Chapter 32
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The child in the bed, who had barely finished counting his fingers, had his hand grasped by Noble Consort Yi, who was sleeping with her eyes closed. “Little Seven, go to sleep.”
Ling Rui blinked his eyes and looked at Noble Consort Yi, who was still beautiful even with her eyes closed, and asked, “Mother, do you like Fourth Brother?”
Noble Consort Yi, with her eyes closed, replied, “Why would I like him?”
Noble Consort Yi continued, “Among these princes and princesses, besides you, I don’t like anyone else.”
Noble Consort Yi added with a hint of threat in her voice, “If you don’t go to sleep now, I won’t like you either.”
Despite the final sentence carrying a strong threat, Ling Rui wasn’t afraid at all. He squinted his eyes, arched his little body against Noble Consort Yi, and said goodnight in a sticky manner before finally falling asleep.
The long night gradually gave way to daylight, dissipating completely across the land.
Noble Consort Yi woke up at her usual time the next day. She glanced at the child still asleep on the bed, softly called for Ji Yan, and asked her to bring clothes.
Because they were selecting a study companion, Ling Rui would spend the day with the candidates. By the end of the day, he would choose his companion.
“Little Seven, wake up.”
After Noble Consort Yi finished dressing herself, she called Ling Rui to wake up.
Upon hearing the voice, Ling Rui closed his eyes and rolled around in bed a few times. His antics were finally settled by Noble Consort Yi’s large hand.
“Hurry up, your companions will be here soon.”
Although Ling Rui attended school on time every day and sad if he couldn’t, at this moment, he sometimes couldn’t control his desire to be lazy.
After lingering on the bed for a while, Ling Rui rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.
Ji Yan came forward to change his clothes.
When changing into the second layer of clothes, Ling Rui lowered his head and touched it, feeling that it was different from usual. However, the outer small clothes were very beautiful, with his favorite colorful flowers.
After dressing, the little child was also well groomed.
Before leaving, Ji Yan did not follow, instead, Cui Xi and an inconspicuous little palace maid from Fenghua Palace accompanied.
“Niang Niang, I heard that among the young masters coming today, there is also one from the Jiang family.”
After Ling Rui left, Ji Yan spoke with Noble Consort Yi in the palace, specifically mentioning the young master of the Jiang family.
The head of the Jiang family had inherited the title of Duke from his grandfather, and the Duke’s wife was a close friend of Noble Consort Yi. The fact that they sent their legitimate son to be Ling Rui’s study companion was likely the Duke’s wife’s idea.
For the previous princes, the Duke’s wife had never participated in this process. This was the first time she sent her child into the palace for such a matter.
“I know,” Noble Consort Yi replied.
When Noble Consort Yi first reviewed the list of candidates, the name Jiang Yan immediately caught her eye.
“Then why didn’t Niang Niang inform the Seventh Prince in advance, so he could pay more attention to Young Master Jiang?” Ji Yan asked.
“This is Little Seven’s choice, not mine. If he feels a connection with Little Yan, he will choose him without my prompting.”
Noble Consort Yi believed that if the children were not compatible, forcing them together based on the adults’ wishes was not a good idea.
While they stayed in the palace, outside, Ling Rui had already met a few of the prospective study companions.
Originally, there were six names on the list, but only three candidates showed up. The other three families had found excuses to decline.
These three families were already hesitant, and after hearing some rumors last night, they decided to withdraw from the selection process after deliberating through the night.
The three boys who came were all six or seven years old. Although they were young, they were still older than Ling Rui and capable of taking care of him.
“Hello, Your Highness. I am Zhen Feng, the youngest in the Zhen family.”
“I am Chen Zhou.”
“I am Jiang Yan.”
The three young masters introduced themselves. Ling Rui stood still, looking up and trying hard to remember their names.
Among the three, Zhen Feng and Jiang Yan were the most memorable to Ling Rui.
Zhen Feng greeted him with a warm smile.
Jiang Yan, though not very talkative, had a way of looking at him that felt different.
In comparison, Chen Zhou seemed a bit too reserved.
“Your Highness, let me carry your books for you,” Zhen Feng offered.
Although Ling Rui didn’t know many characters, he had a lot of books. He had asked for a copy of every book his sixth brother had, and he carried them to and from school every day.
“No need, Cui Cui will help me,” Ling Rui replied.
After meeting them, Ling Rui led them towards the school, chatting as they walked.
To be precise, Ling Rui was chatting with Zhen Feng.
Zhen Feng, at seven years old, seemed a bit mature for his age and was deliberately flattering Ling Rui in their conversation.
“Your Highness, I have a gift for you. I hope you won’t mind.”
Zhen Feng presented a handful of round gold beads: “You can play with these on the ground. If you don’t know how, I can teach you later.”
“I know how to play marbles,” Ling Rui said.
Although he liked the look of the round gold beads, he didn’t take them. He couldn’t count money, but he knew that gold beads could be exchanged for a lot of money.
“These are very expensive. I can’t take them,” Ling Rui said, not willing to accept gifts from someone he wasn’t familiar with.
Seeing that Ling Rui thought the gold beads were too valuable to accept, Zhen Feng’s enthusiastic smile faded slightly.
“Your Highness, this is a gift for our first meeting. Please accept it.”
Zhen Feng lowered his voice intentionally, speaking as if sharing a secret with him: “This isn’t valuable at all. I have plenty. You can have as much as you want.”
“Your Highness, I’m here to be your study companion, to treat you well.”
Zhen Feng’s words sounded nice, and Ling Rui silently listened but didn’t respond much.
He was secretly memorizing Zhen Feng’s phrases!
These flattering words, he wanted to remember them to tell Ah Wu!
As Zhen Feng kept talking, Ling Rui kept memorizing.
Until they were about to enter the classroom, Jiang Yan took the opportunity while Zhen Feng went to find his seat, leaning close to Ling Rui and whispered softly, “Don’t be fooled by Zhen Feng. He’s not good.”
Ling Rui nodded.
Jiang Yan saw him obediently nodding and wanted to say more, but Zhen Feng returned and said, “Your Highness, I’ve cleaned your desk and chair. Come, take a seat.”
Ling Rui, “Okay.”
He sat in his seat, with Zhen Feng on his left and Jiang Yan on his right. The most honest Chen Zhou was pushed to the back, making them quite conspicuous in the classroom.
Ling Fu noticed them as soon as he arrived. “Little Seven, did you bring your study companions?”
Ling Rui pondered and replied, “Not yet.”
He hadn’t chosen yet.
Ling Fu wasn’t particularly interested in other people’s study companions. He was quite satisfied with his own little study companion, who wasn’t favored at home but was very kind-hearted.
When his little study companion first came to him, he was thin and looked pitiful.
He immediately picked this little study companion and started feeding him. Now, although his little study companion still couldn’t gain weight, he had grown taller and stronger!
Little chubby Ling Fu felt quite accomplished about this.
At one point, he even thought about fattening up Little Seven, but if Little Seven ate too much, he would get indigestion, which would make him uncomfortable. He didn’t dare to overfeed him.
“You’re so young, having a study companion by your side is also good for you.”
After Ling Fu finished speaking, he took out his books and urgently reviewed them before the teacher arrived to save himself.
Unlike Sixth Brother who crammed at the last minute, Ling Rui had already prepared the lessons the teacher would check.
Now, he was starting to review ahead!
Seeing the little prince sitting straight and studying, Jiang Yan’s eyes showed a hint of fondness. This little child was as well-behaved as his mother had described.
Meanwhile, Chen Zhou, with his honest face, silently watched the little prince’s back without saying a word.
“Your Highness, the teacher hasn’t arrived yet. Would you like something to eat?” Zhen Feng took out an oiled paper packet containing snacks from outside the palace.
Ling Rui was counting something and placed the small wooden sticks from his desk on the table.
These small sticks were given to him by Big Brother.
He could now count more than ten!
Although he could count, he still wasn’t good at arithmetic problems. After he finished counting on his fingers, he couldn’t find anything else to count. So, Big Brother taught him to use small sticks for arithmetic.
“I’m full.”
The child interrupted while counting the small sticks. He turned his kind face towards Zhen Feng and said, “You eat it. I want to do arithmetic.”
He was solving a new problem.
If he bought cakes and each cake cost 2 wen, and he had to buy one for each of his older brothers and sisters, how much money would he give to the shopkeeper?
He arranged the small sticks seriously. While Zhen Feng was talking to him, someone suddenly tugged at his clothes.
“Hey.”
The little fatty who originally wasn’t interested in Zhen Feng stared straight at him now. “I’m not full yet.”
Zhen Feng: “…”
Zhen Feng handed him the oiled paper packet.
The little fatty easily got his food and smiled kindly at him.
Zhen Feng stayed by Ling Rui’s side all morning, always the first to agree with whatever Ling Rui did.
At noon, Ling Rui heard Cui Xi whispering in his ear that they wouldn’t return to the palace for lunch today; they would eat here instead.
The school provided lunch.
Ling Rui didn’t eat much here. He had only accompanied Sixth Brother to eat here a few times. Sixth Brother said the meat and vegetables here were better than those in his palace kitchen.
“Your Highness, are you having lunch here at noon?” Seeing that he hadn’t returned after school, Zhen Feng asked.
Ling Rui responded softly, “Mm, yeah, the food here is also good.”
Zhen Feng smiled and added, “The food here shouldn’t be as good as Noble Consort Yi’s palace kitchen, right? I heard the chefs in Noble Consort Yi’s kitchen are extremely skilled.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui said, “It’s all good.”
Unlike Sixth Brother, he didn’t care much about food. So, to him, the palace kitchen and the food here were both delicious.
The group went to have lunch together. On the way, Ling Rui met Fourth Brother.
He looked up at Fourth Brother with unblinking eyes. Fourth Brother met his gaze for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Zhen Feng’s face and frowned.
“Fourth Brother.”
Ling Rui stood still, calling out to Fourth Brother.
Ling Hao restrained the impulse to look back, saying calmly, “You’re so young, what do you know about choosing a study companion? If you want to choose a study companion, let your royal mother choose for you.”
After saying this, he turned and left.
Ling Rui watched Fourth Brother walk away, pouting his small mouth.
The next moment, he took short steps and still ran up, hugging Fourth Brother’s leg. “Fourth Brother, aren’t you playing with Little Seven anymore?”
Ling Hao was hugged by his leg, and finally looked down at the little child.
He clenched and loosened the fist at his side, finally said coldly, “I’m so much older than you, I can’t play with you.”
His cold attitude truly hurt the little child this time.
The little child hugging his leg gradually loosened his small hand, then shouted tearfully at him, “I’m not playing with Fourth Brother anymore!”
After he finished shouting, he ran towards the direction where his back was turned to Fourth Brother.
Ling Hao turned his head back and looked at the departing little guy, his eyes slightly red.
His feelings with his brothers and sisters were not deep, except for Big Brother who always fulfilled his duties as an eldest royal brother and cared for his younger siblings. As for these imperial princes and princesses, they didn’t care about each other.
They were not like ordinary siblings.
Born in the imperial family, there was no sibling affection in the palace.
Only the foolish little Seven, maybe because he was too young, or maybe because he didn’t understand, was always clingy towards his older brothers and sisters.
The little Seven who ran away was quickly caught up by the study companion.
As Zhen Feng approached, he had already pondered a lot in his mind. Originally, he thought the little prince had feelings for Noble Consort Yi, and what he heard yesterday was also fake.
But now, it seemed that the rumors might not be false.
This morning, he inadvertently saw the gorgeous outer clothing of the little prince, but the inner lining fabric was not good, and although Noble Consort Yi had a small kitchen, the little prince couldn’t eat there.
In addition to what he had just seen between the little prince and the Fourth Prince, the Fourth Prince also had no brotherly affection towards the little prince.
Considering these factors, this little prince seemed to be having a hard time in the palace!
But thinking about his mission to enter the palace, Zhen Feng still suppressed his contempt for the little prince’s status, continued to put on a smile, and followed the little prince.
After lunch, the most honest Chen Zhou walked up to Ling Rui and handed him a still warm chicken leg he had brought out himself: “This is very fragrant, please eat it.”
Ling Rui was not in a good mood, so he didn’t eat much.
Seeing that Chen Zhou had brought the chicken leg for him, he did not refuse the other’s kindness, took the chicken leg, and ate it up, his little belly bulging.
Chen Zhou, who had been watching Ling Rui eat the chicken leg, was interrupted by Jiang Yan, who had been holding Zhen Feng: “I said you should stop, you’ve been nagging all morning, and you haven’t listened. I think you’ve held in a fart!”
“The position of the little prince’s study companion, you shouldn’t think about it.”
In fact, Jiang Yan also had a lot of words, but before he came, he was scolded by his mother by the ears, saying that if he didn’t leave a good impression on the little prince, she would whip him to death!
He usually talks too much and is a bit annoying, so in order not to offend the little prince, he can only hold back his words and control his temper, trying not to scare the little prince.
He restrained himself, but Zhen Feng hit the nose!
Seeing that Jiang Yan was about to roll up his sleeves, Zhen Feng’s eyeballs turned and directly shouted, “Your Highness! Jiang Yan wants to hit me!”
Jiang Yan: “?”
Jiang Yan kicked him on the spot.
When Ling Rui came over to see, Zhen Feng had just crawled up to him.
“Your Highness, Jiang Yan scolded and hit me!”
Jiang Yan stood behind Zhen Feng, listening to Zhen Feng’s accusation, and his slightly round face was full of innocence: “I didn’t scold or hit anyone. Your Highness, did you see me hitting anyone?”
Ling Rui: “……”
Ling Rui shook his head honestly, “I didn’t see it.”
When he came over, Zhen Feng was already on the ground.
Hearing him say this, Jiang Yan’s expression quickly changed from innocence to aggrieved: “Zhen Feng framed me! Your Highness, you must speak up for me!”
Jiang Yan was the youngest of the three study companions, only four years old, and was handsome.
Zhen Feng said he was hit, and Jiang Yan said he was framed, this court case made Ling Rui’s little head buzz.
In the end, it was Chen Zhou who spoke up: “Your Highness wants to take a nap. There’s no time to judge right from wrong for you two. If you keep arguing, I’ll report to the teacher.”
Watching silently, it turned out that Chen Zhou was the one who could best control the situation.
Under his few words, Zhen Feng reluctantly got up from the ground, and Jiang Yan also touched his nose and quieted down.
After lunch, it was time for a nap.
Ling Rui didn’t return to Fenghua Palace for his nap. He slept outside.
In Fenghua Palace, Noble Consort Yi didn’t go out, but she knew everything outside. Especially these temporary companions of the little guy.
“I was wondering how long Little Yan could hold it in for.” Listening to Ji Yan’s report, Noble Consort Yi raised her lips and murmured to herself.
“Niang Niang, are you going to the hunting ground in the afternoon? Shall we let our little prince go?”
After the incident at the hunting ground last time, they hadn’t been there a few times.
They were too young to ride horses or shoot arrows at the hunting ground, at most they touched the ponies and hugged the bows and arrows.
“Let them follow along.”
“Yes.”
After Ji Yan bowed her head and answered, she left.
Noble Consort Yi leaned on the couch, thinking in her mind about the remarks Ji Yan mentioned, and the Fourth Prince’s neglect of their Little Seven.
She gave a slight chuckle and developed a dislike for this Little Four.
“He doesn’t care about our Little Seven… Does he really think our Little Seven is a pushover?”
Her child was not the unattended, unwanted child from before; in her care, he was a cherished treasure.
Her cherished treasure, though some might not appreciate him, she did.
When the little one returned to the palace today, she planned to tell him a new bedtime story.
Tonight’s bedtime story would be about a little piglet making friends. In the story, the little piglet only played with those who liked him and ignored those who didn’t.
Noble Consort Yi never taught her child how to get along with the royal siblings.
She also never told her child about the conflicts and entanglements among the consorts of this generation. She didn’t want her child to worry too much.
She educated her child for his own good, from his perspective.
But the women in the palace had a different approach to educating their children.
Time passed slowly.
Ling Rui didn’t sleep well during his nap. When he woke up, his eyes were still a little swollen.
Chen Zhou brought warm boiled eggs to apply on his eyes, Jiang Yan poured him some water to drink, while Zhen Feng started expressing concern again: “Your Highness, shall we find a physician to take a look at your eyes? If Noble Consort Yi sees them, she will definitely be heartbroken for you.”
Ling Rui, who hadn’t slept well, looked a bit sluggish and didn’t immediately respond to Zhen Feng. He remained in a daze for quite a while before slowly coming to his senses.
Shortly after he regained clarity, without much delay, Ling Fu came over to invite Ling Rui to go to the hunting grounds.
They traveled to the hunting grounds in a sedan chair.
“Little Seven.”
Inside the sedan chair, Ling Fu nibbled on a fruit, observing Ling Rui with his eyes: “Why do I feel like you’re absent-minded?”
Upon hearing this, Ling Rui looked towards Sixth Brother but didn’t argue.
Ling Fu, acting all grown-up, patted his head and said in a brotherly manner, “If you have anything on your mind, you can tell Sixth Brother. I’ll help you solve it.”
After thinking for a moment, Ling Rui actually spoke up, “Sixth Brother, can you make everyone not go to the hunting grounds?”
Ling Fu: “….”
Ling Fu’s chubby face immediately fell, “Little Seven, are you intentionally making things difficult for Sixth Brother?”
He had just wanted to be a good older brother, but Little Seven ruthlessly thwarted his efforts!
Returning everyone the way they came was something only Royal Father could arrange.
Seeing Sixth Brother couldn’t do it, Ling Rui sighed quietly. In his foresight, something would happen at the hunting grounds in the afternoon.
What he foresaw, about the scene with Fourth Brother—
In the afternoon at the hunting grounds, a major incident was going to occur.
Eldest Brother’s study companion, Fang Huaiyu, seemed to have gotten into some trouble.
After Fang Huaiyu encountered trouble, for reasons unknown, Royal Father said it was Fourth Brother’s doing.
The Fang family took Fang Huaiyu away.
Royal Father was furious and publicly lashed Fourth Brother, leaving him with bloody wounds, and he developed a high fever at night.
Consort De fed Fourth Brother medicine, but it turned out to be poisoned.
Fourth Brother’s condition worsened. Initially, Father had softened, but somehow he discovered that Fourth Brother had staged the poisoning himself.
Then Father became even angrier.
In the foresight scene, Fourth Brother was barely clinging to life, his face drained of color.
He didn’t know exactly what would happen at the hunting grounds, but he knew that if he allowed things to unfold, Fourth Brother would be whipped in the evening and forced to drink poison at night.
He couldn’t stop the whipping or the poison.
Consort De didn’t like him very much, so he couldn’t stay in Consort De’s palace at night.
“Here, Little Seven, open your mouth.”
Seeing Ling Rui drifting off again, Ling Fu pinched his cheek and fed him a piece of fruit, “Isn’t it sweet? I brought a lot, we can eat together!”
“Thank you, Sixth Brother.”
“No need to thank me.”
The little fatty fed his younger brother and even sneakily fed his own study companion.
As they neared the hunting grounds, Ling Rui also went to Eldest Brother’s sedan chair.
Inside the sedan chair, only Eldest Brother was present. Once Ling Rui entered, Eldest Brother lifted him onto his lap and asked, “Are you satisfied with the study companions accompanying you today?”
“It’s okay.”
Ling Rui handed over the fruits he had been clutching to Eldest Brother, the ones he had asked Sixth Brother for earlier.
Ling Chen enjoyed his candy, finding it pleasantly sweet.
The two brothers chatted inside the sedan chair. After asking about the few study companions, Ling Chen brought up something else, “Your uncle should have arrived by now. Did he write to you?”
“He did.”
Murong Xu knew his departure this time was sudden, and he hadn’t informed the little child.
Without thinking, he knew the little brat would definitely cry, so he wrote frequently to him, almost as frequently as to Ah Wu.
“Eldest Auntie is still resting. Uncle said he’s going to beat up bad guys.”
Ling Rui leaned against Eldest Brother’s chest and said, “When I’m older, I’m going to find Uncle.”
“When you’re older, he should be back.”
Ling Chen smiled and pinched his little face. “When the time comes, you won’t need to go find him.”
“Eldest Brother, where’s Fang Fang?”
Ling Rui found Fang Huaiyu’s name a bit difficult to pronounce, so he called him Fang Fang.
“He’s outside the sedan chair. Didn’t you see him just now?”
“No.”
After Ling Rui finished speaking, Ling Chen opened the sedan curtain to let him take a look.
Fang Huaiyu noticed the curtain being lifted and instinctively looked over.
Ling Rui happened to make eye contact with him.
Fang Huaiyu waved at him, a greeting.
The curtain was lowered again. Thinking of Fang Huaiyu’s warm smile and Fourth Brother’s miserable face, Ling Rui sniffled and buried his little face into Eldest Brother’s chest. He mumbled, “Eldest Brother, do you like bad children?”
Ling Chen: “…”
Ling Chen couldn’t quite understand why he was asking this question.
But he still asked, “How bad is this bad child?”
Ling Rui, without any trace of bad brat spirit, said, “Super bad, when he sees someone in danger, he just ignores it!”
His description left Ling Chen momentarily silent.
Ling Chen felt that such a small brat, when seeing someone in danger, wasn’t supposed to rush forward to help.
“Little Seven, what you’re doing isn’t being a bad child, it’s being a smart child.”
Ling Chen looked down at the child buried in his arms and ruffled his hair. “You’re still very young. What you need to do is protect yourself.”
Ling Rui remained silent.
After a while, he finally lifted his little face. “Eldest Brother, can we not go to the hunting grounds?”
“Of course we can’t.”
Ling Chen said, “If you don’t want to go, I can have someone send you back, but I’m going.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui asked again, “Can Fang Fang take me back?”
“That won’t work either.”
Ling Chen was somewhat helpless with his questions. “Little Seven, Fang Huaiyu is going to study with me. I’ll arrange for someone else to take you back, okay?”
“No.”
Ling Rui was unwilling to let someone else escort him back, nor did he want to go back.
After sitting in the sedan for a while longer, the group arrived at their destination.
Despite the incident involving Ling Xing last time at the hunting ground, it didn’t affect the ongoing use of the grounds.
In previous times, Ling Rui had always been closely supervised by the instructors. This time, he had temporary study companions to watch over and care for him.
“Your Highness, which horse do you like? I can bring it over for you to touch,” Zhen Feng said, eager to please Ling Rui in hopes of temporarily gaining the study companion status. However, he didn’t dare to suggest that Ling Rui ride the horse; he only offered for him to touch one.
This time, Ling Rui didn’t move around on his own like before. He stayed close to his eldest brothers.
Eldest brother, Fourth Brother, and Sixth Brother were planning to ride horses and practice archery together.
Seeing him arrive, Ling Chen raised his voice slightly and reminded, “Little Seven, stay further away and play on your own.”
Ling Rui didn’t listen and remained unwilling to move from where he was standing.
Ling Hao, who was with Ling Chen, also glanced over and noticed the slightly swollen and reddened eyelids of the little one.
He had caused this.
“Why are you dazing off? Pay attention. Perform well in archery later and don’t let me down,” Ling Chen said seriously, tapping Ling Hao’s arm. “You deliberately let me down last time.”
Ling Hao had the best performance in their archery classes. However, last time, he had clearly disappointed him.
After Ling Hao regained his senses, they began their pre-class warm-up.
They had half an hour to warm up, during which they could ride horses to get a feel for them.
Feeling a bit upset, Ling Hao casually took a horse and left.
Ling Rui looked at him, then at Fang Huaiyu, unsure of whom to stay with.
“Your Highness, won’t you touch the pony?” Zhen Feng couldn’t help but approach him as he stood there, asking.
Ling Rui shook his head. “Not now.”
He wanted to keep an eye on Fang Huaiyu for a while to see what might happen.
As he was watching, the stable master approached with a smile. “Your Highness, would you like to use the horse you and the Fourth and Sixth Princes chose last time?”
“Yes.”
The new batch of horses in the hunting grounds had all been inspected by them and they were very satisfied, each having made their choice.
Ling Rui was too young to ride a horse, but the stable had prepared a small bay horse for him.
Since Fang Huaiyu had left, he followed.
Ling Chen asked Fang Huaiyu to lead the horse, while he adjusted a large bow on the spot.
Fang Huaiyu walked fast in front, and Ling Rui, with his short legs, struggled a bit to catch up.
After chasing for a while, Ling Rui caught up with Fang Huaiyu.
“Seventh Prince, why are you here?” Fang Huaiyu smiled and lifted him up onto the horse, letting him sit and rest.
“Fang Fang, what are you doing?” Ling Rui chased all the way and was out of breath, sitting on the horse, blinking and asking Fang Huaiyu.
Fang Huaiyu had a good temperament and liked Ling Rui very much.
He replied, “I’m going to take a ride around and then go back to find your eldest royal brother.”
He wanted to walk the route the Eldest Prince would take later, checking it in advance.
Although the hunting grounds would be inspected beforehand by a master, after the previous incident with a wild animal injuring someone, the meticulous and cautious Fang Huaiyu always checked it himself.
“Take me with you,” Ling Rui answered almost without hesitation.
Fang Huaiyu also refused without thinking, “No.”
Ling Rui insisted, “Take me!”
Fang Huaiyu gently but firmly refused again, “Your Highness, I need to attend to important matters and cannot take you.”
“You can!”
Ignoring his reasons, Ling Rui covered his ears with his hands and demanded that Fang Huaiyu take him.
Fang Huaiyu refused firmly on principle.
But when Fang Huaiyu rode away on his horse, Ling Rui, who had been put down, ran after him without hesitation.
He ran too fast behind, and fell down.
Fang Huaiyu noticed the movement behind him, his eyelids twitched, and he had no choice but to stop the horse.
“Your Highness, go back.”
“No.”
The two stood off like this until Fang Huaiyu, wanting to go ahead to check the route, couldn’t take the little prince away, so he carried him up.
“Your Highness, sit properly.”
Fang Huaiyu wrapped the little prince in his coat, let him sit with the wind at his back, padded his seat, and then rode forward.
They rode on horseback, and the other study companions behind couldn’t catch up.
Chen Zhou watched their backs for a few seconds and walked towards them.
Jiang Yan also walked with him side by side.
Only Zhen Feng frowned, feeling tired walking over like this.
“Your Highness, why do you have to come with me?”
Fang Huaiyu rode his horse while steadying the little prince in his arms.
He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but since the afternoon, he felt the prince’s gaze had been lingering on him.
When Fang Huaiyu asked the little prince about it, Ling Rui was stumped. He rubbed his little face against Fang Huaiyu’s shoulder but didn’t answer.
They rode for a while, and wrapped in his clothes, Ling Rui didn’t notice that his fourth brother was not far ahead.
It was quiet all around them, with no one else in sight.
Upon seeing the fourth prince, Fang Huaiyu immediately thought of having him take the little prince back. He rode towards the fourth prince.
However, before he could get close, the horse the fourth prince was holding suddenly flared its nostrils. The next moment, it lost control and charged towards Fang Huaiyu.
Fang Huaiyu: “!”
Fang Huaiyu reacted instantly, pulling on the reins to dodge.
But the charging horse was fierce, and its front hooves kicked hard into the belly of Fang Huaiyu’s horse.
Startled, Fang Huaiyu’s horse neighed loudly.
Then, both the startled horse and the fierce one that continued to attack began to gallop wildly.
As the horses jostled, Ling Rui’s small mind finally comprehended what would happen to Fang Huaiyu in his premonition.
Fang Huaiyu would be harmed because of his fourth brother’s horse.
And he would be gravely injured; otherwise, their father would not have ordered such a severe punishment for fourth brother.
In a flash, although Ling Rui figured this out, he couldn’t change anything.
Despite following Fang Huaiyu, he couldn’t prevent the accident.
“Little Seven!” Ling Hao, red-faced, chased after them, trying to catch up with the horses.
Ling Rui’s clothes had come loose, and his little hands clung tightly to Fang Huaiyu’s clothes, his beautiful face streaked with tears.
He was genuinely terrified now. Despite Fang Huaiyu holding him tightly, he felt he was doomed.
The mishap with the horses was quickly noticed by the masters nearby.
One master shouted for help while preparing to forcibly tame the runaway horse.
Amidst the chaotic sounds of hooves and shouts, Fang Huaiyu and Ling Rui were finally thrown off the horse.
As they fell, Fang Huaiyu shielded Ling Rui in his arms.
Aside from the pain from the fall, Fang Huaiyu was uninjured, but before he could get up, the fierce horse raised its hooves and aimed a kick at his leg.
Fang Huaiyu’s pupils contracted sharply. Knowing horses well, he realized this kick would cripple his leg!
Seeing the horse’s hooves about to strike, Ling Rui instinctively spread his small hands in a protective gesture.
Ling Hao, who had been too far to stop it, was stunned to see Ling Rui with his hands outstretched.
In an unprecedented burst of speed, he lunged forward, shielding them from the horse’s hooves.
The impact on his shoulder was so strong that Ling Rui’s small ears caught the sound of a crack.
After the cracking sound, Ling Hao embraced Ling Rui tightly.
The master, who arrived simultaneously, injured the horse’s leg with his bare hands, stopping it from further attacking Fang Huaiyu.
Fang Huaiyu laid on the ground, gasping for breath.
His mind was still replaying the thrilling moment. He knew clearly that his leg had almost been crippled.
If the little prince hadn’t protected him, if the fourth prince hadn’t seen the little prince and been driven to a desperate, life-risking rescue…
Fang Huaiyu gasped for breath, unable to calm his emotions.
Meanwhile, Ling Hao, who had taken the blow to his shoulder, wasn’t doing well either.
He looked down at the little prince, who was terribly frightened, and asked urgently, “Did you get kicked? Where are you hurt? Speak up, are you injured anywhere?”
Ling Hao asked anxiously, and the little prince in his arms burst into tears, “Wah!”
“I’m okay, Fourth Brother, you’re bleeding! So much blood, wah.”
Ling Rui completely forgot about his vow to ignore his fourth brother. He reached out to cover the blood on Ling Hao’s shoulder, trembling with sobs.
Seeing that Ling Rui was unharmed, Ling Hao seemed to deflate, his arms dropping limp.
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