"What happened to Ah Yan? How come you look so weak after not seeing you for a while? Come over and ask dad to take a look!"

Zhao Chengyan is nineteen years old. The emperor wants to see him being dependent, so despite his big stature, he has no choice but to pretend to be friendly and indecisive.

"I was injured a while ago. I couldn't eat or sleep well all day. I was afraid that telling my father would make him sad, so I had to bear it myself."

The emperor patted his shoulder with heartache and hurriedly asked the imperial physician to examine his injuries. He then asked about the cause of the injury, but Zhao Chengyan refused to say.

"You are my son. Who in this world dares to bully you? Why do you have to hide it for others? Don't you think I can teach the person who bullied you a lesson?"

Zhao Chengyan stopped talking and looked embarrassed.

"Of course they are not people that Dad can't teach a lesson to. But I don't think they did it on purpose. How could they really hurt me? I'm fine anyway, so I just have to bear with it."

Seeing Zhao Chengyan acting like this, the official also had some guesses in his mind.

This adopted son is good in every way except that he is too loyal and righteous. The people who could make him feel so wronged must be either from the palace or someone from his brother's family who bullied him.

"Could it be that Shi Er Lang bullied you again?"

Zhao Chengyan pursed his lips and said nothing, but the grievance on his face could no longer be hidden.

The official still remembered that when Zhao Chengyan was a child, he was locked in the woodshed by Shierlang and starved for two days. If it had not happened to be a holiday and every child had to come out to show their faces, the officialdom would not have known that Zhao Chengyan was almost frozen to death or starved to death by Shierlang.

Another time, he didn't remember which child lost something, so Shi Erlang blamed it on Zhao Chengyan.

Zhao Chengyan was the youngest. He had not grown up yet, but he was beaten so badly by his brothers that there was no intact skin left under his clothes except his face.

If the Queen had not just lost her child and there was no prince in the palace, he would have sent someone to fetch Zhao Chengyan from his brother's house. Zhao Chengyan would have been tortured to death by those bastards.

Thinking of this, the emperor felt a little guilty towards Zhao Chengyan. If he had not raised Zhao Chengyan by his knees, Zhao Chengyan would not have been rejected by his own brothers.

"Well, I know even if you don't tell me. I'll make the decision for you. Don't go there for the sake of rules or filial piety. You are my son, and you don't need to care about their expressions."

Zhao Chengyan showed a bit of joy on his face when he heard that. He lowered his head and took the official's hand.

"Father loves me the most, so maybe I can go to the palace more often to eat and talk with him?"

The official seemed pleased by Zhao Chengyan's cautious attitude. He nodded repeatedly and pulled Zhao Chengyan to sit below him.

"Our Ah Yan can both study and play chess, but you don't know how much of a headache it gives me when Que Er makes trouble all day. I can't bear to have you come every day!"

As he was speaking, a little boy in red fur clothes came running in from outside, shouting "Daddy" and without any greeting, ran straight into the official's arms.

"Daddy, look! Look at Diedie!"

The child was a stutterer and not very smart, and it was hard to tell Daddy and Butterfly apart. But when I saw him holding a butterfly made of colored paper, it was not difficult to understand what he meant.

The official picked him up and sat him on his lap, holding him tightly in his arms, and before saying anything, he intimately pressed his cheek against the child's forehead.

Calling him "my son" all the time and "sparrow" all the time, there is a difference between a biological child and an adopted one.

"Let Daddy take a look. Wow! What a beautiful butterfly! Who made this butterfly for our Que'er? Our Que'er is really filial. Whenever she gets something good, she knows to show it to Daddy!"

Following closely behind came the emperor's concubine Li and four palace maids. They came in a hurry and only greeted the emperor, as if they did not notice the "eldest prince" beside him.

"Que'er is running very fast now. I lost sight of her and couldn't catch up with her. She only thinks about you, the emperor, and wants to show you everything she gets."

The official held Que'er's little hand, his heart and eyes filled with joy.

"You are also very careful. It is better for the child to be more lively. When he grows up, you will not be able to keep up with him. I will arrange some skilled people to protect the bird later to prevent him from getting bumped into or hurt."

All the official's daughters are good, except for his sons, one of whom died young. It is rare that Que'er is still so healthy at the age of two or three. It is not excessive for the official to love her too much.

Concubine Li happily agreed, and hurriedly told her what Que'er had eaten and drunk that day, and how she missed her father before going to bed at night.

These words made the emperor laugh so hard that he forgot that he had a son named Zhao Chengyan by his side.

Zhao Chengyan had long been accustomed to it, and was happy and at ease, eating fruit and drinking tea by himself.

If he didn't have enough to eat at home, he would eat a few more bites in the palace, which would also save the accountant a few cents so that he could pamper the little monster in the mansion.

Although he doesn't annoy others, there are always people who dislike him.

Concubine Li glanced at Zhao Chengyan a few times and always felt that he was as annoying as a sore.

Ultimately, he was afraid that Zhao Chengyan would compete with Que'er for the position of crown prince, even though Que'er was already the crown prince.

"Que'er, you've been busy playing with Daddy. Your brother is right next to you. Show him your butterfly."

After being reminded by Concubine Li, Que'er turned her head and saw her brother. Hearing this, Zhao Chengyan had no choice but to look at Que'er and stretched out his hands to hug him.

Even if you don't like this cheap brother, you have to pretend to like him.

But it's strange that the child who was very close to him last time they met, looked at him with hostility and vigilance this time.

Not only did Que'er refuse to let Zhao Chengyan hug her, she also grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it at Zhao Chengyan.

"I don't have a brother! Daddy can only be my daddy! I don't want my brother to steal my daddy away from me!"

With a dull "bang", the teacup hit Zhao Chengyan's forehead, then bounced to the ground and broke into pieces.

Zhao Chengyan cried out in pain and covered his forehead. When he let go, a red bump appeared on his forehead. He was originally fair-skinned, and the injury made him look particularly pitiful.

"Que'er! What did you do to your brother?"

The official glanced at Zhao Chengyan, then grabbed Que'er's hand and spoke sternly.

It looked like he was scolding Que'er, but the official was holding the child in his arms and leaning his body, as if protecting him.

Zhao Chengyan didn't say a word. Que'er seemed to have suffered a great injustice and cried breathlessly in her father's arms.

Concubine Li seemed to be about to cry too. She first rushed over to look at her good son, and then knelt down in front of Zhao Chengyan, tears streaming down her face.

"Please have mercy on me, Your Highness. Que'er is young, and he didn't mean to hurt you. He is just a child who likes to stick to his father. Any fault is my fault. Your Highness, just punish me, and don't hate your brother!"

This trick again, how boring.

Zhao Chengyan drooped his eyelashes to hide the cold light in his eyes.

He has already pretended to be harmless enough in front of the officials, so why do some people still regard him as a thorn in their eyes again and again?

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