The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 15

“My… child?”

Upon hearing such a shocking phrase, Qiu Junyao felt a buzzing in his ears, almost freezing in place.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe it. When he transmigrated into this world, he had thoroughly scrutinized every detail of the original yellow novel and found no mention of the child standing before him.

Where on earth did you come from?

While Qiu Junyao was still in a state of confusion, Yin Yuan beside him suddenly sneered and spoke, his words dripping with sarcasm:

“Your Majesty is truly affectionate.”

He continued, “You said there was only me by your side, that you wanted to have a legitimate child with me… Your Majesty, look, there’s someone else here who has already given you a prince.”

Qiu Junyao: “…”

Was it just his imagination, or did those words seem a bit sour?

But Yin Yuan didn’t care whether his words were sour or not. He simply stood up and went into the inner hall, leaving Qiu Junyao enough space to deal with the mess left by the original owner.

Torn between chasing after Yin Yuan to explain and bearing the blame, Qiu Junyao chose the latter with a heavy heart.

Leaning on the concubine couch, he pressed his fingers to his temple and waved his hand, saying with a headache:

“Take this child… this prince away for now. Have him bathed before bringing him to see me.”

It wasn’t Qiu Junyao’s fault that he had a headache. The prince was incredibly dirty, covered in what seemed like mud or grime, making it impossible to discern his features. Just one more look made Qiu Junyao feel itchy all over—as if he hadn’t bathed for days himself.

The palace servants obeyed and took the child away. Watching the mud-streaked carpet where the child had walked, Qiu Junyao could even smell the sour stench from a distance.

The surrounding palace staff discreetly covered their noses with handkerchiefs, their expressions showing barely concealed discomfort.

Seeing this, Qiu Junyao frowned and instructed Laifu to call the palace management to replace the carpet and open the windows for ventilation, which finally improved everyone’s expressions.

“Find some suitable clothes for the child. It’s cold, and he looks pitiful,” Qiu Junyao told Laifu.

“Order the palace management to send them quickly; there’s no time to delay.”

“Your Majesty,” Laifu bowed, “there hasn’t been a new prince born in years. It’s unlikely we’ll find clothes that fit immediately. But I can inquire with the other palace ladies; perhaps they still have some clothes from when previous princes were young.”

“That will do,” Qiu Junyao thought for a moment. “Go quickly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Laifu took the order and left in a hurry.

Qiu Junyao sat back down on the couch, looking at Shi Yi, who was still kneeling on the ground, and asked:

“You found the prince in the cold palace?”

He added, “How could my prince end up in the cold palace?”

“Your Majesty must have forgotten,” Shi Yi respectfully replied. “The Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince were twins, born five years ago to a palace lady. After their birth, the old national teacher declared that twins were an ominous sign. That same year, both the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager passed away. In your grief, and with rumors in the palace suggesting their deaths were due to the twins’ curse, you became furious and ordered the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince to be confined to the cold palace for life, never to leave.”

“…” Qiu Junyao was stunned. “You’re saying there’s another prince?”

He immediately asked, “Is this one the Sixth Prince or the Seventh Prince? Where is the other prince? Why didn’t you bring him too?”

Shi Yi was about to explain when a commotion came from the inner hall where the young prince was being bathed. This was followed by the panicked voices of the palace staff:

“Your Highness, Your Highness… ah!”

Hearing the screams and the sound of a wooden tub being overturned, Qiu Junyao’s heart sank. He stood up abruptly, his expression serious: “Shi Yi, come with me to check it out!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Qiu Junyao stepped into the inner hall the moment he heard the commotion, only to find that Yin Yuan had arrived even faster than him. Their gazes met briefly, but they quickly averted, like an electric shock had passed between them.

“Your Majesty,” Yin Yuan spoke stiffly, “You’re here.”

“…” He felt oddly guilty, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. He forced himself to look away and focused on the scene before him.

The jade screen had been knocked over, shattered into countless pieces on the carpet. The bath tub lay overturned, water gushing out, soaking the carpet and emitting a faint steam under the candlelight. Every step on it produced a squeaking sound.

The kneeling palace attendants bore swollen faces, covered in scratch marks and even bite marks, with traces of blood oozing out, indicating the pain they endured.

Seeing the chaotic scene, Qiu Junyao couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

The culprit, however, seemed unaware of any wrongdoing. Like a wild cub, he crouched on all fours, his black eyes wide with vigilance, emitting threatening noises as if warning Qiu Junyao away.

“You little rascal,” Qiu Junyao’s anger surged, and he reached out to lift the child to give him a bath. But before he could touch the child, his left hand suddenly stung—

The next moment, there were two clear blood holes in his palm.

Qiu Junyao: “…”

Yin Yuan: “…”

Even Yin Yuan forgot to feel jealous at this point. He hurriedly knelt down, reaching out to inspect Qiu Junyao’s injuries, his eyes moist with tears. “Your Majesty, he just injured your right hand, and now…”

“It’s nothing.” The child’s teeth were not as sharp as those of a real wolf. Though the wound looked frightening, it was only a scratch.

Qiu Junyao shook his hand and smiled reassuringly. “It’s fine.”

He remarked, “Symmetrical.”

Yin Yuan: “…”

What kind of hellish joke was this?

He choked back his tears, feeling a mix of relief and discomfort.

“Step back; I’m afraid he might harm you.” After comforting Yin Yuan, Qiu Junyao instructed the attendant to help him away. Then he extended his hand again, grabbing the back collar of the child.

This time, he was smarter, avoiding the child’s teeth and lifting him up directly, holding him close.

The child immediately protested, kicking and squirming, threatening noises escaping his lips. Eventually, he sank his teeth into Qiu Junyao’s shoulder, his eyes filled with fierce determination, as if he wanted to bite him to death.

Qiu Junyao let him bite, walking around the inner hall as if he didn’t feel the pain, gently patting his shoulder and whispering something.

Yin Yuan’s heart raced with anxiety at Qiu Junyao’s actions. He twisted his handkerchief, wanting to step forward but was stopped by another attendant.

“Your Majesty knows what he’s doing,” the attendant assured him.

Yin Yuan glanced at the attendant and, after a moment’s hesitation, suppressed his emotions.

The pain in his shoulder had numbed by now. Qiu Junyao continued to squat in front of the child, his right hand extended in an inviting gesture, murmuring softly, “Shall we go take a bath, my little one?”

The child tilted his head, confusion in his eyes, as if he didn’t understand what Qiu Junyao was saying.

Qiu Junyao wasn’t angry. He was about to repeat himself when the child hesitated, his face showing obvious indecision. After a moment, he reached out and carefully placed something in Qiu Junyao’s palm.

Qiu Junyao couldn’t help but pause. He looked down, only to find a piece of bread with black fingerprints on it in his hand. The bread was hard, stained with blood, indicating the force with which it was grasped, piercing his palm and staining the bread.

Seeing Qiu Junyao hesitating to eat, the child looked puzzled. After some thought, he reached out and pushed the bread closer to Qiu Junyao.

“… “

In a flash, Qiu Junyao suddenly understood his intentions—

The little wolf cub was repaying his kindness, wanting to use his beloved bread to repay the rice cake Qiu Junyao had given him.