacher frowned at this accusation. “What are you talking about? Why would I assign extra work? And as for punishments, that’s just nonsense.”
“Little Seven attends class here during the day, and by the time he gets home, he’s so tired he can’t even be woken up. How is this not your fault?”
“Of course not!” The teacher felt unjustly accused. “As soon as the students are dismissed, they all run off. How would I know what they’ve been up to after that?”
Emperor Ling did not get an answer from the scholar, so he furrowed his brow and went outside to follow his little child.
