CH 64

Faking a smile, Guaibao extended her hands towards Princess Ming Xi, who instinctively slapped away the approaching tiny hands with a displeasured look, unaware that she had fully played into Guaibao’s hands. The little figure nimbly grabbed her wrist, and the next thing she was aware of was a sharp, pinching pain on her hand.

“Ah!!!”

A loud, piercing wail escaped from her mouth.

Ming Xi’s face contorted in a grimace of pain. The bruise on her swollen wrist gradually turned from red, to blackish purple colour. Her breathing became rough as tears began streaming down the corners of her eyes.

Deeply enraged, she furiously gave an order to her servants, “How dare this wretched kid hurt me! Grab her at this instant!

The surrounding guards, maids and eunuchs froze in shock. Guaibao’s actions had gone beyond their wildest imaginations. They did not anticipate that a small, little girl would escalate the situation to such a degree.

They were now caught between a rock and a hard place. Both parties were of untouchable status and the servants could not afford to offend either side.

The attendants serving directly under the Empress swiftly recovered and acted immediately, standing forward to shield the little princess, while one of them secretly slipped away through the back entrance to call for help.

They were on their toes. If anything were to happen to their little master… many heads would roll. But on the other hand, Princess Ming Xi was also not an opponent they fend against. Unable to find a peaceful solution, they decisively chose to inform the Empress instead.

Unbeknownst to the palace workers, even if help did not arrive on time, nothing would have happened to Guaibao. As the treasured daughter of Prince Li, numerous guards had been assigned in secret to protect her from the shadows.

Secret Guard A had been prepared to act at any given moment. As long as any foolish soul were to make an actual attempt to harm his little master, he would eliminate them without a second thought.

This was the sole duty he was appointed with, personally decreed by Prince Li. The orders were absolute, and he would do anything to fulfill his responsibilities, even at the cost of his life!

While the tension levels on both sides remained high, Guaibao leisurely tucked her hands and stretched her neck, observing the surroundings as the current stand-off had nothing to do with her.

……

The Empress arrived in no time with an anxious look. Witnessing the current scene, her expression became stern as she mercilessly glared at the older princess.

“Ming Xi, you truly have grown up well! As the mother of the Empire, this Empress is at fault for failing to monitor your upbringing as a princess. Guards, send her back to her palace.”

“From today onwards, Princess Ming Xi is to kneel outside of her palace every noon for two hours. Since she has displayed signs of unruly temperament, she shall remain grounded until she has finished copying the entire Great Virtue Sutra for a thousand times.”

“Nanny Jiang, you shall be assigned to Princess Ming Xi, monitoring her day and night to prevent her from repeating such misconducts, understand?”

“As you command…”

The Empress coldly glared at the older princess while exuding a dignified pressure.

Enduring the pain on her hand, Ming Xi trembled slightly as she defiantly rebutted, ”His Majesty and my dear mother will not agree to this treatment.”

Her eyes sharpened as the Empress sneered back.

“Do not mistake my silence as approval towards your usual unruly conduct. I merely reserved my rights to take action. Or… do you think that my position as the Empress is just a decoration? Know your place! To me, Consort Luo is just a mere concubine. Nanny Jiang, slap her on the mouth for being disrespectful until she repents, and her daily kneeling session shall be extended by another two hours.”

Giving her a final disgruntled look, the Empress then turned around and made a complete switch in her demeanour, showering Guaibao with her utmost concern. ”My dear little darling, were you traumatized? Everything is fine now, no need to be afraid anymore.”

She scooped Guaibao up and embraced her, consoling her with a soft, comforting tone.

Dimples formed on Guaibao’s face as she sweetly smiled back. “Guaibao was not afraid at all. Guaibao is a strong girl!”

“Yes, our Guaibao is amazing~ No one can stand a chance against my dear Guaibao.”

The grandmother and granddaughter pair resumed showering compliments on each other again.

The Empress then patted the little heads of the other kids from the Cheng’en Ducal Household, before ordering the nanny to send them back to rest.

……

Ming Jue just stepped out of the Emperor’s Audience Hall when an aide rushed over to inform him about the incident. Upon hearing the news, the temperature around him instantly fell by several degrees as his gaze intensified.

“If my memory serves me right… the nephews of Consort Luo should have recently been involved in an incident resulting in the loss of a citizen’s life. Send some men to the Dali Temple to investigate and get to the bottom of that incident!”

Consort Luo had the habit of practising favouritism towards her maternal family, abusing her status to give preferential treatment to her maternal relatives whenever possible.

Since the Empress had already meted out punishment for Ming Xi, it was only natural for Consort Luo to receive equivalent flak for failing to properly educate her biological daughter.

It was a perfect chance to set an example out of them, to serve as a warning to any foolish souls who were harbouring designs or devising schemes to lay their hands on his precious daughter!

The aide acknowledged the Prince’s instructions and immediately left to act on it.

……

When Ming Jue arrived at the Empress’ Palace, Guaibao’s cheeks were puffed like a squirrel, being stuffed to the brim with all kinds of delicious snacks.

A new snack appeared before Guaibao’s mouth even before she was done with the current one.

As the Empress enjoyed herself with feeding Guaibao, she repeatedly said that Guaibao should put on more weight.

Guaibao: “…”

Was this the famed binge *feeding* disorder?1TL Note: Couldn’t find an equivalent so I made that term up. Adapted from Binge Eating Disorder which characterizes compulsive overeating, except in this case, the Empress is binge feeding Guaibao instead.

Alas, it was really a tough job to act as a well-behaved precious granddaughter.

……

As Guaibao boarded the carriage with her father, she rubbed her belly and let out a long sigh.

Misinterpreting that act as Guaibao being troubled by the earlier event with Ming Xi, Ming Jue hugged the little girl and gently coaxed her.

“Your mother has arrived in the capital, Dad will bring you over to meet her now.”

Guaibao perked up immediately as she responded with excitement.

“Really? Mommy has arrived? Guaibao wants to meet up with her!”

“Alright, as you wish. Let’s go right away and visit her now.”

……

It was nearly dusk when they finally arrived at the Su family residence.

Knowing that the wall fence around the perimeters was only object standing between her mother and herself, Guaibao could barely contain her eagerness. She impatiently hopped off the carriage and rushed into the mansion.

She had been homesick for an extended period of time – she missed her mother very much, missed her brothers and her grandmother dearly as well.

So much so that even her dad, whom she had recently grown fond of, was mercilessly casted aside.

Observing the little figure impatiently wandering off into a distance, Ming Jue alighted from the carriage with somewhat complicated feelings. He pursed his lips while slowly strolling into the residence.

It was at this moment, when a chubby little figure passed by him. Whether it was an intervention from otherworldly powers, or just pure coincidence, the little boy tripped on his own feet and incidentally fell in front of Ming Jue with a resounding ‘thud’.

“Ouchie~~”

Ming Jue: “…”

As an nearest onlooker, he had no other choice but to help the little boy up.

Taking a closer look at the figure, the little boy seemed to be around the same age as Guaibao, except that this boy was slightly fairer and chubbier. It was an eye-pleasing and lovable child.

Ever since the reunion with his daughter, Ming Jue had somewhat developed a soft spot, especially towards children.

His gaze softened, as a smile leaked out on his face unconsciously.

Dabao rubbed his butt and instinctively glanced back to the area where he had tripped from, but soon became confused.

There was no…. treasure?

Something of value had always appeared whenever this happened in the past. Yet, nothing had appeared on this occasion?

Reaching out to accept the helping hand, Dabao then lifted his head, intending to thank the person who helped him as a good child should.

But when he had a clearer view of the facial profile of the man, his eyes widened as he covered his mouth in shock.

(Why does this man look so much like sister???)

TL Corner: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do let me know in the comments or discord if there are any errors or mistakes.

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