Then his most urgent task was to give up the throne.
Compared with the throne, he still cared more about his life. Besides, if he installed a prince as emperor, he could comfortably remain the Retired Emperor and still wield supreme power.
"Your Majesty, please eat."
Shen Qingqing rose to serve Ye Yubei herself. She looked delicate and frail, her white dress accentuating her exquisite figure. Her skin was as white as snow, practically glowing, and that face of hers in particular...
Ye Yubei's throat tightened as he looked at her figure. His heart, dormant for years, began to stir, and he gently rested a large hand on Shen Qingqing's slender waist.
"Qingqing..."
Shen Qingqing trembled and edged back a few steps. "Your Majesty, please eat."
Noticing her movement, Ye Yubei's brows drew together. "Are you afraid of me?"
Shen Qingqing replied, "I wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't dare!"
Ye Yubei had been born hot-tempered and was known as the tyrant of Northern Li. At the slightest disagreement, he would have someone killed. Every civil and military official lived with their heart in their mouth, terrified that one wrong word would bring death down upon them.
Now his brows were tightly knitted, and a chilling aura radiated from his entire body. Shen Qingqing lowered her head, her hands icy, her palms already coated in cold sweat.
[Scumbag dad! Mommy only just got out, and you're already bullying her! Bad scumbag dad!]
Ye Tangtang shielded her mother behind her, glaring at the man before her with her big, dark eyes.
Ye Yubei reached out and pinched Ye Tangtang's little cheek. How was his daughter so beautiful? She really had taken after both her father and mother.
"Tang Tang, move aside for now. I have something to discuss with your mother."
Ye Tangtang asked quietly, "Will you be mean to Mommy again?"
"No. Qingqing, I didn't mean it just now. Sit down first."
Shen Qingqing sat beside Ye Tangtang. Mother and daughter looked remarkably alike, and sitting together, they made a lovely sight.
Ye Yubei's heart melted at the sight. Only after a long while did he come back to himself. Why had he forgotten this mother and daughter?
[La la la, I'm a little newspaper-selling expert...]
Ye Tangtang hummed a little song as she stuffed food into her mouth, utterly at ease. After another sweep like a gale scattering the clouds, the dishes on the table had been emptied.
Ye Yubei: "..."
Tang Tang looked so small and frail. How could she eat so much?
"Did... did I eat a little too much? Emperor Daddy, you won't be unable to afford to feed me, will you?"
Ye Tangtang flashed Ye Yubei a brilliant smile. Her fair, tender little face was utterly endearing, and those two little dimples practically melted the tyrant's heart with their cuteness.
Why was his youngest daughter so adorable?
She should have been twelve this year, yet she looked only ten. She must not have had enough to eat or drink in the Cold Palace. Why hadn't he met Tang Tang sooner?
Keeping a cold expression, Ye Yubei said, "Of course your father can afford to feed you. From now on, double the food supplied to the Palace of Gathered Elegance. Everything must be the best, prepared to the same standard as the Empress's palace."
Eunuch Wang's expression shifted slightly. "Yes, Your Majesty."
[Oh yeah! Now I can eat even more meat! This scumbag dad looks pretty annoying, but since he's giving me so much food, I suppose I'll reluctantly accept him as my scumbag dad.]
Scumbag dad?
Ye Yubei raised his brows and searched his conscience. Was he really such a scumbag?
Surely not. There were plenty of women in the palace he had never even met.
[Why hasn't scumbag dad left yet? I'm getting sleepy. I want to sleep with my sweet mommy. Beautiful Mommy is so soft. Sleeping while hugging her will definitely be heavenly. Hehehe~]
Ye Tangtang hugged Shen Qingqing's arm and wheedled, clinging to her relentlessly.
Ye Yubei's cool gaze swept over Shen Qingqing. "I will stay the night at the Palace of Gathered Elegance."
"Your Majesty... you're staying at the Palace of Gathered Elegance tonight?"
Eunuch Wang was astonished. His Majesty had not spent the night in the imperial harem for many years, and no children had been born in the palace for twelve years.
"Yes."
Shen Qingqing's expression froze. Staying the night at the Palace of Gathered Elegance...
She had only just left the Cold Palace. She wasn't ready to attend him in bed yet.
[No, no! Scumbag dad is so annoying! If he hogs Mommy, I won't be able to hug her while I sleep! No way. Absolutely not!]
[Scumbag dad has so many women he can sleep with. I only have one mommy to sleep with.]
[Besides, he's such a scumbag that he doesn't deserve to sleep hugging my beautiful mommy.]
Ye Yubei: "...?"
He didn't deserve it? He was the reigning Son of Heaven of the Northern Li Kingdom!
Shen Qingqing was his woman to begin with. Sleeping with her was only natural.
But why did he have no memory of it? He seemed to remember every woman he had slept with. There should have been no more than ten, and that had been many years ago.
Shen Qingqing stroked her daughter's head. Tang Tang was becoming clingier by the day. In the past, she had never wanted to sleep with her, and Shen Qingqing had thought Tang Tang disliked her mother.
Ye Tangtang nestled in Shen Qingqing's arms. "Mommy, I don't feel well. I want to sleep. Hold me while I sleep, just like before."
"Your Majesty, Tang Tang can't do without me. I've always held her while she slept. Would you..."
Ye Yubei cast a sidelong glance at Ye Tangtang. This little girl was quite an actress for her age.
"Tang Tang is already twelve and will soon reach hairpin age. How can she still sleep with her mother?"
Shen Qingqing spoke softly. "Your Majesty, Tang Tang is still young. She has always slept with me."
"At twelve, she's already a big girl. In another two years, she'll be getting married. She isn't little anymore."
[Scumbag dad is downright inhuman! I'm only twelve! In two years, I'll only be fourteen! He must be planning to marry me off for an alliance, sending me somewhere so remote that birds won't even shit there. I'm so pitiful! How did I end up with such a scumbag dad?]
[Luckily, Northern Li will be destroyed in three years, so I won't have to marry for an alliance. Hahaha!]
[La la la~ Then I'll take Mommy to find some pretty boys! Four, five, six, seven, eight!]
Ye Yubei's face turned green when he heard that. She actually intended to find pretty boys for his Qingqing! This little girl truly knew no bounds!
Shen Qingqing lightly patted her daughter's little bottom. This girl was spouting nonsense again. Fortunately, His Majesty couldn't hear her, or the consequences would be unthinkable.
Her daughter said Northern Li would fall in three years. Then she needed to set aside more jewelry and valuables so she could escape with her daughter and make a life outside.
Consort Shu entered the Palace of Gathered Elegance in flowerpot-soled shoes, swaying her slender waist. At the sight of His Majesty, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and began to cry, her tears like raindrops on pear blossoms, looking delicate and pitiful-provided one ignored that wrinkled face of hers.
"Your Majesty, you must seek justice for me!"
"What happened? Why have you come to the Palace of Gathered Elegance to make a scene?"
His cold voice carried an overwhelming pressure, and Consort Shu immediately stopped crying.
Ye Yubei had wanted to stay at the Palace of Gathered Elegance and have a proper talk with Shen Qingqing. Now another tactless fool had shown up. How could he possibly be in a good mood?
Consort Shu sobbed out her complaint. "Your Majesty, it was the Ninth Princess! The Ninth Princess, she... she actually beat me! When have I ever suffered such humiliation? Please seek justice for me, Your Majesty!"
Ye Tangtang calmly shrugged. She had guessed correctly. This woman really had come to tattle.
[So it's this two-faced bitch. Sure enough, she came to tattle. Beating her today felt so good! How dare she steal my beautiful mommy's things? Not beating you to death was already doing you a favor.]
[She's so sickeningly fake. Why does this scumbag dad of mine like her so much?]
[His taste is awful! She's so ugly, with neither a figure nor a decent face. My scumbag dad's standards are way too low. Don't tell me any woman will do?]
[No way, no way! He's an emperor, at least. Can he really fancy someone this old?]
Ye Yubei: "..."
Was she really that ugly?
Before you continue