Ye Tangtang wanted to go out and play, but she didn't want to put her mother in a difficult position.
[Besides, my scumbag dad is such a scumbag. How could he possibly deserve my gorgeous mommy? No, no, I'd better not leave the palace to play.]
Ye Yubei thought, He was a scumbag? He just wanted to give every woman in the world a home.
What had he done wrong?
Don't ask. If you do, he learned it from his own daughter.
"Emperor Father, I... I suddenly think going outside the palace wouldn't be fun at all. I'm not going."
"You really aren't going? There are lots of fun things and delicious treats outside the palace." Ye Yubei continued coaxing her.
Ye Tangtang was practically drooling with craving. She hurriedly wiped her mouth, then shook her head again. "Emperor Father, I... I really don't want to go. I... don't want anything to eat at all."
[Wow! I want to eat them so badly!]
"All right, then we won't go."
Eunuch Wang had already prepared Ye Tangtang's shoes. She put them on, grabbed her Fire Wheels, and hurriedly slipped away, afraid her scumbag dad would sweet-talk her into it.
"Eunuch Wang, am I not handsome?"
"Your Majesty, you are the most handsome emperor Northern Li has ever had!"
Ye Yubei was puzzled. "Then why doesn't she like me? Why won't she even look me in the eye?"
"Your Majesty, whom do you mean? Which woman in this harem isn't longing for you to spare her a glance?"
Ye Yubei had heard far too much of this flattery. He waved Eunuch Wang away, signaling for him to withdraw.
Shen Qingqing... Among the broken fragments of memory in his mind, that name seemed to exist somewhere.
Yet no matter how he tried, he couldn't remember. He ought to have remembered even the women he had bedded over a decade ago.
Ye Tangtang finally ran out carrying her Fire Wheels. The moment she emerged, several of her imperial brothers crowded around her.
Ye Linxun said, "Tang Tang, what are those things you're holding? They look really fun. Let your second brother try them too."
Ye Linze frowned, looking like a pitiful little wounded creature. His second brother had just told him not to play with them, yet now he wanted to play himself.
"These are Ice Skates, or Fire Wheels for short. Put them on, and you can experience the speed of flying. Second Brother, you can try them, but don't break them." Ye Tangtang was very generous.
[After all, my second brother doesn't have long to live either. I might as well let him experience what flying feels like first.]
Ye Linxun: "..."
Am I supposed to thank you?
"Don't worry, Tang Tang. Let's find somewhere secluded so Emperor Father won't catch us."
The group sneaked off to the rear garden like a pack of furtive puppies.
Ye Linxun had barely put on the Ice Skates and taken one step before he dropped straight to his knees.
[Hahahaha! Second Brother is so clumsy! He knelt the instant he put them on. Is he kowtowing to me? I can't accept such a grand gesture, hahahaha!]
Ye Linxun refused to believe he couldn't conquer these things. He was a prince!
Then Ye Linxun took another spectacular tumble. Ye Tangtang laughed so hard she nearly clutched her stomach and rolled on the ground.
A group of princes who had originally been mortal enemies fighting over the throne gathered together to play with the Ice Skates.
Looking at his younger brothers and sister, Ye Linxun suddenly felt that this was pretty nice too. Why fight over the throne?
He would stop fighting over the throne from now on and strive to live a few extra years instead!!
Ye Linze and Ye Linxuan felt the same way. In the past, because of their mothers' teachings, they had kept their distance from these siblings and occasionally gone to Emperor Father to tattle on them.
But now, they all played together.
Ye Linze was the clumsiest. Even after practicing for ages, he still couldn't get the hang of it, and his falls left his arms and legs covered in bruises and red marks.
By the time Ye Tangtang returned to the Palace of Gathered Elegance with the Ice Skates, evening had fallen.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw her mommy waiting outside. She had no idea how long her mother had been there.
"Mommy!"
Ye Tangtang threw herself into her mother's arms and nuzzled into her warm embrace.
[Awooo~ Mommy is so soft~ Snuggles~]
"My darling Tang Tang is back. What did you learn at school today?"
Ye Tangtang took out her Gold Medal. "Mommy, look."
"Tang Tang is so amazing. You really are a little genius, Mommy's cleverest darling. I've already prepared your dinner. Let's go eat."
Shen Qingqing had just raised her head when she spotted an uninvited guest.
Ye Yubei had arrived at some unknown point. As he quietly watched the beautiful mother and daughter, his heart seemed to fill to the brim.
[It's my scumbag dad! What's he doing here?]
At Ye Tangtang's words, all that tenderness went up in smoke.
Scumbag dad, scumbag dad!
Was he really that much of a scumbag?
"Your Majesty."
Shen Qingqing dipped into a curtsy, but Ye Yubei stopped her.
"Qingqing, I heard Tang Tang did very well at school today."
"Yes."
"Won't you invite me inside to sit for a while?"
Shen Qingqing invited him in with great reluctance.
[What? More juicy gossip? Little Useless System, hurry up and serve it to me! This gossip delivery is hopeless, way too slow. Just one a day? I want gossip! Lots and lots of gossip!]
Ye Yubei stopped and pricked up his ears to listen to his daughter, his scalp tingling. Could it be... another cuckold's hat for him?
Surely not.
Wasn't this utterly ridiculous? A new cuckold's hat to wear every day?
Ye Yubei began to question his life. Horses kept galloping across the green prairie atop his head, never giving him a moment's peace.
[Wow! Who is it this time? Beauty Su? Oh my, in the rear garden, too? How can they be so brazen? Even her breast wrap has fallen off.]
[Little Useless System, why is there still mosaic censoring? This is an insult to me! I demand that you remove it! It's seriously ruining my viewing experience!]
System: [...]
This host was gluttonous, lazy, and lecherous. There wasn't a single redeeming quality anywhere in her.
[Hahahaha! My scumbag dad is so pathetic. He's been cuckolded again, again! Looking at him now, I feel like he's green from head to toe. He nearly blinded my titanium-alloy dog eyes. I'm dying!]
[Hahahaha! I can't, I can't take it! I'm dying of laughter, hahahaha!]
Ye Tangtang laughed until she rolled around again. Her cuckolded scumbag dad had a new hat to wear every day.
Ye Yubei: "..."
Again!
A breast wrap!
What on earth was this little girl looking at when she was so young?
Ye Yubei was in no mood to go inside for dinner. Feeling green all over with a cuckold's panic, he made up an excuse and left.
Shen Qingqing was desperate to watch the drama. She hurriedly got her daughter's meal ready. If she arrived early, she might still catch a glimpse.
"Tang Tang, be good and eat your dinner first. Mommy is going out for a little while. I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Ye Tangtang wolfed down her food. When she looked up, her mother had disappeared again. What was she in such a hurry to do?
Shen Qingqing sneaked quietly into the rear garden.
Watching Ye Yubei get cuckolded put her in an inexplicably good mood.
Shen Qingqing reached the northeastern corner of the imperial garden. After taking just a couple of steps farther in, she heard a series of grating sounds. She had intended to sneak a peek, but the moment she slipped into hiding, she ran into Ye Yubei.
Their eyes met.
A crow's cries rang out...
Caw, caw, caw...
"You can hear it too?"
"You can too?"
Ye Yubei nodded, feeling a little awkward.
Every time he was cuckolded, Qingqing was right there beside him...
Qingqing wouldn't think he couldn't perform, would she?
He could perform very well!
Before you continue