Duoduo stood up happily. "Imperial Grandfather, Father is very good! He just isn't good at expressing himself."
In the void, golden words began to scroll once again.
[The son takes after the father! The Emperor is exactly the same.]
[He clearly wants to care about the Prince of Pingyang in his heart, yet he holds back and refuses to ask.]
[You don't ask, and I don't speak. How could this father and son not grow apart?]
[Coupled with the pillow talk blowing from the inner palace, even the best father-son bond would fade.]
[Not to mention, the affection between a father and son in the imperial family is inherently cold and thin!]
Duoduo glanced at Xiao Yi. She saw her father with his head lowered, staring at his own knees, wondering what he was thinking about.
Her mother, meanwhile, stood respectfully behind her father with her head half-lowered.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, silence fell for a moment.
Duoduo raised her head and gave the Emperor a sweet smile, the two little dimples at the corners of her mouth looking as if they were filled with wine.
"Imperial Grandfather, for your birthday this time, Father spent a long time preparing a gift!"
"Unfortunately, we ran into thieves on the way, and the gift was stolen by them."
"The thieves must have known the gift was very precious..."
"Duoduo!" Xiao Yi reprimanded her with a warning tone.
Su Xian also looked at Duoduo with an anxious expression. Why was this child blurting out everything?
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi in confusion.
"Father, am I not allowed to say this?"
"All along the journey, you were thinking about how to make up for it and give Imperial Grandfather a gift that would please him."
"Now, right in front of Imperial Grandfather, couldn't you just ask him to find out?"
"That way, you wouldn't have to suffer from sleepless nights, agonizing and feeling guilty!"
Xiao Yi glared at Duoduo coldly.
"There is no need for you to speak out of turn. Do not be disrespectful!"
Seeing Xiao Yi looking flustered and angry with a poor complexion, and his eldest daughter-in-law appearing panicked, the Emperor's eyes flickered.
"A gift is naturally about the thought behind it."
"As long as it comes from the heart, its monetary value matters not."
"At my age, what haven't I seen?"
Duoduo nodded cheerfully.
"Imperial Grandfather and I are thinking the exact same thing!"
"But Father said he was worried that a poor gift would cause Imperial Grandfather to lose face."
"Just like Second Uncle said, that I embarrassed the Prince of Pingyang's estate..."
As Duoduo spoke, her tone gradually became disappointed, and her smile faded away.
The Emperor looked at Duoduo's dejected appearance and was just about to speak.
"Prince Ling and Princess Consort Ling request an audience!" a eunuch announced at the door.
Xiao Yi pursed his lips.
"Imperial Father, this son should also go and pay respects to Imperial Grandmother."
The emotions the Emperor had just been brewing vanished instantly.
"The Empress Dowager is currently worshipping Buddha. If you go, you will only have to wait."
At this moment, Prince Ling entered with his wife and children.
Prince Ling was carried in.
"Imperial Father! Please forgive this son! This son cannot properly pay respects to Imperial Father!"
Lying on a carrying chair, Prince Ling looked aggrieved yet enduring.
The Emperor was somewhat surprised. "Second Son, how did this happen to you?"
"Someone, quickly summon the imperial physician!"
A eunuch ran out and instantly ran back in, followed right behind by an imperial physician carrying a medical box.
It seemed the imperial physician had come along with Prince Ling.
The Emperor took a look. "Imperial Physician Li, how is Prince Ling's condition?"
Imperial Physician Li knelt down. "Answering Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Ling fell and injured his tailbone. He requires a month of bed rest."
"This humble official advised His Highness Prince Ling against it, but His Highness insisted on coming to pay respects to Your Majesty first."
Hearing that it was not a major issue, the Emperor waved his hand, signaling for Imperial Physician Li to leave.
Once Imperial Physician Li exited, Princess Consort Ling led her son and daughter to kneel and bow to the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at the people kneeling below and smiled. "All of you, rise."
Princess Consort Ling and the others kowtowed in gratitude, stood up, and retreated to Prince Ling's side.
When the Heir Apparent saw Xiao Yi and his family to the side, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes.
He walked to the center of the hall and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Imperial Grandfather, you must uphold justice for my father!"
"Yunan!" Prince Ling seemed to want to stop his son.
But perhaps due to his physical discomfort, his voice was as faint as a thread, sounding as if he were about to breathe his last.
Xiao Yunan stiffened his neck. "Father, even if you beat this son to death today, this son still has to speak!"
"Imperial Grandfather, my father fell just now because someone framed him!"
The Emperor's gaze hardened.
"Someone framed your father? Do you have proof?"
Xiao Yunan glared fiercely at Duoduo, then kowtowed to the Emperor.
"Of course I do!"
After saying that, Xiao Yunan took out the bead he had picked up from his sleeve and held it above his head with both hands.
A eunuch hurriedly took it and presented it on the dragon desk in front of the Emperor.
When Duoduo saw the bead in Xiao Yunan's hands, she lowered her head and stared at her toes.
The Emperor thoughtfully picked up the bead and took a look.
It was just an ordinary pearl; apart from being large, it had no distinguishing features.
"How does this pearl count as evidence?" The Emperor's tone made it impossible to discern his mood.
Xiao Yunan kowtowed once more.
"Imperial Grandfather, this bead rolled right from under her feet to my father's feet!"
"She must have thrown the bead on purpose to frame my father!"
"Imperial Grandfather, you must uphold justice for my father. You cannot let my father suffer this injustice in vain!"
After speaking, Xiao Yunan knocked his head loudly on the floor three times, then stood up and walked to the side of Prince Ling's chair.
The Emperor saw Prince Ling with his eyes closed in a pained expression, seemingly unable to bear blaming Duoduo.
Meanwhile, Princess Consort Ling and Commandery Princess Anning both glared angrily at Xiao Yi's family.
Xiao Yi's family, ever since Prince Ling's family entered the hall, had retreated to the side, remaining as quiet as mice.
The Emperor saw that even in the face of Xiao Yunan's accusations, Xiao Yi's family all kept their heads down without uttering a word in defense.
In his heart, the Emperor secretly felt somewhat displeased.
"Eldest Son, what do you have to say about this matter? Shouldn't you give your second brother an explanation?"
From the corner of her eye, Duoduo saw her father's hand, which was resting on his knee, suddenly clench tightly into a fist.
Duoduo raised her head, her face full of sorrow.
"Imperial Grandfather, this matter has nothing to do with Father. It is all your granddaughter's fault!"
The Emperor instantly became angry. And to think he had just felt this child was very much like the late Empress, both kind and obedient people.
"Kneel! At such a young age, why are you so vicious? To actually frame your second uncle?"
"Eldest Son, did you instruct her to do this? What exactly are you trying to do? Do you treat Us as if We do not exist?"
The more the Emperor spoke, the angrier he got. After speaking, he slammed his hand heavily onto the dragon desk.
Looking at the Emperor, Duoduo's tears flowed down silently.
Trembling, she walked to the center of the hall and knelt before the Emperor.
"Imperial Grandfather, it is all your granddaughter's fault. When I saw that bead, I should have picked it up."
"It is just that Father taught your granddaughter that we cannot take things that do not belong to us!"
"Therefore, your granddaughter just let it roll forward."
"If your granddaughter had known that the bead would trip Second Uncle, your granddaughter definitely would have picked it up."
"Second Uncle even rewarded your granddaughter with a jade pendant yesterday. Duoduo keeps Second Uncle's great kindness firmly in her heart!"
