Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After a busy day, I returned feeling quite exhausted. I had only closed my eyes for a moment when I heard Bilian calling for me urgently, as if something major had happened. When I went out, I saw it was Yaoyao.

As luck would have it, the Prince had happened to come over while Yaoyao was playing. Since she rarely saw him, her boldness and curiosity got the better of her; she had crawled over and, wobbling unsteadily, grabbed onto the Prince’s hem to pull herself up.

She had only recently learned how to stand and couldn’t walk steadily yet. Bilian said the Prince had ordered someone to take Yaoyao away, but she wouldn’t listen, and the wet nurses and maids didn’t dare approach. For a moment, things had reached a standstill. Yaoyao even freed one hand to reach upward, gesturing for the Prince to pick her up.

Perhaps seeing me come out, I felt the Prince actually looked relieved. He shot me a look, signaling for me to take the child away. I went over to pick up Yaoyao, but she refused to let go. I wondered whose temperament she had inherited.

“Your Highness, please go to the trouble of holding her for a moment,” I said.

After a long pause, I heard the Prince whisper, “This Prince does not know how to hold a child.”

I dismissed all the servants so he wouldn’t lose face, then guided him on how to hold her. I hadn’t expected his movements to be so stiff, despite not being particularly large. Yaoyao seemed to find it amusing and began to flail about. I saw the Prince’s expression change; he looked pale with fright.

A thought suddenly popped into my head: perhaps it wasn’t that he disliked Yaoyao, but rather that he was afraid to touch her.

I could only teach him patiently. After all, an eight-month-old Yaoyao was much easier to handle than a newborn. Newborns are so soft and fragile that even I hadn’t dared to touch her back then.

Once Yaoyao grew tired of playing and was carried away, the Prince finally stated his purpose for coming today. Since the autumn weather was currently crisp and pleasant, he planned to take us to the manor for a vacation.

It sounded fun, yet I couldn’t help but feel it was because of Yaoyao. Why else hadn’t we gone last year? Even if my body had been recovering then, what about the year before that? Simply put, I just wasn’t worthy in his eyes.

The manor was indeed quite interesting. They raised many small animals that Yaoyao had never seen before, and she had people take her to see them every day.

Her favorite was the little white rabbit, but I didn’t dare let her play with it. Setting aside whether it was clean, the fact that a small child has no sense of restraint was a problem in itself. Moreover, Yaoyao had such delicate skin; what if the rabbit got agitated and bit her?

Most surprisingly, the Prince had accompanied us and even seemed to have some free time. At the very least, I was able to see him every day. He became increasingly familiar with the movements of holding Yaoyao. Perhaps it was the natural bond between father and daughter, as Yaoyao liked him very much.

However, I never expected that in less than half a month, news would arrive that the Emperor had deposed the Crown Prince and placed Prince Ping under house arrest.

The Crown Prince was the Emperor’s eldest legitimate son, groomed as the heir since childhood. Prince Ping was the Emperor’s second son, a lover of literature who held the best reputation among the scholars. To suddenly punish both of them was clearly no small matter.

Upon receiving the news, the Prince returned immediately, leaving instructions for us to stay safely at the manor.

Yaoyao was still cheerful every day, but I was constantly on edge. After all, when I thought about it carefully, though it seemed sudden, I couldn’t help but feel it was somehow connected to the Prince.

Fortunately, the Prince came to bring us back after a few days. I heard that several families had been imprisoned, but things were relatively peaceful now. I have always been a short-sighted person who only cares about my own small corner of the world. Therefore, as long as Ningguo Mansion and our own household were not implicated, I couldn’t be bothered to care about anyone else.