Chapter 16: Chapter 12: Born to Be Emperor?

The palace maids who can serve in the Imperial Palace are all very perceptive.

Seeing the expressions of the Princess and Prince Wen, she realized she shouldn’t stay there, and after finishing the bandaging, she withdrew.

Shen Jingxian touched the item that Wen Ranchen was holding, and it felt just like the handkerchief she asked for before.

Without a doubt, this was the gift Wen Ranchen had prepared for her.

She hadn’t expected that her offhand comment, meant only to trouble Wen Ranchen, had been taken to heart by him.

Shen Jingxian suddenly felt a bit guilty.

The original text scarcely touched upon the male lead’s childhood experiences. From the moment Wen Ranchen appeared in the story, he was already the scheming and deep-eyed blind general.

But now, without a doubt, Wen Ranchen was still a child, and a well-behaved child at that.

What kind of hardships must such an obedient child have endured to become the character in the story?

Losing his biological mother, being framed by his stepmother to the point of losing his sight, bullied in the mansion while the General turned a blind eye, enduring humiliation for ten years, and finally, reborn from the ashes.

These few short sentences encapsulate so much pain.

Shen Jingxian knew, given Wen Ranchen’s character, he wouldn’t cry incessantly just because of a bleeding hand wound; something else must have happened.

She had to find out what happened.

After all, the best way to grow closer to someone is to share secrets.

Shen Jingxian, with her wide eyes, struggled to find Wen Ranchen’s hand and pressed it against her face, asking innocently, “Brother Chen, does it still hurt?”

Feeling the warmth and smoothness from his palm, Wen Ranchen couldn’t help but give it a gentle squeeze.

This was exactly what Shen Jingxian wanted, and though Wen Ranchen didn’t apply much pressure, she pretended to cry out and accused him, “Wen Ranchen! You pinched me too hard!”

Shen Jingxian skillfully pretended to cry and wail, her voice loud though not a single tear fell, yet her act was enough to startle anyone.

Wen Ranchen was flustered and wanted to comfort Shen Jingxian but didn’t know where to start, so he could only continuously apologize, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault, Your Highness, please don’t cry.”

Seeing she’d made her point, Shen Jingxian stopped her wailing and started negotiating with Wen Ranchen, “Then Brother Chen has to tell me why you cried today.”

Wen Ranchen was stunned; he hadn’t expected Shen Jingxian to notice, thinking she always believed it was because of his hand wound that he cried.

Before he could express his doubt, Shen Jingxian continued, “The Brother Chen I know isn’t someone who would cry over a little blood.”

What nonsense, Shen Jingxian is just making things up. They’ve only known each other for a few days, spending time together, and mostly just telling stories. How could Shen Jingxian possibly know what kind of person Wen Ranchen is?

But one thing is certain: the little Wen Ranchen is well-behaved and knows how to be grateful.

Wen Ranchen felt warmth in his heart after hearing Shen Jingxian’s words.

Since his mother’s death, his father became stricter with him, concerned only about his studies and nothing else, while his stepmother constantly plotted against him.

In such circumstances, Wen Ranchen had not felt such pure care for a long time.

His eyes began to mist over again, but he didn’t want to lose face in front of Shen Jingxian and managed to hold back his tears.

“Your Highness… it’s because I had a conflict with the concubine at the mansion.”

Shen Jingxian was curious, “What kind of conflict?”

Wen Ranchen then told Shen Jingxian about the matters at his mansion.

After hearing everything, Shen Jingxian exclaimed, “Wow, Wen Ranchen, the legitimate son, is such a pitiable child at home, with no fatherly affection and unloved by the stepmother.”

In the original text, Wen Ranchen was even blind, and surviving in such a family environment without scheming was truly impossible.

But if Wen Ranchen turned into the kind of person in the original text, who would ultimately be hurt? It would be her!

Shen Jingxian made a decision. She would strive hard for herself, for Wen Ranchen, and if she succeeded, who knows what might happen.

She wanted to take the little Wen Ranchen under her wing. Even though she was only four years old now, she was the Emperor’s most beloved princess.

Shen Jingxian immediately stood up with determination, her adorable little face showing an angry expression, and in a childish voice, she said, “The concubine at the General Mansion is so bad! She broke the gift that Prince Wen wanted to give me, and I’m not happy now!!!”

“Brother Chen, don’t worry, I will teach her a lesson! I’ll make sure she doesn’t dare to break my things again, or bully you!”

Shen Jingxian took her little legs and started marching towards the Emperor, but after a couple of steps, she suddenly remembered something, and with a patter, ran back to where she started, tilting her little face up to Wen Ranchen, and in her tiny voice ordered, “Brother Chen, apply some medicine for me.”

Although it was in a commanding tone, it didn’t come off as unpleasant, not only because of Shen Jingxian’s status, but also because of her cute voice.

Having been teased by Shen Jingxian for a while, Wen Ranchen felt a lot better. At this moment, as he took the ointment Shen Jingxian handed over, his eyes could only see Shen Jingxian’s smooth skin, her soft little face, and her long, curly eyelashes.

At this distance, Wen Ranchen could even clearly see the small peach fuzz on Shen Jingxian’s face.

Shen Jingxian noticed that Wen Ranchen hadn’t moved for a long time and reminded him, “Brother Chen, hurry and apply the medicine for me. I still need to find Father.”

Wen Ranchen finally came to his senses and replied awkwardly, “Alright.”

The ointment was cool, but when he applied it to Shen Jingxian’s eyes, his fingertips suddenly felt scorching hot, so hot that he nearly withdrew his hand.

Wen Ranchen quickly finished applying the ointment for Shen Jingxian and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Shen Jingxian confidently went to find the Emperor.

At this moment, the Emperor was in the Imperial Study Room, where no entry was permitted without his permission, so Wen Ranchen waited outside for Shen Jingxian.

Shen Jingxian had just pushed open the door and hadn’t even ventured inside when a blurry figure appeared before her. She squinted her eyes and could roughly make out the bright yellow color, happily calling out, “Father!”

As soon as she spoke, Shen Jingxian was picked up, “Ah, why has my precious little princess come over here? Your eyes aren’t healed yet; you shouldn’t be running around. Are you bored? Should I call more people to accompany you?”

Standing at the door and not far away, Wen Ranchen felt a little discomfort upon hearing the Emperor’s words.

Shen Jingxian shook her head and replied, “I’m not bored; I’m angry!”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was alarmed. Anger is far more serious than boredom. His face immediately turned stern, though his voice remained gentle, fearing he would frighten his obedient daughter. “Who dares to make my Yi Fen angry!”

The Emperor looked towards Wen Ranchen outside the door, his gaze turning dangerous.

But Wen Ranchen lowered his head in respect, showing no fear, which somewhat pleased the Emperor.

“Father! It’s the concubine from the General Mansion. She ruined the gift Brother Chen was going to give me and bullied Brother Chen! It’s really too much, too wicked!”

The latter half of the sentence the Emperor didn’t take to heart, but he remembered the first half clearly, “What? She dared to damage my precious daughter’s thing! Bold fool!”

Shen Jingxian nodded vigorously to confirm, “Exactly! Brother Chen even bled from a fall; we must make the bad concubine bleed too! And she should copy books!”

The Emperor was amused by Shen Jingxian’s adorable words, finding no fault in them whatsoever. Shen Jingxian is Yunyi Country’s only legitimate princess, and she indeed possesses the right to punish.

Let alone just a concubine from the General Mansion; even the principal wife of the Prince Mansion wouldn’t dare to harm Princess Yi Fen’s belongings.

The Emperor looked at Shen Jingxian dotingly, “Alright, your father will issue an order immediately. Does the little princess have any other requests?”

Shen Jingxian thought for a moment, realizing that punishing the concubine was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause; she must control the lifeline of this concubine.

She recalled within the plot, the reason Wen Ranchen’s stepmother resorted to all means to torment Wen Ranchen was to elevate her own son. The General Mansion has only two sons; if Wen Ranchen were gone, no matter what shape her own son is in, he would certainly inherit the General Mansion.

And Wen Jingming was merely observing to train Wen Ranchen’s resilience in adversity, never offering a helping hand.

Ultimately, a completely darkened Wen Ranchen, upon gaining power, killed everyone in the General Mansion, including his biological father, Wen Jingming.

Wen Jingming pleaded for Wen Ranchen’s forgiveness before his death, but how could the inflicted harm be easily undone? He did not receive Wen Ranchen’s forgiveness until his last breath.

Shen Jingxian shook her head, thinking too far.

In any case, there is no doubt!

This bad concubine’s lifeline is her son.

“Father, I would like that bad concubine’s son to enter the palace and be placed under our watch so that she won’t dare to lay hands on Brother Chen again.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was somewhat surprised.

Unexpectedly, such a young Shen Jingxian could think at this level, seeing through appearances to the essence, a necessary skill for a ruler.

Furthermore, Shen Jingxian not only saw the essence but also understood how to maintain balance.

Could it be that his Yi Fen truly is a born ruler!!

The Emperor was astounded, calling people to carry out Shen Jingxian’s plan while running to flatter the Empress.

“Wife, truly insightful, our daughter might indeed be a born ruler!”

The Empress, hearing this, became angry, snorted without response, making the Emperor try harder in flattery.

Life isn’t easy, flattering the Empress with a sigh.

…

After receiving the response she wanted, Shen Jingxian felt intensely satisfied. As long as she provided the male lead with a warm family environment to grow in, he wouldn’t turn out so terrifying.

Even if he ends up remaining resourceful and wise almost to a supernatural extent, he wouldn’t be so vengeful against society.

Shen Jingxian couldn’t be certain and could only take it one step at a time.

From this moment on, Wen Ranchen had become her final experiment and her last straw of hope.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep