Chapter 3: The Crown Prince Is Not Your Son

Chapter 3: The Crown Prince Is Not Your Son

But the system remained silent.

Bei Jing asked it for the first time: [Then what punishment will there be if I don't complete it?]

The system was still silent.

Alright, she confirmed it; this was just an AI that could only issue tasks.

Since she was sure she couldn't accomplish it, Bei Jing lay down on the spot.

She was hungry.

"AAAAAAAAA—" The sudden cry of the baby made the emperor's head ache.

"Don't cry, don't cry." The emperor awkwardly tried to soothe the child, but finding it useless, he handed the baby over to Eunuch Jiang beside him.

Eunuch Jiang, who had no choice but to take the baby, had never held one before and held the warm, soft bundle helplessly, afraid of dropping it.

"Hungry—so hungry—"

Hearing this heartfelt plea, the emperor finally remembered that his daughter hadn't eaten since birth.

He immediately called for the wet nurse who had been prepared in advance.

After being fed and satisfied, Bei Jing stopped fussing and turned back into a well-behaved, adorable little angel.

The emperor took his daughter back, and then the little angel peed all over him.

The emperor: …

Eunuch Jiang: "Oh, Your Majesty, this… this… Your servant will escort you to change your clothes."

"Oh, how embarrassing, the little baby can't hold it."

The emperor wanted to throw her, but he held back.

Forget it, she's my own flesh and blood.

He went back to change his clothes and brought Bei Jing to his Xuanshi Hall.

What happened here soon reached Concubine Li.

"You mean, Consort Ying gave birth to a princess, but she cleverly swapped her with a wild child from outside the palace, and was discovered by the emperor, who then demoted her to the Cold Palace?"

The palace maid nodded.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA What a fool, to dare do such a thing. And what about the little princess?"

The palace maid replied, "The emperor took her back to the Xuanshi Hall."

Concubine Li was stunned, "The little princess is so favored by His Majesty."

The palace maid sneered, "Once the prince in my belly is born, His Majesty will surely favor him even more. At that time, a princess won't amount to much."

"That's true." Concubine Li stroked her protruding belly; the imperial physician had already checked, and it was ninety percent certain to be a boy.

Once the child was born, she would become empress.

She lovingly caressed her belly, murmuring, "My imperial son, you must make your mother proud~"

Back at the Xuanshi Hall, the emperor read out the names presented by the Ministry of Rites to Bei Jing, but none of them satisfied her.

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Let's use the ranking of the princes' names, 'Jing,' but change it to 'Jing' from the female character. As my eldest daughter, how about we add the character 'Chu'?"

Eunuch Jiang looked at the emperor in confusion, asking the little princess, what could such a young child understand?

Unexpectedly, the little princess, who had been frowning all along, suddenly smiled, revealing her soft gums and giggling.

It melted the old father's heart.

At this moment, a palace attendant reported, "Your Majesty, Concubine Li is in labor."

"Oh, the male lead is about to be born."

Male lead? What is a male lead?

The emperor was puzzled, but then he heard Bei Jing's thoughts: "This child, he will ascend the throne in the future and ruin the country, killing all the children of the tyrant."

Bei Jing began to feel a sense of crisis: "What should I do? What should I do? Although I've been saved now, I'll still be killed in the future. Maybe I should save up some silver and run away before the new ruler ascends the throne."

What? The emperor was shocked; this child would destroy his empire?

Before he could digest this information, Bei Jing delivered another blow: "Dad is so pitiful. In ***, not only is the Crown Prince that Consort Ying swapped in not his son, but the Second Prince born to Concubine Li is also someone else's. He carefully raised two heirs, and neither is his. Really, it's hilarious, a pure victim."

As she spoke, Bei Jing's little eyes secretly glanced at her father's head.

Although the underdeveloped eyes of the small infant could only see a blur, she felt that there was a hint of green on top.

Feeling his daughter's gaze, the emperor felt terrible.

He had worked hard all his life, striving diligently, only to find out he had been raising other people's sons all along!

And in the end, his empire would be destroyed by someone else.

The emperor wanted to hear more, but Bei Jing was already sleepy. Babies sleep a lot.

Being young is great; they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Emperor: …

While Concubine Li was struggling to give birth to her son, she did not hear any news of the Emperor coming over.

Concubine Li felt a bit anxious, gently touching her son’s tender little face, and confiding in her attendant maid, “Could it be that His Majesty has discovered the true parentage of my son? Otherwise, why would the eldest son not be favored? Didn’t the Emperor dream of having a son?”

The maid quickly covered her mouth, “Is the mistress not thinking clearly after giving birth? Walls have ears. How could there be any issue with the young prince’s lineage?”

The head maid whispered to calm her, “Mistress, please don’t worry. What kind of person is His Majesty? If he truly had suspicions, would we still be sitting here safely in the palace?”

Concubine Li felt guilty, “Then why hasn’t he come? When Consort Ying gave birth to a princess, the Emperor rushed over as soon as he finished the morning court.”

The maid could only speculate, “Perhaps His Majesty prefers princesses?”

Concubine Li gripped the corner of the brocade bedspread, her eyes filled with determination.

“It must be that despicable offspring of Consort Ying, stealing the affection that should belong to my son. Just a princess, what good is she? The Emperor doesn’t even bother to come and see the prince.”