Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 161

The little one’s chirps instantly stopped Emperor Ling’s tears.

Emperor Ling touched the little one’s chest, and upon feeling the steady heartbeat, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whew, you scared me to death.”

The little one’s heartbeat was steady, and his breathing was calm. Although Emperor Ling didn’t understand the occasional chirping, the weight on his chest lifted.

While Emperor Ling’s mood improved, the chief examiner beside him was still in a dark mood.

“Well then.”

Emperor Ling had nothing much to say to the chief examiner. As someone used to being an emperor, always admired from a high position, he wasn’t accustomed to offering comfort to anyone except his concubines or his own child.

But seeing the chief examiner in such a desolate state, Emperor Ling felt uncomfortable not saying something to comfort him.

After a long pause, he struggled to find the right words and blurted, “You, uh, should take it easy. If you can’t handle Guan Shan Residence as it is now, I’ll take Little Seven back with me so we won’t add to your troubles.”

The chief examiner remained silent, his face tense.

After speaking, Emperor Ling suddenly realized how wrong his words sounded. It was as if he was looking for an excuse to sever ties with Guan Shan Residence.

“I don’t mean to run off with Little Seven. I just don’t want to trouble you.”

The more Emperor Ling explained, the more he felt he was digging himself deeper.

In the end, seeing that the chief examiner had no intention of responding, he simply hugged the little one and left, glancing back frequently as he walked away.

The little one was curled up in his father’s arms, sound asleep.

Not long after Emperor Ling left with the little one, Ah Wu returned.

He sought out the chief examiner.

“They’re all dead,” he reported succinctly. “Everyone left behind is dead.”

“One of them, with white hair—did he die?”

“I didn’t see him.”

“He’s the one who hurt Lian Qing.”

Ah Wu remained silent for a moment, then turned to leave.

The chief examiner called after him in a hoarse voice, “Where are you going?”

“To find him and kill him.”

“He’s already escaped.”

The chief examiner leaned on a nearby table and slowly stood up. His previously dark eyes now seemed to hold a glimmer of light.

“I’ll find him,” he said softly. “I’ll make him regret ever coming into this world.”

He stopped Ah Wu from leaving and didn’t let him go out again.

“Little Seven has been taken back by his father.”

Leaving those words, the chief examiner walked out. Guan Shan Residence wasn’t fully at peace yet, and there was still much work to be done.

Now that everyone from Guan Shan Residence had returned safely, there were no more hostages outside to threaten them.

The time had come for Guan Shan Residence to strike back.

Ah Wu watched the chief examiner’s retreating figure. He stood still for a few seconds, then instead of rushing off to find the little one, he decided to follow the chief examiner.

The little one was safe with his father; nothing would happen to him.

Now, by following the chief examiner, Ah Wu could do something to help Guan Shan Residence.

The chief examiner didn’t say much as Ah Wu joined him.

For three days straight, Guan Shan Residence’s retaliation sent shockwaves.

The children still at Guan Shan Residence received far more letters from home than usual, with over half of the letters begging the children to stop Guan Shan Residence’s revenge.

Some even hoped their children would cause chaos inside Guan Shan Residence.

But those letters were useless.

The children, abandoned by their families long ago, had recognized Guan Shan Residence as their true home the moment they set foot inside.

While Guan Shan Residence’s revenge was relentless, the little one slept soundly throughout.

He laid on Emperor Ling’s bed, his belly exposed and paws raised, sleeping sweetly.

Emperor Ling occasionally stroked his belly and head, but despite how adorable the little one’s sleeping posture was—so much so that anyone would want to kiss his tummy—Emperor Ling’s brows furrowed deeper with each touch.

He remembered what the book said about the side effects of blessing others.

“Could he really stop growing…”

Emperor Ling muttered to himself as he gazed down at the little one. “If he never grows up, how will he ever marry a princess?”

In Emperor Ling’s mind, Little Seven would grow up to be a prosperous prince. If he didn’t become emperor, he would at least be a wealthy lord with land, a wife, children, and a happy life.

His thoughts were those of a typical father.

As he continued thinking, the little one, unaware of his worries, slept soundly.

After a while, the little one shifted, changing positions before falling back to sleep.

He slept for seven whole days.

During those seven days, even though Emperor Ling had read that it was possible to sleep this long without harm, he couldn’t stop worrying.

While sleeping, the little one would eat with his eyes closed when fed and quietly allow himself to be bathed.

But he never opened his eyes, no matter how he was handled.

Ah Wu had been incredibly busy these past few days, but he took time out to check on the little one.

“He still hasn’t woken up?”

Every time Ah Wu came, he found the little one still sleeping. Frowning, he couldn’t help but ask this time.

Emperor Ling and Ah Wu didn’t interact much.

Their personalities didn’t quite mesh. While Emperor Ling got along well with the little one’s other companions, even secretly enjoying their gossip at times, he couldn’t help but feel irritated around Ah Wu.

“He hasn’t woken up yet, but he should wake soon.”

Even as he spoke to Ah Wu, Emperor Ling had no desire to continue the conversation.

The two, one large and one small, stared at each other, each seeing resistance in the other’s eyes.

Ah Wu withdrew his gaze, expressionless, and didn’t bother asking Emperor Ling anything further.

Even though Ah Wu remained silent, as he was about to leave, Emperor Ling asked him a question.

“How did you know this is Little Seven?”

After Little Seven transformed back into his little round form, none of the other children knew it was him. Only Ah Wu had called the little one “Little Seven.”

Emperor Ling’s question caused Ah Wu to pause for a moment.

He didn’t tell the emperor that he had already known for a long time.

After a few seconds of silence, Ah Wu calmly replied, “I saw it by accident.”

He claimed to have seen, by chance, that Little Seven was the little round one.

This explanation was something Emperor Ling could accept, but he still added a reminder, “I hope you keep this matter to yourself.”

Ah Wu glanced at him, casually replying, “Mm,” and then left.

As for Little Seven’s little secret, Ah Wu could keep it better than anyone else.

Watching Ah Wu leave, Emperor Ling looked down and gently squeezed the little one’s paw.

“How could you be so careless?” Emperor Ling scolded the little one softly. “You can’t keep anything hidden.”

The little one just continued to sleep soundly, letting out soft snores, completely oblivious to his father’s scolding.

Listening to those tiny snores, Emperor Ling gave the little paw a firmer squeeze, though even that slight pressure was far from painful to the little one.

Outside, everyone was busy, but Emperor Ling stayed in the sickroom with the little one.

While in the room, Emperor Ling held the little paw and read through his book multiple times.

The final records in the book were somewhat unclear.

It mentioned that the little one was born with the ability to bless others, and that his blessing power needed to be accumulated.

Emperor Ling didn’t quite understand how his little one was supposed to gather this blessing power.

He wanted to find more books to read, but after searching through other libraries for a while, he couldn’t find anything else related to the little one.

“I’ll look again when we return to Qi Dynasty.”

Since he couldn’t find any useful books here, Emperor Ling believed he would have better luck finding something back home.

His current condition was stable, and according to the doctors, there was hope that he would live long enough to see Little Seven grow up.

Time passed slowly, and two days later, the little one finally woke up after his long, restorative sleep.

When he woke up, he remained in a daze for quite some time.

Emperor Ling expertly fed him some water, and the little one licked it up, drinking more than half a cup.

Once his thirst was quenched, his drinking slowed down, and his little paws tensed up nervously. His shiny black eyes sneaked peeks at his father.

Before the little one had fallen asleep, he hadn’t heard his father call his name.

So, he didn’t realize yet that his secret identity had already been exposed.

Emperor Ling, seeing his cautious behavior, was puzzled.

“Little white fluffball, what’s going on with you?” Emperor Ling asked, taking away the water cup and giving the little one’s face a playful poke. “How did you end up here at Guan Shan Residence?”

The little one’s brain was working rapidly, but before he could come up with a proper excuse, he heard his father suggest one for him.

“Did you sneak in here when I came with Little Seven?”

The little one immediately nodded.

His big, watery eyes stared up at Emperor Ling, and for a moment, Emperor Ling almost wanted to play along with him.

“You little liar,” Emperor Ling said, tapping him on the forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth? Were you scared of me?”

Even as he asked, Emperor Ling already knew the answer.

After all, when he first learned of this, it took him some time to accept it himself.

Remembering this, Emperor Ling lifted the little one up and whispered, “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I don’t mind.”

“I don’t care what you are.”

In fact, more than anything, Emperor Ling hoped in his heart that his child was a little mythical creature rather than a mere blessing beast.

That way, the little one’s ability to bless wouldn’t be something that couldn’t be undone.

Hearing Emperor Ling’s words, the little one was stunned.

It took him a few moments to process what his father was saying, and when he did, his eyes widened in shock.

Emperor Ling, seeing his surprised expression, smirked. “Are you in shock now?”

The little one nodded, still in disbelief.

Amused by his reaction, Emperor Ling teased him for a while longer.

Eventually, the little one snapped out of it, but instead of getting affectionate with his father, he transformed back right in front of him and asked, “Daddy, where’s Big Boss?”

The little one was still thinking about his older brother.

Emperor Ling thought for a moment before replying, “Your Big Boss is probably still busy. He’s been very occupied lately.”

“I want to see Big Boss.”

After stating his desire to see Big Boss, the little one didn’t forget to ask about his father’s health. “Daddy, are you feeling better now?”

“I’m much better.”

Since Emperor Ling couldn’t undo the little one’s blessings, he took extra care of his own health.

He got out of bed, dressed the little one, and then held out his hand. “Come, Daddy will carry you outside.”

“Okay!”

Once dressed, the little one was carried out by his father.

Along the way, he was amazed to learn that he had slept for so many days.

“I didn’t starve to death!”

“That’s because Daddy fed you.”

“Did I pee?”

“What do you think? Lucky for you, you make noises before you pee, so you didn’t wet the bed like when you were little.”

“I don’t wet the bed anymore!”

“Yes, you don’t. But you still insist on sleeping with Daddy and Mommy.”

“……”

As they talked, Emperor Ling took the little one to look for the Chief Examiner.

They searched around but couldn’t find him.

“The Boss went out,” Zhang San told them. “He probably won’t be back for a while.”

The little one nodded at the news.

If the Chief Examiner wasn’t home at this time, it must be because he had gone to avenge Uncle Lian Qing.

Thinking of Uncle Lian Qing, who had left, the little one’s heart clenched with worry.

He didn’t know if Uncle Lian Qing was safe.

He couldn’t touch Uncle Lian Qing anymore to give him another prophecy.

“Little Seven, why are you sad?” Emperor Ling asked, noticing the little one’s face was on the verge of tears. He quickly held him and gently rocked him to comfort him, saying, “If you want to see the Big Boss, just wait a little longer, and you’ll be able to see him.”

“I miss Uncle Lian Qing,” the little one said, thinking about how he could no longer sleep next to Uncle Lian Qing or chat with him. His heart ached.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Uncle Lian Qing.

Emperor Ling wasn’t entirely sure about what had happened to Lian Qing. From his perspective, it seemed that Lian Qing was no longer around.

Even if Lian Qing was gone, there was no point in the little one longing for him.

“Alright, alright, let’s not cry,” Emperor Ling said, wiping the little one’s face and trying his best to soothe him, hoping to distract him from the painful thoughts.

Other children from Guan Shan Residence saw that the little one had finally come out, and they called him over from Emperor Ling’s side.

A group of kids comforted one another, crying and hugging, which proved to be much more effective than the adults’ attempts at consolation.

The turmoil surrounding Guan Shan Residence lasted for several months.

It wasn’t until a few months later, around the little one’s seventh birthday, that the storm finally subsided.

The white-haired one who harmed the Chief Examiner was hiding like a rat in a tunnel, avoiding exposure.

Though he remained in hiding, all the children at Guan Shan Residence placed him at the top of their future revenge list.

Zhang Feng. That was the name of the white-haired one.

Emperor Ling and the little one celebrated his birthday at Guan Shan Residence. After the celebration of his seventh birthday, they were finally able to take a break and return home.

Before that, none of them could leave, to prevent interference during their period of revenge.

Now, with the freedom to come and go, it was clear that the deterrent effect of Guan Shan Residence had been sufficient.

The little one celebrated his eighth birthday back at Qi Dynasty.

By his ninth birthday, his eldest brother Ling Chen had ascended to the throne, and his fourth brother Ling Hao had personally selected a group of people to go to the border. These selected individuals were to undergo training to fill the vacancies in Qi Dynasty’s military ranks.

Qi Dynasty still had too few generals.

The two princes of the past—one now in the court and the other in the field—were far apart, but their goals remained aligned.

Both wanted to restore their nearly ruined country to prosperity.

They knew without saying that the road ahead would be rough, but no matter how difficult, they were determined to push through.

The little one’s second sister hadn’t chosen a consort but had selected several well-mannered and virtuous companions. These companions stayed with her in the princess’s residence and helped her with various affairs.

One by one, the princes and princesses had settled into their own lives.

The third prince, due to poor health, remained inactive like a salted fish, not accomplishing much.

The fifth princess and sixth prince were still too young, and their lives hadn’t changed much from before.

It seemed that time’s marks could only be seen on the growing princes and princesses.

Watching his brothers and sisters, the little one clenched his fists.

“Sixth Brother,” he said firmly to the still-unsuccessfully-dieting sixth prince beside him, “I’m going out to do something!”

As the little one grew older, he became more and more certain of what he needed to do.

He had to not only serve the people but also bring back Uncle Lian Qing for Big Boss.

He had a feeling that if he did many meaningful things, it would bring Uncle Lian Qing back.