Chapter 194:

Emperor Jing’s affection for Fu Jinyu surpassed that of his feelings for the Sixth Prince, a fact even Emperor Jing himself acknowledged.

Compared to the Sixth Prince, with whom he had quarreled since childhood, Fu Jinyu had been Emperor Jing’s reading companion since he was about ten years old, making their relationship naturally closer. Because Fu Jinyu served as Emperor Jing’s reading companion, they shared many similar views.

To many people, having a close friend is already a fortunate event in life.

It was reasonable for Emperor Jing to have some restraint toward Fu Jinyu.

Since Emperor Jing had stated he previously knew nothing about the matter, Fu Jinyu naturally believed him.

Fu Jinyu left with a sigh of relief, and Emperor Jing naturally did not say much further.

After spacing out for a while longer, he summoned Laixi: “Go to Fengxi Palace.”

With all sorts of matters piling up these days, Emperor Jing had been extremely busy. He even felt it had been quite a while since he last played with his children. He wondered whether his little darling still recognized him.

But then again, he thought, they were his own children, naturally extremely intelligent; how could they not recognize their father?

Meanwhile, Layue was indeed playing with the children at that moment.

The children were over a year and a half old now, at the age when they loved to play. Though their speech wasn’t very fluent yet, they had already started to talk.

According to the elderly nannies in the palace, these children were speaking quite early.

Although it was the fourth prince who first started talking, it seemed that the youngest princess, Jiaojiao, was now the most articulate, expressing herself clearly.

As for the fourth and fifth princes, they were quite far behind, especially the fifth prince, who could only say a few simple words.

But from Layue’s perspective, this might not necessarily be the case. She felt this child simply preferred daydreaming rather than speaking.

Perhaps he wasn’t unable to talk, but just too lazy to do so.

This little one was indeed extremely lazy.

Jiaojiao’s walking was still unsteady. Layue held her hand while walking back and forth on the heated brick bed, and the little girl laughed joyfully.

Beside them, the fourth prince was happily playing with various toys brought by the Internal Service Office. The fifth prince alone lay on his side listlessly, occasionally waving his tiny hands. Occasionally glancing at his older siblings, he then yawned and seemed ready to fall asleep again.

“It seems the little master is sleepy again!” Tao’er said in disbelief, widening her eyes.

Speaking of Tao’er, she was the jester of Fengxi Palace. It seemed that no matter what she talked about, it always sounded especially cheerful. Not only that, even something mundane, when exaggerated by her, became surprisingly interesting.

“Is the fifth prince being sleepy also something interesting?” Layue asked with a smile.

Tao’er shook her head: “But he just woke up a while ago. I’ve never seen a child who loves sleeping so much!”

Zhou Nanny nearby disagreed: “In my opinion, you’re just making a fuss about nothing. How many children have you seen anyway? Only these three little masters. Since the princess and the fourth prince don’t like sleeping much, you think there’s something odd about the fifth prince. Actually, children this age being as energetic as the princess and the fourth prince are rare too!”

Tao’er stuck out her tongue.

The fifth prince seemed to sense Tao’er’s meaning as well. He glanced at her, “Hmphed,” then turned around and closed his eyes.

Tao’er cried out dramatically: “Master, look! The little master dislikes me! He gave me the cold shoulder!”

An’er quietly lowered her head. Tao’er, he gave you the cold shoulder—it’s not something to be proud of, right? Why are you so excited?

Layue couldn’t help but laugh, but she still covered a light blanket over the fifth prince.

Despite the noisy older siblings, the fifth prince didn’t seem to mind at all.

Among these children, he was the easiest to soothe.

“The emperor has arrived—”

Just as the fifth prince fell asleep, a eunuch’s high-pitched voice rang out, immediately waking him up.

The little one looked displeased for a moment, then continued sleeping.

But Emperor Jing didn’t mind at all.

Seeing all the children present, Emperor Jing wasted no time. After washing his hands, he immediately picked up Jiaojiao.

“Father, father, father…” Jiaojiao loved her father the most. Upon hearing Emperor Jing’s arrival, she began leaning toward him eagerly.

Layue couldn’t help but call her a little traitor.

But Emperor Jing was naturally delighted! After all, there were very few girls in the palace of Nankin, and Jiaojiao was a long-awaited child born to him and Layue. It was only natural for him to dote on her.

“Jiaojiao, look at your mother. Your mother is jealous!” He said, then lifted her high in the air, making Jiaojiao laugh heartily.

“Fa…fa huang!” The fourth prince loved being lifted even more. Seeing his father do that, he threw his toy aside and stretched out his arms, looking at Emperor Jing pitifully.

Layue naturally felt heartbroken for her son.

“Would you like Mama to hold you, okay? Come here—”

“No!” The little one refused decisively.

Seeing how the children all flocked to the emperor the moment he arrived, Layue pouted slightly.

She looked a bit jealous.

Seeing her like this, Emperor Jing smiled and pinched her cheek: “Be good. I love you the most. Tonight, I’ll take good care of you.”

He spoke as if no one else was around, making Layue feel embarrassed. She gave a cold snort.

How could he be so clueless!

She was jealous because the children got more attention from him, not because she thought he loved the children more!

Seeing Layue’s blushing face as she lowered her head, Emperor Jing placed Jiaojiao in her arms: “Jiaojiao be good. Let Papa hold your younger brother for a bit, okay?”

Jiaojiao glanced at the fifth prince, who was sprawled out asleep.

Then she looked at the fourth prince and nodded.

The fourth prince immediately showed a big smile and rushed toward Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing happily picked him up and lifted him a few times: “Has the fourth prince been good?”

“Ya!”

“Has the fourth prince been good? Tell Papa, okay? If you don’t say, no more lifting.”

Jiaojiao, unable to stay still, started calling out again: “Ba ba—ba huang—”

The room became chaotic all of a sudden.

“Our Jiaojiao should be good too, or Papa won’t like you anymore,” Layue poked the little girl’s cheek.

The little girl quickly crawled onto Emperor Jing’s lap, rubbing against him, apparently trying to push her younger brother, the fourth prince, aside.

Jiaojiao’s walking wasn’t very smooth yet. Most of the time, she still preferred crawling. Although walking was nice, in urgent situations, she resorted to crawling, a unique way of hers.

Holding both children in his arms, Emperor Jing laughed heartily.

“My precious little ones.”

As expected, upon hearing this, Layue pouted again.

Emperor Jing coughed, and the servants around immediately understood his temper. They quickly tidied up and left the room.

Leaving during such a tender moment would only make the emperor dislike them.

Once everyone had left, Emperor Jing put the two children down.

He lifted Layue’s chin and kissed her. She pushed him away but ineffectively.

“Eh?”

Hearing the children make a sound, Layue felt extremely embarrassed. This old scoundrel, why did he do such a thing in front of the children?

Thinking this, she pushed even harder.

But Emperor Jing hugged her tighter, refusing to let go.

Out of the corner of her eye, Layue saw the two little ones watching them with their heads tilted. Finally unable to bear it, she bit Emperor Jing hard. He felt the pain and let her go.

“What’s wrong?” He looked innocent.

Layue glared at him fiercely: “The children are here. Can’t you show a little restraint?”

Seeing her wide eyes and angry expression, Emperor Jing smiled: “They’re so young, what do they know! Besides, isn’t it better that I dote on their mother?”

Layue was so angry she couldn’t speak.

She hit him.

“They may be young, but they understand things. You’re going too far.”

Emperor Jing had never seen Layue angry before. Seeing her like this today, instead of being annoyed, he found her incredibly adorable, like a little kitten with its fur bristling.

Thinking further about how relaxed she was around him, he smiled and tried to soothe her: “Moon, don’t be angry. It was my fault. I’ll be careful next time, okay?” His voice softened at the end, making her heart flutter slightly.

“Just don’t do it again.”

“Alright. I won’t do it again.” Emperor Jing smiled.

“But not in front of the children. Tonight, you can come to Xuanning Hall.” His finger traced along Layue’s hand, carrying a hint of seduction.

Layue’s face turned red. She pouted: “Your Majesty—”

“Jiaojiao, we’re back!” Just as the two were sharing a tender moment, loud voices came from outside.

It was the two brothers returning from their study session.

Emperor Jing sighed helplessly: “These two little ones are becoming more and more lively.”

Layue tilted her head to look at Emperor Jing, somewhat puzzled: “Isn’t it great for children to be lively?”

Looking at her and then at Jiaojiao’s movements, Emperor Jing couldn’t help but laugh.

The mother and daughter had the exact same gesture.

“Your majesties, we’re back!” The two little figures greeted in unison.

“Stand up. What did you learn today?” Emperor Jing patted the spot beside him, signaling the children to come over. As expected,

their faces lit up with joy.

“Today we learned ‘Respect the elderly as you would your own elders, and cherish the young as you would your own children.'”

Emperor Jing smiled: “Do you understand the meaning?”

“Of course!” They answered in unison, their voices crisp and clear.

Emperor Jing nodded.

“Then tell me what it means.”

They exchanged glances. Yan Yu spoke first: “When taking care of and respecting our elders, we should not forget other elderly people unrelated to us. When raising our children, we should also not forget other children who are unrelated. Father, we remembered everything the teacher taught us.”

“Indeed, you’ve learned well. However, there’s something Yu’er and Jia’er still need to remember. It’s good to study and understand these principles, but when learning other things, you should also be able to apply knowledge flexibly and not blindly accept everything without question. You should have your own thoughts.”

“We understand, Father,” both said, becoming more serious.

Seeing their expressions, Layue smiled, her eyes curving into small crescent moons.