“Wait a minute.”
Trembling in the wind, Ling Yi weakly spoke. He raised his hand to his temple and rubbed it hard.
After rubbing his temple, he repeatedly opened and closed his eyes several times. Finally, Ling Yi softly called out, “Little Seven?”
The little one glared at him angrily. Although still upset, he responded, “I’m here.”
Hearing his response, Ling Yi murmured, “It’s real.”
He wasn’t dreaming. The little dirty cub in front of him was truly Little Seven.
The little one, who used to be white and tender, now had a face blackened as if smoked.
The little one glared at him with big round eyes, clearly showing a need to be soothed.
Ling Yi steadied his breathing and continued to ask, “You… little coal ball, no, little beast cub, what is your relationship?”
Although trying to keep his breath steady, his words were still intermittent, as if his heart was still unsettled.
“The cub is me, and Little Seven is also me.”
After the little one finished speaking, he transformed back again to make sure Third Brother could see clearly.
After he changed back, the usually slow-reacting Shui Shui quickly grabbed his paw this time.
Shui Shui started to massage his paw.
The little dumpling’s expression showed some comfort from the paw massage.
Holding the soft little paw pad, a hint of pleasure appeared on Shui Shui’s delicate face.
“Walking, I’ll carry you.”
Shui Shui, while massaging the paw, also checked it: “The paw is injured.”
The paw had a bit of skin peeled off.
Ling Yi, leaning against the stone, finally calmed down after staring for a long time.
In that brief period, his worldview had been reshaped.
It was all real.
His little brother Little Seven could really transform into a little beast cub.
Ling Yi took a few deep breaths, secretly feeling fortunate—
Thankfully, Little Seven had often scared him before. Seeing such a shocking thing now, he didn’t faint from fright.
“Little Seven.”
Ling Yi called out again, this time like a final confirmation.
The little one responded with a series of squeaks, indicating agreement.
Ling Yi’s emotions stabilized, and his body stopped trembling, and his hands steadied. He slightly leaned forward and took the little dumpling, whose paw Shui Shui was holding, into his arms.
The little dumpling was really dirty.
When he hugged him, just touching his fur made his hands dirty.
Shui Shui explained slowly upon seeing the dirty cub, “When washed clean, very pretty.”
The little dumpling had a pretty face, pretty eyes, a pretty nose, and pretty paws. If washed clean, he would certainly be a very beautiful little dumpling.
Ling Yi lowered his head to study him.
This time, he didn’t mind the dirt and placed the little dumpling on his lap, carefully examining the paw he had stepped on: “Sorry, Third Brother didn’t see you then.”
Ling Yi held his tiny paw, checking it meticulously: “Does it still hurt now?”
The little dumpling raised his paw. It didn’t actually hurt anymore, but he still nodded delicately, squeaking, “It needs rubbing.”
Ling Yi couldn’t understand his squeaks but could grasp his meaning.
The three of them stayed in this temporary resting place, with the little dumpling’s four paws being held by both Third Brother and Shui Shui. He felt that if there were another person, his paws wouldn’t be enough to go around.
Time passed bit by bit.
The dirty little dumpling yawned. Leaning against Third Brother’s chest, his once wide-open eyes were now drooping.
“Sleepy?” Ling Yi asked him.
The little dumpling nodded, his eyes half-closed.
The temporary resting place they found was a bit drafty.
Ling Yi took off his jacket and used it to block the wind, pulling the little dumpling and Shui Shui into his arms, letting them both lean on him.
“Sleep.”
Ling Yi said softly, “Both of you sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
The little dumpling shook his head. His temper came and went quickly.
After Third Brother patiently rubbed his paw for so long, he was no longer angry.
He rubbed his face with his paw, trying to stay awake: “I I’ll keep watch, Third Brother sleep.”
Though Ling Yi’s body wasn’t well, he didn’t let the little one keep watch.
He reached out, continuing to massage the little dumpling’s paw, and started telling him a bedtime story in a low voice. His story was so soothing that before long, the little dumpling fell asleep.
And Shui Shui, leaning against Ling Yi, also slowly drifted off.
That night, the two little ones slept soundly, while Ling Yi kept watch over them all night.
The next day, when the little dumpling woke up, he was startled by Third Brother’s eyes: “Third Brother, your eyes are all red!”
“It’s nothing,” Ling Yi replied nonchalantly. “Once I get some rest, they won’t be red anymore.”
Yesterday, they had rushed out in a hurry, especially navigating in the dark for a while, so now they needed to figure out where they were.
“Shui Shui, do you recognize the way?”
“No,” Shui Shui said. “My eyes were covered.”
His eyes had been covered when he was brought over.
The little dumpling had only marked the entrance of the underground palace and regretted not making more marks along the way: “I should have scratched the ground more with my paws.”
Or he could have used his pee to mark the way, although using pee as a marker wasn’t very civilized.
Neither the little dumpling nor Shui Shui recognized the way, and Ling Yi had been unconscious when he was taken, so he had no idea either.
But he didn’t panic; instead, he comforted the little dumpling and Shui Shui, who was holding his hand: “As long as we don’t get caught by those people, someone from the palace will come to get us.”
“Ji,” the little dumpling agreed, nodding. After nodding, he nestled in Ling Yi’s arms, exposing his soft little belly.
He used his two paws to hold Ling Yi’s hand, making Ling Yi touch his belly.
“It’s very soft,” Ling Yi commented.
The little dumpling stared at him without blinking.
Ling Yi petted him again and added, “It’s a bit flat. Okay, Third Brother knows you’re hungry. I’ll go find you something to eat.”
There were plenty of wild grasses around them, but not many fruit trees.
Ling Yi searched for a long time before finding a fruit tree. He examined it carefully; some of the small fruits had traces of being eaten by birds.
“These are safe to eat.”
Ling Yi picked the fruits and fed them to the little dumpling in his arms and to Shui Shui beside him.
As he fed them, he explained, “Birds don’t eat poisonous fruits, so if you see fruits eaten by birds outside, they’re safe to pick and eat.”
The little dumpling held the fruit with his paws, his mouth covered in fruit juice.
They had fruits to eat, clean stream water to drink, and some stone nooks to shelter in.
Ling Yi and the two cubs stayed outside for several days.
During these days, the little dumpling got thoroughly cleaned.
Once clean, the little dumpling was snow-white, with pink little paw pads. Both Ling Yi and Shui Shui competed to hold him.
While living outside, Shui Shui calculated the time.
“It’s time to go home,” he said, looking into Ling Yi’s eyes. “We need to boil medicine.”
They had all inhaled some anesthetic, and although the amount might not have been much, they still needed to boil and drink the medicinal decoction.
Ling Yi also wanted to go back, but unfortunately, no one from the palace had found them yet.
The little dumpling’s tummy started to feel uncomfortable from eating fruit every day. Sitting in Ling Yi’s arms, he blinked his big, round, bright eyes.
“Ji, ji ji.”
I can go find the way!
He was the little dumpling, not afraid of being discovered!
The little dumpling, fed up with just eating fruit, decided to find the way despite Third Brother’s attempts to stop him. Determinedly, he took small steps and ran off to find the way.
His small size was indeed advantageous. After searching for two days, he saw a familiar guard.
The little dumpling sprinted forward but suddenly remembered his appearance.
He skidded to a stop with his paws. In the next second, the furry little dumpling transformed back into the down-and-out little prince.
“I’m here!” the little prince called out loudly, successfully catching the guard’s attention.
“Seventh Prince!”
The guard hurried over, picked him up, and asked, “Are you hurt? It’s my fault for being late.”
“You’re not to blame,” the little prince, now held up, seriously refuted. “I’m not hurt.”
His scratched paw had healed over the past two days, as Third Brother and Shui Shui hadn’t let him walk on it.
“Third Brother is back there.”
The rescued little prince led the guard to bring Third Brother and Shui Shui out as well.
They all boarded a carriage and returned to the temporary palace.
On the way back, Ling Rui glanced at Shui Shui, then at Third Brother. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Although there was no concrete evidence yet, Shui Shui’s mother couldn’t be unrelated to this incident.
If Shui Shui’s mother was found guilty, what would happen to Shui Shui?
“This time, Shui Shui saved us.”
Ling Yi met the little one’s eyes and, after organizing his thoughts, said, “Little Seven, the fire in the underground palace was set by Shui Shui. He also led us out and saved us.”
Ling Yi’s words made Ling Rui nod solemnly.
He hadn’t known how to explain things, but now, Third Brother had helped him out!
He extended his warm little hand to Third Brother, letting him squeeze it as a reward.
Even though he couldn’t transform his hand into a paw at the moment, his little hand was still nice to squeeze.
Leaning against the carriage, Ling Yi’s thoughts went even further.
He wondered if Shui Shui and Shui Shui’s mother were truly related by blood.
If they weren’t mother and son, arranging things for Shui Shui would be much easier.
The three of them sat in the carriage for about half an hour before arriving at the temporary palace.
Even though they had bathed in the stream, they hadn’t changed clothes for days and had been eating fruits for days, so they still looked quite disheveled.
Ling Rui was taken by Noble Consort Yi.
The Empress personally came and took Ling Yi away.
Shui Shui, seeing them, slowly said, “I need to boil medicine.”
Shui Shui spoke little, so Ling Rui, sitting in Noble Consort Yi’s arms, explained that they needed to drink the medicine Shui Shui would prepare to eliminate any remaining toxins from their bodies.
When Noble Consort Yi heard that they had toxins in their bodies, she quickly had Ji Yan help Shui Shui tidy up, and then instructed him to go prepare the medicine.
The Empress also heard about this later, but she didn’t believe a child could prepare any medicine. She summoned the imperial physician to come and personally examine and treat Ling Yi.
Inside Noble Consort Yi’s sleeping quarters,
Inside a small wooden tub soaked two little ones. One of them sat in water sprinkled with petals, happily playing with the petals.
Noble Consort Yi sat in front of the wooden tub, rubbing the little one’s little arms while asking him questions.
“Tell me everything that happened these past few days.”
“Okay.”
Noble Consort Yi bathed the little one without anyone else present.
Only the two of them were in the room, and the little one didn’t hide anything from Noble Consort Yi, telling her everything that had happened these past few days.
When Noble Consort Yi learned that the little one had completely revealed everything in front of Shui Shui and Ling Yi, her face changed.
In that instant, she already thought about sending Shui Shui away.
But she couldn’t seal Ling Yi’s mouth.
“Little Seven.”
Noble Consort Yi frowned, looking at the little one who was still playing with the petals, she sternly said, “Didn’t I tell you not to let others see?”
The scolded little one squeezed the petals, his small face slightly guilty.
“I, I had no choice.”
The little one said, “If I didn’t change, I wouldn’t be able to save Third Brother.”
He didn’t deliberately let Third Brother see.
Noble Consort Yi was still very angry.
“Ling Yi is the Empress’s child, the Empress is not on good terms with me!”
Noble Consort Yi knew better than anyone else that the seemingly pious Empress was the most calculating person in the harem.
Even before the Empress gave birth to the Crown Prince Ling Chen, none of the concubines in the entire harem had any children.
She didn’t conceive due to the Empress.
When she was young, Noble Consort Yi suffered a cold while accompanying Emperor Ling and injured her body, which caused infertility.
“Third Brother does not harm the little one.”
Ling Rui saw Noble Consort Yi angry, he stopped playing with the petals, and instead went to coax Noble Consort Yi.
“Mother shouldn’t be angry.”
Ling Rui was afraid of the Empress, but he wasn’t afraid of Big Brother and Third Brother.
These two brothers really loved the little one.
Noble Consort Yi was so angry that her head hurt. The two stared at each other for a long time. Noble Consort Yi pressed her forehead and finally calmed down.
“In the future, don’t let others see it again. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
The little one looked at her eagerly and nodded.
After bathing, changing into clean clothes, the little one hugged Noble Consort Yi’s neck softly, “I want lunch.”
Noble Consort Yi had already arranged the meal and was waiting for him to eat.
Both princes cleaned up, and Shui Shui was well taken care of by Ji Yan.
Shui Shui changed into new clothes and had a full belly.
He was in the kitchen, picking small pots, saying he was going to cook medicine.
Ji Yan, seeing that he was so young, couldn’t help but ask him, “Shui Shui, do you really understand medicine?”
Shui Shui didn’t speak.
After a while with Ji Yan, she got to know his temperament a little better, so she didn’t think much of it when he didn’t speak.
She squatted down and smiled, “If you want to cook medicine, don’t you have to find the medicine first? Shall I take you to the imperial physician’s house to see?”
Emperor Ling lived in this palace, so of course there was an imperial physician’s office.
There were all kinds of medicinal herbs in the Imperial Physician’s office.
Shui Shui nodded, “Good.”
Ji Yan held his little hand and really took him to the Imperial Physician’s office.
With Ji Yan leading the way, the imperial physician in the imperial physician’s office did not give Shui Shui a hard time.
It was only when the imperial physician was taking herbs for Shui Shui that he couldn’t help but warn, “These are not for fun, and you can’t eat them casually, or they’ll be toxic.”
“Young Master, you must not put them in your mouth.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shui Shui picked a leaf and put it in his mouth.
Imperial physician: “……”
The imperial physician was stunned.
Shui Shui chewed the leaves and said, “Extinguishing fire.”
Eating raw herbs can extinguish the fire.
“If you boil these herbs separately?”
“Boiled alone, causing dizziness, and slight discomfort.”
“What if it’s dry-fried and then cooked with Changqing grass and beans?”
“Adjusting the stomach, excessive diarrhea.”
The imperial physician asked one question after another, and Shui Shui almost answered without hesitation.
Ji Yan watched beside her, watching the imperial physician’s expression change from shock to incredulity, and then from incredulity to delight.
“You, where did you learn all this?”
“Books.”
“But some of the questions I just asked were not in some books.”
“Have.”
Shui Shui didn’t know how to explain to him that although some of the questions he asked were not in the book, they could be inferred from the records of the herbs and various things on the record.
When he was playing alone, he also verified his inference and everything was accurate.
The imperial physician looked at Shui Shui with a very enthusiastic look.
Ji Yan cleared her throat and didn’t leave time for the two of them to continue talking. She kindly reminded, “Shui Shui still has something to do. If Dr. Meng wants to talk to him, he can wait until he’s done.”
“Well, okay, I’ll find him next time.”
Dr. Meng was visibly interested in Shui Shui. He watched Ji Yan take Shui Shui away, and was somewhat reluctant.
Ji Yan led Shui Shui, also curious, “I didn’t expect you to be so young and really understand medicine. You’re really amazing. When you grow up, you’ll definitely be very powerful.”
Ji Yan’s praise was sincere, and Shui Shui listened to her words. At first, he didn’t say anything, but when he got to the kitchen, he gently held Ji Yan’s hand and said softly to Ji Yan, “I’m not amazing.”
He never felt himself impressive.
In the kitchen, there was a pot brewing medicine. Shui Shui did not let anyone touch these herbs. He did it all himself. After all the herbs were boiled, he squatted beside the small pot, silently guarding it without saying a word.
After accompanying him for a while, Ji Yan returned to Noble Consort Yi’s side to report. “He’s making medicine, saying he wants Little Prince and Third Crown Prince to both drink a bowl. This servant accompanied him to the imperial hospital. Niang Niang, this Shui Shui is really not an ordinary child.”
Ji Yan recounted everything she had seen in detail.
“In this servant’s view, if the imperial physician finds no issues upon inspection, the Little Prince can drink some of this medicine. It’s just that for the Third Prince—”
The rest of her words went unspoken, but Noble Consort Yi understood her meaning.
The medicine made by Shui Shui would not be given to the Third Prince by the Empress.
Especially since it came from her, the Empress wouldn’t allow the Third Prince to touch it.
“That’s simple.”
Noble Consort Yi had no interest in the Third Prince. She was neither close to him nor had any feelings towards him. The life and death of the Third Prince were none of her concern.
But her son in the palace happened to like his third brother.
For the sake of her little one, Noble Consort Yi reluctantly thought of a plan and sent the medicine to the Third Prince.
She had Emperor Ling administer the medicine and had Lu Guang watch over to ensure the Third Prince drank it.
The brewed medicine was a bit bitter.
The little one frowned as he drank it, his face wrinkled up.
After finishing the medicine, Noble Consort Yi quickly stuffed candied fruits into his mouth to help with the bitterness.
That night, in Noble Consort Yi’s palace, the little one slept soundly.
Emperor Ling also came over and slept with them.
He came late, and by the time he arrived, the little one was already asleep.
Noble Consort Yi saw him come over but didn’t get out of bed. She just patted the empty space beside her, indicating for him to sit there.
Emperor Ling looked at Noble Consort Yi in her red nightgown. Although she wore no makeup, she still looked stunning under the lamp light, enough to stir one’s heart.
He lowered his voice and asked, “How long has Little Seven been asleep?”
“Just fell asleep.”
Noble Consort Yi also lowered her voice and said to him, “He was upset before going to bed, wanting to find you. I thought you had many matters to attend to, so I didn’t let him go. He got mad at me for that. Look at his face; is he still sulking?”
After Noble Consort Yi finished speaking, Emperor Ling leaned over to take a look. He chuckled, “Yes, he’s still sulking.”
The sulking little one sprawled out in bed, even though he was small, he took up quite a bit of space.
Emperor Ling came after washing up. He sat beside Noble Consort Yi, one hand around her and the other holding Little Shui Shui’s chubby hand.
“Yi Er, this disturbance was caused by rebels.”
He had been busy with these matters for the past few days, and Noble Consort Yi had never inquired much about them.
This was the first time he had taken the initiative to tell her about these things.
“If we hadn’t discovered it early, it would have been troublesome once they became serious.”
“Now that we’ve found out, dealing with them is all that matters.”
Noble Consort Yi leaned against his shoulder, her soft, ink-like hair cascading down. Rarely did she show such tenderness in front of him: “Don’t worry anymore. Rebels are rebels after all, and they can’t change the heavens.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The two of them sat quietly together, occasionally speaking.
Emperor Ling held the little one’s hand and expressed his apology to Noble Consort Yi, “I promised you before that I would protect Little Seven, but I broke my promise again.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Noble Consort Yi had listened to the little one recount the events and knew that her little one hadn’t been in any real danger.
Her child had actively sought out danger.
So, it wasn’t Emperor Ling’s fault.
“Little Seven is fine. When he came back, I checked on him, and he’s perfectly fine.”
Noble Consort Yi comforted Emperor Ling and reached up to massage his temples, afraid he might get a headache again.
“Oh, I only questioned those people outside, and I haven’t asked Little Seven how his past few days have been.”
“You don’t need to ask him; asking him will only upset him.”
Noble Consort Yi said, “When he came back, he told me everything, and he was quite pitiful when he talked about it.”
Emperor Ling thought of his pitiful appearance and smiled.
“Okay, tell me about it.”
Their voices were not loud. In the dim palace, their voices slowly faded away.
The next day.
The little one, who had slept soundly, stretched lazily and kicked his chubby foot as he woke up. The chubby foot happened to kick Emperor Ling in the face.
Emperor Ling furrowed his brows and woke up.
“Why is my face—”
Before he could finish speaking, his little chubby son joyfully pounced on him.
“Daddy!”
Early in the morning, the little one saw his daddy and was overjoyed. He held his daddy’s face in both chubby hands, his eyes curved like crescent moons.
Emperor Ling, who had been feeling the pain in his face, couldn’t stay upset when he saw the little one laughing so happily.
Lazily, he shifted his body and lifted the little one to sit on his chest. “Why are you up so early?”
The little one blinked and said, “I’m diligent!”
Emperor Ling: “…”
The corners of Emperor Ling’s mouth twitched.
While the two of them were still lying in bed, Noble Consort Yi had already gotten up early.
After arriving at the Luocheng Palace, Noble Consort Yi didn’t slack off either; she maintained her habit of rising early and exercising.
Thinking about the attacks on Emperor Ling and her little one, Noble Consort Yi no longer trusted others and only trusted herself.
Her skills were decent, so if danger arose, she could protect both Emperor Ling and her little one.
“Daddy, do you miss me?”
“Of course, of course.”
Emperor Ling weighed him and, realizing he hadn’t lost much weight, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Father and son played on the bed for quite a while. When they got up, the little one looked at his father and asked specially, “Daddy, do you want me to serve you?”
He could help Daddy dress!
Recently, Ling Rui had been helping his father for a few days, during which he had already demonstrated his skill in assisting people. So now, Emperor Ling didn’t want to make himself unhappy.
He sat up and took Ling Rui’s clothes, resignedly saying, “I don’t need you serving me anymore. Come here, I’ll dress you instead.”
“Alright.”
Ling Rui moved over eagerly, allowing his father to dress him. After putting on his clothes, he even needed help putting on his little shoes.
Emperor Ling held his chubby little feet and bent down to put them on for him.
Looking at his father putting on his shoes, Ling Rui softly said, “When I grow up, I’ll put shoes on for Daddy.”
Emperor Ling: “…”
This conversation was unexpectedly sweet.
Ling Rui, wearing his little shoes, stood on the ground and smiled satisfactorily at his father.
Once they were both ready and came out, Noble Consort Yi had just gone for a bath and wasn’t in the front palace.
Breakfast was already served.
Ling Rui sat on the chair, eating while talking to Emperor Ling, “Daddy, don’t blame Shui Shui. Shui Shui is very good; he saved me and Third Brother.”
“I know.”
Emperor Ling was very sensitive to rebels. Those rebels he caught this time had all been severely interrogated. The methods used were harsh, and naturally, a lot of information was obtained.
Although Shui Shui’s mother had not been captured yet, Emperor Ling had already learned quite a bit about her.
He knew exactly how she treated Shui Shui.
If this had been in the past, he might not have noticed anything unusual. But in modern times, he was keenly aware that the way Shui Shui’s mother treated him didn’t necessarily indicate a maternal relationship.
If they had no relation, the matter would be easier to resolve.
Even if they did, he wouldn’t execute her for the sake of Shui Shui.
“Eat your meal properly. By the way, what do you want to do after eating?”
“Go, go see Third Brother.”
When Ling Rui said this, he seemed a bit uncertain.
After the Empress returned to the palace, he estimated that she would keep as close an eye on Third Brother as before.
He was afraid of the Empress, but he really wanted to go see Third Brother.
Seeing his expression when he said this, Emperor Ling frowned a little and asked, “Why do you have that look when you want to see Third Brother? Don’t you want to see him?”
“It’s not that, I want to see him.”
Ling Rui held his bowl and didn’t eat much.
After hesitating for a moment, he honestly said, “I… I’m a little afraid of the Empress.”
Emperor Ling frowned upon hearing this. “Did she scold you?”
Ling Rui shook his head.
Clearly, he had been scolded by Consort De, not the Empress. But compared to Consort De’s unstable emotions, he was more afraid of the Empress who held prayer beads.
“If you’re afraid of her, you don’t have to go see your Third Brother.” Emperor Ling teased deliberately.
“It’s not that, I want to see if Third Brother is sick.”
Seeing Ling Rui clearly afraid but still wanting to go, Emperor Ling didn’t tease him anymore in the end.
“Let Lu Guang accompany you.”
Emperor Ling pinched his little face and comforted him, “With Lu Guang there, the Empress won’t trouble you.”
“Okay!”
Ling Rui nodded finally, feeling relieved.
He hadn’t finished his meal yet when Emperor Ling left the table.
Before leaving the table, Emperor Ling also picked up a cup of fruit and said, “I’m going to see your mother.”
Ling Rui: “?”
Ling Rui looked at Emperor Ling as if he was a fool. “Daddy, Mother is bathing.”
At this moment, it was impossible to see Mother.
Emperor Ling lightly coughed and ordered Lu Guang to accompany him. He walked away with a fruit plate.
“Gong Gong, Daddy doesn’t listen to my words. Mother is bathing and not eating anything. Can’t disturb her.”
Ling Rui was still looking up, telling Lu Guang.
What could Lu Guang say?
He couldn’t tell the little prince that His Majesty was here to deliver the fruit plate, not to let the empress eat fruit.
He chuckled and laughed off the topic.
“Little Prince, fill your stomach, and we’ll go out.”
Children’s attention could easily be diverted. Sure enough, after Lu Guang said this, the little prince sitting on the chair quickly ate up the rice in his bowl.
He got off the chair and opened his small hands towards Lu Guang.
“Want to carry me?”
It wasn’t that he was lazy and didn’t want to walk; he remembered that Lu Guang liked to hug him.
When Lu Guang hugged him, there was a warm smile in his eyes.
“Little Prince, the sun is shining outside, and this old slave will carry you a little faster.”
Although he said so, he quickly picked up the little prince who had opened his hands.
The little prince was fragrant and soft, and it felt very comfortable to be held.
Lu Guang carried him all the way to the residence of the Third Prince.
Here, in the Third Prince’s residence, Lu Guang saw the Empress.
There was no expression on the Empress’s face. She simply asked in a low voice, “Gonggong, you’re here. Are you here to administer medicine again, or is there something else?”
It was the medicinal soup boiled by Shui Shui that Emperor Ling had ordered to be rewarded, which Lu Guang brought over.
Lu Guang respectfully bowed to the Empress and then stated his purpose, “The little prince wants to come and see the Third Prince. I happen to be bringing him over.”
With Lu Guang here, the Empress glanced at the little prince who was put on the ground and took a few glances before calmly speaking, “The Third Prince is resting. If you want to see him, go ahead.”
After saying this, she turned and left.
The little prince, who had just hidden behind Lu Guang’s legs, dared to come out only after seeing the Empress leave.
He crossed the threshold and ran into the room, looking for Third Brother.
“Third Brother, where are you?”
Ling Rui searched around the room but couldn’t find him.
Scrunching his brows, he muttered to himself, “The Empress said he’s inside.”
Why did Third Brother disappear as soon as he came in?
Growing increasingly puzzled, as he approached the bed frame, suddenly, Ling Yi emerged from behind the curtains.
Ling Rui: “!”
Startled, Ling Rui plopped down on the floor.
