Chapter 1416: 1411: Father, I'm Still a Child

Chapter 1416: Chapter 1411: Father, I’m Still a Child

Leng Muling had knelt for several hours and was almost delirious when she saw Mo Qi. Her eyes turned red and she instinctively wanted to cry, “Seventh… seventh brother.”

But upon remembering the words of Yun Sijin, she immediately shook her head, “I have no face to plead for the Leng family. My sister plotted against the Crown Prince and committed a grave mistake; our family also erred. I need to atone for the Leng family.”

“You, a woman, atone for what!”

Mo Qi reached out to pull her up, but Leng Muling didn’t budge.

Mo Qi then went to see Su Yingxue himself.

Su Yingxue was aware they were both outside, but when Mo Qi came to kneel before her, she put down the medical book in her hand, her tone indifferent, “Her Majesty didn’t punish Ling’er; she knelt outside the palace gate on her own.”

“I know, but Ling’er is innocent,” Mo Qi pleaded as he kowtowed, “Your Majesty, please don’t punish her the same as the other Leng family members.”

“Your words are incoherent. Her surname is Leng, and she is the legitimate second daughter of the Leng family. How could she possibly sever ties with the Leng family unless she marries someone else? If you were to marry her, whatever happens with the Leng family would then be none of her concern.”

Su Yingxue intended to test the waters for Leng Muling, remembering how Mo Qi had rashly expressed a desire to recover his memory previously.

That would make him remember Hong Lian…

That would be quite the trouble!

If not for the prior incident, Mo Qi would definitely have pleaded to marry Leng Muling immediately, perhaps also slightly alleviating the issue with her family.

But having seen Hong Lian, he bowed his head, “Your Majesty, I am currently unable to marry Ling’er. I must first recover my memory to ensure that I haven’t… failed any other woman.”

“Have you lost your mind! What betrayal could there be between you and Hong Lian when she only used you!” Su Yingxue, infuriated, hurled a medical book at Mo Qi’s head.

Mo Qi widened his eyes. “As Your Majesty said, did Hong Lian and I share a past affection?”

Su Yingxue: “…”

She really felt like hitting someone!

“Whether or not there was affection, Hong Lian is a repeat offender. It’s impossible between you and her. You’d better give up on that, but as for Ling’er… if you dare to betray her, you are nothing but a heartless scoundrel!” Impatient to continue, Su Yingxue stood up to go find Chu Heng.

Before walking out, she hit Mo Qi with another comment, “This time Leng Muling entered the palace not only to plead for her family but also to gauge your attitude towards her. These months apart from her have been the utmost agony for her.”

Enlightened by Su Yingxue, Mo Qi felt even more remorse for his past with Hong Lian and for failing Leng Muling.

Leng Muling knelt until deep into the night, eventually fainting from exhaustion.

Su Yingxue had people carry her into a side hall and rubbed some medicine on her legs.

Holding his little face, Chu Heng watched his busy mother and said in a babyish voice, “Mother, is Sister Ling’er not very bright? Why did she choose to kneel?”

Does kneeling not hurt?

He didn’t like to kneel, only doing so when he had to meet his father.

But he felt that kneeling on the ground was quite chilly.

This sister had been kneeling for a whole day; she might just ruin her knees.

“Ling’er’s family includes the Imperial Consort; she made a mistake, and Sister Ling’er, being her sister, feels implicated and naturally had to kneel. Technically, it’s not wrong, but she’s a bit adorably foolish,” Su Yingxue put away the medicine bottles with a click of her tongue.

“Ah, the mistakes of a sister do not concern her younger sister, do they? If Heng’er were to be punished by father to write, he cannot ask his sister to write for him! Isn’t sister Ling’er clever!” Chu Heng said, cupping his little face and shaking his head.

Even he knew that punishments could not be substituted.

“But if your sister Xiyi were to be punished by kneeling, would you kneel with her?” Su Yingxue teased, pinching Chu Heng’s tiny nose.

Chu Heng nodded without hesitation, “Yes! I would stay with sister Xiyi!”

“It’s the same principle for sister Ling’er!”

“Oh!” Chu Heng’s mouth opened wide in an O shape as he tilted his head to look at his mother, “But sister Xiyi did not try to harm me or the Crown Prince. That’s what should be severely punished!”

Su Yingxue finished collecting the medicines and turned around, staring at Chu Heng in surprise, “Heng’er, how have you come to understand so much lately? Do you know why harming the Crown Prince should be severely punished?”

“Of course I know! Heng’er is father’s son, and in the future, he must take father’s position as ruler of the nation. The safety of the realm is very, very important! Therefore, it cannot be jeopardized, and harming the Crown Prince is a crime deserving of… deserving of…”

Chu Heng tugged at his ears, trying hard to remember the complete phrase he had heard today in the imperial study.

“Deserving of death!” Su Yingxue supplied.

She hugged Chu Heng, increasingly amazed, “Where did you learn these words, Heng’er?”

“Father said them in the imperial study.” Chu Heng smiled, his expression tender and cute.

Su Yingxue took Chu Heng to find Chu Yihan and told him what Chu Heng had said. She was very pleased, “You barely repeated these words a few times, and Heng’er understood and remembered them. His talents are truly exceptional!”

“I only said it once.” Chu Yihan held Chu Heng in his arms, examining him closely, “Did you remember everything I said in the imperial study?”

Chu Heng nodded, “Mm, I remembered all of it.”

“Then I ask you, what position does Zhuo Junli hold, and why did I imprison him?” Chu Yihan raised an eyebrow.

“Lord Zhuo serves as the current Prime Minister, the right-hand man to father, responsible for reviewing father’s decisions and assisting from the side. Because he failed to promptly report the reasons to father and harbored a personal bias, father imprisoned him,” Chu Heng said with a sweet voice.

“And why did I promote Lu Mian?” Chu Yihan asked again.

“Because Lord Lu is the Minister of Appointments, responsible for executing father’s orders, just as important as Lord Zhuo. Since Lord Zhuo has been imprisoned, only Lord Lu can take over his duties.”

“And, in your view, how should I deal with Zhuo Junli?” Chu Yihan, holding Chu Heng, looked faintly expectant.

Chu Heng was flustered, Father, aren’t you asking something too difficult?

Chu Heng bit his little fingertip, his handsome little eyebrows furrowing deeply.

He fell silent, and only then did Su Yingxue recover from her shock.

She slapped Chu Yihan lightly, “He’s so young! You distress him with matters of state, pushing my son too hard. I won’t let this go, Chu Yihan!”

Su Yingxue always disregarded formality in his presence. After speaking, she snatched Chu Heng from his hands, hugging him gently to console, “Heng’er, darling, don’t mind your father. We’re still young, let’s learn slowly, no rush.”

In her view, it was already impressive that Heng’er could recognize characters and recite poems.

Chu Yihan was perhaps too eager.

He didn’t continue asking, instead reaching out to stroke Chu Heng’s head, his expression neither joyful nor angry, yet his heart was very reassured.

His son was much smarter than he had imagined.

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