The three-year-old host decides to raise an emperor father for himself.

In the end, Xuanyuan Jing had the so-called steward placed under guard.

There was no other reason than that when he sent someone to check, he had already revealed to the "little steward" that he had woken up.

Since Xuanyuan Jing has not yet revealed that he has woken up, those whose motives are questionable cannot be allowed to leave unchecked.

However, Xuanyuan Jing did not simply arrest the person directly and brutally. Instead, he had Chen Li choose a bodyguard with a similar build to the other person, disguise him, and take his place.

Xuanyuan Jing: "Investigate who's behind him."

Chen Li: "Yes."

Although it was unclear how the prince had sensed something was wrong with that person, and Xuan Yuanjing had never even seen that person once, Chen Li didn't ask any questions and readily agreed to the matter.

After Chen Li turned to leave, Xuan Yuanjing said, "Take care and get some rest."

"Don't worry, I understand."

When Xuan Yuanjing was unconscious, Chen Li could not fall down, whether for the sake of the prince, the prince's mansion, or himself. He had to stand up.

Now that Xuanyuan Jing has awakened, this is undoubtedly good news.

But Xuan Yuanjing was undoubtedly at his weakest when he first woke up. At this time, Chen Li knew even more clearly that he could not relax, but he also could not exhaust himself to the point of collapsing.

For the past two years, Xuanyuan Jing has been in a coma and unaware of the outside world, but Chen Li is different.

The Jingwang Mansion appears calm and peaceful now, but it seems that Prince Xuanyuan Jing is still highly regarded by the one currently on the dragon throne, who has not forgotten his existence in the past two years.

But in reality, both the Prince's Mansion and Xuanyuan Jing are now on a tightrope.

One wrong step and you're plunged into an abyss.

Chen Li didn't want to tell Xuan Yuanjing about the unpleasant things that had happened behind his back right away. He wanted Xuan Yuanjing to rest and recuperate first, at least to the point of returning to a normal level of health.

He needs to at least hold on until this time.

As for Xuanyuan Jing... he wasn't completely oblivious, but he wasn't an impulsive person either; he simply acquiesced to Chen Li's actions.

"Father." Xiao Lanxing was sitting on the carpet that had been specially laid out for her, fiddling with a somewhat old nine-linked ring in her hand. It was said that this was something that Xuanyuan Jing played with when he was a child, and it was found in the storeroom.

As soon as Chen Li left, Xiao Lanxing untied what she was holding, got up, grabbed the things and stuffed them into Xuan Yuanjing's hand, looking up at him and saying, "Play."

Xuanyuan Jing silently looked at the thing in his hand, then at the well-behaved little girl, somewhat dazed.

You can't blame him. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if suddenly surrounded by a little girl calling him "Daddy."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Lanxing, could you please use a different form of address?"

Although he didn't know who the little girl's father or mother was, Xuan Yuanjing was certain it wasn't him.

Xuan Yuanjing has just confirmed Xiao Lanxing's current age. According to the little girl herself, she is now three years old.

The little girl's birthday is on the second day of the third lunar month. It's already the end of September, and next March is neither too far nor too near.

A three-year-old child can be described as sensible, or as not sensible.

Judging from his age, the child was born before he fell into a coma. If we also consider the time he spent in his mother's womb, the timeline goes back even further.

During this period, Xuanyuan Jing was certain that his memory was accurate; he should have been fighting on the battlefield and hadn't touched a woman at all.

Even when he wasn't on the battlefield, Xuanyuan Jing basically didn't allow women to get close to him.

Except when he was young, when he had several palace maids to take care of his daily life, after the age of twelve, he was surrounded only by men.

Even after he left the palace, even eunuchs rarely got close to him.

Under such circumstances, it would be truly unbelievable that Xuanyuan Jing could have any descendants left behind.

Therefore, he was completely unprepared for being called "Dad" and felt very uncomfortable with it.

Xuanyuan Jing: "Look, you can also call me Your Highness."

Little Lanxing blinked: "Daddy."

Xuanyuan Jing compromised and said, "Calling me Uncle is fine too."

Xiao Lanxing: "Daddy."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Hmm, Uncle is fine too."

Xiao Lanxing looked innocent: "Daddy."

Xuanyuan Jing: "...Brother?"

Xiao Lanxing snuggled up to Xuan Yuanjing and rubbed against him, calling out, "Daddy!"

At the same time, Xuanyuan Jing heard another sentence: "Father is so stupid. Father is Father. How can you change him?"

Xuanyuan Jing: "..."

For a moment, I didn't know whether to be troubled by my identity as the father or by... why is this mind-reading ability sometimes effective and sometimes not? What is the pattern?

As for the little bundle of joy that clung to him without hesitation, Xuan Yuanjing stiffly raised his hand, then slowly lowered it after a moment, gently patting her back with a hint of helplessness: "Never mind."

Because of his own experiences, Xuan Yuanjing didn't have much contact with children, but he roughly understood that it was difficult to reason with children of this age.

He could only think, "Oh well, I'll just raise it for now. It's not like I can't afford to raise a baby. Maybe I can convince them when it's a little older?"

As for the other thoughts that flooded his mind at the same time, Xuan Yuanjing could only rub his temples to get used to the discomfort of having his brain forcibly stuffed with a large amount of information.

At noon, Xuanyuan Jing invited Xiao Lanxing to stay for lunch, and the two got along fairly well.

Xiao Lanxing was a quiet little girl. After Xuan Yuanjing had some children's toys brought back, she sat there quietly by herself and played, occasionally glancing up at Xuan Yuanjing, who was temporarily rehabilitating in the room.

When Xuan Yuanjing took a break, the little girl would put down what she was holding, run over and snatch a towel from the guard, then run over to Xuan Yuanjing to wipe his sweat.

Occasionally, she would climb onto the table, pour herself a glass of water, then climb down and pull Xuan Yuanjing to sit down at the table, watching him drink.

All of these actions were carried out by Xiao Lanxing herself, without any instructions or hints from anyone.

Even Xuan Yuanjing, whose system has determined that his "darkening value" has reached 50%, would find it hard to dislike her.

However, this did not affect Xuanyuan Jing's suspicion of her.

Xuanyuan Jing didn't have much doubt about Xiao Lanxing himself.

Because Xiao Lanxing is just a baby.

Just like Chen Li thought, Xuan Yuanjing also felt that there must be a mastermind behind Xiao Lanxing's appearance, with their own purpose.

It's less about suspecting Xiao Lanxing and more about suspecting the person behind her.

While eating, Xuan Yuanjing slowly drank his porridge, observing Xiao Lanxing's eating habits without making a sound.

At that moment, a figure appeared between the two and spoke gently, "Your Highness..."

The words had barely left her mouth when, in the next second, Xiao Lanxing, who had been quietly eating, suddenly jumped up and shoved the person away.

Xuanyuan Jing: !?