Chapter 3

Zhao Bao, who was standing outside, heard the commotion and rushed in, only to see Baili Jing collapse on the ground, drenched in sweat.

After fetching doctors and medicine and fussing until dawn, Baili Jing's ruddy little face finally turned pale, his temperature gradually returned to normal, and only then did Zhao Bao let out a breath of relief.

After the imperial physician came again and announced that the fever had subsided with no trouble, he finally relaxed completely.

The Hongxue Academy was off-limits, so Zhao Bao sent Tongchen to ask for leave; when he returned, he saw Baili Jing's eyelids twitch, and in the next instant they indeed opened.

When Baili Jing's beautiful phoenix-like eyes opened, a flash of gold-and-stone light seemed to streak across them?

Zhao Bao rubbed his eyes hard, looked again, and the eyes were back to normal—dark and large pupils, no gold in sight. He instantly realized he must be seeing things from staying up all night.

"Your Highness has finally awakened—do you still feel any discomfort?"

Baili Jing felt his undershirt sticking to his skin, making him uncomfortable all over, but the memory of his fainting rushed back; he didn't have time for a bath first, only sent Zhao Bao to make arrangements, and eagerly opened his light board.

At a glance, the layout had changed.

The novice quest was still hanging there, but the novice gift pack was gone!

He couldn't worry about the quest for now, and started searching everywhere for where to put his "gift".

He went through each character, and finally found a column in the upper‑right corner that read: 【My Assets: Ingot x100】; below it was a little house labeled 【Warehouse】.

He tapped it, and a new page unfolded, showing only two items: the City Lord's Heart and the Reddish‑brown Horse.

Unlike before, the Primary Reddish‑brown Horse still showed a red horse icon after its name, while the City Lord's Heart had turned gray, with a box around it reading 【Used】. Tapping the bubble still worked, and Baili Jing stared fixedly at the last four characters: 【……City fallen, people dead.】

Sniffle, it really wasn't a dream!

He touched his chest, murmuring, "Real or fake…? Where would I use it?"

Unable to figure it out, he absentmindedly tapped the little horse next to it, and a new box popped up: 【Use Primary Mount Reddish‑brown Horse? Yes | No】

The bewildered, self‑abandoning child hesitated not, clicking Yes—he didn't believe this horse could be used on him?

"Just to scare me, could it actually turn me into a horse…? No way."

He foolishly stared at the tall, large horse that had materialized out of thin air before the bed…

Two words kept looping in his mind: "Doomed!"

He and the imposing stallion locked eyes; after a moment he stammered, "I‑I‑I… how do I send it back?! No, no, I must be delirious from illness!"

He rubbed his eyes furiously, and immediately heard the footsteps of palace servants carrying water outside—ahhh, how could he explain a horse suddenly appearing in the sleeping chamber?!

In his panic he shook as he opened the warehouse; the Reddish‑brown Horse's little horse icon had indeed turned gray, but now a green box appeared behind it, labeled 【Recycle】.

Baili Jing fumbled and pressed it— in an instant the horse vanished from the room!

Looking again, the little horse icon had indeed turned red once more, with two boxes trailing behind: one marked 【Use】, the other 【Recycle】.

Before he could catch his breath, Zhao Bao entered to report, "Your Highness, the water is ready; let me wipe you down—you've just broken the fever, no need to rush a bath……"

Baili Jing, weak and breathless, said, "……Just bring a bucket of cool water; I want to soak in it to clear my head."

Zhao Bao habitually reminded him, "Your Highness, from now on you should refer to yourself as 'This King'… What cool water? How can you bathe in cool water!"

Baili Jing could no longer worry about how to complete the later quests; the stimulation was too great, and he needed time to digest it.

★

Spring departs, autumn arrives; time flies.

The Prince You, His Highness, didn't even count having read the Thousand‑Character Essay several times; major princely affairs were far beyond his remit to comment on.

Regarding the shock of "city fallen, people dead," Baili Jing—melancholy—adjusted his mindset after a few days. Now in class, besides yawning, he also practices his writing earnestly, realizing he'll have to correspond by letter with his uncle and sister for the rest of his life, so a good hand is essential.

Time quickly reached August; the emperor's beloved son was spending his last Mid‑Autumn Festival in the palace, and Emperor Ningde ordered a grand celebration.

On the day of the Mid‑Autumn banquet, Zhao Bao dressed Baili Jing as a plump red dumpling and sent him out; the dumpling was pleased for a moment, then bumped head‑on into his elder brother at the gate of Everlasting Joy Palace.

Baili Jin came from the eastern corridor, he from the western, and they met exactly at the palace gate.

Baili Jing stepped forward first, took two quick steps, and said, "I pay my respects, Elder Brother," performing a perfectly standard bow, his waist bent without a hint of slack.

Had it not been for the incident at the Hongxue Academy gate half a year ago, this handsome, elf‑like child would naturally look up to and revere his elder brother, understanding propriety and etiquette; his gaze toward his brother held only filial affection, and his neck looked normal as well.

"Little Third Brother, in just a few months you've made remarkable progress."

Baili Jing nodded cheerfully, "Yes! I hadn't learned proper etiquette before, Elder Brother, please bear with me. Elder Brother, please go ahead—" Having already achieved his fief‑granting accomplishment, there was no need to offend the wealthy and influential Prince Yu any further.

Youzhou is so poor that, if someday he can't even afford a meal, having an extra place to drift with the autumn wind would be a good thing.

Baili Jin's previous bouts with Baili Heng had always been high‑level clashes; encountering the Third Brother's style was a first. He flicked his sleeve and led the way into the palace gate.

The red dumpling sighed deeply from behind, "Looks like the autumn wind of Sunny Yu isn't easy to contend with."

Zhao Bao: ……

★

The Mid‑Autumn banquet was a blur of wine and gold, with music and dance ushering in peace.

Now the Ningde Emperor has six sons in total, but only the first four are able to attend the banquet; the remaining two are still in swaddling clothes.

The four sons sit on either side below the head seat, the first and third on the east, the second and fourth on the west.

The Ningde Emperor, looking up at his bright-moon youth eldest son, felt reluctant. Without surprise, this will be the last Mid-Autumn Festival they spend together for the next few years.

Father and son, each saying a sentence, poured out their reluctance to part.

"Jin'er, as you go to Yuyang, do not disappoint my expectations; I hope you love and protect the people, govern diligently and restrain yourself……"

"Father Emperor, rest assured; after Jin'er leaves, you will surely take care of your health……"

"My reign's thousand autumns are not far off; when the time comes, I will issue another edict……"

……

"Jin'er will surely not disappoint Father Emperor's teachings……"

The father and son were chatting lively when Baili Jin suddenly heard a sobbing sound from beside him; he turned his head with a question mark in his mind, looking toward the side— that red dumpling… ah no, it's his younger brother Prince You, who was wailing tears, sobbing uncontrollably!

Baili Jin was utterly puzzled: how could a child this old still be so immature? Why would he cry at a palace banquet?

But it doesn't matter if he doesn't understand; Prince You wasn't crying for his benefit.

Baili Jing's little face, red from his hiccuping sobs, was deeply immersed in his act; when he inadvertently lifted his head and saw Baili Hu opposite, the latter's expression was easy to read, his face saying: 'You must be crazy!'

Baili Heng beside him also had a look of disdain.

Baili Jing didn't notice, and kept crying pitifully while looking up at the Ningde Emperor.

Even if I was sent by the candy seller, I've raised him for five or six years, and now he's leaving—I don't know if I'll ever see him again in the rest of my life. Don't you feel any reluctance or sorrow? If you do, couldn't you allocate all three thousand of my personal guards to me?

The Ningde Emperor had many brothers; when they were enfeoffed, the palace's personal guards were reduced to two thousand. He is not as favored as Baili Jin, and the Prince of You fears his share would also be two thousand. Personal guards are his lifeline, very important.

He feels very insecure, hoping that before he leaves the Ningde Emperor will develop a little affection like a cow licking its calf, and not deduct from his property.

The Ningde Emperor is ignoring him, not being tyrannical, which is why he dares to rely on being young and put on a pitiful act.

The Ningde Emperor obviously doesn't understand what his son, with his winding, twisted thoughts, is thinking; he frowned and asked, "Prince of You, why are you crying?"

Baili Jing choked up at once. Listen, listen, the fourteen-year-old next door who is about to get married is Baili Jin, and to him that's the Prince of You.

Reporting to Father Emperor, having heard Father Emperor and the Prince of Yu speak, the son thinks that Youzhou is far from Chang'an, and upon leaving, he doesn't know when he'll see Father Emperor, Mother Empress, and older sister again, so he can't help himself.

Although the Ningde Emperor treats him as invisible, today this little red dumpling looks really good, making it hard to be angry.

Big eyes, round face, red lips, white teeth—right now he's crying with a tear-streaked face, looking pitiful; hearing the child say that, he also feels a bit uneasy.

Ah, this foolish child is still young! He's only six or seven years old? How old is he again?

Forget it, it's not important.

He didn't show it on his face, but he spoke up to comfort: "You're not so young either—crying at a palace banquet, what propriety is this! Many of my brothers were enfeoffed at five years old; the Prince of You is older than they were back then. In the future, when you hold office, you must not display such childish behavior… Anyway, before your enfeoffment, go see your sister more often; later I'll tell the Empress."

Thank you, Father Emperor.

A child who cries gets candy; an unfavored one… maybe just one.

Better than nothing.

The Prince of You soon managed to console himself.