Hearing the Little Princess's Thoughts Was Indeed an Honor, but He No Longer Wanted It

Jiang Yanchuan carefully gathered the little girl into his arms.

Jiang Yingcheng had already planned to play the pitiful victim before her imperial father, and now she truly was in pain. She promptly cried as though heaven and earth had gone dark.

With a composed expression, Jiang Yanchuan carried Jiang Yingcheng past the trembling Noble Consort Rou and walked straight toward the seat of honor without so much as a sideways glance.

Only when Eunuch Changshun gave a light cough did everyone in the hall seem to recover their senses, dropping to their knees in an instant.

Even Jiang Huai'an struggled to rise with the servants' assistance and knelt along with them.

Not a trace remained of his earlier arrogance.

After paying their respects, everyone barely dared to breathe. The only sounds in the hall were the little girl's heart-rending sobs and Jiang Yanchuan's occasional gentle pats on her back.

It was a long while before her crying gradually subsided, until she began hiccupping, one hiccup after another.

Yet with each gentle pat, the fear in Pan Jingwan's heart only grew.

In all her years in the palace, she had never seen such tenderness from Emperor Mingze. He had always been cold and unfeeling; even in Jiang Huai'an's presence, the ice and snow on his face had never melted.

Just what bewitching potion had Jiang Yingcheng fed Emperor Mingze?

And how much of what happened earlier had he heard?

The only reason she had dared run rampant through the inner palace all these years was that Emperor Mingze had no interest in its affairs. But now Jiang Yingcheng had become an exception.

Pan Jingwan's fingers began to tremble slightly, and she hastily clenched her fists to conceal it.

Stay calm. Things haven't yet...

"Consort Rou." Jiang Yanchuan suddenly spoke, his earlier tenderness stripped away, his voice filled with ice.

Pan Jingwan hurriedly answered, her unease deepening. "Your consort is here."

Jiang Yanchuan was still patting Jiang Yingcheng's back, the scene warm and tender, yet his words were exceptionally cold. "It seems that you and your son are dissatisfied with the judgment I passed yesterday."

Pan Jingwan's heart sank to the very bottom.

He really had heard everything!

Her thoughts raced as she hurried to find an excuse. "Your Majesty, Huaian returned covered in injuries yesterday. As his Imperial Consort, how could I possibly not ache for him...?"

"I merely let anger cloud my judgment for a moment. I hope Your Majesty can understand a mother's heartfelt concern."

As she spoke, she pulled out the handkerchief she carried and dabbed lightly at the corners of her eyes.

Behind the cover of the handkerchief, however, her gaze went straight toward Jiang Huai'an.

Jiang Huai'an kept his head bowed low, not daring to look up at Emperor Mingze at all.

The sight of his spineless behavior sent waves of dizziness through Pan Jingwan's head, and the anger in her heart burned even hotter than before.

Even Jiang Xingran had dared step forward when his Imperial Consort was in trouble. Now that she was the one in danger, the son she had cradled in her palms was burying his head and ignoring everything, as though his courage had been frightened clean out of him?!

She clenched her fists hard, her neatly trimmed nails pressing one crescent-shaped dent after another into her palms.

For a moment, her anger even eclipsed the terror Emperor Mingze inspired in her.

But-

A soft chuckle from Emperor Mingze quickly pulled her thoughts back.

"So that was it. Then the fault was mine," Jiang Yanchuan said indifferently.

His past reluctance to become too involved in the struggles of the inner palace had merely been because he wanted to devote more energy to expanding his territory. It did not mean he failed to see through these people's schemes.

"Since Huaian's miserable condition has unsettled Consort Rou," Jiang Yanchuan said with a nod, instructing Changshun, "send Huaian to Consort Yan and let her care for him."

Jiang Yanchuan's expression remained as cold and indifferent as before, as though he had said something perfectly ordinary. Yet Noble Consort Rou and Jiang Huai'an, kneeling on the floor, jerked their heads up, their faces deathly pale.

"Your Majesty," Noble Consort Rou said, her voice trembling and her eyes filled with disbelief, "what do you mean?"

Consort Yan already had a son. In recent years, Jiang Huai'an had swaggered through the palace, and that child had been among those he bullied. Consort Yan had only endured it until now because of the Pan family's power.

But if Huaian were sent to Consort Yan's residence, there was no guarantee she would not seize the chance to retaliate.

Besides...

Emperor Mingze had mentioned no time limit.

How long would he be sent there?

Only while Huaian recovered from his injuries, or would he never be sent back again?

One question after another filled Noble Consort Rou's mind. Her head was already swimming, yet Jiang Huai'an kept crying and wailing throughout.

His piercing cries were even more pitiful than Jiang Yingcheng's had been.

"Imperial Father, I don't want to go to Consort Yan! Imperial Father!"

Ignoring the pain in his body, Jiang Huai'an braced both hands against the floor and tried to crawl toward Emperor Mingze. "I was wrong! I'll reflect deeply on my mistakes! Please don't send me to Consort Yan, boohoo!"

When he had bullied Jiang Qiuyu before, he had seen Consort Yan's resentful yet restrained gaze more than once. Back then, it had only filled him with smug satisfaction.

What could she do, no matter how angry she was? She could only swallow her anger for fear of his mother's family and their power.

Now, however, he felt cold all over.

If he was sent to Consort Yan's residence today, he would certainly have a bitter pill to swallow!

His mother's family still held power, but surely the palace's ways of tormenting people were not limited to what happened out in the open?

He did not want to be sent to Consort Yan.

Seeing his imperial father frown without speaking, Jiang Huai'an hurriedly turned toward his mother. "Mother, please plead with Imperial Father for me! Mother, I don't want to leave you, boohoo..."

Pan Jingwan panicked too, sweat streaming down her temples even more heavily than Zitang's had earlier. "Your Majesty, I cannot be parted from Huaian! Your Majesty..."

The two of them were giving Jiang Yanchuan a headache with their racket. Just as he was about to order someone to carry Jiang Huai'an away, he felt Jiang Yingcheng carefully step onto the edge of the Upholstered Chair. Gripping his arm, she struggled to stand and leaned close to him. With a little pat-

Her two small hands covered his ears, one on either side.

Jiang Yanchuan: "..."

The little girl's face was smeared with tears, but when he looked up, she still gave him a great big smile. "Noisy. Don't listen!"

[Fourth Prince even made Eighth Brother bark like a dog before! Hurry and send Fourth Prince to Consort Yan's residence so he can bark a couple of times and pay him back!]

Her babyish inner voice chattered away angrily. [And, and Fourth Prince will push Eighth Brother into the garden pond later! He'll even, even stop the guards from going in to rescue him! Because of that, Eighth Brother will be sick for more than half a year, and even after he recovers, he'll be weaker than ordinary people. He'll leave this world before he's even thirty!]

Jiang Yanchuan's gaze abruptly darkened.

Had this inner palace changed its surname to Pan?!

Eunuch Changshun stood slightly behind Emperor Mingze, his head bowed extremely low.

He had long since lost count of how many times he had sighed inwardly.

Hearing the imperial family's secrets was distressing enough. What made it even worse was that His Majesty knew perfectly well that he had heard those secrets.

Alas...

Hearing the little princess's thoughts was indeed an honor, but he no longer wanted it.

His gaze shifted slightly.

The little girl seemed tired of standing and was resting her head against Emperor Mingze's shoulder, her rosy little face brimming with happiness.

Changshun's gaze began wandering back and forth.

Hmm, the little princess really was far too adorable...

Perhaps he should keep listening after all?