The little one’s complaint was true, Emperor Ling pressed his temples, asked him, “Daddy let you coax him to sleep, and Daddy fell asleep already, there’s no need for you to coax him again.”
The little one didn’t say anything, his bright black eyes staring at Daddy, his little face showing stubbornness.
Emperor Ling took a deep breath, barely controlling his emotions.
He pulled the little one sitting on his chest down, then forcibly laid him down and pressed him down with a big hand.
“Alright, you sleep too.”
Emperor Ling didn’t want to continue discussing coaxing to sleep with this little one in the middle of the night; he trapped the little one in his arms and urged him to sleep.
But with the little one in his arms, Ling Rui kept moving left and right, not obediently falling asleep.
Emperor Ling pressed him down and ignored him.
Ling Rui: “Daddy, let go of Little Seven.”
Emperor Ling continued to ignore him.
Ling Rui moved left and right again, his little face slowly turning red, his voice becoming more urgent: “Daddy, need to go up.”
Emperor Ling continued to ignore him.
Pressed down, Ling Rui’s little face was about to cry: “Daddy, I need to pee.”
Emperor Ling: “!”
Emperor Ling sat up in a second and picked up the child, rushing him to pee, but it was still too late.
In the end, in the middle of the night, father and son both took a bath, changed into clean nightwear, and then laid back down on the bed.
Emperor Ling rubbed his brow, his voice filled with exhaustion: “Little Seven, do you know why Daddy came to this palace?”
“To recuperate.”
Ling Rui nestled in his arms, finally quieting down.
Emperor Ling saw that he understood, glanced at him sideways: “I thought you didn’t know.”
“With the way you’re going about it, your daddy won’t recover.”
Emperor Ling had never raised children before, and the one in his arms was truly the first child he had ever raised. He didn’t know if raising children was always like this, or if the little one in his arms was particularly difficult.
The more he raised him, the more troublesome he felt. But just now, he couldn’t let go of his hand.
“Daddy is fine.”
Ling Rui heard him say that he wasn’t fine, so he quickly leaned over and kissed him: “Daddy is fine!”
The troublesome little one turned back into a heartwarming little one, and Emperor Ling snorted lightly, patting his back and slowly falling asleep with him.
In the latter half of the night, father and son slept peacefully.
The next day, Ling Rui had to go to school, so he had to wake up a little earlier.
Not only did he wake up on his own, but he also insisted on waking his daddy up too.
There was no daddy who couldn’t wake up, only a child who didn’t try hard enough.
Under the various disturbances of the little one, Emperor Ling accompanied him to get up, have breakfast, and then watched him go to school.
“Daddy, when I come back from school, I’ll serve you again.”
The little one was small and energetic, just the age when he had a lot of energy, and at this moment he was full of energy, in stark contrast to Emperor Ling who seemed a bit weary.
Now whenever he heard the word “serve” from him, Emperor Ling reflexively wanted to refuse.
Suppressing a yawn, he waved his hand and urged the little one: “Go to your school, I don’t need you to serve me.”
If he continued to serve like this, he would be completely in the hands of this little brat.
After leaving the palace, Ling Rui sat in the sedan chair, shoulder to shoulder with Ling Fu. They talked about playful topics that children often discuss.
“Little Seven, have you finished your homework?”
“I finished it, Sixth Brother, what about you?”
Ling Fu: …
Ling Fu remained silent.
Once they entered the school, before the teacher arrived, Ling Fu began catching up on his homework.
Other children noticed him catching up and came over intentionally, “Little Six, why haven’t you finished your homework? You never seem to finish it.”
Although what these children said was true, Ling Fu didn’t like hearing it.
Ling Fu rolled his eyes at them and replied, “Whether I do my homework or not is none of your business. Don’t come over here and watch me.”
“You’re sitting here, so of course we can watch you.”
Ling Fu’s blunt tone made the children who came over to watch him unhappy.
Seeing both sides exchanging unpleasant words, Ling Rui walked over, pushed aside the other children, and stood next to Sixth Brother, saying, “Sixth Brother, hurry up and write, the teacher is coming soon.”
With Ling Rui speaking up, Ling Fu stopped arguing with the other children. He focused on his homework.
He didn’t have much leftover homework from yesterday, and he managed to finish it just before the teacher arrived.
But unexpectedly, although he caught up in time, another child stood up and complained to the teacher, “Teacher, Little Six didn’t finish his homework yesterday. He just finished it now.”
“I saw it, the handwriting he used to catch up is very messy.”
Ling Fu: ?
Ling Fu slowly turned his head, his chubby face glaring fiercely at the child who reported him.
With this look, the child pointed at him again and complained, “Teacher, Little Six glared at me!”
Ling Fu: …
Ling Fu was reported one after another, and he clenched his fists in anger.
The teacher frowned and, after listening to the complaints, called Ling Fu up and made him stand.
He carefully checked Ling Fu’s homework.
Sure enough, it was hastily completed.
While the teacher didn’t endorse physical punishment, he still followed the old rules and punished Ling Fu by making him rewrite the homework, doubling the amount.
Ling Fu already disliked studying and doing homework.
This punishment only fueled his anger.
He didn’t dare to vent his anger at the teacher, but he remembered a grudge against the child who reported him.
After class, he turned his head angrily and went to find the child who reported him, “Are you still a tattletale? Are you still playing this game at this age?!”
“If you hadn’t made a mistake, even if I had reported you, the teacher wouldn’t have punished you.”
The child who reported him was not afraid of Ling Fu either. When he came over to watch Ling Fu in the morning, he casually said a few words and was attacked by Ling Fu. He was also dissatisfied with Ling Fu.
Seeing that a conflict was about to escalate, Ling Rui hurried over with short legs.
He pulled Sixth Brother behind him, straightened his little chest, and defended Sixth Brother, “Only children tattle. Sixth Brother was right. It’s your fault!”
Sixth Brother didn’t copy someone else’s homework or skip it altogether. He just caught up on it in the morning. This child tattled on him without considering their classmates.
“Don’t talk to me like that.”
The child who reported Ling Fu was also a little unhappy with Ling Rui, “The teacher praises you every day, but what’s so great about you? You’re just a little younger than me. When I was your age, I also memorized books!”
This child attacked Ling Rui and Ling Fu equally.
Ling Fu’s face turned serious, he rolled up his sleeves, and punched the child.
The situation gradually began to get out of control.
Although Ling Rui was small, he was like a little wild bull, rushing around. He would bump into anyone who tried to fight Sixth Brother.
This chaotic scene finally ended when the teacher arrived.
The teacher frowned and punished them all again.
Ling Rui hung his head and was confident when facing others, but he wasn’t confident in front of the teacher.
He grabbed Sixth Brother’s clothes with his small hands, wrinkling the hem.
“Little Seven, Sixth Brother will help you with your homework.”
“No need, I’ll do it myself.”
Despite the teacher’s punishment, Ling Rui still wanted to do his homework on his own.
From that day on, the two little brats started to oppose the other group of children in school.
The two little brats, along with their reading partners, formed a small group, while the other children formed another.
They didn’t like each other’s group.
These group activities in school affected the mindset of the little brats.
They were not happy with Ling Fu and Ling Rui in school.
In Class B, Second Princess Ling Xuan quickly found out that her two younger brothers were having conflicts with someone in their class.
She came in person.
When she came over, she brought them to eat and ran her hand over the heads of her two brothers, saying that she would take them to play polo after a rest.
Ling Xuan rarely took the initiative to visit her two younger brothers.
After she left, some of the children from another group felt both jealous and disdainful.
Some kids were envious that they had a gentle and kind sister who cared for them.
Others scoffed disdainfully, saying, “It’s just a sister, what’s so great about that? A sister isn’t worth anything.”
That last remark earned the speaker another punch from Ling Rui.
The situation in the school escalated into chaos, and when Ling Rui returned to the palace, his little face wore a sour expression.
He deliberately avoided showing his sour expression to Noble Consort Yi, but instead, let Emperor Ling see it.
Seeing his little son sitting on the floor of his bedchamber, playing with toys while still visibly upset, Emperor Ling frowned and puzzledly asked Lu Guang, “Did I do something to upset him?”
“Your Majesty, what are you saying? It’s clear that the little prince brought back these feelings from outside. The little prince is so filial to you. Even though you’ve told him he doesn’t need to serve you, look, he’s still been coming to serve you every day. The little prince has a heart full of filial piety towards you.”
This remark made Emperor Ling raise his eyebrows.
Several days ago, he had told the little brat that there was no need for him to serve.
But the little brat, with a lot of backbone, insisted that since he borrowed the money, even though he couldn’t repay it now, he must pay back the interest.
Such a spirited brat left Emperor Ling unsure of what to say.
Sitting in his seat, he watched as the brat dismantled even the wooden toy carriage. After observing for a while, he got up and walked over to ask him, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Are you upset with Sixth Brother, or is Third Brother not playing with you?”
The brat pursed his lips tightly and didn’t speak.
After Emperor Ling asked for the second time, he shook his head slightly, “Sixth Brother plays with me, and Third Brother takes me along.”
He mentioned Third Brother and casually asked Emperor Ling, “Daddy, did Third Brother go out again?”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
Hearing this, Ling Rui stopped dismantling the wooden toy carriage. He didn’t feel very reassured.
He got up from the floor, held onto Emperor Ling’s leg, squeezed into the space between Emperor Ling’s legs, and looked up at Emperor Ling, saying, “Daddy, did they catch the bad guys?”
He knew that Daddy had sent many people to catch the bad guys, and he had been urging Daddy all along. But he didn’t know if they had caught the bad guys yet.
If the bad guys weren’t caught, he couldn’t let Third Brother keep going out.
Emperor Ling looked down at his little brat and said casually, “They caught them.”
After the crazy man was caught and the people he sent in also caught several bad guys in the mountains.
These bad people were really despicable, so he made the local officials sentenced them to death after they were tried.
He didn’t want the little brat to hear about the death sentences.
Ling Rui sighed in relief when he heard that they were caught.
“That’s great.”
“Now that the bad guys are caught, Third Brother can go out to play.”
Without those bad guys, Third Brother would definitely be safe.
Ling Rui patted his heart, looking relieved.
Emperor Ling pinched his little face, “You care about your Third Brother.”
“If Third Brother is sick, I have to care.”
Ling Rui also reminded Emperor Ling, “Daddy, care more about Third Brother, love Third Brother like you love Little Seven!”
To make Emperor Ling care for Third Brother, Ling Rui even counted on his fingers and told Emperor Ling what he should do: “Praise Third Brother, hug Third Brother, um, you can also let Third Brother sleep with you.”
By then, he could sleep inside the bed.
He was so small that he didn’t take up much space on the bed and wouldn’t squeeze Emperor Ling or Third Brother.
Emperor Ling: …
Emperor Ling thought about the Third Prince, who had already celebrated his tenth birthday, and then thought about what it would be like to hug and praise the Third Prince before going to bed. He got goosebumps.
He had no doubt that if the Third Prince heard these words, he would have the same reaction.
Some things could be done in front of this little brat, but it would be inappropriate to do them in front of a child who would be able to marry and have children in a few years.
“Enough about your Third Brother. I see he’s been following you and going out a bit lately.”
After saying this sentence, Emperor Ling changed the subject.
He picked up the little brat and asked him, “Who made you unhappy these days? Why are you frowning every day?”
“It’s, it’s, I won’t tattle.”
Ling Rui wanted to say it was a classmate who made him unhappy, but he didn’t want to tattle, so he could only hold it in and make his little face look bad.
Emperor Ling couldn’t get anything out of him and didn’t insist on pressing further.
While Emperor Ling and Ling Rui stayed in the palace, on the other side, Ling Yi was returning from the village.
After Shui Shui’s mother had probed his pulse, she told him what was wrong with him.
“You’re sick, and I can treat you.”
After examining him twice, Shui Shui’s mother finally spoke up: “But the prescription needed for your illness is not an ordinary one. The ingredients required are extremely hard to find.”
“The medicine isn’t an issue. As long as it can cure my illness, I can find whatever is needed.”
Upon hearing that he could be treated, Ling Yi didn’t show any expression of joy; he only smiled faintly, as if he had heard something very ordinary.
In the past, he might have been excited upon learning that he could be cured.
But after spending time with Shui Shui and his mother over the past few days, he found himself disliking Shui Shui’s mother. This also made him skeptical of what she said.
In fact, he looked forward to Shui Shui more than his mother.
He had even offered his wrist to Shui Shui, asking him to check his pulse. “Do you know how to check a pulse?” he asked.
Shui Shui nodded and said, “It’s simple.”
After checking Ling Yi’s pulse, Shui Shui’s mother prescribed some medicine and explained how to prepare it.
But after Shui Shui checked his pulse, he simply looked up at Ling Yi and said, “Don’t take the medicine.”
Ling Yi reacted indifferently to Shui Shui’s mother but couldn’t help but laugh at Shui Shui: “Look at that serious little face of yours… If you really manage to cure me, you’d be a little miracle doctor.”
Such a young miracle doctor was unheard of.
Shui Shui didn’t get angry when Ling Yi laughed.
He slowly repeated, “Don’t take the medicine. I’ll find the right one.”
What Shui Shui meant was that he would find the medicine that Ling Yi could take.
Ling Yi didn’t respond to his words, so it was unclear if he took them seriously.
As Ling Yi was about to leave, Shui Shui surprisingly reached out to stop him and asked, “Little Seven?”
Little Seven hadn’t come around for a few days.
Ling Yi counted the days and replied, “Tomorrow’s a rest day; he’ll come by then.”
“Okay.”
Shui Shui let go of him and stood still, waiting for him to leave.
Ling Yi bid him farewell and then turned to board the carriage and left.
The next day, Ling Rui arrived with Ling Yi, as expected. Ling Fu didn’t come because he said he had things to do in the palace.
This time, Ling Rui’s mood had lifted significantly.
Holding his third brother’s hand, he said, “Third Brother, you’re safe now.”
To ensure his brother’s safety, Ling Rui happily predicted again.
He had been busy these past days adding guards for his brother and urging their father to catch the bad guys, all to ensure his third brother’s well-being.
However, when the prediction came through, Ling Rui’s delighted expression froze. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at his brother. “Third Brother… how are you still so unlucky?”
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