Chapter 170 - 148: Not Small Anymore, 5 Months Old

Not long after Xie Che had fallen asleep, he felt a soft, squishy hand pat his cheek.

He roared in anger, "How dare you!"

When he opened his eyes, what met his gaze was a pair of large, round, doe-like eyes. The Little Bun pulled back his hand, a guilty look on his face, and obediently said, "Father Emperor, I wanted to wake you."

’He even dared to pluck the dragon’s whiskers!’

Faced with his Father Emperor’s furious expression, the Little Bun was clearly scared. However, although he could learn from books, emotionally and mentally he was still a babe in arms. No matter how fierce or strict his parents were with him, he would always slowly come clinging back after a while, holding no grudges. "Father Emperor, I missed you so much." Not only did he not hold a grudge, he even tried to take Xie Che’s hand again.

The human cub’s hands were small, chubby, and soft.

He looked at his Father Emperor’s large hand for a moment, then decided to grasp his index finger. That was the most the little one could manage.

Xie Che found the sensation wondrous.

He had never kept any pets, but he had seen Princess Consort Zhang holding a little kitten once. She had let him pet it, saying that kittens and puppies were cutest when they were still nursing. It was a very affectionate breed, specially raised by the eunuchs in charge of the palace pets. Its soft little paw pads resting on his palm had stirred a feeling of tenderness for the young creature.

"Alright,"

Xie Che sighed, thinking to himself, ’What am I doing, getting upset with a three-year-old?’ "I am not angry with you, don’t be afraid. But once you’re born, you will have to learn your etiquette properly."

He remembered how he had hated learning etiquette as a child.

His Mother Empress had said that a Prince had more freedom than a Princess. But even if he wasn’t the Emperor’s most favored son, he could not become the one the Emperor detested the most. Therefore, he had to master his etiquette in his father’s presence without a single mistake. In other matters, he could be more wilful.

"I want Father Emperor to hold me."

The little one raised his hands high. "When I’m born, I’ll be good and learn my etiquette. I’ll learn whatever Father Emperor wants me to learn."

Xie Che was surprised. "You’re so sensible? I certainly wasn’t so fond of studying when I was a child."

The little prince beckoned for his Father Emperor to lean in closer.

He whispered, "If I study hard, Mother Concubine will be happy. And if I study, Mother Concubine will love me more. I want Father Emperor to love me too."

Originally, Xie Che hadn’t approved of his son’s clingy habits.

But when his son said so pitifully that only by studying hard could he earn the love of his Father Emperor and Mother Concubine, Xie Che felt a bit conflicted. "You are my Prince. Even if you are an uneducated good-for-nothing, no one would dare laugh at you. Wouldn’t they all have to treat you with the utmost respect?" Then, thinking of Gu Wan Yi’s obsession with prenatal education, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for his son. "You shouldn’t think that way. Even if you did nothing but play all day, Gu Wan Yi would still love you... Back then, your grandmother also poked my forehead and told me to be more diligent. But even when I did poorly in my studies and was scolded and punished by her, I knew she loved me the most. I’m sure your Mother Concubine is the same."

In fact, after saying this, Xie Che felt a little uneasy.

Just like how he had once confidently believed that Gu Wan Yi was madly in love with him.

"I know," the little one said, lying on his chest. "I know Mother Concubine loves me very much. She’s just not good at expressing it."

Inside his mother’s womb, tightly connected by the umbilical cord, he could feel that his mother actually cared a lot about Chen Changzai and Noble Princess Consort Rong. He secretly hoped that after he was born, he too could have friends he could trust.

"I, on the other hand, think she’s quite good with words..."

She showered him with sweet nothings every day as if they cost nothing.

The little one shook his head, not knowing how to explain.

Fortunately, his Father Emperor didn’t press the matter. "Never mind. Since you have Gu Wan Yi to supervise your studies, I don’t need to push you so hard to improve. When you’re with your Father Emperor, you can relax a bit."

"What’s ’relax’?"

"...Let me play some games with you."

Because this was Xie Che’s dream, he could conjure up all sorts of fun things with his imagination: shuttlecock kicking, the nine linked rings puzzle, Cuju, Liubo... all things he had been obsessed with for a time as a child. Due to his busy political schedule, he hadn’t had this kind of entertainment for a long time. Picking it up again to play with his son was surprisingly enjoyable.

After playing all night, he pinched his son’s fleshy cheek and asked him, "Did you have fun playing with Father Emperor? When you’re born, and a little older, I’ll take you to Jiangnan in the summer to see the painted pleasure boats. In the winter, we’ll go ice skating. Father Emperor will sit on an ice sled with you, and we’ll bring your Mother Concubine. The eunuchs will pull it, and WHOOSH, we’ll shoot far into the distance."

The little prince’s heart filled with longing.

※

Waking up the next day, Xie Che said to Jiang Xian, "The child is still young, so don’t push him too hard. He only has these first few years to be carefree. Once he begins his formal education, he’ll have tutors to teach him, and things won’t be so relaxed."

"It is his good fortune that the Emperor cherishes him so."

’He’s not that young,’ Jiang Xian thought. ’He’s already five months along.’

"How could I not cherish him? I dreamed of him again last night. He must truly be an immortal child sent to me from the heavens, to be able to enter my dreams... Xian’er, have you ever dreamed of him?"

Jiang Xian said, "No, I haven’t. It seems the Emperor’s bond with him is deeper."

Xie Che loved to hear that.

Although he didn’t say it aloud, he was actually quite smug about this—

’It’s best not to be the villain.’ He really enjoyed the feeling of his son clinging to him.

After court ended for the day, Xie Che went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager and brought up Gu Wan Yi’s pregnancy. "My demands for my son are not high. It would be excellent if he could recite the entire *Thousand Character Classic* by the age of three."

The Empress Dowager looked astonished, suspecting her ears were failing her. "The *Thousand Character Classic* at age three? Emperor, you could barely speak a proper sentence when you were three."

"How could that be? Mother Empress is joking with me again."

Xie Che felt his son was just like him; he must have been that intelligent as a child, too.

Looking at the Emperor’s confident expression, the Empress Dowager was slightly speechless. "Besides, Gu Wan Yi might not be having a son. Why are you even more eager for a boy than I am? This is something you can say to me, but don’t say it in front of Gu Wan Yi. A pregnant woman shouldn’t be burdened with excessive worry. As long as she can give birth, she is a great contributor to Yan Chi."

Xie Che said, "It’s definitely a son."

...

After hearing this, only one thought ran through the Empress Dowager’s mind: ’This son of mine has no other flaws, he’s just too confident.’

At this thought, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for Gu Wan Yi.

’The Emperor usually dotes on Gu Wan Yi so much, yet in the end, he doesn’t even know how to be considerate of her. A woman’s pregnancy is when she is most sensitive and vulnerable!’

The Empress Dowager shook her head internally but ultimately said nothing.

Just then, Fu Jin, a palace maid from Jianzhang Palace, requested an audience from outside.

The Empress Dowager said, "Let her in. Is there some matter concerning the Empress?"

Fu Jin entered, curtsied, and then said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Consort Guo has been diagnosed with a joyous pulse. She is over three months along."

"Is this true!?"

The news struck the Empress Dowager’s ears like a clap of thunder, followed by deep confusion—

’What does Consort Guo look like again?’

Then, she thought, ’The child is over three months along and it hasn’t been reported. It’s clear Consort Guo deliberately kept it quiet. She’s a calculating one. But it’s good that she’s calculating; she can protect herself and the child, saving me some worry.’