“Big Brother, stop talking and just go to sleep.”
The little one gently helped his brother lie down on the bed and tucked him in, trying to coax him to sleep.
Just as he was doing that, the sound of a palace maid’s footsteps echoed.
Seeing the little one still there, the beautiful maid was momentarily surprised. She bowed respectfully to the little one sitting by the bedside.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought some sobering soup for the emperor.”
Her voice was soft and pleasant as she lowered her head, waiting for the prince’s permission. Once granted, she moved forward to bring the soup to the bedside.
“You may leave; I’ll feed him myself.”
The little one stretched out his hand, ready to take the soup and feed his brother.
The maid, still holding the soup, didn’t hand it over. Instead, she softly said, “Your Highness, this soup is tricky to feed without spilling. Let me do it instead.”
The maid spoke gently, worried about staining the little one’s clothes, and stepped forward to feed the emperor herself.
The little one glanced at her, then at his brother.
Frowning, he insisted, “Big Brother doesn’t like being fed by others. If you feed him, he’ll be upset.”
Maid: “…”
The maid, maintaining her composure, said kindly, “Your Highness, please allow me to try.”
The little one didn’t say anything.
The two remained in a quiet stalemate until a familiar voice came from the doorway.
“What’s going on here?”
As soon as the voice was heard, the little one’s eyes lit up instantly. He stood up and ran toward the door.
“Little Uncle!”
The little one ran over like a little cannonball and jumped into his uncle’s arms.
Murong Xu caught him and lifted him up, spinning him around a few times.
“Little Uncle, how did you get here so fast?” The little one was overjoyed, much more quickly than he expected.
Murong Xu raised his eyebrows, confidently saying, “Because your uncle is smart. I knew you’d come back and want to see me, so I stayed nearby in the palace.”
“Uncle is so smart!”
The little one hugged his uncle’s neck and rubbed his face against him affectionately.
While the uncle and nephew were getting all cozy, over by the dragon bed, the maid who had brought the hangover soup was gently blowing on a spoonful, offering it to the emperor with a soft, gentle tone.
“Your Majesty, this is a hangover soup I made especially for you. Please try it.”
The maid’s voice was tender and caring. If it were anyone else, they might have been charmed by this tenderness. But not Ling Chen. He half-opened his eyes, showing no affection toward the beautiful maid in front of him.
“Leave. I’m not drunk.”
The maid bit her lip. “Your Majesty.”
Ling Chen gave her a cold, impatient look, making the maid shiver and back away, not daring to insist any further.
She withdrew with the hangover soup, keeping her head low.
Murong Xu, holding the boy, caught sight of the scene out of the corner of his eye and clicked his tongue. He turned to the boy and said, “Little Seven, be good and get down for a bit. Uncle will hold you again soon.”
The little one nodded obediently. “Okay!”
Murong Xu put the boy down and walked straight toward the maid.
Seeing him approach, the maid’s face flushed with nervousness.
Noble Consort Yi was stunningly beautiful and unmatched in grace, and her younger brother was naturally just as remarkable. Many women in the capital secretly admired Fifth Young Master of the Murong family.
As the maid’s cheeks turned even redder, Murong Xu stopped in front of her.
“Is this hangover soup?”
“Y-yes, it’s hangover soup.”
“Oh, give it to me. You can go rest now.”
Murong Xu took the soup and walked over to the dragon bed in a few steps.
He handed the soup to Ling Chen and, out of respect for his position, addressed him formally. “Come on, drink it. You don’t want to have a headache tomorrow.”
Ling Chen had to attend court the next day, and if he had a headache, it would make managing affairs difficult.
“I’m not drinking it. Get lost.”
Ling Chen insisted he wasn’t drunk, and seeing someone persistently trying to make him drink hangover soup, he grew angry.
Murong Xu, unfazed by Ling Chen’s frustration, calmly studied him for a few seconds. Then, without hesitation, he sat down, pulled Ling Chen up into a sitting position, and with one hand holding the bowl and the other gripping Ling Chen’s face, he poured the soup directly into his mouth.
The maid, who hadn’t left yet, was shocked to see the emperor being force-fed hangover soup. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
She couldn’t understand how Murong Xu could dare to treat the emperor with such disrespect.
As the maid stood there, stunned, Murong Xu finished feeding the soup and, placing the bowl aside, glanced at her.
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
“N-no, I’ll go now.”
The maid stammered and quickly retreated, but not before sneaking another glance at the emperor wiping his mouth with Murong Xu’s sleeve.
Once the maid was gone, the little one, seeing that neither his big brother nor his uncle was paying attention to him, climbed up onto the dragon bed and squeezed himself between them.
“Uncle, play with me.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll play with you.”
Murong Xu pulled his sleeve free from Ling Chen’s grip and casually pushed him back down onto the bed.
“What do you want to play?”
Murong Xu focused on the little one’s face, asking softly.
The little one hummed, unable to think of anything to play.
“Little Seven, let’s go sleep in the side hall.”
Murong Xu hugged the little one, intending to take him to the side hall.
This was Ling Chen’s bedroom. While it was fine for Little Seven to be here, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Murong Xu to stay overnight.
“I’m not leaving.”
The little one grabbed his uncle’s hand, lying flat on the bed, staring at his uncle with determination. “We’re sleeping here! Uncle and I will both sleep here!”
Murong Xu: “…”
Murong Xu sighed, rubbing his forehead, feeling exhausted.
Realizing that they were getting nowhere, with it being late at night, none of them would get any sleep if they kept this up.
Having finished the hangover soup, Ling Chen hadn’t fallen asleep either. He lazily watched them from the side, amused by their conversation.
“Alright, stop arguing.”
Ling Chen pulled the little one over and wrapped him in his arms. He stretched out his leg and kicked the spare blanket off the bed, settling in for the night.
“Little Seven, you sleep on the bed, and you can sleep on the floor. That’s how we’ll do it,” Ling Chen assigned the sleeping arrangements and closed his eyes, as if he wouldn’t be able to get up tomorrow morning if he didn’t sleep soon.
Little Seven, caught in his older brother’s embrace, wriggled his little face to look at his uncle by the bed. At this point, Murong Xu had already spread out the bedding. He half-covered himself and laid down.
“Uncle, are you cold?” the little one asked.
“No, I’m not,” Murong Xu replied, resting his hands behind his head, not showing any signs of tiredness. Still, to coax the little one to sleep, he softly said, “No more talking now. Go to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Uncle,” Little Seven obediently closed his eyes and snuggled in to sleep.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when he vaguely heard soft voices nearby. He stirred, but the voices quickly disappeared.
When he woke up, on his left was his big brother, and on his right was his uncle.
“Uncle!” Little Seven exclaimed in delight, “Did you hold me while I was sleeping?”
Murong Xu smiled, “Yes, I did.”
His arm had become the little one’s pillow. As for Ling Chen, who had been holding Little Seven while they slept, at some point during the night, he had let go and moved to the side.
Seeing that his older brother was still asleep, Little Seven was surprised. “Uncle, hasn’t big brother sobered up yet? He’s waking up late today.”
To Little Seven, his big brother had always been diligent. It seemed strange for him to still be asleep at this hour.
Murong Xu lowered his voice and replied, “The hangover soup didn’t work too well. Let him sleep a little longer. He barely gets any rest all year round, so no one will mind if he sleeps in once in a while.”
The little one nodded. Covering his mouth to speak softly, he said, “Uncle, since big brother didn’t let you sleep on the bed, don’t let him catch you!”
Murong Xu snorted, wanting to mention that it was that very person who invited him to sleep on the bed in the middle of the night.
But looking at the innocent little eyes of his nephew, he decided not to say anything. Instead, he changed the subject: “Your big brother still needs to sleep for a while. Let Uncle help you get dressed, and we’ll go play.”
“Okay!”
The uncle and nephew got out of bed, quietly dressing and washing up. After they ate breakfast and played together for half the day, Murong Xu eventually took Little Seven out for some fun.
As soon as Murong Xu left, a rumor quietly started spreading from the palace. The word was that the emperor had summoned the young general to his chambers the previous night.
Although the rumor spread, it hadn’t yet reached the ears of the palace’s noblewomen.
The little one, of course, had no idea about the rumor.
After his uncle took him out, the two of them spent the whole day playing in the capital.
While the little one liked the changes he’d helped bring to Yanzhou Prefecture, his favorite place was still the capital. He had grown up here, and no other place could ever replace the feelings he had for it.
“Uncle, your palm feels rough,” the little one observed while playing in the carriage on their way back to the general’s mansion. He was holding his uncle’s hand and examining it closely.
“Yeah, it’s calloused,” Murong Xu replied. He wasn’t too concerned about his hands. After all, being out in the world practicing martial arts and going to war, how could his hands remain soft?
“A man doesn’t need to be delicate. It’s fine,” Murong Xu said nonchalantly about himself, but when it came to the little one, he was much more meticulous.
Whenever the little one’s face got chapped from the wind, Murong Xu would always remember to apply lotion.
“Uncle, if you apply more cream, your skin will be smooth again,” the little one said, generously sharing his own lotion and applying it to his uncle’s hands and face. “Smooth skin looks nice.”
Murong Xu let the little one apply the lotion as they rode back to the general’s mansion, where the household was already prepared for their return.
When Madam Murong saw the little one, her first words were the same as Noble Consort Yi’s: “How did our Little Seven get so thin?”
“I’m not thin,” the little one replied. He didn’t think he was thinner, but the entire Murong family seemed convinced he was.
That night, the dinner table was filled with dishes catered to the little one’s tastes.
After eating and drinking their fill, the little one stayed at the Murong mansion to sleep.
As night fell, the little one laid on his stomach, propping his cheeks up with his hands, chatting with his uncle.
“Uncle, aren’t we going to sleep with big brother tonight?”
“No,” Murong Xu answered, leaning back against a pillow while reading a book. Without looking up, he added, “Your big brother used to have such a good temper, but ever since he ascended the throne, his temper’s gotten worse.”
The little one shook his head vigorously, “No, no, big brother’s temper is still very good.”
Among all his siblings, the little one believed his big brother was the most gentle and kind.
Murong Xu snorted at the little one’s praise for his brother, blurting out, “Oh, please. He’s just good at fooling people. Last night, when he was drunk—”
“What?”
“Nothing,” Murong Xu quickly cut himself off. Flipping a page in his book, he beckoned the little one over: “Come here, let’s read together.”
“I don’t want to!” the little one covered his eyes. He had just come back and wanted to play, not use his brain.
“You don’t want to, but you have to. Come here,” Murong Xu grabbed him. The two of them pulled and tugged until they were both wrestling around on the bed.
The little one giggled uncontrollably as his uncle tickled him, laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes. His uncle, however, wasn’t about to let him go so easily.
Outside the window, snow began to fall again, and the wind howled, knocking against the window with a dull thud.
Inside, it was warm.
The little one, flushed and rosy-cheeked from all the laughter, laid exhausted on his uncle’s chest, dressed in soft sleepwear.
He tightly held his uncle’s large hand with both of his small ones, not letting his uncle move.
“No, no more playing.”
The little one took a deep breath, exhausted from laughing so hard.
Seeing that he was tired, Murong Xu started lecturing him, “You need to build up your stamina. Otherwise, what will you do if Ah Wu bullies you someday?”
“Ah Wu would never bully me,” the little one said with a smile, his eyes curving with joy. He proudly added, “Ah Wu loves me the most!”
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more chapters of Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
