Chapter 37
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“Your Majesty, if Little Seven annoys you, have someone bring him back.” Before leaving, Noble Consort Yi reminded Emperor Ling.
She’d just spoken when Ling Rui looked up, shouting, “I’m not bothering Daddy!”
He could hear her.
Noble Consort Yi smiled, rubbing his small face, admonishing him and Emperor Ling to sleep early, then walked away.
After Noble Consort Yi left, Ling Rui sat down and adjusted the pillow for Emperor Ling. He patted the pillow with his small hands and softly said, “Daddy, sleep!”
Emperor Ling leaned against the head of the bed, looking at him in surprise. “You don’t want Daddy to play with you today?”
Ling Rui shook his head and obediently replied, “Daddy has a headache, so no playing.”
Seeing how well-behaved he was, Emperor Ling smiled gently, his eyes showing a hint of amusement. “Daddy wants to play with you. What should we do? Little Seven doesn’t want to play with Daddy?”
“Want.”
Ling Rui admitted honestly, looking at Emperor Ling, then crawled on the big bed, his small body straight to the corner against the wall, where he found a set of marbles.
“Daddy, can we play marbles for a little while?”
“Sure.”
Emperor Ling knew the little guy hid quite a few toys on his bed. The palace servants had discovered them while tidying up the bed and had asked how to handle them.
He had thought for a moment and replied, “Just leave them.”
The bed was large enough, and leaving these toys hidden there didn’t cause any trouble.
Ling Rui spread out the marbles on the blanket and explained to Emperor Ling how to play. His little voice was a bit muffled, but Emperor Ling listened attentively.
The two played marbles together.
Outside, Lu Guang, who was standing guard, listened to the sounds inside. His wrinkled face narrowed his eyes.
Time passed by.
Ling Rui collected the marbles. He swiftly crawled back to the wall and hid the marbles again, then patted the bedsheet.
“Daddy.”
Having hidden the marbles, Ling Rui crawled back and this time climbed into Emperor Ling’s arms. “Now we can sleep! You need to sleep more so your headache goes away.”
With this little guy snuggling in his arms, Emperor Ling felt the weight but could bear it.
Father and son together, Emperor Ling lazily opened his mouth, “Little Seven, do you like living in the palace? Do you like the people in the palace?”
“Like.”
After playing for a while, Ling Rui was already a bit sleepy. He raised his small hand, rubbed his eyes, and said, “There’s Daddy, Mom, and brothers… I like them very much.”
Here were his most beloved family members; of course, he liked them.
Listening to his chatter, Emperor Ling’s eyes held an indescribable meaning.
Previously, whenever Ling Rui came over, Emperor Ling would always coax him to sleep quickly. This time, however, it was the opposite. Ling Rui was coaxing Emperor Ling to sleep, but Emperor Ling wasn’t sleepy.
Tonight, Emperor Ling was in the mood to chat with this little guy.
He half-opened his eyes and continued, “Little Seven, do you think Daddy is good?”
“Yes.”
“And do you think Daddy is a good father?”
“Yes.”
Answering these questions, Ling Rui was a bit puzzled as to why Daddy was asking these things.
The sleepy Ling Rui blinked his eyes and looked at Daddy’s face. When their gazes met, he felt that Daddy’s gaze was a bit profound, so deep that he couldn’t quite understand it.
“Daddy.”
Ling Rui blinked his eyes and reciprocated by asking Emperor Ling, “Do you like me?”
Emperor Ling’s large hand supported the back of his head. Under Ling Rui’s pure and reliant gaze, Emperor Ling eventually moved his lips, “I do. Among these children, you’re my favorite.”
This was the first time he had spent such a long time holding a child, the first time he had changed a child’s clothes, the first time he had fed a child, and the first time he had played with a child more than once in his palace.
This soft, dependent child was special to him.
If in the beginning it had been Consort Mei or Consort Shu, who had once mentioned nurturing Little Seven…
Emperor Ling felt that perhaps he could have been more unrestrained in his affection for this child.
“Daddy, you should also like my older brothers and sisters.” Ling Rui’s small body pressed against Emperor Ling’s, his little head was almost unable to hold on anymore, but Emperor Ling still wasn’t sleeping.
“Is it not good to only like you?” Emperor Ling remembered when he was a prince, he had hoped that his father, the emperor, would only love him.
“No.”
Ling Rui rubbed his eyes again. His chubby little hand rubbed his eyes, and if Noble Consort Yi had seen him, she would have gently taken him in her arms and put him to bed. But right now, it was Daddy who didn’t hold him while sleeping. He suppressed his sleepiness and said to Emperor Ling, “Big brothers and sisters are also children.”
Although older brothers and sisters, the eldest brother and second sister, were twelve or thirteen years old, they were not very young children. They hadn’t left the palace yet and were still living here.
As the parent, it was his duty to love all his children and raise all his children.
In the world of mountains and seas, many young animals were raised by their fathers or mothers. He had seen those large animals that carried their young; those large animals were responsible.
After bringing back the meat, the large animal would always let the young eat first, and when the young were full, it would eat.
“Little Seven, do you know how many brothers Daddy has?” Emperor Ling suddenly asked.
Ling Rui thought for a moment and held up one finger. “One.”
He still remembered the bad Shizi Ling Xing of Yong Wang who was the eldest brother of his father.
Emperor Ling held his one finger and said, “No, Daddy has several brothers, they are all very good, they are better than me, and they can make your royal grandpa happy. I am the least loved one.”
“At that time, no one cared about Daddy, and your royal grandpa didn’t care. He didn’t like Daddy.”
“Later, Daddy’s brothers disappeared or died. Only Daddy… finally became the emperor.”
Emperor Ling’s past had never been mentioned.
Even if everything was clear, even the original Yong Wang, who had supported him, did not dare to mention the past to him.
But in this kind of night, Emperor Ling took the initiative to say this to the little child.
He spoke of his own lack of favor, mentioned the exclusion he faced from his brothers, seemingly wanting his little one to understand that not all children are treated equally by their father.
He had come this far, become the emperor, which was such a difficult achievement.
He had sacrificed so much for this position.
Ling Rui was too young to fully understand his words.
“Daddy, don’t be sad.”
Ling Rui understood what Daddy said, that Grandfather didn’t like him, so he reached out and touched Emperor Ling’s face with his small hand, his voice soft, “I like Daddy, and so do my brothers and sisters, and Mommy too.”
Nowadays, many people like Daddy!
Emperor Ling: “…”
Emperor Ling had been speaking for a while, feeling like the little kid didn’t understand him at all.
He lowered his head to look at the still innocent little one, hesitated for a moment, then rolled over and pulled the little kid into his arms. “Forget it, I’m just wasting my breath talking to you about these things…”
The little guy was so young, he didn’t understand anything at all.
“Time to sleep.”
Emperor Ling finally felt like sleeping. His large hand patted Ling Rui’s back and he whispered, “Sleep well. Your popularity in this palace might even surpass mine.”
Being patted on the back by him, Ling Rui, who was already quite sleepy, became even more so.
He closed his eyes, his little fists clenched tightly, pressing against Emperor Ling’s body, his breathing steady and calm.
Listening to his breathing, Emperor Ling also gradually felt sleepy.
The two of them slept peacefully side by side.
Until midnight.
Ling Rui’s little leg cramped for a moment, waking him up. After waking up, he vigorously kicked his chubby little leg, accidentally kicking Emperor Ling in the process.
Emperor Ling wasn’t awakened by the kick. It was Ling Rui himself who, after kicking his legs a few times, became fully awake.
He opened his eyes and looked at the canopy above him.
A few seconds later, he moved his small body up a bit, pressing his little face against Emperor Ling’s face.
In the middle of the night, he finally had the chance to do something proper.
In the darkness, Emperor Ling also felt the little one snuggling up, but he just thought the little one was being clingy and paid no attention.
With his eyes closed, he continued sleeping under the soft warmth of the little face against his.
Time passed second by second.
Ling Rui, snuggling close, already had the scenes of his visions floating in his mind.
The prophetic images were initially blurry, but gradually became clearer. He saw Dad standing on a large ship, a very large ship, with officials in front of him.
They were discussing something about waterways, praising Dad’s wisdom.
But in the distance, many laborers, sweating profusely, were toiling away. Some collapsed while working.
As they collapsed, he heard among the laborers someone cursing phrases like “Dog Emperor” and the like.
The scenes flashed by quickly.
Next, the image that emerged was Dad lying on a bed covered in blood, so much blood.
Physicians were kneeling all around.
Ling Rui watched as they knelt, their faces pale, and his little heart began to beat violently. He wanted to continue watching, but for some reason—
Unlike how he could use his foresight on others, it was chaotic when used on Dad.
He saw some images that were very confusing to him, so confusing that he shouldn’t believe them. These images showed Daddy scolding Big Brother, and scenes of Fourth Brother.
In one scene, Daddy threw a teacup at Big Brother, causing blood to flow from his forehead.
Daddy didn’t care about Big Brother’s injury; instead, he angrily said, “If not for you all, if not for you all… I would have made a decision long ago! I shouldn’t have been soft-hearted, shouldn’t have spared the calamity star!”
Ling Rui distinctly heard the word “calamity star.”
Amid Daddy’s angry rebuke, the images Ling Rui saw abruptly stopped.
These images confused and unsettled him. He wasn’t in the images himself, but he felt like he was present in all of them.
“Ah Wu.”
In the dead of night, Ling Rui unexpectedly called out to Ah Wu.
Ah Wu promptly responded, “I’m here. What’s wrong?”
Ling Rui told Ah Wu about his confusing premonitions. After a few seconds of pause, Ah Wu said, “It’s okay, your brother is fine.”
“But Big Brother was bleeding from being hit by Daddy.”
“Yeah, I know. He’s not a good father, but sometimes good things can come from bad situations. Your brothers are all pretty good,” Ah Wu commented objectively.
Ling Rui worried about Daddy, but he also felt that this kind of Daddy was very unfamiliar to him.
So unfamiliar that it scared him a little.
“Little one, you’ve been using your precognitive abilities too much recently,” Ah Wu focused on this, his voice serious. “You shouldn’t use them for at least the next two weeks.”
“You don’t need to worry about what’s going on between your Daddy and your brothers.”
Originally, Ah Wu wanted to get rid of all those who weren’t sincere to the little one, but since the little one wasn’t happy about it, he had to go along with the little one’s wishes.
“Little one, you’re still too young, and your brother isn’t old enough. Right now, all you need to do is grow up well.” Ah Wu’s words were unusually serious. “Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy a peaceful time.”
Ling Rui: “?”
Ling Rui didn’t understand.
Ah Wu didn’t elaborate further. He only said things to reassure the little one.
The next day, Ling Rui woke up a bit late. Sitting on the bed, he obediently held out his little hands, waiting for Dad to change his clothes.
After Emperor Ling returned from the morning court session, his face was as usual when he looked at Ling Rui.
That same day.
The Imperial Astronomer was accused of misconduct and, with solid evidence against him, he submitted a self-confession before Emperor Ling could deal with him, then hung himself at home.
After the Imperial Astronomer died, following orders from Emperor Ling, Yong Wang, tasked with investigating the consecutive incidents involving the princes, had a stroke of bad luck. While passing through an alley, he was ambushed, thrown into a sack, and left unable to move for several days.
With the Imperial Astronomer gone, Yong Wang was also intermittently injured.
Emperor Ling’s face turned cold as he could only watch as the matters he wanted to investigate gradually turned into a mess.
Despite the mess, the former court and harem enjoyed a period of relative peace.
In Ling Rui’s little head, he held thoughts of Fourth Brother’s injury, Daddy’s foresight, and the images of his little uncle that he had previously foreseen.
His young mind held onto so many things, yet this little one did not dwell much on them.
Ah Wu said these foresights were only for the present.
With Ah Wu by his side, he would change all the bad foresights.
In the palace, with people who doted on him, the little child grew up happily.
Two months later.
Emperor Ling’s frequent headaches still occurred from time to time. Unable to bear it, he decided to spend some time in Luocheng to rest and recuperate, and to take care of his health.
Luocheng’s scenery was the best, and the late emperor had once built a palace there for summer retreat.
The palace built by the late emperor was not large or extravagant. Emperor Ling ordered the palace to be expanded and renovated. After some repairs, he set off for Luocheng.
He took the princes and princesses with him, except for the Eldest Prince and Fourth Prince. Ling Chen stayed behind to attend to court affairs and share the emperor’s worries.
After leaving Ling Chen behind, Emperor Ling also left Ling Hao.
Ling Hao’s arm had already been treated with a medicine sent by Ah Wu. The medicine had improved his arm significantly, although his strength had not fully recovered, he could manage daily activities without any problems.
When they found the herbs that could truly heal his arm, there would be hope for complete recovery.
Ling Hao was quite satisfied with the current situation, but Ling Rui was not.
He frowned, even before leaving, he would make promises to his Fourth Brother: “Fourth Brother, wait for Little Seven!”
“Little Seven will also find medicine when he goes out.”
Ling Hao pinched his little face and smiled, “Okay, Fourth Brother will wait.”
The Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother stayed behind, while Ling Rui went out with his other brothers and sisters.
Among the harem who accompanied them this time were Noble Consort Yi, the empress, and Consort Shu.
Seeing Noble Consort Yi there, Ling Rui felt reassured.
“Little Seven, come play.”
During the journey to Luocheng, most of the time was spent in sedan chairs. Ling Fu’s buttocks were sore from sitting in the sedan chair for so long. Whenever it was break time, he couldn’t wait to come find Ling Rui to play.
This time, Ling Rui also brought two study companions.
Among the three temporary study companions, Zhen Feng, who was best at flattering him, was still not chosen by him.
He chose Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou.
When Sixth Brother called him, Ling Rui went over with his two study companions to play with Ling Fu.
When the two of them came out to play, the Second Princess and Third Prince were also there, but the Fifth Princess stayed with Consort Shu and did not come out.
Ling Fu sat on the ground and asked Ling Rui to play with mud. It had rained these past few days, so there were many small puddles on the ground, making it convenient to play with mud.
The idea of playing with mud came from Ling Fu seeing a few children playing with it on the road.
“Little Seven, look at my bowl!”
“Mine is bigger than yours.”
When Ling Fu suggested playing with mud, Ling Rui followed suit and sat down on the ground, using his small hands to grab mud to make a bowl.
The two of them compared whose bowl was bigger. Not far away, the Second Princess and Third Prince were watching them.
“I heard Little Seven begged Royal Father to come along, that’s why we’re able to come together.”
Ling Yi, the Third Prince, leaned against a wooden pillar lazily, “This little guy really knows how to make people like him.”
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