VHBF – Chapter 27 Emperor Daddy (Part 4)

After the sun had set, night gradually deepened.

In the grass, little Yinyin had been bitten by mosquitoes until her head was covered in itchy bumps. She kept scratching with her little hands. Her legs were numb from squatting too long, and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Aggrieved, she complained to the system:

“Uncle System, you said Daddy would come out from here, but he hasn’t!”

The system also felt distressed for the little human cub. This three-year-old had done an excellent job in the last mission.

Even if Yinyin herself didn’t think she had been completing a mission—she only thought she was finding her father—the outcome was undeniably good.

After she crossed over, not only was the villain prevented from losing everything and turning blackened, she also indirectly influenced the collapsing world itself.

In that world, the villain had originally intended to kill the male lead and play everyone in the palm of his hand. Yet, for some unknown reason, the villain suddenly changed his mind and vanished without a trace. The world regained its balance, and even the System Bureau was shocked by this.

The system decided it must carefully protect this little cub. After all the blackened villains she encountered were restored to normal, it would grant her a wish!

It hesitated for a moment before saying: “Little cub, why don’t you go back for now? Tomorrow you can think of another way to see your daddy?”

A three-year-old child didn’t understand much, while the system had broader knowledge. What if they returned too late, and Jingyuan Palace had already locked its gates? Wouldn’t Yinyin be forced to spend the night outside?

Yinyin’s tender skin itched terribly from the bites, but the moment she heard the system’s words, she shook her head firmly. “No, I made a promise with Daddy. I have to wait for Yinyin to be clean and washed!”

System: “……”

…Are you sure that wasn’t a one-sided promise??

When it came to seeing her father, the three-year-old was so stubborn that not even the system could pull her away.

So she squatted there for a long, long time.

Nobody knew how much time passed.

From afar, the sound of movement came.

This was a cobblestone path. The sound of boots stepping on it was faint. Yinyin, dozing with her head bobbing, half-closed her eyes.

Her ears perked up sharply. The moment she heard movement, she snapped her eyes open.

Yinyin rubbed her eyes and asked in her milky little voice, still heavy with drowsy nasal tones,  “Is Daddy here?”

She tried to stand up, but her short little legs were numb from squatting too long. Instead, she toppled backward with a plop.

“Who’s there?!”

“Your Ladyship, this servant will check.”

A palace maid quickly ran over and pushed aside the grass. Inside sat a tiny Yinyin on the ground, staring back at her in fright.

Huanyue Palace—the residence of Consort Duan.

The woman reclined against a chaise lounge in dark-blue palace attire, gazing down at the bewildered Yinyin with aloof superiority.

Yinyin’s pink little dress was already filthy, stained with dirt, grass, and dust.

She pressed her lips together, looking at this unfamiliar place and the strange aunty before her. The aunty’s smile was beautiful, but she was mean—she didn’t let Yinyin sit, only made her stand while talking.

“I heard His Majesty brought back a little bastard from outside the palace. That’s you?”

Consort Duan looked her up and down. “Or… could you be His Majesty’s dragon seed?”

“Speak. Who is your mother?”

The maid beside her immediately pinched the soft flesh on Yinyin’s arm. “Answer properly. Tell Her Ladyship everything you know, and we’ll let you go.”

The pinch wasn’t very hard, but Yinyin’s tender flesh hurt badly, and her eyes filled with tears. But Yinyin was a stubborn little cub— the worse others treated her, the more she resisted!

Even if she didn’t understand what the bad aunty was asking, she stubbornly turned her head aside and pressed her lips tightly shut.

Just then, her stomach grumbled loudly.

Consort Duan glanced at her round little belly and laughed. “Not talking, huh? Then let this little brat stand outside. Don’t give her food or water. She can eat when she talks.”

“Have the kitchens make a feast and place it beside her, so she can watch.”

By late evening, Jingyuan Palace was in chaos.

Earlier, Xiao Liu, the maid who had taken Yinyin to bathe and then received Eunuch Dou’s order to arrange her lodging, was now frantically searching with four elderly and weak palace attendants.

They turned over every corner of Jingyuan Palace but found no trace of the delicate little girl.

Old Nanny Wan, soft-hearted, hesitated before saying: “Miss Xiao Liu, why not ask Eunuch Dou for help?”

Xiao Liu immediately refused. “No. If we tell Eunuch Dou, His Majesty will know at once. Do you all want to die?”

Remembering that the emperor could kill without a word, the four attendants fell silent.

“Keep searching! Look outside the palace too. Nanny Wan, you head east. Wuming, take the west. I’ll go this way…”

While they searched anxiously, Yinyin was standing in Huanyue Palace’s courtyard, punished under guard.

In front of her was a table full of roast chicken, pastries, and fresh fruit. The aroma wafted around her, but she wasn’t allowed a single bite until she revealed her “mother from outside the palace.”

Yinyin puffed up her cheeks in anger, eyes reddened, but she stubbornly refused to cry. Daddy had told Yinyin—when Daddy wasn’t around, Yinyin must be a strong child!

But as she stood, her little legs began trembling. Soon, she could barely stay upright.

“Sob… Uncle System, Yinyin can’t do it. Yinyin’s so tired… and so hungry!”

The palace maid chuckled at the sight. “Why be so stubborn? Be a good girl. Tell us, and Her Ladyship will give you food and let you go.”

The current emperor cared little for the harem and was unpredictable in temper. The few consorts who remained had neither favor nor children, so they stayed in a fragile balance: if you don’t have a child, then neither do I.

But who expected the emperor to suddenly bring a child into the palace?

The consorts secretly speculated. The conclusion: this child must be His Majesty’s dragon seed!

Otherwise, why would such a cold and ruthless man bring a child into the palace? They had even heard the child was dirty when brought in, yet the emperor, so obsessed with cleanliness that he allowed no one to touch even a corner of his robe, had personally carried this filthy little cub into the palace.

There had to be something more. If she truly was the emperor’s first child, then special treatment would make sense.

But Consort Duan was different from the rest. Beyond her family’s ambitions, she personally admired the emperor. She loved and feared him both. If he were ever to have a child, it must come from her womb—only then could she accept it!

After an hour of punishment, Yinyin finally collapsed, legs buckling as she fell to the ground.

The system panicked. He regretted his mistake—he had taught Yinyin to intercept the villain on the road, but he’d forgotten the dangers of an ancient palace.

This was the very heart of imperial power, full of scheming consorts and fickle servants. Here, punishing a child was not even considered a crime. And Yinyin was just a three-year-old cub…

The system buzzed with self-reproach. The last world had gone so smoothly that he had grown careless!

Detecting Yinyin’s worsening physical state and dehydration symptoms, the system gritted its teeth.

At that moment, the doors of the Imperial Study finally opened.

The emperor emerged. Eunuch Dou approached: “Your Majesty, will you return to Longqian Palace?”

“You have not yet taken supper.”

Wei Jue nodded. Tall and imposing, he walked down the path, his shadow stretched long under the moonlight.

At the palace gates, he refused the sedan chair. “No need. Don’t follow.”

Eunuch Dou understood well. His Majesty loved peace and quiet, often dismissing attendants. He waved away the others and trailed distantly with his whisk.

Passing by the grassy patch outside the palace gate, the emperor’s eyes narrowed. There lay a tiny pink shoe, barely half the size of his palm, caked with mud.

He bent down, picked it up, and studied it silently for a long while.

Seeing him unmoving, Eunuch Dou stepped closer. “Your Majesty?” Then he saw the shoe and frowned. “There are no children in the palace…” He stopped, suddenly remembering a certain little girl.

“Could it be the young miss’s shoe?”

“Where is she?”

“This servant arranged for her to stay in Jingyuan Palace. It’s close to Longqian Palace and far from the harem, I thought it suitable for her.”

The emperor said flatly: “Send men to find her.”

Meanwhile, Yinyin had been locked in the woodshed beside Huanyue Palace’s small kitchen. The woodshed was pitch-dark at night, with no windows. Once the door shut, nothing could be seen.

Hungry, thirsty, and aching in her legs, she mumbled in a daze: “Uncle System… want Daddy… want Daddy…”

The system’s mechanical heart twisted painfully. Awkwardly, he tried to comfort her in human fashion. “Be good, little cub. Very soon, your daddy will come to find you and take you out. Good girl… my brave cub…”

As he murmured, Yinyin drifted into sleep.

By then, Huanyue Palace was in an uproar.

The emperor had arrived suddenly, and Eunuch Dou had surrounded the palace with guards. The man’s face was dark as he looked down at the consort kneeling before him.

“Where did you hide the child?”

His gaze was deep, unreadable, but Consort Duan knew he was furious.

This man was like a block of ice, even his blood was cold. When was the last time she’d seen him angry?

Ten years ago…

When the Empress Dowager betrayed the newly enthroned emperor, Consort Duan had accompanied her grandfather and witnessed the boy. Even then, his eyes were the same—staring silently at his uncle for a long time before, without a word or even a blink, he swung the blade and beheaded him, blood splattering everywhere.

Now, fear seized her.

Shaking, she stammered: “In… in the woodshed.”

Before she could finish, a guard already reported: “Your Majesty, the side-hall woodshed is locked.”

The old wooden door creaked open. A musty smell hit, but the man’s brows didn’t even twitch. He strode straight to the small curled-up figure in the corner.

So tiny—she was only three years old, stunted from poor food and clothing, her small body shrinking into the shadows, looking even smaller, no bigger than a palm.

He reached out to pick her up.

Her little face was pale, chubby cheeks scrunched tight, brows furrowed. She murmured in her sleep, repeating over and over in her childish voice: “Da… Daddy… bad Daddy… hungry…”

He froze. Instead of lifting her by the arm, he gathered her into his arms.

The dazed little one sniffled, burrowing instinctively into his chest, her small hand clutching tightly at his robe.

Without a word, Wei Jue carried her out.

Eunuch Dou wore a bitter face, nearly in tears. He knew he had ruined everything—his life was surely over.