Chapter 31
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Ling Hao was taken aback by his sudden question and was also puzzled.
The eyes of the big and the small met, the little one looked at the big one as if he were looking at an unfortunate thing, and the big one looked at the little one as if he were looking at a little fool.
“Why are you asking me this kind of question?” Ling Hao, after his initial shock, asked him in confusion.
Ling Rui stared at him without blinking, his small face serious as he urged, “Fourth Brother, please answer quickly.”
After glancing around, almost without hesitation, Ling Hao said firmly and bluntly, “No, I don’t like you. You’re not some rare treasure that everyone must like.”
Even if Big Brother and Little Five and Little Six liked this kid, he did not.
Ling Hao’s tone was resolute and straightforward.
After he finished speaking, Ling Rui’s small face puffed up.
“If you don’t like me, I won’t like you either.” Ling Rui struggled with his small body, determined to become a bad kid who sees disaster but does nothing!
Anyway, Fourth Brother wouldn’t die this time; he would just suffer a bit and be unlucky.
With the determination to be a bad kid, Ling Rui’s small face turned cold, forcing Ling Hao to let him go.
Ling Hao couldn’t hold him back from struggling, so he let go of his hand and let him fall to the ground, sulking, then turned and walked away.
Watching him from behind, Ling Hao felt that the little figure of this kid looked like an angry pufferfish.
Thinking of the appearance of the pufferfish kid, Ling Hao couldn’t help but smile.
After watching for a while, Ling Hao also turned back to the palace. As soon as he returned to the palace, he saw Consort De sitting not far away reading a book.
“Royal Mother.”
Ling Hao’s expression tightened, walked over, and greeted Consort De.
Consort De was dressed plainly, without makeup. She put down the book in her hand and called Ling Hao over: “What were you doing just now?”
“Nothing much, just wandering outside.”
“What did you say to Little Seven?”
Consort De casually asked a question, but it made Ling Hao clench his fists suddenly. He looked at the calm face of Consort De, swallowed the surging emotions of the moment, and replied, “Nothing, just carried him.”
“Letting people hug you as soon as they see you, how frivolous.” Consort De said lightly.
Hearing the word “frivolous,” Ling Hao couldn’t help but retort aloud, “Royal Mother, Little Seven is young and naturally clingy. He sees me as an elder brother, so—”
“Elder brother? Ridiculous! In this harem, where are there brothers?”
Consort De raised her eyes, the beautiful eyes with faint wrinkles at the corners. Her voice, like most concubines in the harem, was gentle, but the words she spoke were always hard for Ling Hao to feel gentle.
Her appearance could be described as beautiful, just like Noble Consort Yi. Before Noble Consort Yi entered the palace, she had also received the emperor’s favor.
However, after Noble Consort Yi entered the palace, her favor had become another woman’s.
Noble Consort Yi was arrogant and domineering, with a beautiful appearance but a terrible character. Despite this, the Emperor continued to favor her.
Consort De now had no hope for the Emperor. Now she had only one hope—
She hoped that her child would inherit the throne one day!
Ling Hao knew her hopes, knew the expectations placed on him by his grandfather’s family, and knew they had been paving the way for him all along.
He carried the hopes of everyone, but he knew he couldn’t compare to his eldest brother.
“Royal Mother, I can’t compete with Big Brother. Big Brother’s strategies, knowledge, and insights are far superior to mine. I want to be—”
Before he finished his words, Ling Hao suddenly felt a sharp pain on his face.
It was Consort De who slapped him hard on the face.
Ling Hao winced, closing his mouth.
This slap from Consort De also woke Ling Hao up. He lowered his head and stopped saying useless words to Consort De.
After she had finished hitting him, Consort De suddenly hugged him and burst into tears. “Hao Er, does it hurt? Royal Mother didn’t mean it.”
As she apologized, tears filled her eyes.
Ling Hao was held by her, thinking about the cold face of Consort De just a moment ago and now seeing her full of affection, he pursed his lips and said nothing.
Sometimes he felt that his mother’s behavior was very contradictory.
But he couldn’t mention it; if he did, she would become even more hysterical.
The atmosphere in Consort De’s palace remained oppressive, while in the Fenghua Palace, the little kid who had gone out for a walk had returned with a serious face.
As soon as he returned, he saw the little bowl he had dropped on the ground was still there.
Feeling a little guilty, he picked up the small bowl, placed it on the table, and called out, “Mother, your baby is back!”
Having failed to console the child earlier, Noble Consort Yi glanced at his now stable emotions and raised an eyebrow slightly without moving her body. She lazily said, “Oh, our Seventh Prince is back. Ji Yan, go to the small kitchen and get the porcelain bowl out for Seventh Prince to drop again.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui’s anger had subsided by now, and he started feeling embarrassed.
He stuck close to Noble Consort Yi, climbing onto her legs. As he climbed, he softly requested to be held.
Noble Consort Yi placed her hand on his little head, preventing him from climbing further. “I won’t hold you. Go find someone else to hold you. I dare not hold you.”
Turning red, Ling Rui strained forward.
After struggling for a while, with his face now full red, he managed to climb into Noble Consort Yi’s arms and whimpered, “I’m sorry, I won’t throw tantrums next time.”
Actually, when Ling Rui threw the small bowl earlier, he had seen that there was a thick blanket on the ground, so even if the bowl fell, it wouldn’t break.
“Mother, pinch baby.”
Ling Rui brought his soft and chubby little face close to Noble Consort Yi, inviting her to pinch him however she liked.
After Ling Rui’s sincere apology, Noble Consort Yi finally reached out, pinched his cheeks, and then hugged him. “It’s not that you can’t throw tantrums. Everyone has the right to be angry. But when you throw tantrums and break your favorite little bowl, if the bowl were broken, tell me, would you regret it?”
This time, the little bowl that fell on the ground was Ling Rui’s favorite besides the celadon bowl. This bowl was also given by the Third Miss of the General’s Mansion.
Ling Rui listened to Noble Consort Yi’s words with his head bowed and replied, “Would regret it.”
If he had broken the bowl given by Third Auntie, he would definitely regret it.
Noble Consort Yi embraced him and gradually explained the reasoning to him. It was a harmonious scene with one speaking and the other listening, occasionally responding.
After a while, Noble Consort Yi carried the child down and ordered the meal to be sent.
Ling Rui hadn’t eaten well earlier, and now his little belly was growling. He obediently leaned against Noble Consort Yi and waited for the meal.
Night fell.
After the Noble Consort finished bathing the little one and applying fragrance, she brought up a matter: “Little Seven, now that you’re attending school, you should have a study companion.”
“I’ll choose two study companions for you, alright?”
“I have Sixth Brother,” Ling Rui wasn’t very interested in having a study companion.
He felt that as long as he had his Sixth Brother with him in school, it was fine. Having a study companion who would always follow him made him feel a bit restricted.
“Your Sixth Brother also has study companions,” the Noble Consort said. “I’ll have the study companions only accompany you during school, and not at other times, alright?”
Ling Rui still didn’t want one.
But seeing the Noble Consort’s insistence, he reluctantly nodded and said he would take a look first.
“Alright, you can take a look first. If you really don’t like it, we won’t choose one for now.” The Noble Consort dressed him neatly in his small clothes and told him to read for a bit before sleeping.
Ling Rui was a little one who loved to study.
He wanted to learn many things so that when he grew up, he could become a very capable person.
However, his study session lasted less than the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn. The determined little one was soon fast asleep, his head resting on his book.
The Noble Consort saw him sleeping sprawled out and gently took the book from his little hands.
He could barely recognize a few characters in that book. Reading such a book was like reading a celestial script for him.
The Noble Consort put the book away and tucked him in.
Her little one had ambitions, which was a good thing, but not entirely without concern.
The next day, the matter of Ling Rui selecting a study companion was brought to the Emperor.
Ling Rui came to the Chengming Hall by himself. Sitting on his little wooden horse, he rocked back and forth and said to the Emperor, “Father, I want to take a look.”
If he didn’t find anyone suitable, he wouldn’t choose a study companion.
Choosing a study companion was reasonable, although a bit early. But it was fine to start looking and preparing.
The Emperor looked at the little one on his wooden horse and nodded, “Alright, I’ll choose a good study companion for you.”
Those qualified to be a study companion for a prince were all children of high-ranking ministers.
In just one day, a list of suitable children was sent to Emperor Ling’s desk. Most of these children were legitimate sons of prominent families, a few years older than Ling Rui.
Emperor Ling pondered over the list for a long time.
Some of the names on this list seemed to have connections to the maternal families of the consorts.
The Murong family also submitted a name, which was that of a six-year-old son from one of their concubines.
Emperor Ling pressed his temple. Finally, he circled a few names and said softly, “Let them all come tomorrow.”
As for how to choose among these few, he left that decision to Noble Consort Yi.
Noble Consort Yi was also very attentive to the selection of this study companion. She still remembered how her little Seven was bullied last time they went to the hunting grounds.
If he had had a companion then, Ling Xing would not have dared to bully Little Seven so much.
A companion could protect her little Seven, and their character had to be upright, and they had to be outstanding as well.
For example, the Eldest Prince’s companion, Fang Huaiyu, was not only good at both literature and martial arts but also intelligent.
Fang Huaiyu was not only outstanding himself, but his status in the Fang family was also highly valued. Because he was the Eldest Prince’s companion, the Fang family was now firmly in the Eldest Prince’s camp.
Noble Consort Yi didn’t care much about family background; she didn’t need a companion with a great family background to support her little Seven.
What she needed was someone with good character, who was willing to sincerely care for Little Seven.
With this in mind, Noble Consort Yi’s eyes darkened. She called Ji Yan over and whispered a few words in her ear.
After listening, Ji Yan nodded seriously.
That night, word quietly spread that the Seventh Prince had thrown a tantrum again with Noble Consort Yi in Fenghua Palace.
It was said that the Seventh Prince had already had a fit the day before, for reasons unknown.
The news from Fenghua Palace was usually kept tightly locked, so outsiders didn’t know the details of how Noble Consort Yi pampered and indulged her little prince. They could only guess at the relationship between the two.
When Ling Rui mentioned Noble Consort Yi outside, he was always cheerful, and everyone could see that he was being raised plump and pretty.
Especially in the previous few instances when the Seventh Prince was bullied, it was Noble Consort Yi who stood up for him.
“Noble Consort Yi stood up for the Seventh Prince a few times before, maybe because she wanted to win him over and take him under her wing?”
Everyone knew that Noble Consort Yi couldn’t have children, but she had such a prestigious general family and a famous general sister.
If she could have a prince by her side, the future of the general’s residence could also rely on that prince.
To put it bluntly, the prince and the general’s residence would be mutually dependent. They would only have interests, no feelings, which was actually a very normal thing.
The rumors spread further, and the later ones were even more shocking.
The later rumors said that Noble Consort Yi’s indulgent nature couldn’t tolerate the Seventh Prince’s disobedience.
Hearing these words, especially from those households preparing to send their sons to compete for the position of the Seventh Prince’s study companion, it was hard to know what they were thinking and how they planned to proceed.
That night, Noble Consort Yi held her little prince in her arms and slept comfortably.
However, the little prince in her arms, before falling asleep, counted on his fingers. If he hadn’t miscounted his fingers—
Fourth Brother would start having bad luck tomorrow.
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
