Yin Qingxuan’s gaze shifted from Yuan Si to Xueya. Though he didn’t speak, his expression carried a reproach, as if criticizing Xueya for discussing such nonsense with a child.
Xueya’s face flushed, and he hurriedly explained, “I didn’t say that.” He then glared at Yuan Si. “What are you babbling about? When did I say anything like that?”
“Five days ago, Royal Mother said so, and she even kissed me,” Yuan Si pointed to his forehead with his little finger.
“I… I talked about some things that day, but I didn’t say—”
Before Xueya could finish, he was interrupted. Yin Qingxuan had already put on a stern face, his tone admonishing. “The Crown Prince is still young; Your Highness should be cautious with your words and actions, especially regarding such matters. It shouldn’t be discussed.”
Xueya wanted to argue but saw that Yin Qingxuan was unwilling to discuss it further, only talking to Yuan Si. After standing there for a moment, unable to interject, Xueya, feeling irritated, pushed aside the curtain and went outside.
After the New Year, the weather in the capital gradually warmed, and it seemed that Cui Lingjing’s health had improved as well. As soon as he felt better, he took Xueya to the temple that had been built specifically for him.
The temple was fully constructed, and many citizens had come to offer incense, which surprised Xueya. However, while eavesdropping in the carriage, he overheard the citizens complaining and understood why.
It turned out that Cui Lingjing had decreed that every household in the capital and neighboring towns must send three people daily to offer incense at the temple, or the entire street’s residents would face severe fines.
Under such strict requirements, the people had no choice but to comply, though they grumbled privately.
This time, their outing was low-key, with a simple carriage chosen. While the interior was luxurious, from the outside, they appeared to be just an ordinary well-off family, so the complaining citizens didn’t realize the “demoness” they despised was sitting inside the very carriage they passed.
When Xueya heard people outside calling him a “demoness,” his first reaction was to glance at Cui Lingjing beside him. Sure enough, Cui Lingjing, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, his displeasure evident.
Before Cui Lingjing could take any action, Xueya quickly spoke up.
“Your Majesty.”
Cui Lingjing glanced at him lightly. “Hmm?”
“I’m a bit hungry; let’s head back to the palace soon,” Xueya said, worried that Cui Lingjing wouldn’t believe him, and even reached down to pat his own stomach. Cui Lingjing narrowed his eyes and extended his hand as well. He slipped his hand under Xueya’s cloak. “Oh really?”
Although Xueya knew that given Cui Lingjing’s current health, he couldn’t truly do anything to him, he still felt uncomfortable with the touch on his stomach. There were two places on his body that felt strange to him when touched by others.
One was his feet, and the other was his stomach.
So far, only He Xulan had touched both.
Thinking of He Xulan made Xueya feel even more uneasy. The person he liked was He Xulan, yet here he was allowing someone else to touch his stomach, as if he were putting a green hat on He Xulan.
“Your Majesty, I really am hungry; I’m not lying to you,” Xueya said, grabbing Cui Lingjing’s hand in an attempt to pull it away. But Cui Lingjing didn’t cooperate and used his other hand to grab Xueya as well.
One hand held his shoulder, while the other pressed against his abdomen. The hand against his abdomen seemed to want to push aside his outer robe. Panic surged through Xueya, and he struggled to get up, accidentally waking Yuan Si, who had fallen asleep on the way.
Yuan Si was still young and loved to sleep. Groggily, he opened his eyes, stared at Xueya and Cui Lingjing for a while, and then asked in confusion, “Does Royal Mother have it?”
Xueya: “…”
Cui Lingjing paused, turning to look at Yuan Si, whose hair was a mess from sleeping. “What do you mean, ‘have it’?”
Yuan Si was still afraid of Cui Lingjing, but since he was being asked, he couldn’t avoid answering. In a small voice, he said, “I saw someone else touching a belly, and not long after, they got bigger.”
Cui Lingjing smirked. “You understand quite a bit. Yes, your Royal Mother is pregnant. Shouldn’t you congratulate her?”
Xueya: “?”
Xueya couldn’t hold back anymore. “Your Majesty, what nonsense are you spouting? I’m a man; how could I be pregnant?” He recalled Yin Qingxuan’s earlier admonition and used it against Cui Lingjing. “The Crown Prince is young; Your Majesty should be cautious with your words. How can you talk about such nonsense in front of a child?”
But Cui Lingjing was not Xueya; he didn’t respond to him. Instead, he asked Yuan Si, “Do you think your Royal Mother is a man or a woman?”
Yuan Si was confused by this. He couldn’t distinguish Xueya’s gender. He thought Xueya’s voice sounded masculine, but his appearance was feminine. After pondering for a while, he finally offered, “I guess she’s a woman? Royal Mother smells nice.”
Like his Mother, they also smell nice, but his father doesn’t; he smells terrible, and when he kisses him, his beard pricks his face. Xueya doesn’t prick him at all.
After hearing Yuan Si’s words, Cui Lingjing finally showed a hint of amusement. He teasingly looked at Xueya, almost returning to his old self as the playful young emperor. “Did you hear that? The child says you’re a woman, so naturally, you can be pregnant. Who knows if it’s a boy or girl in there? I prefer girls—obedient ones.”
As he spoke, he began to touch Xueya’s stomach.
Xueya felt a mix of irritation at this faux father-son duo calling him a woman and couldn’t help but swat at Cui Lingjing’s hand. “You can give birth yourself if you like.”
Immediately after, he regretted it and glanced nervously at Cui Lingjing. To his surprise, Cui Lingjing wasn’t angry; instead, his smile deepened, and he even coaxed him. “Why are you getting angry so easily? The sun is finally out today; you should be happy.”
Cui Lingjing was so close, making Xueya uncomfortable. He caught a glimpse of Yuan Si staring intently at them and turned his head, frowning. “You little kid, don’t look around; turn your head away.”
Yuan Si blinked and slowly raised his hand to cover his eyes. He seemed to cover them well, but after a moment, his fingers quietly parted, allowing him to peek through.
His royal father didn’t look scary when he smiled; he actually looked quite nice. So why wouldn’t his Royal Mother look at him? He kept his face turned away.
***
At the temple, Xueya saw his own golden statue, truly made of gold. Even he couldn’t help but feel a greedy longing. How much could he get if he sold this statue? Being pure gold, it should fetch a high price, right?
This greed lingered in his mind, and for days after returning to the palace, Xueya kept contemplating the golden statue. Time flew by, and one night, he was startled awake by urgent footsteps outside the hall. He quickly propped himself up, lifted the curtain, and looked outside.
“What’s going on?” came Cui Lingjing’s voice from the bed.
Cui Lingjing was awake too.
Having slept beside Xueya these past few nights, Cui Lingjing had been waking up easily; any slight noise would rouse him.
“I don’t know,” Xueya replied, planning to get out of bed to check.
The palace was all about rules; the servants wouldn’t make such a loud noise in the middle of the night without a good reason unless they were reckless.
Before he could get out of bed, urgent voices came from outside.
“Your Majesty, we have battle reports from the front lines!”
Cui Lingjing’s drowsiness instantly vanished.
***
Cui Lingjing told Xueya to keep sleeping, clearly not wanting him to hear the battle report. Xueya felt that the urgency of the report indicated something serious. After all, Cui Lingjing was often unable to sleep at night due to his poor health; if it weren’t something significant, they wouldn’t disturb his rest.
The more Xueya thought about it, the more he couldn’t fall back asleep. He sat up in bed until dawn. Usually, Cui Lingjing would join him for breakfast after morning court, but today he didn’t come. Unable to wait any longer, Xueya called a palace servant to find out where Cui Lingjing was.
While he anxiously awaited news, Yin Qingxuan arrived.
“What are you doing here?” This was Xueya’s sleeping quarters, and if Yin Qingxuan was looking for Yuan Si, he should be at the Dongnuan Pavilion.
“Defeated,” Yin Qingxuan replied tersely.
Xueya was stunned for a moment. This conversation felt oddly familiar. He fixed his gaze on Yin Qingxuan, his eyes reddening. “What did you say?”
“He Xulan has been defeated.”
It was his dream; his dream had come true.
Although Xueya had mentally prepared himself for this, and even knew He Xulan would be defeated, hearing the news made him feel deeply hurt.
His lips trembled violently as he turned away, not wanting Yin Qingxuan to see his expression. After all, he was now the nominal noble consort of Cui Lingjing, and with the rebel forces defeated, he shouldn’t be crying.
But just as he turned away, Xueya tripped over his own feet and fell heavily onto the carpet.
