Chapter 27: The Fate of a Favored Concubine Used as a Shield in a Harem Intrigue Story…

As expected, Jiujiu found two more peaches under the table, with a note attached. He pecked at a peach while glancing at the note.

【Little Highness, it’s okay to be a glutton, but don’t forget your main task.】

Jiujiu used his claw to press the note again, signaling that he understood.

After eating his fill, Jiujiu lay down and slept again. When he woke up groggily and was about to look for his dad, he suddenly remembered what Star Lord had told him while he was eating.

He turned back to look. The protagonist in this world was a prince whose birth mother had a low status, and power was in the hands of influential court officials.

The Emperor had ascended the throne at the age of eight, with regents managing state affairs. He eventually married the Prime Minister’s daughter, who became a Consort, and the child born to them was his dad in this world.

Back then, the Emperor didn’t want the Consort to have a child and even went so far as to drug her. Although his dad did come into this world, he was physically weak due to what happened then.

On the surface, the Emperor doted on the Consort’s son the most, but in reality, he loved the children born to his true beloved concubines more, only using the Consort and her child as a shield.

After the Emperor finally eliminated the regents, the Consort was confined to the cold palace, and his attitude towards Shen Yijing also deteriorated significantly. Shen Yijing, who was already in poor health, only lived for one year after his medicine was cut off.

The Consort in the cold palace, upon hearing this news, despaired and committed suicide. Finally, all those loyal to her were ordered by the Emperor to be killed, not even sparing infants in their swaddling clothes.

The protagonist knew these inside details. The Emperor even used this to teach him that as a ruler, one must be ruthless, even if the Consort’s father had helped him eliminate those who threatened his throne when he couldn’t secure it.

When the Consort’s family became a threat to him, they should be eliminated without hesitation.

After reading, Jiujiu flew to the new world. It was an ancient world, and he wondered if his dad would believe that he was his little one.

The young man practicing calligraphy in the backyard had very slender wrists. It was early autumn, and he was wearing a light yellow robe. A guard serving nearby brought a cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

“Your Highness, it’s getting cold now. Your humble servant will have someone bring a brazier later.”

Just as he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew by, and Shen Yijing coughed twice and nodded.

“Okay.”

Jiujiu took advantage of everyone else leaving and stealthily flew in through the window. This time, he had wanted to come earlier, ideally like the first time he met his dad, to build a bond with him when he was very young.

But because he was too gluttonous and stayed in that place for too long, he could only make do with this.

Shen Yijing only practiced one page of calligraphy before his wrist felt sore. He frowned, placed the brush aside, and rubbed his aching wrist, his lowered eyelids perfectly concealing his emotions.

He was resentful, resentful of having such a useless body, resentful that he was in this state after only writing one page of calligraphy.

Until a small bird flew onto his table, Jiujiu flapped his wings twice but couldn’t stop.

He had intended to make a super cool entrance as a little one, but instead, he bumped his chin there. The first reaction when he stood up was a buzzing in his head.

“Are there still such small birds this season? Winter is coming soon. Won’t you freeze to death if you stay outside alone?”

Jiujiu nodded vigorously. Although he wasn’t sure if he would freeze to death, with such cold weather outside, he didn’t believe his dad would be willing to leave his little one out there.

“Then you can stay here.”

Shen Yijing felt an instant liking for this bird, especially its clever and cute appearance, with its head slightly raised, both proud and adorable.

“Your Highness, this bird… shouldn’t you inform Consort Mother beforehand?”

“It’s just a small matter, no need to trouble Consort Mother again. She already has enough worries to deal with all day long.”

Shen Yijing extended his hand, and Jiujiu, understanding, burrowed into his palm and squatted, gently scratching his dad’s palm with his claws.

Although there were many pets kept in the palace, and cute birds like this were not uncommon, Shen Yijing had indeed never seen one so endearing.

Jiujiu noticed that his dad’s attention wasn’t entirely on him, so he quietly climbed up his dad’s palm, stepping onto his dad’s wrist, his claws landing on his dad’s pulse, and closed his eyes to take his dad’s pulse.

Emperor Father had taught him medicine, and many other things Jiujiu couldn’t remember, but this one thing was still firmly etched in his mind.

Because Consort had almost miscarried when she was pregnant, Shen Yijing had been in poor health since birth. At the age of five or six, he was pushed into a lake by Consort Hui’s son and fell seriously ill.

After taking his pulse, Jiujiu became serious. His dad’s health in this life was indeed not good. Even he, the amazing divine doctor Jiujiu, felt that Shen Yijing would not live past twenty in this life.

“His little claws are so small.”

Shen Yijing looked at the bird on his wrist and brought his index finger closer to compare. They were indeed very, very small. The pink claws slowly gave him a thumbs-up.

Jiujiu saw the look of surprise in his dad’s eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle twice.

Hehe, most people in this world don’t understand what this means. Giving the middle finger is an insult, but his dad hadn’t noticed yet.

Upon returning to his sleeping quarters, Shen Yijing ordered someone to build a small bed for the bird.

He didn’t know how big this type of bird was, but from its current yellowish-downy feathers, it seemed to have hatched not long ago.

He gently stroked its feathers. When the palace servants brought the finished bird’s nest, Jiujiu climbed in and lay down for a while.

The bird’s nest was quite comfortable, but he preferred to be close to his dad. Unfortunately, looking at his dad’s current expression, he wasn’t very willing.

Jiujiu was very good at reading people’s expressions and living accordingly, especially in front of his dad. It wasn’t suitable yet. He would slowly try to snuggle into bed once they became more familiar.

When he lay down to sleep at night, Shen Yijing, dressed only in his nightclothes, even came over to cover him with the blanket.

Jiujiu gently patted the surface of the blanket with his wings, signaling to his dad that he was actually super comfortable.

When Shen Yijing went back to sleep, Jiujiu’s previously smiling expression instantly collapsed.

His dad was truly clueless. He didn’t know what a divine beast cub was. If his dad were willing to hold him while sleeping, his body would definitely improve significantly over the years.

Shen Yijing did not sleep soundly in bed. He only slept most comfortably in midsummer; otherwise, his body was basically cold at night.

It was some unknown hour in the middle of the night. He vaguely heard a slight movement and thought it was just a guard bringing a hot water bottle, so he didn’t bother to open his eyes.

Jiujiu had long noticed that his dad couldn’t sleep, so he flew over as quietly as possible and lay on his dad’s chest, trying to make his tiny body cover a larger area.

After staying for too long, Jiujiu himself felt a bit sleepy and unconsciously fell asleep. The small spatial ring that Star Lord had prepared for him suddenly emitted a faint blue light.

Shen Yijing felt that he had slept very comfortably this time. The cold and weakness that had tormented him day and night had all disappeared. He was walking in a very flat place.

After a very long time, he finally saw a glimmer of light. Just as he was about to approach it, the light moved actively towards him.

“Who are you, sir?”

“You don’t need to know who I am. Given that your Mother Imperial Consort has prayed day and night for your safety by reciting sutras and chanting Buddha’s name, I have specially brought you an item that will ensure you live a long life.”

Shen Yijing’s breathing became somewhat erratic at this point due to his excitement. He himself didn’t care about such things; having been ill for so many years, he had long since come to terms with life and death.

What had kept him going was the tears of his Mother Imperial Consort. She had sacrificed so much for him, and his uncles and cousins were still searching everywhere for renowned doctors, just to keep him alive.

He lived a difficult life, and his family members were equally exhausted.

“What is it?”

“The bird that flew to you yesterday is your opportunity. You are physically weak and destined to be childless, so I sent him to your side.”

When Shen Yijing heard this, he wanted to ask more questions, but the blue light gradually disappeared, and he stood there for a long time.

In reality, a rooster crowed, and Shen Yijing suddenly sat up, startling Jiujiu, who had been sleeping on his chest, causing him to jump.

“Chirp chirp chirp?”

Shen Yijing sat there, staring blankly at the light outside the window, which had begun to turn a fish-belly white. It wasn’t until Jiujiu impatiently wanted to go back to sleep that his attention fell on the bird, sprawled arrogantly on the quilt.

He had long known that he was destined to be childless in this life, as even how long he would live was an unknown.

But thinking of what the person in his dream said, he couldn’t help but feel a little dazed. Was this the child given to him? A bird?

His gaze on Jiujiu was so intense that Jiujiu rubbed his eyes with his wing, sat up, and wanted to ask his dad what he was planning.

“Dad, why are you looking at me?”

When the clear, small, milky voice rang out in the room, strangely, Shen Yijing wasn’t particularly surprised. Instead, he stared at Jiujiu and asked:

“Are you calling me?”

“Yes, Dad.”

Jiujiu saw that his dad wasn’t afraid of him, so he took two more steps towards his dad and rubbed his fluffy head against his dad’s cheek.

The current Shen Yijing was just twelve years old, his features still a bit immature, and coupled with his poor health, his fragility was immediately apparent.

The morning light fell on the side of his face, casting a faint glow on his eyelashes. Jiujiu flapped his wings, hoping his dad would kiss him.

“What is ‘Dad’?”

“Hmm, Dad is just Dad.”

Jiujiu touched Shen Yijing’s nose with his wing, affectionately nuzzling him.

“You should call me ‘father’.”