Chapter 430

Chapter 430 "Rules are merely tools for them to profit from—when useful, they never stop invoking them to appear noble and virtuous; when useless, they discard them like worn-out shoes." Xie Run listened seriously, nodding repeatedly. The Emperor looked at her expression and chuckled. "You understood all that?" Xie Run: "...I'm not a fool, Your Majesty. You explained it so clearly—how could I not understand?" The Emperor didn't bring up the matter of establishing an Empress again. Xie Run breathed a quiet sigh of relief inside. Whether the Emperor was deliberate or casual, testing her or just speaking offhandedly, Xie Run held firm in her resolve—she would not utter a single word on the matter. During the meal, looking at the table full of vegetarian dishes, the Emperor furrowed his brow. Just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of his son devouring his food with gusto and couldn't help but laugh. "He's always had such a good appetite?" Xie Run also looked at Taotao and said gently, "He's been worn out these past days too. He comes home every day and falls asleep the moment he hits the bed—everything tastes good to him." The Emperor: "He's easy to raise, though he does look a bit thinner." "Your Majesty shouldn't say that where Taotao can hear." Xie Run quietly nudged him. The Emperor didn't understand and looked at Xie Run with slight confusion. Xie Run sighed. "You'll find out in a moment, Your Majesty." The moment the Emperor looked over, he met Taotao's gaze—the boy was secretly sizing him up. Seeing the Emperor looking at him, Taotao grinned widely. The Emperor: "..." He had a feeling something wasn't quite right. After the meal, the Emperor went to see the Tenth Prince, Baozhen. He stared at him for a long while before saying, "Baozhen doesn't seem to resemble Cong'er when he was little." Xie Run: "Perhaps he'll look more like him when he's older." Xie Run thought to herself, You and Prince Su don't look the least bit alike either, do you? Unfortunately, she didn't have the courage to say that out loud. Just then, Taotao returned from his post-meal stroll outside. Xie Run stood up, feigning business. "I'll go change clothes first." The moment she left, Taotao trotted over and threw himself at the Emperor's legs, calling out, "Imperial Father, your son is so hungry." He rubbed his stomach with his hand. "Your son hasn't had meat in so, so long. Mother said we must observe mourning—no meat for three years." Taotao took the Emperor's hand and pressed it against his own belly, saying pitifully, "Imperial Father, look—your son's stomach has gone all flat." At first, the Emperor felt a pang of sympathy for Taotao. But when his hand landed on Taotao's round, full belly, his face darkened with exasperation. "Cong'er, since when did you learn to lie through your teeth?" "Didn't you just finish your meal?" As for the claim of no meat for three years, the Emperor didn't take it seriously at all. The Emperor knew exactly how shrewd Xie Run was. She never made mistakes on the surface, but privately she always had her own ideas and never deprived herself—how could she possibly let Taotao go without meat? He figured the boy was just craving meat and had deliberately come to make a fuss in front of him. He'd even learned to play the pitiful card. Hearing himself rejected, Taotao immediately deployed his ultimate technique. "Your son is so hungry—Imperial Father, please dote on your son!" His little eyes turned red, his lips pouted, and he wore a pitiful expression. The Emperor: "?!" It had only been a few days—what on earth had this boy learned? The Emperor's face sank. "No!" "A real man doesn't cry and whine—what kind of behavior is that?!" Taotao wasn't the least bit afraid. He kept muttering on, still wearing that pitiful look, to the point that even Nanny Xu and Dantao nearby felt their hearts soften. But with the Emperor present, they dared not speak up. Seeing that Xie Run still hadn't returned from "changing clothes," the Emperor found it amusing. "Your lady has become quite something—can't even handle her own son and has to hide from him?" Dantao hurried off to urge Xie Run to come back. Xie Run "returned from changing clothes" and glanced at her son clinging to the Emperor's leg and playing the pitiful role—she simply pretended not to see. "What's the matter, Your Majesty?" The Emperor gave a wry smile. "Who did he learn this trick from?" "In just a few days, he's learned to play pitiful and act shameless?" Xie Run immediately clarified: "He certainly didn't learn it from me." Xie Run had her pride, and she had never done anything like clinging to someone's leg and acting shameless. Xie Run: "Though I suspect Your Majesty probably doesn't want to hear it." The Emperor raised an eyebrow at her. "?!" Xie Run said calmly, "He learned it from the Sixth Prince." The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then looked deeply at Taotao. "I don't recall Old Six having such a hobby." Xie Run covered her mouth with a handkerchief, smiling with subtle amusement. "Your Majesty has been busy these days and hasn't visited the inner court often. You wouldn't know how close those two brothers have become." During the mourning period, they spent every day together, and somehow they'd even exchanged tips on how to handle their respective mothers. Lady Xian wasn't the Sixth Prince's birth mother, and with the nanny the Emperor had assigned standing between them, the relationship between mother and son was rather awkward. Over time, the young Sixth Prince had devised his own set of methods for "handling" Lady Xian. Among them, playing the victim and crying pitifully was the trick he'd taught Taotao. By the time Xie Run had caught on, Taotao had already used it on her several times. She'd sensed something off about the boy and had specifically sent people to investigate. After hearing all this, the Emperor didn't know what expression to wear. Xie Run looked at Taotao on his leg. "Your Majesty, it's not over yet. Taotao is far more talkative than the Sixth Prince." The Sixth Prince was quick-witted, but his temperament was weak, and he knew how to read the room. Playing coy and acting spoiled was always done with restraint. Taotao, spoiled by Xie Run, had somehow developed a thick-skinned, shameless temperament over time. Sometimes when Xie Run didn't cater to his wishes, he could whine and pester about it all day long. Even a stern face couldn't scare him. The Emperor hadn't taken Xie Run's words too seriously at first. Children making a fuss was normal, but they usually didn't have much staying power. Yet his son happened to teach him a lesson. At noon, the Emperor practically fled the palace. Dantao said with some concern, "Your Ladyship, why didn't you rein him in?" "By all rights, when His Majesty comes to our palace, even if he doesn't stay the night, he should at least stay for the evening meal." "His leaving like this today is bound to invite gossip. Moreover..." Dantao glanced at Xie Run, "Could His Majesty harbor resentment?" Even though Xie Run now held the rank of Noble Consort and enjoyed unmatched favor, Dantao, as her personal attendant, remained anxious and fearful, worried that her mistress might fail to serve properly and lose the Emperor's affection. Xie Run smiled and said, "I know you're worried on my behalf." "How many consorts are even left in the palace now? Who could possibly criticize me?" Saying this wasn't arrogance on Xie Run's part—it was simply the truth. "Besides, Taotao is the Emperor's own son. He ought to understand what kind of temperament his son has." The Emperor was never afraid of his sons having flaws; what he feared was a son who wore one face in public and another behind closed doors. Affection grows through time spent together. A living, breathing person with a vivid personality—that's what an Emperor's son should be, not a prince taught only to cry out "Imperial Father" with nothing but respect and reverence. Of course, more importantly, the Emperor wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. As soon as the Emperor left, Xie Run began to "discipline" Taotao. "See how your Imperial Father found your nagging tiresome? You're a man now—how can you be so chatty?!" He had insisted on eating meat for the better part of the day, more persistent than the Tang Monk chanting sutras.