Chapter 42
After bathing, Fang Chaozhou grabbed the back collar of Song Lianyi’s clothes and lifted him up, but after only a few steps, the small bun in his hand angrily exclaimed, “Fang Chaozhou, put me down! I don’t want to be carried like this.”
Fang Chaozhou glanced at the small bun in his hand and replied, “But your legs are short. What if you hang on the doorstep later? What should we do?”
Song Lianyi choked for a moment and remained silent, lowering his head and letting Fang Chaozhou carry him out of the room. However, Fang Chaozhou also considered Song Lianyi’s feelings and put him down after entering the bedroom.
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So throughout the journey, Song Lianyi jogged along. He almost tripped several times, and the servants who were aware of Song Lianyi’s identity as Fang Chaozhou’s child saw him struggling and suggested, “Miss, shall I carry you?”
Naturally, they assumed Song Lianyi was a girl, as everyone would think so based on his appearance.
Song Lianyi stopped in his tracks, panting from the continuous jogging. He looked at the servant who was smiling at him and then glanced at Fang Chaozhou, who was walking ahead without any intention of waiting for him. He clenched his teeth and accelerated his pace.
When he reached behind Fang Chaozhou, he suddenly hugged his leg and in a sweet voice said, “Daddy, I can’t walk anymore. Carry me.”
Fang Chaozhou paused abruptly, lowering his head in disbelief to look at the person hugging his leg. Seeing Song Lianyi’s obedient smile, he replied, “Daddy, I really can’t walk anymore. Carry me, please.”
The servant who followed behind also added, “Ninth Prince, the young miss is still a child. It’s indeed difficult for her to walk this long journey.”
Although Fang Chaozhou didn’t know what Song Lianyi was plotting, he figured that now that Song Lianyi had transformed into a child and lost his cultivation, he probably couldn’t do much. So after a moment of thought, he bent down and lifted Song Lianyi into his arms.
While carrying him, he also took the opportunity to use his power to clean Song Lianyi’s shoes.
As soon as Song Lianyi was lifted, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Fang Chaozhou’s neck. This intimate gesture made Fang Chaozhou’s body stiffen involuntarily.
However, he quickly resumed walking and soon arrived at the entrance of the mansion. Hu Xiang was already standing there, wrapped in a heavy fox fur coat. It was unclear how long he had been waiting, but his complexion appeared even paler than usual.
Upon seeing Fang Chaozhou carrying Song Lianyi, there was a slight flicker in Hu Xiang’s eyes, but he immediately said, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, please board the carriage first.”
Fang Chaozhou nodded in agreement, placing Song Lianyi inside the carriage before getting in himself. When he entered, Song Lianyi was struggling to climb onto the seat. Fang Chaozhou glanced at him and used his power to help him.
With his back turned to Fang Chaozhou, Song Lianyi closed his eyes and turned around to sit down. Fang Chaozhou sat next to him, but they were separated by a considerable distance, with enough space for at least two more people.
When Hu Xiang approached and saw them sitting so far apart, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He walked to the space between them, about to sit down, when Song Lianyi interrupted.
“Wait,” Song Lianyi crawled towards Fang Chaozhou using both hands and feet. “I want to sit with Daddy.”
He climbed onto Fang Chaozhou’s legs, disregarding Fang Chaozhou’s astonishment, and forcefully settled in his lap, wrapping his small hands around Fang Chaozhou’s neck.
After doing all that, Song Lianyi turned his head towards Hu Xiang and said, “Brother, please sit over there. I have a secret to tell Daddy.”
Hu Xiang kindly nodded and sat on the other side.
Seeing the person being pushed away, Song Lianyi yawned lazily, but before he could finish his yawn, he was lifted up again.
Fang Chaozhou grabbed Song Lianyi and placed him to the side. “Sit on your own,” he said, using magic to clean himself.
After Song Lianyi was lifted away, he squinted his eyes and continued to climb onto Fang Chaozhou’s legs. However, after a few attempts, he failed, and his mouth pouted, as if he was about to cry.
Hu Xiang had been observing their interactions and seeing that Song Lianyi was about to cry, he whispered softly, “Little Miss, would you like to sit with me?”
Song Lianyi glanced at him and then turned his head back, extending both hands to Fang Chaozhou with a face full of grievances. “Daddy, I want a hug.”
Fang Chaozhou looked at him, feeling that Song Lianyi had some mischievous intention, so he didn’t move. However, when he saw tears rolling down Song Lianyi’s face like raindrops, with cries of “Daddy,” and Song Lianyi continuing to crawl towards him, he couldn’t help but grab the back collar of his clothes. In an instant, his crying became louder.
Fang Chaozhou, annoyed by the crying, had to release his grip. However, before Song Lianyi crawled into his embrace, Fang Chaozhou took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. “Wipe away your tears.”
Song Lianyi refused and coquettishly said, “Daddy, help me wipe.”
“Then sit on your own,” Fang Chaozhou replied.
Upon hearing this, Song Lianyi pretended to bury his face in Fang Chaozhou’s embrace.
Fang Chaozhou, seeing his tear-streaked face, immediately covered it with the handkerchief. “I’ll wipe it.”
His actions were not gentle, causing Song Lianyi’s body to tilt, but even so, he didn’t change his mind and insisted that Fang Chaozhou help him.
Hu Xiang, who witnessed all of this, quietly turned his face away.
When the carriage arrived at the palace, Song Lianyi was still clinging to Fang Chaozhou as if he had taken the wrong medicine. He insisted on being carried by Fang Chaozhou until they reached the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, where he finally allowed Fang Chaozhou to put him down.
The old Emperor had been waiting for Fang Chaozhou for a long time. His eyes lit up upon seeing him, but when he noticed Song Lianyi following behind Fang Chaozhou, he visibly paused.
“Chaozhou, who is this child?” the old Emperor asked.
Before Fang Chaozhou could reply, Song Lianyi promptly exclaimed, “Grandfather Emperor!”
“You call me Grandfather Emperor?” The old Emperor was clearly stunned. After realizing what had happened, he visibly delighted. “You are Chaozhou’s child, right? Good child, come to Grandfather Emperor’s side. What happened to your forehead? Did you bump it?”
Fang Chaozhou was in a difficult position and could only watch as Song Lianyi approached the old Emperor.
“This morning, I wanted to step over the threshold, but it was too high, so I fell. Grandfather Emperor, it hurts a lot,” Song Lianyi said.
This guy really knew how to adapt his speech depending on the person he was talking to. He used a childish tone and acted spoiled. In an instant, he made the old Emperor feel distressed. However, as soon as he saw the old Emperor getting concerned, he swiftly changed the topic, making the old Emperor laugh uncontrollably.
“Oh, by the way, good child, where is your mother?” After talking for a while, the old Emperor finally steered the conversation to the topic he was most interested in.
Song Lianyi glanced at Fang Chaozhou before saying, “My mother is having a quarrel with my father. That’s why she sent me over last night. Grandfather Emperor, please intervene with my father. Although my father is with my mother now, he’s always fooling around outside, even making moves on his own younger martial brother.”
Upon hearing this, the old Emperor’s expression darkened. “There’s this matter too? Chaozhou, come here.”
Song Lianyi, upon hearing that, had a visibly gleeful look in his eyes as he looked at Fang Chaozhou. However, the following words from the old Emperor instantly wiped away his joy.
“Fang Chaozhou, as a member of the royal family, taking concubines is a common occurrence. Balancing the relationships between wives and concubines is the simplest matter. If you can’t even handle that, it truly brings shame to our royal family,” the old Emperor sighed. “Is your martial brother someone who can accommodate others? If he can, give him a status and consider it a lesson for your current wife.”
The old Emperor himself had three thousand beauties in his harem, so he naturally didn’t consider his son’s philandering as a bad thing. Instead, he thought his son was likable, just like him when he was young.
However, his son was still too inexperienced to even tame his own wife.
Fang Chaozhou shook his head in response to the old Emperor’s words. “Er Ya was just joking. How can we take a child’s words seriously? Also, Father Emperor, please don’t worry about my affairs. Taking care of your health is the most important thing.”
“How much longer can I live? You’ve come back this time, bringing my granddaughter with you. I am already content,” the old Emperor smiled wearily. “I’m tired of this throne. I don’t want to sit on it anymore.”
After speaking, he teased Song Lianyi, “Little girl, how about taking this seat, bestowed by Grandfather Emperor?”
Song Lianyi’s eyes shifted, and he looked at Hu Xiang. “Grandfather Emperor, I’m still young. Let my brother sit in this seat.”
Hu Xiang awkwardly smiled upon hearing this and lowered his head.
The old Emperor chuckled. “I ascended to the throne at a young age too.”
That day, Song Lianyi was the one who spoke with the old Emperor most of the time, and Fang Chaozhou could only occasionally interject. Song Lianyi was adorable, with a sweet mouth that even made the old Emperor reluctant to let him leave the palace. He wanted to keep him there.
In the end, Song Lianyi insisted on coming to see the old Emperor early the next morning, and only then did he reluctantly allow Fang Chaozhou to take him away.
When they left the palace, Song Lianyi was so tired that he could barely walk, so he coquettishly asked Fang Chaozhou to carry him. Since he had pleased the old Emperor so much that day, Fang Chaozhou considered it a merit and lifted him up.
After a short time on the carriage, Song Lianyi fell asleep, exhausted.
Hu Xiang looked at Song Lianyi’s peaceful sleeping face and remained silent for a while before speaking softly, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, did the aunt visit last night?”
“Yes,” Fang Chaozhou didn’t know how to explain Song Lianyi’s appearance, but fortunately, Song Lianyi had already come up with an explanation.
“What kind of person is the aunt?” Hu Xiang asked.
“Just an ordinary person.”
Hu Xiang paused for a moment before saying, “Someone who caught the attention of the Ninth Imperial Uncle couldn’t be ordinary, right?” Hu Xiang seemed skeptical and shook his head with a smile. “Hu Xiang believes that the aunt must be a talented and beautiful woman.”
As the words fell, Song Lianyi, who had been lying on the soft cushion, suddenly sat up. With his eyes closed, he climbed onto Fang Chaozhou and wrapped his hands around his neck. He buried his face in Fang Chaozhou’s neck, took a gentle sniff, and then bit down.
Fang Chaozhou gasped and immediately wanted to pull Song Lianyi away, but he suddenly remembered what Song Lianyi’s maid had said.
The puppet required his blood.
He hadn’t fed Song Lianyi any blood today.
Hu Xiang witnessed this scene, first shocked and then stared at Fang Chaozhou and Song Lianyi with mixed emotions.
But suddenly, the curtain was blown open by a strong gust of wind.
Before Hu Xiang could look outside, a sword flew in, directly piercing above Fang Chaozhou’s head. Just a slight downward movement and it would strike his head directly.
Fang Chaozhou froze, glancing up at the sword above his head, then looked towards the person outside the carriage.
From the moment the sword flew in, the carriage came to a halt.
In the dim night, a youth dressed in snowy garments stood tall, expressionless, looking at the three people inside the carriage.
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Translator’s note: Ohhhh, the concubine is here!
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Ohhh nooo, the jealous concubine is here
hahaha. He's definitely the stepmother and jealous concubine.