Chapter 55: The Crown Prince, Ex-Husband of the Transmigrated Woman (3)

Xie Hui could see the unease on the child’s face and naturally couldn’t bear to refuse him. He reached out to adjust the slightly askew tiger-head hat and pinched his chubby cheek.

“You really want to go?”

Xie Shen didn’t understand why his father asked, but he still gritted his teeth and nodded.

“I do.”

“Then go ahead. The roads are slippery with snow, so let Nanny carry you. It’s cold at night, so come back early.”

Xie Hui patiently gave a few reminders. After speaking, he personally escorted Xie Shen to the door. Only after the child disappeared completely from his line of sight did he turn around and return to the study to continue dealing with the unfinished memorials.

Xie Shen was carried by the nanny, with a eunuch holding a palace lantern beside them. As they got closer to his mother’s residence, his heartbeat grew faster.

His understanding of his mother mostly came from what others around him said. If he hadn’t accidentally overheard one of his attendants slip up, he would have thought his mother had long since passed away.

Thinking about how people had told him that his mother was unwell, he felt even more nervous.

Soon, they arrived at Noble Lady Song’s palace. The palace attendants, who had received advance notice, opened the doors as soon as they saw them approach.

Although His Majesty did not favor his consorts, he had never mistreated them in terms of food, clothing, and living conditions. Even though Noble Lady Song held only a minor rank, her residence was still quite elegant.

There were red plum blossoms planted in the courtyard, now blooming beautifully on the branches. The snow accumulated in the yard made the red flowers stand out even more.

The closer Xie Shen got, the deeper his doubts became. According to what he had been told, his mother suffered greatly because she was not favored by the emperor—so much so that she couldn’t even afford charcoal for heating in the winter.

Ever since hearing that, Xie Shen had felt especially uneasy every time he used charcoal for warmth.

Yet now, looking at this courtyard, although it was not as grand as the Crown Prince’s palace, it was far from impoverished.

“Greetings, Your Highness. Her Ladyship has been eagerly waiting for you inside.”

The maid’s voice interrupted Xie Shen’s thoughts. He gave a slight nod and wriggled free from the nanny’s arms, stepping over the threshold by himself.

The nanny remained outside to give the mother and son their brief moment of reunion. However, the senior eunuch who served His Majesty had sent his apprentice along, who now followed Xie Shen inside.

The maidservants attending Noble Lady Song wanted to stop him, but a single sharp look from the eunuch made them retreat in fear.

Xie Shen hurried inside on his short legs and, upon seeing the woman in a rose-red palace dress seated on a cushioned bench, stopped in his tracks five steps away, momentarily frozen.

Noble Lady Song’s eyes filled with tears the moment she saw the jade pendant at his waist. She rushed forward, about to speak, but then noticed a familiar eunuch stepping inside and standing behind the Crown Prince.

“Oh my, Noble Lady Song, be careful—don’t let your nails scratch His Highness.”

Hearing this, Xie Shen instinctively looked at his mother’s hands. Her long nails were painted bright red.

“If anything happens to His Highness, neither this servant nor Your Ladyship will be able to bear the consequences.”

His Majesty had previously sent a warning to Noble Lady Song. Now, with the eunuch watching her, it was both a reminder and a threat.

Noble Lady Song hastily withdrew her hands. Under the eunuch’s gaze, she wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, forced a smile, and softly said:

“I was just overwhelmed with emotion, having not seen the Crown Prince for so long.”

With the eunuch keeping watch, Noble Lady Song couldn’t utter a single word pleading for her father. She was visibly distracted, not even looking directly at her son.

…

Back in the study, Xie Hui could feel the original host of this body criticizing his actions from within the space they shared.

“A Crown Prince should not be so soft-hearted! If it were up to me, I’d have Noble Lady Song executed alongside her father!”

Xie Hui frowned and promptly muted the original host’s voice. After finishing the memorials, he retired to his sleeping quarters for the night.

This original host, while incompetent at raising children, was quite capable in other areas—especially governance.

If future historians were to evaluate him, he would likely be considered a wise ruler.

The court had a rule, established by the original host, that required the emperor to hold court sessions every other day. On non-court days, the emperor would handle administrative duties but could still receive urgent petitions.

After dealing with the memorials, the following day was a court day. Xie Hui was awakened by the eunuchs while it was still dark. He changed into his dragon robe and was carried in his sedan to court.

After morning court, he had some pastries. Since there were no memorials to review today, he decided to check on the little one to see what he was up to.

It was only then that Xie Hui remembered that he had muted the original host. He quickly unmuted him, only to be greeted with nonstop chatter.

“A Crown Prince should begin learning to read and write early, as well as train in martial arts! When the imperial martial exam concludes next year, the top warrior should be appointed as the Crown Prince’s martial instructor.”

“My son deserves only the best teachers!”

The moment Xie Hui unmuted him, he was bombarded with a flood of opinions.

This was, without a doubt, the most talkative mission client Xie Hui had encountered since transferring to this department.

Xie Hui had only been in this world for a single day, and there were many changes he had yet to implement.

When he arrived at the Crown Prince’s residence, he saw a little boy standing in the snow, practicing his horse stance. Beside him, a eunuch was reading aloud to him.

Xie Hui raised his hand slightly, signaling the attendants not to announce his arrival. He walked through the corridor and stopped to observe the small figure in the snow.

Although it was winter, today was a rare sunny day.

Xie Shen was dressed in training attire. Though he was still young, his horse stance was already remarkably standard. He listened intently to the eunuch’s reading.

“Shen’er.”

Xie Hui waited until he was standing right beside him before calling his name.

Xie Shen froze for a moment upon hearing the familiar voice. He instinctively turned around to find his father, but in his haste, he lost his balance and fell.

Fortunately, the snow cushioned his fall, so it didn’t hurt much—just left some snowflakes clinging to his clothes.

Xie Hui walked over and pulled him up before he could kneel and formally greet him. Instead, he scooped him up into his arms.

“Is practicing martial arts difficult?”

“Father, your son does not find it difficult. As the Crown Prince, I must be diligent and work hard to share Father’s burdens as soon as possible.”

The little boy still spoke with a soft, childish voice, yet he could fluently recite grand principles.

All of this was due to the tasks imposed on him by the original host.

From Xie Hui’s perspective, talking about such things with a child not yet four years old was still too early.

“Today, you won’t practice martial arts or study. I’ll take you to build a snowman. How about that?”

Xie Shen had originally thought his father had come to test his knowledge and had already been going over several poems his tutor had taught him. He hadn’t expected that his father wanted to play with him instead.

Xie Shen hesitated, clutching the hem of his robe tightly. He couldn’t help but suspect that this might be a test from his father. But it was really hard to refuse when his father said he wanted to play with him.

“Okay.”

After agreeing, Xie Shen carefully observed his father’s expression, afraid that in the next second, he would become angry and rebuke him for being a Crown Prince who thought only of playing all day.

It happened to be a heavy snow day, and some of the snow in the imperial garden had yet to be cleared, making it the perfect setting for building snowmen.

“Come, Shen’er. Today, Father wants to see whose snowman looks better—yours or mine.”

Children of this age had a strong competitive spirit. Xie Shen had been tense, afraid of upsetting his father, but upon hearing these words, he immediately responded eagerly,

“Shen’er will definitely be better than Father!”

Xie Hui carried him to the imperial garden, where the attending eunuchs had already prepared a brazier and hot tea in a nearby pavilion.

Having never built a snowman before, Xie Shen didn’t know where to start. He could only steal glances at his father.

Xie Hui rarely engaged in such childish games, but today, he was willing to indulge for his son.

He first formed a small round snowball and rolled it in the snow, making it bigger and bigger.

As he turned his head, he saw Xie Shen mimicking him—forming a ball and trying to roll it. But the child was too small and lacked strength, so his snowball fell apart after a short while.

Unfazed, Xie Shen patiently formed another ball and, copying his father, placed it on the ground and slowly rolled it.

Since he was still little, his final snowman wasn’t very big. After placing a dried longan, brought by the eunuchs, onto the snowman’s head, he turned to look at his father’s snowman. His clear eyes sparkled with amazement.

“Wow, Father is so amazing!”

Hearing the child’s soft, sincere praise, Xie Hui’s lips curved slightly as he responded earnestly,

“Father’s Shen’er is amazing too.”

Inside the system space, the original host saw this scene and couldn’t help but murmur in doubt,

“Was my son always this adorable?”

After finishing their snowmen, Xie Hui saw that Xie Shen was behaving all proper and restrained again. So, he casually formed a small snowball and tossed it at the child’s head.

Xie Shen instinctively raised both hands to protect his head. As he turned sharply to see who had hit him, his feet got tangled up, and he fell onto the snowy ground.

This time, he saw it—his father had thrown another snowball, which landed on his shoulder.

Xie Shen blinked in confusion, staring with wide eyes. After a long moment, he finally blurted out,

“Father? What are you doing?”

Xie Hui walked over, handed him a freshly made snowball, and explained the rules.

“Look, use this to hit Father.”

Xie Shen instinctively took the snowball and held it in his small hands, looking up at his father. He shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum.

“Your son dares not.”

Xie Hui’s expression darkened. He handed him another snowball and ordered,

“I command you to throw this at me.”

Xie Shen’s eyes were filled with confusion. He tilted his head slightly before mumbling,

“Oh.”

At first, he was hesitant and careful, not daring to throw too hard.

But as he got more into the game, he became bolder, pelting his father with snowballs. Whenever he got hit in return, he let out little yelps and quickly grabbed another snowball to chase after him.

“Father, Father! Wait for me!”