Part 2
He understood the Emperor’s anxiety over the past few days. It stemmed from the belief that all three of his sons were incapacitated. He feared the Empire would fall into someone else’s hands without an heir. Now, there was one left—and he happened to be a shifter.
If the Second Prince became the Crown Prince, it would serve to quell the anger of the shifters from the Base and address the current treatment of shifters in the Empire. It was a needed balance.
Upon hearing that the Empress was seriously ill, the Second Prince’s relaxed expression shifted. Even if he were unwilling to face the past, he still held onto his old affections. He gave Ning Yunyi a deep look, said, “We shall meet again,” and hurried away.
Ning Yunyi watched the Prince’s departing back but said nothing. Turning around, he met Zong Hao’s strange gaze. “What are you looking at?”
Zong Hao: “Nothing. What did the Second Prince mean by saying he won’t call you that anymore? How did he recover so suddenly?”
The Prince had been simple-minded when he arrived; he couldn’t have recovered without something triggering it. There had to be something Zong Hao didn’t know.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but the way the Second Prince had looked at Ning Yunyi before leaving felt strange. It made him uncomfortable, as if someone were trying to steal his most precious treasure.
Ning Yunyi explained how the Prince had recovered after taking a single sip of wine. Zong Hao was clearly surprised. “That wine is that potent?”
Ning Yunyi had been pondering the reason himself. “Everyone else is drinking it and no one else reacted that way. I suspect the Second Prince is allergic to wine. That single sip caused his face to turn terrifyingly red and triggered a physiological reaction.”
The allergy had acted as a massive shock to the Prince’s system, stimulating his suppressed consciousness. Because he only drank a small amount, there were no major complications. He shouldn’t drink in the future, though; a more severe allergic reaction would be dangerous.
Zong Hao looked at the wine and nodded. It made sense. After all, the Interstellar had no such thing previously. Even if the Royal Family had some, it wasn’t pure wine. Since the Second Prince never attended palace banquets, he had naturally never tasted it and didn’t know he would have an adverse reaction.
When the Emperor arrived, everyone had moved to the front yard. Ning Yunyi led the little cub and followed behind Big Brother Ning and the others.
The Emperor had brought a squad of guards and an adjutant. The adjutant had likely already informed the Emperor that Madame Ning and the Second Young Master Ning were alive. After offering his blessings to Lady Zong and City Lord Bai, the Emperor turned his gaze toward Madame Ning.
Ning Yunyi’s family stepped forward. Professor Ning repeated the pre-arranged explanation, prompting a warm response from the Emperor. “This is a joyous occasion. I felt quite a bit of guilt over the previous incident. If I hadn’t failed to notice the former Crown Prince’s actions, you wouldn’t have been caught up in it. Seeing your family whole and well brings me peace. And this must be the child from the rumors—he looks just like his father. A truly blessed child.”
He turned and had his adjutant present a meeting gift—a set of rare energy crystals. “I wasn’t sure what to give, but these should help with recovering your mental power.”
Professor Ning hesitated for a moment before accepting, knowing the Emperor intended to build a good relationship with them.
The Emperor then scanned the surroundings, asking with concern, “Where is the Second Prince?”
Ning Yunyi looked on, puzzled. Didn’t the Second Prince just go looking for the Emperor? He had seen the Prince leave with the adjutant the Prince had found.
The adjutant stepped forward awkwardly and whispered, “I haven’t had the chance to tell Your Majesty, but the Second Prince has recovered… however, hearing that the Empress’s condition has worsened, he bypassed the meeting and left through the back gate to return to the palace.”
The adjutant had just returned to the front yard after seeing the Prince off and hadn’t had a chance to report.
The Emperor’s eyes lit up. Clearly, the adjutant meant “recovered” literally—the Prince was no longer simple? Then he realized the Prince had refused to see him even after hearing he had arrived. Is he… still resentful?
The Emperor’s gloom vanished. With a wave of his hand, he bestowed more rewards, instructing the adjutant to return to the palace and bring them over later. He then hurried away, eager to see the Second Prince.
Ning Yunyi thought about what the Second Prince had said after waking up. It seemed the Prince’s life in the palace before he became simple hadn’t been very pleasant.
The Second Prince felt his life was miserable, while the former Crown Prince felt the Emperor was biased and that his life was miserable. Ultimately, it was the Emperor’s failure to balance the relationships that had led both sides to believe the other was the favorite, resulting in a lose-lose situation.
Did the Emperor truly not know about the situation between the two brothers?
Or did he know and simply want to create a sense of crisis in the Crown Prince by letting him suppress the Second Prince, using it as a form of “training”?
Otherwise, Ning Yunyi couldn’t understand how the Emperor could have been so blind to the situation for so many years.
The Emperor came and went in a hurry. The banquet was nearing its end, and Zong Hao and Lady Zong went ahead to see Old Tang and the others off.
White Shaozhu had sneaked over to Ning Xiaomiao at some point. He crouched down and whispered, “Cub, tell me the truth. Did something happen to my Uncle? Why didn’t he come on such an important day? And why are you calling that Second Young Master Ning ‘Father’? When did you take him as an adoptive father? Even if you did, you can’t just give me another Uncle. This Second Young Master Ning is so young; doesn’t that mess up the generations?”
Ning Xiaomiao blinked, looking at his “silly” cousin, and patted his head. “No, cousin. You’re overthinking it.”
“No? Which ‘no’? If he isn’t your adoptive father, why are you calling him Father? Why did they say you are his son? My Uncle doesn’t have some kind of relationship with your father, does he? Why else were you always following my Uncle before?”
White Shaozhu was truly anxious. After all, his Uncle had just gone to the Desolate Star Base. Did he get injured without me knowing?
The little guy finally couldn’t help but giggle, covering his mouth. He leaned in and whispered into White Shaozhu’s ear, “He’s not an adoptive father, and there is no other father. There’s only one Father.”
While White Shaozhu was left in a daze of confusion, Ning Yunyi walked over and pulled the little guy into his arms. He looked down at the awkward White Shaozhu, who had stood up and was dusting off his trousers. Ning Yunyi made a fake gesture of gravitas. “Ah, it’s Second Young Master Ning. Cub and I know each other, so we were just chatting.”
Ning Yunyi looked at him with a half-smile. “Is that so? And what were you chatting about?”
White Shaozhu glanced at him. This Second Young Master Ning was Admiral Ning’s brother, after all. He was quite handsome, and only a tiny bit taller than himself. “Cub says you’re his father. Then what about Mr. White, my Uncle? You two…”
Ning Yunyi stroked his chin. “Since you’re asking, I have to be honest. Our relationship is… quite intimate.”
White Shaozhu’s eyes went wide. “For real?”
Good grief, no wonder Cub calls the Second Young Master ‘Father.’ So he’s the real father? But didn’t his Uncle say he was getting engaged to Yus? Was he already taken this whole time?
Ning Yunyi nodded seriously. “To what extent? We are two souls in one body.”
White Shaozhu’s mind was a complete fog. Then he met Ning Yunyi’s mischievous black gaze. The teasing in those eyes was all too familiar. White Shaozhu finally realized what was happening. He let out a sharp “holy crap” and stared with wide eyes, completely dumbfounded. “You… you… him?”
No wonder Cub said there was only one father. It was the same person.
But what about his rugged, rough-and-tumble Uncle? How did he turn into this beautiful young man?
Wait, that’s not right. He was bewildered. “Exactly how old are you?”
He had been calling him “Uncle” for so long, yet… was the guy even in his early twenties?
Ning Yunyi looked at him innocently. “It’s better if you don’t ask.”
White Shaozhu felt numb. “…How am I supposed to call you that from now on?” He tugged at his hair and suddenly reached out to feel if the face was real. What if my ‘Uncle’ is tricking me again?
“A’Cheng, what are you doing?” City Lord Bai let out a roar. Everyone’s attention snapped toward them. They saw Lady Zong’s son about to get “handsy” with the Second Young Master Ning.
City Lord Bai hurried over, supporting Lady Zong, intending to teach this disrespectful kid a lesson. How could he be so forward just because the Second Young Master is handsome? Is he not afraid Admiral Ning will beat him?
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