The old man refused to prepare a detox potion for the little crown prince of Great Qing. The man in the green robe glanced at him and tried a different approach: “If your little prince is going to Guan Shan Residence, he should have a similar child to protect him.”
“Prepare a detox potion for the little crown prince, and when I deliver it, I’ll also send a message telling him to keep an eye on the little prince and serve him. How does that sound?”
The old man: “…”
The old man pondered for a few seconds: “That’s workable.”
Instead of rushing to prepare the detox potion, he wrote a letter of gratitude and expectation: “The little crown prince can read the letter, right? I heard he’s quite smart.”
“He can read.”
The man in the green robe took the letter and urged him to prepare the medicine.
The old man looked at the little crown prince’s pulse records, the various diagnosis records, and the detailed information provided by the man in the green robe.
He raised an eyebrow: “This little crown prince is quite tough; he’s not dying from this.”
The man in the green robe, uninterested in discussing this further, changed the subject: “You’ve found your own child, but why don’t you keep him close? Isn’t it dangerous to leave him in the palace?”
“It’s not dangerous.”
The old man, still dressed sloppily but with a clear gaze, said, “I’m not a fool. Am I supposed to bring my child out just to beg on the streets with me?”
“He lives in the palace now, enjoying good food and clothing.”
“The princes in the palace are quite decent.”
The old man spoke about his child enjoying the palace life, but the man replied: “How do you know your child doesn’t want to be with you instead of living comfortably? Maybe being with family is more important than living in luxury.”
The old man: “…”
The old man looked at the man as if he were crazy.
Why would he make his child leave a good life to struggle with him outside? Was he out of his mind or just losing his senses?
The old man’s look of disdain made the man in the green robe stiffen, and he turned on his heel and left.
After he left, the old man hummed a country tune, busy with his work, while thinking—
He had never enjoyed such a good life in the palace.
His child was lucky to enjoy life with the people in the palace. As for him, this old man would not cause trouble.
At his age, he didn’t know how long he had left. Bringing the child out was just futile.
Last time, he had to give his child to that gentle-looking village woman due to circumstances. This time, he willingly left his child in the palace.
The man in the green robe came back after a while to see if the old man was preparing the medicine.
Meanwhile, the little prince, whom the old man had just complained about, was holding incense with his warm little hands, respectfully offering it to the incense burner.
After finishing his bow, he followed Chi Chi’s example and threw the thick incense directly into the large burner.
Large incense sticks don’t need to be inserted; they are simply thrown into the burner.
While offering the incense, he made a simple wish—
He hoped for Ah Wu to be safe and sound.
He and Ah Wu were still very young in this world. They were so small, so it would be good if they could grow up safely.
Ling Rui’s wish was simple but sincere.
After finishing the incense offering, Chi Chi rubbed the heads of the two children and said, “The vegetarian food here is very delicious. Their vegetable and tofu dishes are even more fragrant than meat.”
Eating vegetarian food and staying overnight were acceptable, but it needed to be arranged with the temple in advance.
Before coming, the Chi family had already made arrangements.
The temple environment was excellent, and Madam Chi had reminded Chi Chi to take the two children around the temple.
Although Madam Chi wasn’t very religious, she held a respectful attitude toward temples and similar places.
She understood that these were the beliefs of many people; others’ beliefs could be disregarded, but they should be respected.
This was the most basic form of respect.
Of course, these views were something she learned from Guan Shan Residence.
Ling Fu liked to eat, and hearing Chi Chi praise the temple food made him salivate.
Ling Rui wasn’t obsessed with food, but he was also tempted.
He hugged Chi Chi’s leg, looking up eagerly, “Let’s go eat!”
They had been busy for a while, and his stomach was already growling.
Jin Yuanbao originally had no interest in the temple food, but seeing their eagerness, he also spoke up: “I want to eat too. Sister, I want to go eat.”
“Yuanbao, the food at home is more to your taste. You might not like it here.”
“I can get used to it.”
The more Jin Yuan Er tried to persuade Jin Yuanbao to go back, the more he refused. He glared at Ling Rui and Ling Fu angrily and said to Jin Yuan Er, “Sister, you promised they would apologize to me. They hit me, and it’s already good enough that I didn’t beat them into pig heads, yet they still haven’t apologized!”
When Jin Yuanbao spoke, the air seemed to quiet down.
Chi Chi was stunned and looked at Jin Yuan Er, asking incredulously, “What apology? What do Little Six and Little Seven have to apologize for? Didn’t they already clear things up between them? It was he who owed them first.”
“Chi Chi.”
Although there were fewer people now, there were still some around.
Jin Yuan Er’s face reddened, her eyes pleading. She shook her head slightly at Chi Chi.
It seemed like she didn’t want things to be this way either.
Chi Chi, observing the weak-looking Jin Yuan Er and the arrogant Jin Yuanbao, excused Jin Yuan Er in his mind—bringing Jin Yuanbao along and making him hear an apology was not Jin Yuan Er’s intention.
This must be Madam Jin’s idea.
“Yuanbao, behave.”
Jin Yuan Er calmed Jin Yuanbao’s emotions for quite some time before he finally stopped making a fuss.
Chi Chi watched this scene, feeling a tightness in his chest.
In his view, the Jin family’s indulgence of Jin Yuanbao was unacceptable. This wasn’t indulgence; it was clearly ruining the child.
After calming Jin Yuanbao, Jin Yuan Er spoke softly to Chi Chi: “Chi Chi, can we join you? We’ll just have a meal and then leave.”
“Of course.”
Chi Chi nodded, eager to spend more time with Jin Yuan Er.
But it was strange—while Jin Yuan Er was with Jin Yuanbao and he was with the two children, he felt that something about Jin Yuan Er was inexplicably different.
But he sensed something was indeed different.
Ling Rui and Ling Fu were already quite annoyed with Jin Yuanbao.
Ling Rui leaned close to Ling Fu’s ear and said seriously, “I think Jin Yuanbao wants to cause trouble.”
Ling Fu, upon hearing this, nodded solemnly.
The two brothers looked at each other and then whispered again.
Ling Rui: “I don’t think Miss Jin is very good.”
Ling Fu’s chubby face grew even more serious: “I think so too.”
Their dislike for Jin Yuanbao didn’t mean they disliked Jin Yuan Er.
They were sensitive to the fact that Jin Yuan Er was genuinely protective of Jin Yuanbao from the way she cared for him on their journey.
She cared deeply for Jin Yuanbao, so how could she like those who had harmed him?
She didn’t like them.
And naturally, they didn’t want to like her either.
“What are you two talking about?” Chi Chi asked, interrupting their whispers while patting their little heads.
“Let’s go.”
Chi Chi took one child by each hand and led them toward the temple: “I’ll take you to eat.”
There weren’t many people eating vegetarian food at the temple, but it was indeed very good. Ling Rui, who usually didn’t eat much, had a large bowl full.
The bowls here were much larger than the small ones he usually used.
“Delicious!”
Ling Rui’s eyes sparkled with delight as he eagerly made a wish: “I want to bring Daddy and Mommy here too.”
Chi Chi, knowing who his parents were: “…”
That might not be necessary.
The emperor and empress had a large entourage; such a small place might not be able to accommodate them.
Ling Rui and Ling Fu were satisfied with their meal, but Jin Yuanbao was not.
Halfway through his meal, he threw his bowl: “I want meat! Give me meat!”
“There’s no meat, I can’t eat!”
Jin Yuanbao made a scene, demanding meat, which made the monks at the temple look displeased.
Demanding meat in a temple was a provocation to the monks.
Jin Yuan Er also lowered her voice to persuade him, and eventually, Chi Chi, who was close by, saw her sneak out some dried meat to feed Jin Yuanbao while the monks weren’t looking.
Chi Chi was dumbfounded.
After Jin Yuanbao finished eating, Jin Yuan Er let him go play, and then invited Chi Chi to take a walk.
There were monks in the temple, and their walking path was not off-limits.
Chi Chi hesitated but eventually nodded.
Ling Rui and Ling Fu, though not fond of Jin Yuan Er, wisely refrained from interrupting at this time.
“Chi Chi.”
With the three children not around, it was quieter. Jin Yuan Er bit her lip and finally asked, “I brought Yuanbao here because I wanted him to see you more.”
“Do you… not like Yuanbao?”
Chi Chi was silent for a moment.
After a pause, he spoke honestly: “I don’t like him. He’s been too spoiled.”
Jin Yuan Er’s eyes dimmed upon hearing this response: “He’s my younger brother. Shouldn’t you love him as well, by extension?”
“Yuan Er, if Jin Yuanbao’s character were better, if he didn’t take pleasure in bullying others, if he weren’t so arrogant and self-righteous, if he didn’t take pride in being wicked, I would like him.”
Chi Chi’s words essentially criticized Jin Yuanbao harshly.
Jin Yuan Er’s face turned pale.
She looked up at Chi Chi and after a long while, softly asked, “Even if you don’t like him, would you treat him kindly? For example, if he makes a mistake, would you protect him?”
Chi Chi: “…”
Chi Chi answered without hesitation: “Of course not.”
He said straightforwardly: “If he makes a mistake, he should be punished. Not punishing him but shielding him would be like inviting my father to beat me.”
This time, Jin Yuan Er fell silent.
She had been gentle and soft-spoken, but when talking to Chi Chi, his words lacked any sympathy.
She had hoped that Chi Chi’s feelings for her would make him force the two children to apologize to Yuanbao.
But now, it seemed she was mistaken.
She had misjudged Chi Chi’s feelings for her.
“Chi Chi.”
Jin Yuan Er’s tone had grown faint. She stared at Chi Chi with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, blinking not once: “I’ll ask you one last time—do you really like me?”
“Yes.”
“You like me, but you’re unwilling to properly protect Yuanbao for my sake?”
“I’ve said it before—when he stops bullying others and doing evil, I might change my view of him.”
“Yuanbao is just young and a bit mischievous. Your words towards him are too harsh.”
Chi Chi: “I don’t think they’re harsh.”
Chi Chi frowned: “He’s not a child anymore. He’s older than our Little Six and Little Seven, but they never bully anyone. Last time on the street, they even helped an elderly lady cross.”
Chi Chi was almost exasperating Jin Yuan Er.
He said he liked Jin Yuan Er, but aside from that, nothing he said was to her liking.
The two adults continued to argue, neither willing to concede.
Jin Yuan Er’s demand was that Chi Chi should follow her in protecting Yuanbao. Even if Yuanbao made a mistake, Chi Chi should still ensure Yuanbao was well protected.
Chi Chi thought her idea was absurd.
While they were arguing, Jin Yuanbao, who was the cause of the dispute, was now standing in front of Ling Rui and Ling Fu, saying, “Just wait. You two will have to apologize to me today.”
“Since Chi Chi likes my sister, if he wants to please her, you have to apologize to me.”
Ling Rui shook his head confidently, “No way. We’re not going to apologize to you.”
Uncle Chi Chi wouldn’t force them to do something they didn’t want to do.
After waiting a while and not seeing his sister return, Jin Yuanbao grew impatient and rolled up his sleeves.
“My sister is so slow.”
Jin Yuanbao complained, “Looks like I’ll have to do it myself.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui’s ears twitched as he caught Jin Yuanbao’s words.
“Sixth Brother, we’re—”
Before he could finish saying “going to fight,” Ling Rui saw a small knife.
Unable to wait for his sister to make the two children apologize, Jin Yuanbao, angry, took out the knife and aimed it at Ling Rui and Ling Fu.
The knife was quite valuable, with its handle inlaid with jewels.
It originally belonged to his father, and he had taken it because he thought it was pretty.
His father had said children shouldn’t handle knives as it was dangerous. After crying and rolling on the ground, his mother had given him the knife.
Now it seemed this small knife was quite useful.
Having failed to beat the two children with his bare hands before, this time he was confident he could win with the knife.
Jin Yuanbao swung the knife at them.
The small child, quick and agile, saw the flash of the knife and instinctively pulled his Sixth Brother behind him.
He also dodged and reached out to grab Jin Yuanbao’s knife.
The scene of their struggle was noticed by the man in the green robe who had gone out for some fresh air. His face darkened instantly, and he quickly stepped forward to stop them.
His sudden appearance startled Jin Yuanbao.
Startled again, Jin Yuanbao swung the knife even faster.
The small child, who was about to snatch the knife away, turned his angry face towards the unwelcome guest.
“Don’t, don’t come any closer!”
The small child, seeing the green-robed man was thin and unarmed, worried he might be hurt by the chubby and strong Jin Yuanbao, yelled loudly at him.
After shouting, the small child bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it at Jin Yuanbao.
“Don’t you use a knife!”
“Stop frightening me!”
“I’ll beat you up!”
