Chapter 53: The Crown Prince, Ex-Husband of the Transmigrated Woman (1)

“Help me change.”

Xie Hui ordered softly. Through the half-opened window, he could see the small figure kneeling outside on the steps, his bright yellow jacket particularly striking against the snowy backdrop.

The eunuch responded and stepped forward to retrieve the pre-prepared clothes for the emperor. While assisting him, he couldn’t help but remind him again,

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still kneeling outside. He said that if you refuse to see him, he won’t get up.”

Xie Hui turned his head and glanced at the eunuch. The cold look in his eyes made the eunuch shiver, and he immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

“Your Majesty, this servant knows his mistake.”

In previous missions, Xie Hui had also played the role of an emperor, and his regal aura was no less imposing than that of the current client in the system space.

“If he’s willing to kneel, then let him kneel. If he faints, call the imperial physician. If it starts snowing, send an umbrella. Do I have to teach you how to serve your master?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After changing clothes, a palace maid brought over a cloak. Once fully dressed, the eunuch opened the door. As Xie Hui walked along the corridor, he could still see the small figure kneeling in the snow.

His eyesight was sharp, and he could clearly see the child’s exposed hands, now red and swollen from the cold. He suppressed the urge to pick him up and instead turned and headed for the study.

If it were an ordinary child, Xie Hui would have walked over, picked him up, helped him change into dry clothes, taken him for a warm bath to dispel the chill, and patiently taught him that using his body to threaten family members was wrong.

But for a Crown Prince, such leniency was not an option.

After reviewing the client’s life experiences, Xie Hui suspected that the Crown Prince’s attraction to the female lead’s uniqueness might not have been genuine love.

It was more likely the resentment of a royal heir whose wife harbored feelings for another.

The original Crown Princess did not appeal to him because he found her too timid and weak, lacking the presence of a future empress. When the transmigrated woman arrived, her various novel ideas caught his attention.

More importantly, the transmigrated woman was older than him. Having grown up without a mother’s affection, the Crown Prince, after receiving a few instances of care from her, gradually fell for her.

To put it bluntly, this world’s Crown Prince was very similar to Xie Simei from before—deprived of love in childhood, clinging desperately to even the slightest kindness.

The client did not want a son; he wanted a qualified heir. Thus, he made the son Crown Prince early, hired esteemed tutors, personally brought him to court, and meticulously guided him.

In the client’s eyes, the empire was above all else. So, upon learning that he had died and the throne had fallen into another’s hands, his intense unwillingness led him to seek out Xie Hui.

The client was a competent emperor but an unqualified father.

Raising a child solely through material means, without emotional nourishment, would not necessarily produce the desired outcome.

This mindset was common, especially in the modern world.

The belief that “Mom and Dad work so hard to support you, so why can’t you be as successful as others?” was widespread.

Many modern children might prefer to forgo a toy car in exchange for their parents spending time playing a small game with them.

Similarly, in this world, the Crown Prince might not have wanted the esteemed tutors his father arranged for him; he might have just wanted his father to hold his hand and teach him to write.

This time, the Crown Prince was kneeling because he wanted to see his birth mother one last time.

Previously, the client believed that a Crown Prince should not be so indecisive. He should not delay his studies just because he wanted to visit his ailing mother. So, he let the Crown Prince kneel in the snow. Even when the child developed a high fever that night, he did not yield.

Since selecting the Crown Prince, the client had never stepped foot in the harem again, as if completing a task and refusing to revisit it.

The Crown Prince’s birth mother was a criminal. She held a low rank and was never favored by the emperor. Her father had wrongly sentenced several people in court cases.

One of the wrongly convicted families had a daughter married off elsewhere. She was not exiled with the rest but was abandoned by her in-laws due to the scandal.

Determined to clear her father’s name, she braved countless hardships to reach the capital and struck the injustice drum, ultimately proving her father’s innocence.

By law, an official who wrongfully convicts someone must face the same punishment that their victim received.

However, when the Crown Prince’s mother was pregnant, she suffered a miscarriage scare upon hearing of her father’s downfall. The emperor, having few heirs, spared her father from exile, merely stripping him of his official status and reducing him to a commoner.

But even as a commoner, the Crown Prince’s maternal grandfather continued to cause trouble—oppressing the people and forcibly taking women.

Having reached his limit, the emperor finally decreed that he be executed the following autumn.

Knowing she held no place in the emperor’s heart, the Crown Prince’s mother instructed her attendants to find her son. She pretended to be gravely ill and convinced him to plead with the emperor to spare her father’s life.

Ironically, while her illness was fake, the bitterly cold winter night, with its loosely shut windows and thin blankets meant to evoke sympathy from her son, led her to contract a real illness—one that ultimately took her life.

Her death became an irreconcilable wound in the Crown Prince’s heart.

The client had already uncovered the truth behind the matter. Beyond being displeased that the Crown Prince had neglected his studies, he was also disappointed that the boy, as the heir, had failed to see through such a crude ploy.

Unwilling to face his son afterward, the emperor deliberately avoided meeting him.

As an emperor, even when he later realized he might have erred, he could not bring himself to lower his head and apologize to his son. One mistake led to another, and he could only swallow the consequences in silence.

Seated at his desk, Xie Hui had just finished reviewing a memorial when the eunuch outside spoke again.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience.”

Previously, the Crown Prince had knelt as if throwing a tantrum, using self-harm to force his father into submission.

Neither the client nor Xie Hui would let him have his way.

But now that the Crown Prince was making a formal request, Xie Hui did not refuse. Setting down the memorial, he said,

“Let him in.”

The Crown Prince followed the eunuch inside. As he stepped over the threshold, he stumbled and fell.

Xie Hui, seated at his desk, watched as the little child picked himself up, brushing off the pain with forced determination.

He had come in a hurry, not even having time to change his clothes. The snow clinging to him melted into water the moment he stepped into the warm room.

“Royal Father, your son wishes to see Mother Consort, just once. I will return and complete my lessons as expected.”

The little crown prince stood in the middle of the room, his eyes red. His soft, childish voice carried a sobbing tone as he sniffled, trying to hold back his tears. His long, curled eyelashes were damp with moisture.

He looked pitiful, like a little puppy abandoned in a cardboard box on a rainy day.

Xie Hui maintained a cold expression. When his gaze fell upon the child, he could clearly see him tremble slightly. He reached out and beckoned.

“Come here.”

The little crown prince, Xie Shen, had just turned four this year. He hesitated for a brief moment upon hearing his father’s command but obediently walked forward.

When Xie Hui reached to remove his hat, the little crown prince instinctively covered his head with his hands and shrank back.

Realizing his reaction, he quickly let go, biting his lip as he stared at Xie Hui.

Xie Hui sighed and withdrew his hand. It seemed that the strict fatherly image of the original host had left a deep impression on this little one.

Looking at the child who still barely reached his waist, Xie Hui felt that he was both innocent and pitiful.

A mother using her child’s love and longing for her to plead for his grandfather—such manipulation was difficult even for adults to perceive, let alone a child so young.

After all, in most people’s minds, a mother would never be cruel enough to harm her own son. There was even an old saying: “Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs.”

Moreover, at this age, upon hearing that his birth mother was gravely ill, if he had the patience to wait until his lessons were finished before requesting permission to visit, that would be a truly rare kind of heartlessness.

“Why do you want to see your mother consort? Shen’er, do you not know that your royal father dislikes her?”

The original host had few children. Among those who had survived in the palace, there were only three princesses and two princes. One of them was weak and sickly, confined to bed all year round. That left only the child before him—the crown prince, Xie Shen.

It was rare for the little prince to see his father speak to him in such a gentle manner, and for a moment, he almost burst into tears. But remembering his father’s teachings—that as a crown prince, he should not shed tears easily—he sniffled and forced himself to hold back.

“Royal Father, someone told me that Mother Consort is gravely ill and may not survive. Your son only wishes to see her one last time. I beg Royal Father to allow it.”

After speaking, the little prince took a step back and knelt before Xie Hui.

“Please, Royal Father, allow me to see her one last time. I will never neglect my studies in the future.”

Watching this tiny human child kneeling before him, pleading in a tearful voice, Xie Hui frowned, unable to suppress the slight softening of his heart.

He stood up from his chair, walked over, and lifted the child into his arms. When he saw the boy’s wide, startled eyes, he turned to the eunuch who had brought him in and asked,

“Where is the wet nurse who tends to the crown prince?”

Hearing this, Xie Shen panicked. Forgetting the rules his father had drilled into him, he reached out and clung to Xie Hui’s arm, pleading,

“Royal Father, I came here on my own. Nanny didn’t know. Please don’t punish her.”

Seeing the child’s anxious and helpless expression, Xie Hui reasonably suspected that if he weren’t currently holding him, he would have knelt down again to beg for forgiveness.

“I only asked her to bring you a fresh set of dry clothes and shoes. Do you not feel how wet your clothes are?”

After being reminded, Xie Shen finally noticed that his feet were indeed a little cold.

His mind had been too preoccupied with the words of the unfamiliar palace servant—the one who had told him about his mother’s illness—to care about anything else.

“Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go immediately.”

After the eunuch left, Xie Shen carefully lifted his head to sneak a glance at his father.

Noticing the child’s gaze, Xie Hui looked down at him. The moment their eyes met, Xie Shen quickly averted his gaze and shrank back, looking just like a startled little turtle.

Noticing how he had also tucked his hands into his sleeves, a faint trace of amusement flickered in Xie Hui’s eyes.

He really did look like a little turtle.