Chapter 181 - 156: The Little One Cried

When Xie Che arrived at Changle Palace, a nanny came forward to greet him. She curtsied first, then said, "The Eldest Prince just fell asleep..."

"I am here to pay my respects to the Mother Empress and to see the Eldest Prince. There is no need to announce me."

He walked straight in and saw the Empress Dowager holding a tiny swaddling cloth of gold and red. As if sensing his arrival, the baby inside let out a soft whimper. The Empress Dowager gently patted and soothed the infant while shooting her son a reproachful look. "Zhao’er just barely fell asleep, and now the Emperor has woken him up again."

Xie Che was speechless.

’His mother had never looked at him with such disdain!’

Then, Xie Che noticed that the Empress Dowager had not only removed all the armor from her hands, but her usual cold gemstone ring and bracelet were also gone. There wasn’t even a trace of powder on her face; she had only used lazhuo to draw her eyebrows. Her love for the child was evident in every detail. "Mother Empress, you care for the Eldest Prince so deeply. I fear my own place in your heart will have to be moved back a spot."

"He is your first Prince, after all. That is why I am paying him a bit more attention."

What the Empress Dowager didn’t say was that the Eldest Prince looked exactly like the Emperor as a child.

When she had first given birth to the Emperor, she had been busy securing her position as a concubine. Now, enthroned as the Empress Dowager, she finally had the leisure to be with a child, so naturally all her motherly love was poured onto little Xie Zhao. "Gu Zhaoyi did so well carrying this child. The Imperial Physician examined the Eldest Prince and said he’s strong and healthy. It’s just that he’s a bit of a handful—he’s awake more often than not and isn’t easy to lull to sleep. I’ve figured out his habits these past two days. He likes listening to people talk, so I’ve gathered some folk tales that children enjoy and have the literate palace maids read them to him."

A child not even a year old couldn’t possibly understand human speech.

Like a small animal, he could only discern meaning from an adult’s tone of voice and expression. The Empress Dowager knew this. Having the palace maids tell stories to soothe him to sleep was simply indulging the Eldest Prince’s preference; she didn’t think he was a prodigy because of it.

But Xie Che blurted out:

"Stories? He shouldn’t like stories."

In the dream where father and son had met, the Eldest Prince had never once said he wanted to hear stories.

"You haven’t spent a single day with Zhao’er, and you already know what he shouldn’t like?" The Empress Dowager was displeased. She thrust the swaddled baby into his arms. "The Emperor woke him up, so you should take responsibility. Tell him a story and put him to sleep."

The Empress Dowager handed over the bundle, and Xie Che was forced to take it.

It was such a soft, fragile little thing; it felt as if holding him just a bit too tightly would hurt him. The Eldest Prince was now fully awake, his clear, lively eyes blinking up at his father emperor. He pawed upwards with a chubby arm. "Why is he so small?"

In Xie Che’s memory, his son could already walk and talk.

This kind of deadbeat-dad comment naturally earned him a glare from the Empress Dowager. "He was born less than a month ago! How big did you expect him to be? Do you think children grow just by being exposed to the wind?"

Xie Che could only mimic the Empress Dowager’s movements, gently rocking the swaddled baby.

The Eldest Prince wasn’t the least bit sleepy. He tilted his head to gaze at his father emperor.

The Empress Dowager watched him with amusement, wanting to see how her son would handle her grandson. Then she heard him begin to recite, "That which orders heaven and earth..."

The Empress Dowager heard that something was off. "Wait, what is the Emperor reading?"

"The *Ancient Texts*."

"He’s only two weeks old and you’re reading this to him?"

"When he was only two months along in Gu Zhaoyi’s womb, I read the *Thousand Character Classic* to him. Perhaps he can understand it."

"..."

Seeing the Emperor’s sincere expression, the Empress Dowager was at a loss for words.

’What was she supposed to say to that?’

The Empress Dowager said, "I wouldn’t have dared to think like that even when I was pregnant with you. You’re already treating the child like a prodigy. I understand the Emperor’s desperation for a son, but if Zhao’er doesn’t turn out to be absolutely outstanding in the future, the Emperor shouldn’t be too demanding of him."

Before the Eldest Prince was born, the Empress Dowager had taken it for granted that a Prince must be skilled in both literature and martial arts.

But after raising the Eldest Prince for two weeks, she felt that while it would be best if he were brilliant, she wouldn’t want the Emperor to despise him even if he turned out to be a bit mediocre.

Jiang Xian had guessed correctly. If you want to gain the favor of upper management, you have to get them personally involved in the project.

"That’s not what I was thinking. I just feel that he will enjoy listening to this."

After speaking, Xie Che read another passage to him.

The result? The little one in his arms shut his eyes and was asleep in a second.

Xie Che: "..."

’Is it really that effective at putting him to sleep?’

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager remarked in wonder, "Usually when the palace maids tell him stories, it takes a long time before he’s willing to close his eyes. How is it that the Emperor says a few words and he’s out like a light?" Then she added pointedly, "It’s clear the Eldest Prince feels close to the Emperor. You should look after the Eldest Prince more often in the future."

Xie Che was skeptical. He couldn’t resist poking his son’s cheek.

The human cub’s face was soft and springy. The poke made a small dimple that bounced right back.

Just a moment ago, his mere entry into the inner hall had startled the Eldest Prince awake. Yet now, even when he was poking his face, the baby slept on with a peaceful expression... The more Xie Che considered it, the more he felt the baby was faking it.

Xie Che tried again, reciting a short passage from a primer next to his ear.

Zhaomao turned his head and buried his face in the swaddling cloth.

Xie Che pinched his little ear. "Mother Empress, he’s faking it." He then forced the baby to listen to a little more of the *Ancient Texts*. Finally, he saw Zhaomao’s nose twitch. Unable to keep up the pretense, the baby opened his tear-filled eyes and began to cry pitifully.

’I don’t want to listen anymore!’

’Before, it was only Mother Concubine who read this stuff!’

’Now Father Emperor is starting in with this boring stuff too!’

"I asked the Emperor to put him to sleep, not make him cry! That’s enough! Changle Palace cannot accommodate a great personage like the Emperor. Didn’t you have a meal summoned at Bihua Palace? I won’t keep you for dinner!"

The whimpering Eldest Prince’s cries shattered the Empress Dowager’s heart, and she promptly kicked the Emperor out of Changle Palace.

Xie Che tucked his dragon tail between his legs and had himself chauffeured to Bihua Palace.

During dinner, before bringing up the incident, he first observed Jiang Xian’s expression. But she just smiled and said, "It seems the prenatal education the Emperor gave him wasn’t enough. If you read to him a few more times, he’ll stop crying."

Xie Che asked, "You’re not mad at me for making Zhao’er cry?"

"He can’t talk yet, so crying is the only way he can express his thoughts. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s sad or upset. Besides, the fact that the Emperor is taking it upon himself to teach him is a good thing. I don’t have enough time to thank you on his behalf, so how could I possibly blame the Emperor for this?"

As a working woman with no experience in romance or marriage, she could only approach raising a child as if it were a project.

And if it’s a project, then there’s no gender division in childcare; it is not exclusively a woman’s duty. If the boss is willing to get involved in the project, then he should be welcomed with open arms. It doesn’t matter if small problems arise—you can’t dampen the boss’s enthusiasm.

’After all,’ Jiang Xian thought, ’in the "Xie Zhao" project, she and the Emperor were starting with the same level of experience.’

The Emperor making their son cry? That was perfectly normal.

If he were to ignore their son completely, *that’s* when she would need to worry.

"As expected, it is Xian’er who values me the most."

Having taken a blow to his pride from his Mother Empress, Xie Che was instantly satisfied.

When a "third party" is added to an intimate relationship through childbirth, both partners seek attention from the other to feel secure. Jiang Xian had thus subconsciously soothed the little boy inside the Emperor’s heart.

Once he felt secure enough, Xie Che revealed his true thoughts. "It’s not that I intentionally made him cry. It’s just that he pretends to be asleep the moment I start reading serious books, yet he loves listening to the palace maids read folk tales. His look of utter resistance was so cute, I couldn’t help but..."

He couldn’t help but tease his son a little.

"I completely understand, Your Majesty," Jiang Xian said sincerely. "If it were me, I would have the palace maids swap the stories for textbooks. Read them to him before bed. He’ll cry the first time, but by the tenth time, he’ll be used to it."

Xie Che: "..."

He suddenly felt a little bad for his son.