Chapter 38
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
After Ling Yi finished speaking, Second Princess Ling Xuan asked him, “Since Little Seven is so likable, do you like him?”
In Ling Xuan’s impression, she hadn’t seen Ling Yi have much contact with Little Seven.
Ling Yi had a weak body, which he inherited from the womb. He often didn’t participate in activities like classes or going to the hunting grounds.
Apart from being closer to the Eldest Prince, Ling Chen, he was very unfamiliar with the other princes and princesses.
The most outgoing little fatty didn’t dare play with Third Brother Ling Yi. He was afraid that while playing, he might accidentally bump into Third Brother, causing him to get hurt.
If Third Brother fell, he would be in big trouble.
The fatty didn’t dare play with Third Brother, but Ling Rui would always wave his little hand and softly greet Third Brother whenever he saw him.
“Little Seven, you got mud all over me! Your hands are too small, don’t hold so much mud.”
“I want to make a little house out of mud, Sixth Brother. We can live in it together,” Ling Rui said, focused on making a little mud house. He had even more mud on his clothes than Ling Fu.
Seeing that Ling Rui wanted to build a little house, Ling Fu immediately joined in and said, “I’ll make the little furniture then. I’ll make some chairs.”
“You sit in one, and I’ll sit in one. Second Sister and Fifth Sister will sit in one.”
“Sixth Brother, and Third Brother, too. Third Brother also needs a chair.”
Although Ling Rui was busy making his small house, his ears were not idle, and he heard what Sixth Brother said. After noticing Third Brother had been left out, he immediately reminded them.
“Don’t give a chair to Third Brother.”
The fatty lowered his voice and said to Ling Rui, “The chair I made isn’t sturdy. If Third Brother sits on it and falls, he could get seriously hurt.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui was so startled that he almost dropped the mud in his hands.
He instinctively turned his head to look at Third Brother not far away and noticed that he was coughing. But after a few coughs, Third Brother stopped and didn’t seem so weak that sitting on a chair would be life-threatening.
“Sixth Brother, Third Brother won’t die,” Ling Rui turned his head back and said seriously, sharing his conclusion.
The fatty didn’t respond, continuing to make his little mud chairs.
Ling Rui counted the chairs and noticed there wasn’t one for Third Brother, so he spoke up again, “There’s no chair for Third Brother.”
“I still don’t want to make one for Third Brother.”
The fatty muttered, adding a bit more this time, “The Empress is also around. She doesn’t want me to make a chair for Third Brother.”
Thinking of the Empress, Ling Rui pursed his lips.
The brothers didn’t continue the conversation, but Ling Rui figured out that Sixth Brother must have been scolded by the Empress when he played with Third Brother before.
That’s why Sixth Brother wasn’t making a chair for Third Brother now.
“The last time Eldest Brother got hurt, I couldn’t visit him,” Ling Rui added, recalling something he had overheard from a young palace maid: “It was the Empress who didn’t let me visit.”
Ling Fu heard this and indeed added, “Once I wanted to play with Third Brother, but the Empress wouldn’t allow it. One of the senior palace ladies around her said I was chubby and might accidentally bump into Third Brother, and then I…”
He clenched the mud in his hand, unable to finish his sentence.
Even without him saying it, Ling Rui could guess that it wasn’t anything nice.
The two brothers looked at each other, and finally Ling Fu said, “Little Seven, maybe we shouldn’t play with Third Brother after all. We could go find Fifth Sister to play with.”
Second Sister was aloof and didn’t like playing with the younger children.
Now their only playmate was Fifth Sister, though she was always with Consort shu and didn’t come out much.
“Big Brother said I should play with Third Brother.”
Ling Rui tilted his mud-splattered face up at Ling Fu. “I promised Big Brother, and we even pinky-swore.”
As soon as he mentioned the pinky swear, Ling Fu frowned helplessly. “Once you pinky swear, you can’t go back on it. Little Seven, you… go play with Third Brother. I didn’t pinky swear.”
In other words, Ling Fu meant he wouldn’t accompany him to play with Third Brother.
Ling Rui nodded without any worry.
Third Brother had beautiful peach blossom eyes that always carried a smile. Even if he hadn’t pinky-sworn with Big Brother, he would still find Third Brother to play with along the way.
“Let’s build a little house first.”
While chatting, the two little ones continued playing with mud. Though they were small, they were quite adept. They built a simple mud house, a table, and chairs out of mud.
The two mud-covered kids piled up a heap of mud creations and were very happy.
Ling Rui, who had naturally grasped the game of playing house, patted his beloved mud house and proposed to Ling Fu, “Let’s make some food and invite everyone over as guests!”
“Okay!”
The two mud-covered children happily got up from the ground to gather ingredients for their “meal,” picking various leaves, pebbles, and small sticks along the way.
Ling Rui gathered a handful of wild grass and paused when he passed by Ling Xuan and Ling Yi. “Second Sister, Third Brother.”
The mud-splattered child with a face that adults would want to smack earnestly called out to them, “I’m inviting you.”
Ling Xuan blinked. “Inviting us?”
The mud-splattered child turned around and pointed to where they had just piled up mud. He spoke seriously like a little adult, “I’m inviting you to be guests for a meal.”
Ling Fu didn’t want to make a chair for Third Brother, which he had just done!
Now that Third Brother was coming over, he could sit.
Ling Xuan glanced at the dirty little kid and then at the mud pile behind him. Her expression tightened, and she declined in a soft voice, “My embroidery isn’t finished yet. You two enjoy yourselves. I’ll go first.”
After saying this, Ling Xuan quickly left.
Ling Yi’s eyes flickered, and he was about to come up with an excuse when his leg was hugged. “Third Brother, you must come!”
Ling Rui, with his face smeared with mud, was still slightly blushing.
“I promised Big Brother that I would play with you.”
With his little face flushed, Ling Rui even brought up their elder brother: “I’ll make you lots of good food. Come, okay?”
Whether it was Ling Rui’s pleading or the mention of their elder brother that worked, Ling Yi looked down at his dirty clothes, stayed silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded, “Alright, call me when you’re done.”
“Okay!”
Successful in his invitation, Ling Rui happily ran off.
After about the time it takes to make a cup of tea, Ling Rui and Ling Fu finally finished their meal. They had wandered through several side paths while looking for “ingredients.”
By now, both of the little ones were a complete mess from head to toe.
Ling Yi, seeing them, truly wanted to turn around and leave.
“Third Brother, you’re here!”
Unfortunately, the little mud-covered Ling Rui had sharp eyes and noticed him immediately upon arrival.
Ling Rui, himself sitting directly on the ground, thoughtfully laid a few large leaves for his third brother to sit on: “Third Brother, sit here. I’ll serve you food.”
Ling Yi: “…”
Ling Yi thought about their elder brother, then looked at the little mud-covered Ling Rui. He mentally prepared himself before having the courage to sit down and “eat.”
Once seated, he naturally saw the small mud house, the little table, and the tiny chairs made of mud.
One of the tiny chairs was right in front of him.
Ling Rui, sitting on the ground, introduced it: “Third Brother, this is your chair. You can always sit here.”
Ling Yi looked at the chair, which he could easily smash into a mud pie with one slap, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.
With the guest seated, it was time to serve the meal.
Using leaves as plates, Ling Rui carefully brought out the best dishes one by one. There were a few dishes left covered, which Ling Yi noticed but didn’t see being served.
Curious, he asked, “What are those dishes you have covered?”
The leaves covering those dishes seemed to hold something more delicately made than what was served to him.
“Those are for Mother and Father.”
Ling Rui, a filial little boy, hadn’t forgotten to make food for their parents while preparing for his third brother.
After answering, he urged his third brother, “Third Brother, eat! Eat as much as you want! Don’t be shy.”
The enthusiastic little mud-covered Ling Rui didn’t eat any himself, giving all the carefully made food to his third brother and urging him to eat more.
Ling Yi looked at the wild grass, sticks, and small stones, unsure of how to start eating.
He stared at the “food” for a while before, at a loss for words, asking, “Where are your study companions?”
He wondered what the study companions of these two little ones were doing, allowing them to cause such a mess.
“They went off to do things.”
Ling Fu replied, “They’ll be back in a moment.”
These two little rascals didn’t play with mud here for long. Their study companions left thinking they were still behaving well.
It was probably a short while that the study companions were gone, but they couldn’t have imagined these two causing such a mess in that short time.
Ling Yi had never played house before. This first experience of playing house made him really unable to sit still.
Fortunately, before he could finish his meal, a few companions who had gone to hear instructions from Noble Consort Yi returned.
Upon seeing the two mud-covered little ones, even the usually calm and composed Chen Zhou was shocked.
“Your Highness, you, you—”
“I’m fine, Zhou Zhou, Jiang Jiang, do you want to eat?”
With the companions back, Ling Yi finally had an excuse to stop eating. He stood up and hurriedly left, finding a convenient reason to do so.
Before he left, Ling Rui hugged his leg again.
“Third Brother, come again next time!”
The little boy looked up with a face full of eager anticipation, a commendable display of enthusiasm.
Whether there would be a next time was uncertain.
“We’ll see next time.”
Ling Yi said this before striding away.
As soon as he left, Jiang Yan spoke up.
Jiang Yan sounded a bit distressed: “We’re in trouble. I just promised Noble Consort Yi that I would take good care of you.”
The once clean and delicate little prince had turned into a dirty mud-covered boy.
Though he could be cleaned up, it was uncertain if Noble Consort Yi would be willing to.
“Your Highness, did you suddenly decide to play with mud?”
In Jiang Yan’s eyes, the little prince had always been well-behaved, soft, and adorable. It was inconceivable for him to be so mischievous!
Therefore, this must have been a spur-of-the-moment incident!
“Mud is fun.”
Ling Rui wanted to take his mud house and the food he made with him.
He wanted to show it to his parents.
“Your Highness, let me help you carry these. Let Jiang Yan take you back. Noble Consort Yi wants you to go back and eat.”
Jiang Yan: “…”
Jiang Yan glanced at Chen Zhou and felt that his usually honest face seemed a bit less trustworthy now!
But there was no other choice. Noble Consort Yi did indeed ask for the little prince to be brought back.
Jiang Yan had no option but to coax the little prince to return.
Ling Fu’s study companion was also coaxing their prince to take a bath, but they seemed much more composed.
Since Consort Shu did not come this time, Ling Fu’s companion did not fear being blamed.
Soon.
Ling Rui went back with Jiang Yan. When he went back, Emperor Ling happened to be there too.
Emperor Ling always came to dine with Noble Consort Yi. It was mealtime, and he came to Noble Consort Yi again.
“Little Seven should be back too.”
The two of them chatted about the little rascals together, Emperor Ling gently patting Noble Consort Yi’s hand and praising her, “Yi Er, you’ve raised Little Seven so well. He’s obedient yet lively. I’ve never seen a child better than him.”
Now, when Emperor Ling praised the little rascal to Noble Consort Yi, she seemed even happier than when he praised her.
Sure enough, it was the same this time.
After Emperor Ling praised the little rascal for a while, Noble Consort Yi’s eyes were full of smiles, making her exceptionally beautiful face even more charming.
“Little Seven isn’t as good as you say.”
Noble Consort Yi was unusually modest, but after this sentence, she also began to praise her own precious little rascal, “Compared to other children, I also think our Little Seven is the best.”
As the two praised, a series of footsteps came from the door.
“Dad, Mom! I’m back!”
Along with the sound of footsteps, there was the soft voice of the little rascal.
Emperor Ling and Noble Consort Yi both looked up at the table, and the next moment, their expressions froze.
Both of them remained stunned for several seconds, their expressions synchronized in shock.
After a few seconds, Noble Consort Yi reacted first. She stood up from her chair, her beautiful eyes widening instantly, “Little Seven! Did you fall into a mud pit?!”
Emperor Ling also stood up, frowning at the little study companion behind Ling Rui.
Jiang Yan kept his head down, not daring to speak.
Noble Consort Yi didn’t mind the dirty little mud rascal. She hurriedly pulled the little rascal over to check, “Did you bump into anything? What are your study companions doing? How could they not watch you properly?!”
Ling Rui: “….”
Ling Rui blinked his eyes, honestly saying, “I didn’t fall into a pit.”
“I played with Sixth Brother in the mud.”
After Ling Rui honestly confessed, Noble Consort Yi’s face, which had just been full of concern, changed completely. After changing a few times, she finally, probably because Emperor Ling was still there, gritted her teeth and ordered, “Ji Yan, take him to wash up.”
Ji Yan came out quickly and took the little mud rascal away from Noble Consort Yi.
When the mud rascal left, Noble Consort Yi and Emperor Ling locked eyes, both silent.
After a while, Emperor Ling spoke, “Although Little Seven is lively, he wouldn’t be this naughty. Perhaps he was bored on the way. It’s nothing serious, just this one time.”
After Emperor Ling finished his makeshift words, he tried to comfort Noble Consort Yi, “Yi Er, you must be hungry too. Let’s eat first.”
The two adults who had planned to wait for the little rascal to eat with them didn’t wait this time.
They filled their stomachs, and Ling Rui finally washed clean and was taken out by Ji Yan.
“Dad, Mom, are you done eating?”
Ling Rui asked.
“We’re done.”
Emperor Ling wiped his hands and went to deal with some official business.
They had two hours to rest on the road, and during these two hours, Emperor Ling would also be busy with some official matters.
He had been less diligent in the palace before. Now that he was out of the palace, he seemed even more diligent.
“Father, wait a moment!”
Ling Rui saw Emperor Ling about to leave, and reached out with his little hand, tugging at his clothes. “I made food for you, really good food.”
Emperor Ling asked, “What kind of food?”
“Here!” Ling Rui handed over the “food” he had brought back.
With his soft little hands grasping the leaves, he opened them to reveal fat worms inside.
Emperor Ling: “…”
Emperor Ling’s face turned green.
Noble Consort Yi saw this scene and felt her head buzzing.
She looked at the child, who was picking up the fat worms with his small hands, and suddenly felt that this trip with the child had somehow brought out some of his hidden traits.
Unaware of the adults’ feelings, he lifted his pretty little face and boasted, “Third brother also tried my food and liked it.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
