Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan, as parents, realized something was wrong when their son slept for an entire day without waking up, eating, or having any bowel movements. It was Su Chenyi who first noticed the oddity. Newborns might not eat much, but they should at least cry and urinate.

When they noticed something was wrong with the child, the Dai family panicked. Su Chenyi went straight to the palace to request an imperial doctor. The Yongming Emperor and the Empress were also very anxious upon hearing the news. Ning Mu hurried to the Loyal and Brave Duke’s mansion with four or five imperial doctors. However, despite thorough examinations, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with the child. He seemed to be just sleeping deeply.

Little Prince Xingyi had a normal temperature and a healthy complexion, without even the common jaundice seen in newborns. Unable to find the cause, Ning Mu stayed at the mansion. Wang Shijing secretly fed the child some diluted spiritual spring water, as the spirit milk was too strong for a newborn. Even diluted, it seemed too potent, but the baby remained asleep.

At this point, Shao Yunan became scared and panicked, wondering if the baby was protesting because he had initially not wanted him. The entire Loyal and Brave Duke’s mansion fell into fear and unease because of little Xingyi’s unusual condition. Jiang Moxi stopped going to the private workshop and, along with Nizi, stayed by the baby’s bed, worried that their brother might be sick. Wang Nizi cried a lot because she liked her newborn brother.

The palace kept sending people to inquire about the situation, and the Emperor and the Empress couldn’t sleep well, worrying about the baby’s condition. Shao Yunan cried in front of Wang Shijing, who felt equally distressed. On the second day, little Xingyi was still sleeping, neither eating nor drinking, nor urinating. Shao Yunan held him, puzzled about why the warm and rosy-cheeked baby wouldn’t wake up. He considered many possibilities, with the worst being cerebral palsy. This thought, however, made Shao Yunan calmer. With the spiritual milk, even if the child ended up like Zhou Tianbao, he would be fine with the love and support of his siblings, and the affection of himself and Wang Shijing.

On the third day, little Xingyi was passed around in the arms of his father, other father, uncle, great-uncle, great-grandfather, and great grandmother, but he still didn’t wake up. The doctors, including those from the general’s mansion and outsiders, couldn’t determine why the baby remained in a deep sleep. By now, Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan had come to terms with the possibility that their child might be abnormal or ill. Wang Shijing felt deep sorrow but had to hide it in front of the equally distressed Shao Yunan.

The Loyal and Brave Duke’s mansion was shrouded in gloom. Su Chenyi wept every night, and Dai Zhanxiao stopped going out to comfort his brother and other father, feeling deeply troubled. Old General Dai decided to keep this matter hidden from Dai Mingrong, who was still at the border.

In the dead of night, Shao Yunan asked Brother Tiger to guard the door, and he and Wang Shijing took Xingyi into the space. Shao Yunan unwrapped the baby and carried him into the pool. Looking at his son’s adorable sleeping face, Shao Yunan’s eyes reddened again. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Wang Shijing also undressed and entered the pool, taking the baby from Shao Yunan to bathe him. To distract his spouse from the sadness, Wang Shijing started a conversation, pointing out the red mole in the middle of their son’s collarbone. “Look at our son’s red mole, right in the center of his collarbone. In your era, it would be hard to hide.”

Shao Yunan forced a smile and said: “You should be glad it’s in the middle of his collarbone. If it were in the middle of his eyebrow, it would be even more amusing—a boy with a beauty mark.”

Wang Shijing kissed his son and said: “Our son is handsome. Even a beauty mark would look good on him.”

But Shao Yunan couldn’t smile anymore. Choking up, he said: “Brother Shijing, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Wang Shijing pulled his spouse into an embrace: “Don’t blame yourself.”

Shao Yunan cried: “If I hadn’t resented him every day, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s my fault.”

“Do you really believe that? He was very active in your belly, and he cried loudly when he was born. If he had any serious condition, the doctors would have found something. Maybe he just didn’t sleep enough inside you. Usually, women labor for hours before breaking water, but you broke water first and had to take medicine to induce labor. He didn’t come out willingly. Once he’s slept enough, he’ll wake up.”

Shao Yunan clung to Wang Shijing, tears falling into the pool. Wang Shijing kissed his head and said: “Don’t blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. He cried when he was born, I saw it myself. He won’t sleep forever. At worst, he’ll be like Tianbao, and our family can support him. Look, Tianbao is married and about to become a father. Our son will be fine.”

“Brother Shijing, I’ll never say I don’t want kids again. If Xingyi wants to be a big brother, I’ll give him a sibling.”

Wang Shijing lowered his head and kissed his spouse.

They stayed in the space for two hours, not doing anything intimate. They soaked Xingyi in the spiritual spring water and looked through all the childcare books in the space but found no useful information. When they came out, Brother Tiger immediately sniffed Xingyi but didn’t lick him, knowing his rough tongue could hurt the baby.

Wang Shijing placed Xingyi beside Shao Yunan and lay down on the other side, holding his spouse. Brother Tiger lay by the bed, too big to fit on it.

Late at night, Wang Shijing extinguished the candle. Despite knowing the baby wouldn’t urinate, Shao Yunan still wrapped him in a diaper, hoping he would wake up normal in the morning. When he heard steady breathing beside him, Wang Shijing gently got out of bed, carried the baby to the outer room, and finally allowed himself to feel his sorrow and pain. This was their first child, and Wang Shijing had poured immense hope and love into him. The child’s arrival was entirely different from Wang Qing, and Wang Shijing’s suffering was even greater than Shao Yunan’s. The sleeping Xingyi wouldn’t know the tears falling on his face came from his father’s eyes.

As dawn approached, Wang Shijing placed the child back on the bed and lay down. He knew he had to sleep and rest despite not having slept well for days. Outside, the sounds of people stirring began as Wang Shijing finally drifted off, dark circles under his eyes.

Brother Tiger’s ears twitched. He opened his golden tiger eyes and listened intently. He stood up suddenly, looking at the bed. Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan were still asleep, but the darkness didn’t obstruct Brother Tiger’s vision.

Inside the bed, something in the swaddle was wriggling. Brother Tiger eyes widened, his pupils round like small black holes, staring unblinkingly at the wriggling little thing. The next moment, Brother Tiger fur stood on end, followed by an earth-shattering cry.

“Waaa—!”

The morning at the Loyal and Brave Duke’s residence was turned upside down by the cry of a little baby.

The Prince of Ruian finally woke up, and his cries almost tore off the roof. The loud cries almost deafened the ears of his two closest fathers and even scared Brother Tiger away. The cries of the Prince of Ruian made his fathers laugh and cry, made his uncle and little grandfather laugh and cry, and made his great-grandfather, great-grandmother, and little great-uncle laugh and cry. The cry and that loud voice were undoubtedly the result of three days’ accumulation.

Wang Shijing, holding his thunderously crying son, laughed like a fool. The wet nurse came, enduring the pain of her rupturing eardrums, and took the little prince to the next room to nurse. Soon, everyone’s ears finally quieted down. Shao Yunan, holding his head, laughed and groaned: “I’m going deaf.”

The Prince of Ruian woke up, and the atmosphere at Loyal and Brave Duke’s residence improved. The smiles that had been missing for three days returned to everyone’s faces. When the master was in a good mood, everyone else had good days. Emperor Yongming and Empress, upon hearing the news, also breathed a long sigh of relief. Nizi, in her brother Moxi arms, cheered happily, and Wang Qing showed his first smile in three days.

The little Xingyi, who had slept for three days, woke up in such a way to tell everyone he was awake. After eating his fill, little Xingyi gave his father a heavy dose of urine, and before his father could change his clothes, he gave another hefty dose of poop. His father not only didn’t feel disgusted but was overjoyed.

The imperial physician checked and repeatedly exclaimed in confusion. The Prince of Ruian was a perfectly healthy chubby boy. As for why he had slept for three days, the conclusion remained unknown. But Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan no longer dwelled on it. Perhaps it was the effect of the spirit spring water, or maybe Wang Shijing was right, and the boy hadn’t slept enough in the womb and continued to sleep after birth. As long as their son was healthy, that was all that mattered.

In the following days, little Xingyi behaved normally. He ate when he should, slept when he should, peed when he should, and pooped when he should. With their son’s health assured, even washing diapers made Wang Shijing happy. Of course, the servants at the Duke’s manor wouldn’t let the Duke wash the little prince’s diapers personally, but Wang Shijing did wash them once.

With little Xingyi back to normal, those who cared for him were relieved, and those who hoped for his misfortune were naturally disappointed. Su Chenyi thanked heaven daily, believing it was his son’s good deeds that had moved heaven to spare them from suffering, so he even planned to copy the scriptures. Shao Yunan, thinking of the disappeared relic, also decided to join his little father in copying scriptures.

A month later, Loyal and Brave Duke held a grand full moon banquet. Once again, Emperor Yongming bestowed unparalleled honor upon Loyal and Brave Duke by decreeing that the full moon banquet for the Prince of Ruian be held in the palace. The chubby little Xingyi, now a month old, looked around curiously with his big round eyes. There was not a trace of the stupidity people had once feared, his cleverness made Emperor Yongming and Queen Empress extremely fond of him.

Little Xingyi, entering the palace for the first time, was carried by the Queen Empress to Jingyou Palace to accompany the little crown prince. The two little ones, only a month apart, lay side by side on the bed, babbling at each other, making the Queen Empress adore them even more.

Little Xingyi resembled Shao Yunan but also had traces of Wang Shijing. This child was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Brother Tiger never left little Xingyi’s side, and the Queen Empress couldn’t bring herself to let Brother Tiger into the palace to protect the crown prince. Big and Little Gold weren’t old enough, and Shao Yunan didn’t dare suggest having them protect the crown prince. Brother Tiger was unwilling to enter the palace, and neither Shao Yunan nor Wang Shijing could force him, but they were delighted with Brother Tiger’s dedication to little Xingyi.

“Yunan, are you and Shijing really planning to take Xingyi to Tiger Pass?” the Queen Empress asked.

Shao Yunan replied: “Yes, we want to take the children to see my father. Nizi, Brother Qing, and Brother Moxi all wanted to go, and I promised them. With Brother Tiger, Big, and Little Gold, and my brother and others, there’s no problem with safety. We’ll also prepare everything the children need. There won’t be any issues.”

The Empress looked at the two little ones babbling on the bed and made a decision: “Then, take the crown prince with you.”

“Ah?” Shao Yunan was shocked, thinking he had misheard.

The Empress looked at him and said: “In the palace, I always worry about his safety. Whether it’s the harem or the foundation, I can’t manage it all calmly. It can’t go on like this, but I can’t bear to let the crown prince leave my side. But I’m not just his mother I’m also the Empress, the mother of the nation. Yunan, you’re willing to take Xingyi to Tiger Pass, and I know you must have made thorough preparations. Consider this my request, I trust you can take good care of the crown prince. I need time. I’m afraid,” the Empress shook his head at himself: “I’m afraid that worrying too much about the crown prince will make me neglect the emperor, and that my excessive worry will spoil him into becoming a foolish ruler.”

Shao Yunan didn’t know how to evaluate the Empress at that moment. He had only respect for her. He could understand the Queen Empress’s feelings, which were common, but she wanted to correct this by separating from her son.

Shao Yunan knelt down, not asking if the Queen Empress would miss her son, but solemnly said: “Uncle, please rest assured and leave the crown prince in my care. I promise, when I return from the frontier, I’ll bring back a stronger crown prince for you!”

The Queen Empress helped him up with both hands: “Yunan, you and the emperor are the only ones I can trust.”

Edited by: Jaisland

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