Chapter 5
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Ling Fu, being young, was unaware of the old palace scandals and the extent of the previous conflicts between the Emperor and Little Seven’s mother.
He angrily complained: “I fished Little Seven out of the water! He was beaten. He’s so small, yet he was beaten!”
As Ling Fu complained, the Emperor’s gaze on the little child’s face deepened.
Lu Guang Gonggong, who was following the Emperor, seeing him holding the little prince, turned around and instructed: “Fetch Imperial Doctor Tang.”
After instructing the little eunuch, Lu Guang walked up to the Emperor and softly said: “Your Majesty, the little prince’s clothes are wet. Let this servant hold him.”
The little child, having been pulled from the water, was naturally wet.
The Emperor, holding him for just a moment, had already gotten a small patch of his clothes wet. He frowned slightly and tried to hand the little child to Lu Guang.
But as he was about to pass him over, Ling Rui’s small hand suddenly grabbed him. The soft, cool little hand held on tightly.
The Emperor looked at the owner of the small hand—his pale, pretty face, tightly shut eyes, and weak breathing. In this moment, the fragile child didn’t remind him of his feelings for Consort Xi, but rather made him think—
This nearly lifeless child was indeed his bloodline.
“Return to Chengming Hall.”
The Emperor adjusted his hold on the little child who wouldn’t let go and changed direction. He walked ahead, with the chubby Ling Fu following behind him enthusiastically.
Lu Guang, seeing this, picked up Ling Fu.
Being lifted, Ling Fu happily thanked Lu Guang.
Lu Guang, the head eunuch, had served the Emperor since he was young, holding a special status in the harem.
Soon, the Emperor carried Ling Rui back to Chengming Hall.
Lan Momo in Chengming Hall showed no surprise upon seeing the Emperor return with a little child. She approached, gently holding Ling Rui’s hand and coaxing him to let go.
After taking Ling Rui, Lan Momo removed his wet clothes.
Once the clothes were off, the sight of Ling Rui’s injuries was revealed to the Emperor. Though he had heard from Ling Fu about Ling Rui’s injuries, seeing them in person was still shocking.
Such a small child, at his most delicate and fragile age.
His body was covered in bruises, prompting Lu Guang, who had come to deliver clothes, to gasp, “Oh dear,” and quickly call for the imperial doctor.
Imperial Doctor Tang examined Ling Rui thoroughly.
Afterward, he applied medicine to Ling Rui’s body, wrote a prescription for decoction, and honestly reported to the Emperor: “The little prince’s condition is quite serious. He has severe internal and external injuries and has caught a cold…”
From this long report, the Emperor summarized two key points.
First, the little prince had been severely abused.
Second, the little prince was not out of danger. Even if saved, he would need careful nurturing for a long time, or his health might relapse and endanger his life.
After the report, the Emperor sat by the bed, his face dark and gloomy.
Seeing this, Lu Guang sent Imperial Doctor Tang to personally oversee the decoction and was about to send the sixth prince away when the sixth prince followed the doctor on his own.
“Royal Father, I’ll go watch over the medicine for Little Seven!”
“Alright.”
The Emperor watched them leave. After they were gone, a young eunuch quickly came in and knelt before the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, something happened at Fenghua Palace.”
The young eunuch reported everything that happened at Fenghua Palace: “Now everyone in the palace has seen the body of the Momo fished out of the pond. When this servant came, the Noble Consort was still ordering people to continue searching. The palace maid Xu Er claimed that the seventh prince’s body was also in the pond.”
“The Empress is also present. She requests your presence.”
If it were just the death of a Momo, the Empress could handle it. But this involved an attempt on the life of a royal prince, requiring the Emperor’s intervention.
After hearing the young eunuch’s report, the Emperor did not immediately respond.
Lu Guang gave the eunuch a look, signaling him to bow and withdraw.
The room fell into silence.
The Emperor sat by the bed, deep in thought, when a painful cough suddenly sounded beside him.
“Cough, cough cough.”
Ling Rui, who had been lying still, began to cough in a daze. His pale, almost translucent face turned red from coughing, and his little hands flailed.
The Emperor, having no experience with caring for young children, instinctively picked him up and patted his back.
After a few pats, Ling Rui’s coughing gradually subsided.
His thick eyelashes fluttered, and under the Emperor’s gaze, he slowly opened his eyes.
Father and son looked at each other, and Ling Rui blinked his eyes, his large, black, gem-like eyes showing confusion: “Who, who are you?”
The little child was so young that his voice was soft, muffled, and a bit hoarse.
But Emperor Ling, understanding his child’s language instinctively, replied, “I am your Royal Father, Little Seven. Who hurt you?”
The Emperor went straight to the point.
Ling Rui looked at the Emperor in front of him, processed for a moment, and then slowly realized: “Daddy.”
Royal Father meant daddy.
Ling Rui calling him “daddy” surprised the Emperor a bit. Despite having so many children, only this child had called him daddy.
Ling Rui’s head still hurt, making his reactions a bit slow.
After calling him daddy, Ling Rui seemed to remember something, opened his eyes wide, and grabbed the Emperor’s hand, asking to be hugged.
“Daddy, hug, find the Noble Consort!”
Ling Rui still remembered how Li Momo bullied him and falsely accused the Noble Consort!
He wasn’t stupid; he knew who was bullying him.
Ling Rui opened his little hands, begging the Emperor to hug him and find the Noble Consort. Seeing him so anxious that his eyes turned red, the Emperor pointed at the small clothes on the bed: “Put on your clothes first.”
With many princes and princesses in the palace, there was no shortage of small clothes.
Reminded by the Emperor, Ling Rui realized he was only wearing a white open-fronted undershirt. He reached out, grabbed the clothes, and clumsily put them on.
The Emperor: “…”
Seeing him wear the clothes crookedly, the Emperor couldn’t stand it and, with a few swift movements, helped him put on the clothes properly.
Though it was the first time the Emperor dressed a child, the result was unexpectedly good.
Ling Rui touched his clean and neat clothes, very satisfied. He looked up, his pretty little face beaming at the Emperor: “Good!”
He was praising the Emperor for dressing him well.
Such straightforward praise made the Emperor feel both fresh and strangely accomplished.
With his clothes on, Ling Rui again opened his little hands for a hug.
Unfortunately, before he could get a hug, the medicine that Imperial Doctor Tang had brewed arrived. From afar, Ling Rui could already smell the bitter medicine.
“Little Seven!”
Bringing the medicine was Ling Fu, who began persuading before even reaching them: “My mother said, good medicine tastes bitter. If you drink it obediently, you’ll get better.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui shook his head like a rattle: “No, I won’t drink it!”
He didn’t want to drink the medicine!
No child likes to drink medicine, and Ling Rui, despite his generally good nature, was no exception.
He looked at the medicine bowl being handed over, fearfully hiding behind the Emperor, softly pleading for help: “Daddy, no medicine.”
The Emperor, repeatedly experiencing this little child’s closeness, felt as though he had received a temporary fatherhood experience card.
But even a kind Father must make his child drink medicine.
“Little Seven, drink the medicine, and I’ll take you to find the Noble Consort.”
Seeing Ling Rui so eager to find the Noble Consort, the Emperor knew that the person who wanted to harm Ling Rui couldn’t be the Noble Consort.
It wasn’t the Noble Consort but someone who wanted to frame her.
Thinking of the conflicts among the harem, a trace of annoyance rose in the Emperor’s heart.
Fortunately, this annoyance was immediately soothed by Ling Rui obediently drinking the medicine.
Ling Rui held the large medicine bowl with both hands, drinking the bitter medicine in big gulps.
The medicine was too bitter.
Ling Rui’s little face scrunched up from the bitterness, tears streaming down.
Even when he cried, he was quiet and calm. But this quiet crying made him look even more pitiable.
Seeing his tear-streaked face, the Emperor wiped his tears with a handkerchief: “Alright, I’ll take you to find the Noble Consort.”
Ling Rui nodded, wrapping his arms around the Emperor’s neck, wanting to be carried.
Lu Guang Gonggong, watching this scene, did not intervene.
Having served the Emperor for many years, he knew the Emperor’s preferences well. The Emperor’s greatest fondness was for beautiful people of all kinds.
When he was coaxing beauties, he was always the most gentle and affectionate.
Though what he was holding now wasn’t a beauty, it was a very good looking child.
And it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this was the best-looking little prince among all the princes and princesses.
So obedient, so pitiful, and calling him daddy, the Emperor was surely indulging in the pleasure of fatherhood.
Lu Guang wasn’t sure how long the Emperor’s feelings would last, but he had the tact to know when to play along.
“Your Majesty, isn’t the little prince heavy? Be careful not to tire yourself.”
Lu Guang, following behind the Emperor, asked solicitously.
The Emperor, holding the cub steadily, pretended to be angry: “You old servant, are you doubting my strength?”
Lu Guang quickly apologized: “Your Majesty, you are in your prime, with unmatched strength. It’s my fault for speaking carelessly.”
Though Lu Guang was apologizing, he was actually flattering the Emperor, making him smile.
As they walked toward Fenghua Palace, Lu Guang didn’t let the young Ling Fu run back and forth, instead having Lan Momo take him to eat.
On the way.
Ling Rui laid on the Emperor’s shoulder, his small head resting softly, his eyelids red and a bit swollen from crying.
“Daddy.”
Ling Rui heard what Lu Guang Gonggong said earlier and hesitantly asked, “Am I heavy?”
“No.”
The Emperor, in his prime, well-maintained in both looks and physique, replied calmly, “Even if you gained a few dozen pounds, your Royal Father could still carry you.”
The beauties in the harem, all heavier than the little child in his arms, he could carry them effortlessly.
When Emperor Ling arrived at Fenghua Palace with Ling Rui, Noble Consort Yi’s face was filled with suppressed anger.
Consort Li, along with several palace ladies was pleading with the Empress to make a decision and deal with Noble Consort Yi.
“Empress, there is no body of the Seventh Prince in the pond. Our Noble Consort is innocent!”
Facing the accusations from the other Noble Consorts, Ji Yan, the chief palace maid of Fenghua Palace, kneeled on the ground, calmly defending her mistress, “Relying solely on the body of a Momo to frame our mistress! Empress, I believe such tricks cannot deceive your eyes!”
“You shameless servant! At such a critical moment, you still claim innocence for your mistress? The dagger on the Momo’s chest belongs to your mistress. The evidence is conclusive, your sophistry is useless!”
Imperial Concubine Ling, standing below the Empress, heatedly refuted Ji Yan’s words.
She had grievances with Noble Consort Yi, so she was now trying her best to overthrow her: “Empress, according to me, if we want to find the body of the Seventh Prince, we need the Noble Consort to speak…”
She didn’t explicitly say it, but she meant for the Empress to interrogate Noble Consort Yi.
The Empress, sitting at the head, held a string of Buddhist beads in her hand. Judging from her expression alone, it was impossible to tell which side she leaned towards.
Seeing the situation deadlocked, Consort Li coughed lightly, gently suggesting, “The Seventh Prince is the heir. Why not let His Majesty handle this matter.”
In Consort Li’s mind, the Seventh Prince’s death was a foregone conclusion.
By bringing this matter up publicly today and making Noble Consort Yi bear the accusation of plotting against the heir, her goal had already been achieved.
Next, all she had to do was wait for His Majesty to deal with Noble Consort Yi.
She had everything planned out perfectly, but unfortunately, the next moment after her words fell, a little child staggered over.
“Niang Niang.”
The little child ran over and threw himself into Noble Consort Yi’s arms, his tearful eyes pleading, “I’m here.”
He came to vindicate the Noble Consort!
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Where’s chapter 6?