VHBF – Chapter 25 Emperor Daddy (Part 2)

As soon as Wei Jue stepped into the tavern, something latched onto his leg. Looking down, he saw a tiny dumpling clinging to him, her voice filled with surprise and joy:

“Dad—Daddy!”

Lin Yi: “……???”

He stared in horror at the little dumpling hanging from the emperor’s leg. Daddy???!!!

The little dumpling hugged the man’s thigh tightly, mumbling nonstop in complaint. She wasn’t quite used to calling him Daddy, so her voice carried hesitation. She almost called him Daddy again.

“Da—Daddy, Yinyin has been waiting for you for such a long, long time!”

The man spoke: “Daddy?”

The little dumpling’s face was brimming with happiness as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Daddy is Daddy!”

The dumpling had endless words for her Daddy, chattering away nonstop.

She told him about what she’d just seen outside the tavern, and afterward gave her own judgment with a sigh: “Daddy, turns out that uncle was the real bad guy, and the Brother waiter is actually a good person.”

“Bu—but…”

Wei Jue halted his steps, lowering his gaze. The little dumpling had her small head drooped in dejection. She looked up at him and whispered:

“Daddy, if you don’t want Yinyin anymore, will Yinyin end up like those two beggar uncles… with no food to eat, and still get beaten?”

The dumpling remembered and felt both gloomy and wronged. What troubled her was that this world was so strange—everyone wore long hair and wide robes, and there were no bottles to pick up.

Yesterday, when she was starving, it was a bun-seller uncle who pitied her and gave her one leftover steamed bun. The little dumpling thought that if Daddy didn’t want her, she’d have to beg for food like a little beggar.

The man said nothing, but neither did he push her away. Behind him, Commander Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The dumpling didn’t notice. To her, it was only natural—Daddy loved her! She always believed that firmly!

Little Yinyin kept talking, a hint of showing-off in her tone. She pointed to her own face, even stretching out her other little hand, palm turned up and down to show him:

“Daddy look, Yinyin is all clean now!”

Her eyes sparkled astonishingly bright. Those clear round eyes were full of pride and a longing for praise.

“Yinyin washed super duper clean!”

The frail little dumpling then asked cautiously: “So now Daddy won’t avoid Yinyin anymore, right?”

Commander Lin suddenly understood. So yesterday, when the child vanished, it wasn’t because she was lost but because she thought she was too dirty and despised?

So today she cleaned herself and came back again?

He carefully examined the little dumpling’s face.

She was only three years old; no matter how sensible, her hands couldn’t do much. Her face was indeed cleaner than yesterday, but still not exactly spotless.

At least, her small tender face could be seen now—big round eyes, clear as spring water, with dark pupils that took up most of her gaze. Looking at her made one’s heart soften. Even a man like him, who was used to blood and killing, found it hard to reject her.

But—the emperor was different.

Commander Lin watched as the emperor remained unmoved, cold and ruthless, lifting his foot to walk upstairs.

The stairway of the Western Court was slightly steep. For a two- or three-year-old’s short legs, the man’s pace and the stair height were insurmountable obstacles.

After stumbling along for a few steps, the dumpling finally couldn’t hold on. Her little claws gradually slipped off, and she collapsed onto the stairs.

Panting, she looked up and accused: “Daddy bad!”

Wei Jue’s steps paused ever so slightly.

Upstairs, the door to the private room closed. The dumpling remained lying on the stairs. The waiter, seeing that this child followed that noble upstairs and kept calling him Daddy, didn’t dare chase her away.

Commander Lin crouched before her, looking down.

He hesitated, then refrained from patting her head. Instead, he said, “Get up.”

Yinyin huffed angrily. This man was with that bad Daddy! She turned her head away, ignoring him.

“Hey, this little brat even has a temper?”

He glanced around, then leaned in to whisper: “How about we make a deal? Uncle knows a lot of things about that man. I’ll answer one question for you if you tell me why you call our Lord… Daddy. If you do, I’ll take you for something yummy!”

Yinyin’s eyes brightened. To her, this question was too easy! She asked uncertainly: “Re—really? Not lying?”

Her little hand touched her stomach—so hungry. “Will it be enough to fill me up?”

After receiving his firm promise, Yinyin quickly sat up and plopped down beside him on the stairs. Swinging her short legs, she explained cheerfully:

“Daddy? Daddy is just Daddy.”

Commander Lin: “???”

He rubbed his forehead. “You’ve been calling our Lord Daddy, but as far as I know, our household doesn’t have any children. Why are you calling him that?”

Yinyin gave him a strange look. She was an illiterate little dumpling. “What does why mean?”

“…It means reason,” Commander Lin explained.

“Ohh,” the dumpling nodded knowingly. “Uncle, you talk weird, hard to understand!”

Commander Lin: “……”

“Daddy is Daddy! Daddy is the best Daddy—he braids Yinyin’s hair, buys Yinyin dresses, buys Yinyin dolls…”

Commander Lin froze. Then asked doubtfully: “Wait, wait… Why does everything you say sound so strange?”

He looked at her like she was out of her mind. His emperor was cold and heartless, inhuman—braiding hair?? More likely he’d whip someone twice!

He figured the dumpling must be delusional. Looking at her pitiful, tiny figure—so small, thin, and homeless—he felt a bit of pity and stopped pressing her.

He snapped his fingers and called the waiter, ordering several dishes. Yinyin swallowed hard at the sound.

“Uncle, what’s your relationship with Daddy?” she asked.

Commander Lin was now completely immune to her calling the emperor Daddy. He ignored it. Still, just thinking of that ruthless emperor being called Daddy…

The image of that expressionless face, even while beheading people, came to mind. He shuddered. Clearly this child had mistaken him for someone else.

Though the emperor had concubines in the harem, he was aloof and indifferent, never interested in matters between men and women. The concubines even avoided him, fearing one misstep would earn them a beheading.

So far, there were no children in the harem at all. And with his possessive nature, how could he possibly allow his bloodline to wander outside?

Commander Lin concluded firmly—no matter how you looked at it, this child couldn’t possibly be the emperor’s!

The dumpling waved her little paw in front of him. “Kind Uncle, eat your food.”

Meanwhile, Wei Jue had gone upstairs. Inside the private room, someone was already waiting.

The man in a green robe, with dark hair, fair skin like jade, and handsome features, rose and gave a slight bow.

The two sat opposite each other. On the table were tea utensils, water boiling in the stove at the side, steam rising in curls.

At first, neither spoke. The man in green leisurely brewed tea, poured a cup for him, then smiled lightly: “What delayed you?”

Wei Jue, for all his flaws, had one point—his control was so strong he never tolerated even the slightest lapse in punctuality. Yet now he was already a cup of tea late.

He sipped the tea lightly and answered faintly: “Nothing.”

When Wei Jue opened the door to leave, he found two figures squatting at the entrance—one big, one small—staring wide-eyed at each other.

The little dumpling looked even smaller crouched on the floor. Deciding that squatting was too short and lacked presence, she stood up, both hands on her full little tummy, glaring at Commander Lin.

“Yinyin won’t go!”

“Yinyin absolutely won’t go!”

“Daddy is Yinyin’s Daddy, not yours!”

Her milky voice roared out like a little cub defending its territory, even raising her tiny claws at him—cute yet fierce.

She even stuck out her tongue at him. “Bad Uncle, you lied! You promised to answer Yinyin’s question but you cheated!”

“What question?” the emperor asked as he stepped out. His gaze fell on the two, still deep and unreadable as always.

Yinyin’s eyes lit up. She turned and hugged Daddy’s thigh, pointing at Commander Lin to accuse him: “Daddy, he tried to make me leave!”

Commander Lin hurriedly stood, bowing with twitching lips. This troublesome dumpling was too much—he had wanted to marry and have his own chubby baby by year’s end, but now this brat had completely dissuaded him.

After that complaint, she continued: “He promised to answer one question about Daddy, but he lied!”

“How did Commander Lin lie?”

A warm, gentle voice suddenly interjected. Yinyin looked past Daddy and saw a handsome uncle in green smiling at her.

The dumpling had a natural fondness for good-looking people. Feeling it was shameful to throw tantrums, she remembered Daddy had said to be polite and civilized.

Her chubby cheeks turned red. In her soft milky voice, she accused shyly: “Yinyin asked why Daddy ignored Yinyin yesterday… was it because Yinyin was dirty?”

At that, her face grew even redder. Yesterday, when the system uncle brought her to this strange place, she had been too excited on seeing Daddy and pounced on him.

But then the system uncle told her she was ugly and dirty at the time. Remembering how much Daddy loved cleanliness, she gave up chasing after him.

“He said, he said…” the little dumpling’s eyes widened, flames of anger burning within. “He lied! He said he isn’t my Daddy!”

She was so angry she even forgot to say Daddy.

The system covered its face. For this little human cub, Daddy was her untouchable reverse scale. She was fiercely protective—no one was allowed to say Daddy wasn’t her Daddy.

“He’s bad! He lies to kids!”

The little dumpling was too innocent, her vocabulary too limited. Over and over, all she could say was “Uncle lied” and “He’s bad.”

Bo Yuan couldn’t help laughing, his handsome brows curving as he echoed: “Yes, he’s a bad man.”

Bad Man·Commander Lin: “……”

Originally, everyone thought the emperor would once again coldly push the dumpling off. But unexpectedly, he looked down, and suddenly reached out to lift her up.

Commander Lin: !!!

Wei Jue gazed at the little dumpling on his arm, her mouth agape in shock, and said: “If you have questions, ask them now.”

As they left, Commander Lin trailed behind alone, staring in disbelief at his master carrying the child. His cold, ruthless emperor, a man like death itself—since when did he take interest in a dumpling like this?

Bo Yuan smiled warmly and tilted his head: “So you were late today because of this little one?”

“This uncle, Yinyin isn’t called ‘little one,’ Yinyin is called Yinyin!”

The dumpling declared firmly. With Daddy by her side, her confidence soared. It was as if she came alive again, sitting proudly on his strong arm, her tiny claws gripping his robe tightly.

She swung her short legs, secretly rubbing her cheek against Daddy’s arm. Her voice was full of pride:

“Daddy gave me the name. Nice, right?”