HBBMAWH Chapter 53

The third prince returned to the capital at the beginning of May, and by the end of June, he was formally adopted by the Empress, undergoing a transformation from a weak prince without maternal influence to the sole legitimate heir.

It was said that the third prince was respectful and filial, and the queen was deeply moved by having a son like this. Their deep mother-son bond became an exemplary model for the world.

The Imperial Noble Consort Yinyin’s red nails dug tightly into her palms.

“A deep mother-son bond? I don’t believe a single word of it!” She raised her head, tearfully pleading, “Father, you have to think of a way…”

“Why the rush? It’s just an adoption. The position of the Crown Prince hasn’t been decided yet, and everything remains uncertain. Those who achieve great things must not be impatient, always remember that,” the Imperial Noble Consort’s father was the influential Grand Tutor Fu of the current dynasty. “Although the Third Prince now has the Empress as his backer, he still hasn’t gained the Emperor’s favor.”

“You’re right, Father. His Majesty still favors our Fourth Son the most.” Wiping away the tears from her eyes, the Imperial Noble Consort said, “Father, what brings you to the palace today?”

The Grand Tutor’s expression turned cold as he sneered, “Someone has filed a complaint against me.”

As soon as he entered the palace today, the Emperor threw something at him to see, and his name was prominently displayed on top of the petition. Damn fools, the Grand Tutor cursed inwardly, but outwardly, he had to pretend he knew nothing and show loyalty to the Emperor.

The Emperor didn’t say much, his expression remained indifferent as he watched the Grand Tutor’s performance of tearful pleading. Only at the end did he say, “What else did I say? Why are you so anxious?”

The Grand Tutor broke into a cold sweat. Was the Emperor testing him or chastising him?

“I know—You’ve always been loyal to me, haven’t you?” the emperor asked him, his deep eyes reflected the the Grand Tutor’s graying hair, while the Grand Tutor’s eyes also reflected the Emperor’s aged appearance. The emperor is old.

“Why did his Majesty talk to you in that way, Father? What is the issue concerning this ledger?”

“This concerns one of my disciples. However, he passed away over a month ago,” the Grand Tutor said casually. Only the dead can keep silent. As soon as he head that Wang Xie has arrived in Qingqu County, he had sent someone over to make sure the man stayed silent forever.

The Imperial Noble Consort covered her mouth in terror.

“No need to panic, Your Highness. You must understand one thing. His Majesty doesn’t care which prince becomes the Crown Prince. As long as they are his offspring and show no signs of rebellion, he doesn’t care who becomes the Crown Prince.”

In August, as autumn winds began to blow, the provincial exams started right after his son finally learned to call him “Daddy” correctly.

On the day they left for the examination hall, Yan Cai sat with his son under the shade of a tree on a large rock. Zhu Hua hopped down from the carriage with some snacks and a water flask.

“Master Yan, have something to eat and drink,” Zhu offered.

“Why haven’t they come out yet?” Yan Cai couldn’t eat much, but he fed Qing Ke some water and a small steamed bun. Jiang Manyue had been inside for many days. There were many people crowded ahead, making it difficult for him to push through with his child. From a distance, he couldn’t even see if anyone had come out.

“Could you check if your young master has come out?” Yan Cai anxiously dispatched Zhu to check the situation.

Zhu, a tall man, squeezed into the crowd, causing the men and women he pushed aside to fume with anger.

“Daddy, Daddy!” the little one waved his tiny hands, the bells on his hands jingling.

“Your child is so lively!” a woman struck up a conversation, also holding a child of similar age with two small braids on her head.

But the baby was wearing a blue hat, his lips rosy and teeth white, as pretty as a child in a New Year painting. Many people had been watching them from afar since early morning. As soon as someone came to talk to him, many people followed suit.

If it weren’t for Yan Cai not taking action, he would have been touched already. The brat blinked, turned around, and hugged Yan Cai, pointing his little buttocks towards those women. The smell is disgusting!

Each one praised the little one for being so cute, commending Yan Cai for raising him so well.

“Thank you, thank you,” Yan Cai boasted. Suddenly, those women, who had been praising him, felt a chill run down their spines and fell silent as Jiang Manyue’s cold face emerged from behind them.

What are all these things! So murky and foul!

The onlookers dispersed in fear. Yan Cai felt as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He stood up reluctantly, handing his son over to Jiang Manyue. But the child turned his head, refusing to be held.

“No… it stinks,” He was really giving his father no face.

Jiang Manyue’s expression shifted strangely between cold and neutral. After a while, he silently turned and got into the carriage, sitting facing Yan Cai. From time to time, he lowered his head slightly to sniff himself, checking if there was any odor…

Yan Cai coughed twice. “You got it wrong. Our son isn’t avoiding you because of any smell. Maybe he’s tired or hungry. Besides, although it’s natural to sweat a bit after a few days in the examination hall without bathing, it’s not too hot right now. So, it should be fine. Hmm, not smelly.”

However, his reassurance made Jiang Manyue’s complexion even worse. Initially, he wanted to give his loved one and child a big hug as soon as he came out, expressing how much he missed them after just one day apart. But it all fell apart due to his son’s rejection.

Yan Cai touched his nose. HE didn’t avoid anyone.

What’s with this obsession with smell? When he fought zombies, he would often be outside for over a month without bathing. Forget about bathing, his body would be covered in zombie brain matter every day. If Jiang Manyue had to live in such conditions, would he be so depressed that he’d want to be bitten by zombies and die because he couldn’t take a bath?

But was bathing convenient in the army where Jiang Manyue used to be?

Both the father and son, big and small, had their quirks and also has mysophobia. The younger one seems to have picked up the habits from the elder. He guessed that Jiang Manyue himself probably felt like he’d been here for so many days, starting to smell musty, but being called out by his son made it hard to keep up appearances.

The son was ruthless, and the father cared about his image.

It’s really difficult.

After Jiang Manyue thoroughly washed himself, he came out with dripping wet hair. Yan Cai tossed him a fluffy towel to dry his hair.

“Hug~” The little one finally wanted to be hugged, reaching out on the bed, trying to climb up by gripping the guardrail. Jiang Manyue, wiping his hair, couldn’t pick him up, and he watched as the little one’s two pale and tender hands waved in the air for a while, looking utterly disappointed.

“You rejected your dad earlier, so now your dad won’t hold you.” Yan Cai picked up the baby.

“Huh?” The baby screamed twice, as if asking why his father wasn’t coming to hold him. As for the son who avoided his father earlier—how could it be him?

“Come here, Dad will hold you.” Jiang Manyue took his son, feeling relieved that he didn’t have any smell on him, finally willing to hold his son.

“In the past few days since you have been away, I’ve packed up everything we need to take with us. Once the results come out, we can head to the capital.” Yan Cai recounted the items they needed to take and thought of something else , and said with a smile,

“I just saw Zhu Yuchuan. He told me he did extremely well in the exam, very satisfied, and swore that he definitely topped the list and be Jieyuan.”

Cough Actually, that’s not what he said. Zhu Yuchuan’s exact words were that he would definitely do better than Jiang Manyue, urging Yan Cai to dump Jiang Manyue and be with him.

“Oh. He’s really confident then.”

“Then how do you feel?”

“Better than him.” Jiang Manyue said coldly.

Yan Cai remained completely silent. So, it seems both of them are targeting each other.

However, in the end, both of them were disappointed…

On the day the results were announced, Zhu Yuchuan saw Yan Cai and enthusiastically caught up with him, only to be pushed away by Jiang Manyue with one hand.

A weak, delicate pretty boy — Jiang Manyue, whose physical strength at home has always been at the bottom, finally found someone he could look down upon. This white-cut chicken, who falls down with just a push, Yan Cai could easily knock him down with one finger.

So, stop dreaming; you won’t even get a glance from him.

“I say, could you look at the results first?”

“Yan Cai, I definitely did better than him!” Zhu Yuchuan pats his chest. This time, he was in excellent condition during the exam. After returning, he memorized the test paper, and the teacher praised him repeatedly.

Then he saw his name under Jiang Manyue.

And above Jiang Manyue’s name was another name.

First place — someone he had never heard of.

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