My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

The moment the palace doors were pushed open—

On the sky, an outrageously large room came into view, large enough to easily contain his entire Jingyang Palace.

The light-colored wooden floor was so shiny that it reflected people's images, and so smooth that it was like a huge bronze mirror, so clear that even the eyebrows and eyes of the people in the reflection could be seen.

A tall candle stood in the corner, emitting a soft, warm light, like the afterglow of the setting sun at dusk—not glaring or scorching, but gently illuminating the whole scene with a warm glow, as if even the air itself was tinged with honey.

And in the very center of the room—

Yao Jingyuan's pupils contracted sharply, as if he had been pricked by a needle.

It was a couch.

No, that's not a couch, what is it?!

That thing was ridiculously long, as long as several people's heads and feet joined together, and as wide as the emperor's dragon bed.

It was covered with something thick, making it look extremely fluffy and soft, like clouds that had been plucked from the sky, folded and crumpled, and then spread out.

Several round, plump pillows were scattered on it, sinking in softly.

In the center of that couch—

A tiny figure was squatting down.

It's a small bag.

She was wearing a pink dress, which was fluffy and delicate, like it was made of the soft fur of a little rabbit.

Next to it was a pair of equally fluffy pink shoes, with two drooping rabbit ears on the surface, looking just like real ones.

A thin, furry blanket was draped over her legs, hanging down softly.

Yao Jingyuan's smile shattered completely, leaving no trace.

He subconsciously glanced back at the bed he had just lain on—a carved rosewood canopy bed, which he had always been proud of, feeling it was the most prestigious bed in the world.

But at this moment—

The carved bedposts, the auspicious cloud and crane patterns, the four layers of mattresses—

In front of that cloud-like couch in the sky, it looked hard, old, and shabby, like a broken plank in a beggar's hand, not worth mentioning at all.

Rou'er still complained that his bed, with four layers of mattresses, was uncomfortable.

The thing that little bastard was sitting on looked like he was sinking into the clouds, with half of his body inside.

He looked down at Shu Rou's clothes—a bright red silk jacket with a phoenix embroidered in gold thread, and a circle of South China Sea pearls around the collar, each one round and full, gleaming faintly in the morning light.

Normally, he would have thought this was the best clothes in the world, a symbol of his status and a reflection of his position.

But what that little bastard in the sky was wearing—

The fluffy pink dress, with an adorable little rabbit pattern, is as delicate as peach blossoms in March.

And those shoes, the rabbit ears on the uppers looked so real, as if the shoes would turn into rabbits and hop away at any moment, so lifelike that you couldn't take your eyes off them.

Shu Rou saw it too.

Her eyes widened instantly, her mouth pursed, and her eyes immediately reddened. She reached out and tugged hard at Yao Jingyuan's collar.

"Daddy! How come that little beggar has changed?!" Her voice was high-pitched and thin, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"What is she wearing?! How dare she dress like that?!"

She increased the pressure in her hands, and Yao Jingyuan almost lost his balance, swaying several times.

"Rou'er wants one too! Rou'er wants clothes like that too!"

"And that couch!" Her tears fell in a steady stream, like beads from a broken string, landing on Yao Jingyuan's arm, her face turning bright red.

"Rou'er wants a bed like that too! Daddy's bed is too hard! It hurts my back! That one looks so soft! So soft, so soft! Rou'er wants one too!"

Yao Jingyuan quickly hugged her tightly, his arms gripping her firmly, to stop her movements.

His facial muscles twitched a few times, and he managed a forced smile, which looked worse than crying.

"Rou'er, be good..." His voice was a little dry, as if there was a wad of cotton stuck in his throat, and each word was forced out.

"That's all fake, a smokescreen! A deceptive trick..."

"I won't listen! I won't listen!" Shu Rou squirmed in his arms, her body twisted like a pretzel, her little fists pounding his shoulders, each blow heavier than the last.

"Even that little beggar has it! Why doesn't Rou'er have it! Rou'er is the princess! Father, didn't you say that everything in the world belongs to Rou'er!?"

"Rou'er wants that couch now! And those clothes! Those shoes! Rou'er wants them now!"

These words were like knives, stabbing deeply into Yao Jingyuan's heart, causing him to feel a sudden, sharp pain.

He looked up, staring intently at the sky, his eyes like two quenched arrows, as if he wanted to burn two holes in the scene.

He clenched his teeth, and the veins on his temples throbbed, like two earthworms wriggling wildly under his skin.

On what grounds?

His daughter, Yao Jingyuan's noble eldest princess, has been pampered and spoiled since childhood!

Why is he inferior to Ye Fan's bastard child? That bastard child who grew up eating leftovers in the cold palace?

"Rou'er, be good!" Yao Jingyuan took a deep breath and suppressed his surging hatred.

His smile was barely holding on as he tried to change the subject, diverting Shu Rou's attention elsewhere.

"Shall we go have breakfast with the Queen Mother? The Imperial Kitchen made your favorite dish this morning—"

"I don't want to!" Shu Rou pushed his face away and slapped his cheek with her small hand, interrupting him with a loud "smack".

Her face was covered in tears and snot; she looked nothing like a noble princess anymore, but rather like a dirty, unruly child on the street.

"I want that couch! I want that dress! I want those bunny shoes! I want them now! I want them now! Did you hear me?!"

Yao Jingyuan's face darkened completely, like the sky before a storm, pressing down and making it hard to breathe.

His fingernails dug deep into his palm beneath his sleeves, causing a sharp, stinging pain, but he was completely unaware.

He tried to soothe her, his voice low and hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against rough wood: "Rou'er, be good... Rou'er is the best girl..."

After a long while, Shu Rou seemed to realize that she really couldn't get those things, and then she calmed down.

But her eyes remained fixed on the sky, her lips pursed, her cheeks puffed out, and she muttered, "I am the most noble princess. Why do I not have what even a beggar has?"

Yao Jingyuan stopped looking at the sky, took the handkerchief handed to him by a palace maid, wiped Shu Rou's face in his arms, and turned to walk towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony where the emperor held court.

His footsteps were hurried and heavy, as if he wanted to crush the ground.

He tried his best to keep his head down, but he still caught a glimpse of the scene in the sky out of the corner of his eye—

The man named Lin Ye walked to the couch, bent down, and gently and carefully picked up the little boy.

The little boy immediately stopped crying when he saw him, hugged his neck, buried his face in his shoulder, and smiled so hard his eyes curved into crescents.

That smile—

It's extremely bright.

It stung him so much he trembled all over!