Dantai Ji’s face fell, and a bitter smile touched the corners of his lips. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, a soft little bundle suddenly threw itself into his arms.
The impact made his heart tremble violently.
“Let Father hold you.”
Dantai Ji froze for a long moment before carefully wrapping his arms around the little one in his embrace. His eyes grew damp.
Sensing someone watching him, he hurriedly lifted his head and restored the dignity of an emperor.
This little one looked like him.
Yet she was softer than he was, cleverer than he was, cuter than he was, and far more beautiful…
Dantai Ji laughed as he lifted his daughter high into the air and tossed her upward.
When he saw how delighted she was, he didn’t feel tired at all and tossed her up several more times.
Cui Huaiyin watched from the side, her eyes turning red. She walked over to persuade Dantai Ji to be more careful.
“Not so high, not so high! Don’t frighten Yaoyao.”
Though she said this, she was smiling, because her darling princess was smiling. As her mother, she could tell that her daughter was truly happy, not merely pretending to be.
This was also the first time her daughter had grown close to her biological father.
Even though Zhu Wangbei had been there before, he had never cared about Yaoyao and had never wanted to be close to her. From the time she was born, he had held her only a handful of times.
Zhu Wangbei did not like Yaoyao. Cui Huaiyin had been able to see that. Back then, she had assumed that he had wanted a son, which was why he had even been too lazy to give Yaoyao a name.
But that had not been the reason. This was the real truth.
Her Yaoyao must have longed to grow close to her father as well. Being held by such a tall and powerful man must have made her feel safe.
In any case, as long as Yaoyao was happy, she was happy too.
Cui Huaiyin dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief and smiled as she watched the father and daughter.
Rongyao was panting from exhaustion as she sat in her imperial father’s arms and rested.
Dantai Ji endured the soreness in his arms and said, “Father wasn’t wrong, was he? Father is much more capable than your mother. I can hold Yaoyao very, very high.”
Rongyao said, “Father is very capable, but Mother is the most capable.”
Dantai Ji patted Rongyao on the head. “You little ingrate.”
“Don’t pat Yaoyao’s head. She won’t grow taller,” Cui Huaiyin said. Then she stared at Dantai Ji’s hand and added in explanation, “Yaoyao is so short now because I used to pat her head all the time.”
Dantai Ji glanced at his daughter’s short arms and legs and quietly moved his hand away.
Rongyao: “…”
Afraid that her daughter would be upset, Cui Huaiyin said, “Everyone is different. Some people grow early, while others grow later. Your father and I are both tall, so if you eat more from now on, Yaoyao, you’ll definitely grow taller.”
Rongyao lowered her head and looked at her short legs. Then she glanced at the pastries on the table. She picked one up, stuffed it into her mouth, and raised her chin.
“I’ll definitely grow taller than Mother one day!”
In her previous life, she had not been short. She had been about as tall as her mother, despite having grown up barely eating enough. In this life, she ate her fill every day, so she would certainly surpass her mother!
Seeing that her daughter had not dwelled on the matter of her height, Cui Huaiyin felt relieved.
It had only happened yesterday. On the way back to the palace, they had run into Consort Guang. Consort Guang had sighed as she looked at Rongyao and said, “Just look at our Princess Fuxi. She’s actually older than Princess Shengping, yet she’s nearly half a head shorter. Standing in front of Princess Shengping, she looks more like a younger sister. She must have suffered when she was little, and it damaged her health.”
Cui Huaiyin had been upset by those words. When she saw that her daughter did not say anything either, she had assumed that Rongyao must have been hurt by them as well.
But now it seemed that her daughter had not taken those words to heart at all.
Her princess had a wonderfully broad heart!
Just like now. A few days ago, she had still been awkward and unwilling to grow close to the Emperor. But after seeing that the Emperor treated them well, she had been willing to draw close to him too.
Her daughter was simply like that. Whoever treated her well, she would grow close to in return.
…
“Princess, Miss Chu has sent you a letter from outside the palace.”
Daoxiang handed the letter to the little princess, who had just woken up and was rubbing her eyes. Her gaze remained fixed on the princess for even a moment.
These days, seeing the princess every day lifted her spirits considerably. Her princess was becoming more lovable by the day. Those eyes, that nose, those lips, that little face… She was soft and plump, like a porcelain doll.
Although the princess had gained some more weight over the past few days, her skin had also grown fairer and her features more delicate.
Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but want to draw close to her.
Rongyao rubbed her eyes and accepted the letter. It was indeed from Sister Mingyi.
Before entering the palace, she had asked Sister Mingyi to investigate Qi Shen for her.
Could it be that Sister Mingyi had found something?
Rongyao eagerly unfolded the paper and read the letter carefully. When she finished, her brows drew together slightly.
Sister Mingyi wrote that she had discovered there were only two families in the entire capital with the surname Qi. One household had no children of the right age, much less anyone named Qi Shen. The other did not even have a boy.
Sister Mingyi asked whether she had made a mistake and whether Qi Shen might not be from the capital after all.
Rongyao wasn’t sure either.
Suddenly, she remembered Gu Shen’an, whom she had seen outside the examination hall that day. He looked very much like Qi Shen.
He was the young master of the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household.
The Marquis of Zhenxi’s household…
She put away the letter and asked Daoxiang, “Do you have any news about the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household?”
Daoxiang said, “The Marquis of Zhenxi’s household? You mean the one in the western part of the city?”
Rongyao nodded.
Daoxiang looked at Rongyao hesitantly. After pausing for a moment, she finally said, “As far as this servant knows, the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household was confiscated two days ago. The Marquis of Zhenxi colluded with the Western Rong, causing a thousand soldiers to fall into an enemy ambush. The marquis escaped and is now missing, while his wife and children were sentenced to exile in a bitterly cold land. Early this morning, all the elderly, women, and children of the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household were sent on their way.”
Rongyao’s eyes widened, and she stood up on the bed.
“Sent into exile?”
“Yes. They set out while it was still dark.”
Rongyao’s expression tightened. How could it have happened so quickly?
But the Marquis of Zhenxi had been framed.
In her previous life, she had heard that everyone from the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household had met with disaster on the way to their place of exile. They had all died.
The Marquis would not return for another month.
If his family all died…
No!
Mother had said that the Marquis of Zhenxi was a hero who protected the country.
A hero should not be wrongfully put to death, and his family could not die either.
Rongyao clenched the letter in her hand. After thinking for a long while, she seemed to recall something. Without putting on her shoes or socks, she ran down from the bed.
“Princess! Let this servant put on your shoes! You’ll catch a chill!”
Rongyao ignored her. She went to the desk, climbed onto it, picked up a sheet of paper, and took up a brush. Then she began scribbling, trying to recall every detail.
She remembered that the Marquis of Zhenxi had not died. He had been captured by the enemy and taken prisoner. He had not betrayed the country at all.
The one who had framed the Marquis of Zhenxi was her imperial uncle, Prince Rui. During this campaign against the Western Rong, Father had appointed him as a military commander, and he had led troops alongside the Marquis of Zhenxi.
From what she had heard in her previous life, Prince Rui had rescued a woman at the border and taken her as a concubine. He had been extremely fond of her, but that concubine was from the Western Rong…
Prince Rui had told the woman the army’s military secrets, and then…
In short, Prince Rui had made a mistake and shifted the blame onto the Marquis of Zhenxi.
In her previous life, Father had not learned the truth until eight years later. In a fit of rage, he had Prince Rui executed and issued an edict acknowledging his own guilt.
But by then, everyone from the Marquis of Zhenxi’s household had already died. It had all come too late.
A month from now in her previous life, the Marquis of Zhenxi would escape and return to the capital. When he learned that his entire family had died on the road to exile, he would charge toward the city gates, only to be shot through the chest by an arrow and die.
Rongyao wrote a single character on the paper: “West.”
The ink spread across the page.
There’s no time left!
She’s leaving the palace!
