"Your Highness?"

"Your Highness? It's a quarter past Mao Shi (5:15 AM), time to get up!"

"Your Highness?"

A persistent voice kept bothering Ye Jingchen, waking him from his sleep.

"So noisy!" Ye Jingchen slapped the source of the noise.

"Your Highness, please forgive me!" Fangfei quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness, which just happened to avoid the hand, causing Ye Jingchen's hand to miss its mark.

After a moment, Ye Jingchen finally regained his senses and looked at Fangfei with a slightly apologetic expression.

He wasn't intentionally trying to get angry; it's just that he can't control his morning grumpiness. In the past, no one in his family wanted to wake him up, so he had to rely on an alarm clock.

"Get up. From now on, when you wake me up, stay away from me and speak loudly, or I won't be responsible if you get hurt!" Ye Jingchen reminded him with a stern face.

Fangfei lowered her eyes and replied, "Yes."

However, I don't intend to listen.

Waking His Highness up has always been a thankless and arduous task. His Highness always throws a tantrum after being woken up, and they are all used to it.

If they really stand further away and speak louder as His Highness said, His Highness will say they have no manners and don't respect him, and he might get even angrier, and they will be the ones who suffer.

The Eastern Palace is not close to the Emperor's Chengqian Palace, and Ye Jingchen is short-legged and can't walk fast. In addition, he also needs to go to the garden, so he is actually in a hurry.

He urged the palace maids to help him wash and dress. Meeting the emperor was a big deal, so the palace maids dared not be careless and dressed him up carefully from head to toe.

He was almost asleep waiting when the palace maids finally finished tidying up, and he rushed out of the palace gate.

It was past five in the morning and the sky was still gray. A chill swept over us, but luckily Fangfei was thoughtful and draped a small cloak over him.

"Let's go to the garden first. I want to personally pick the most beautiful flower to give to Father Emperor," Ye Jingchen commanded.

Upon hearing this, the palace servants were all stunned.

To present the emperor with a flower?

Your Highness, are you sure?

"Your Highness, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Fangfei asked cautiously.

"I can't go to pay my respects to my father empty-handed, but I don't have any presentable gifts. I might as well pick a flower; it's pretty and smells nice." Ye Jingchen said innocently.

"Then you might as well go empty-handed!" This was the sentiment of all the palace servants.

However, His Highness the Crown Prince's decision would not be easily changed. Ye Jingchen led a large group of people to the garden, ostensibly to ask them to help him pick flowers, as he was determined to choose the most beautiful one.

In the garden, a dozen palace lanterns lit the way. Ye Jingchen used the opportunity of picking flowers to call out the names of all the people around him and managed to remember some of their individual characteristics.

After making a huge fuss for half an hour, ensuring the spectacle was enough to alarm the emperor, Ye Jingchen finally selected a peony he had long admired, picked it himself, and carefully held it in his hand.

"Your Highness, the road to Chengqian Palace is still long. Let me carry it for you for now."

Fangfei wanted to get the flowers for him, but he refused.

Only if he takes it himself can he show his sincerity, right?

It was a spring willow, with emerald green flowers and leaves resembling willow branches, exceptionally beautiful and perfectly suited to the season.

The most wonderful thing is that there is a dewdrop in the flower's stamen, crystal clear, about to fall but not quite.

Therefore, Ye Jingchen was particularly careful when holding the flower, afraid that the dew would be shaken off.

After they finished picking the flowers, it was already broad daylight. They were in a bit of a rush, so Ye Jingchen led a few palace servants and walked with long strides. Before long, they were panting heavily.

The eunuch beside him wanted to hug him, but he refused. He was joking. If he were really a child of a few years old, it would be fine to hug him, but deep down he was a thirty-year-old man. How could he let a man hug him?

They rushed as fast as they could, and finally arrived at Chengqian Palace at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

Then the palace servants of Chengqian Palace informed him that His Majesty the Emperor had not yet finished his morning court session.

Ye Jingchen thought for three seconds and decided to bring his gift to greet the emperor after the morning court session. He thought that the emperor would be very proud in front of all the civil and military officials.

His decision caused all the palace staff in the Eastern Palace to look sorrowful.

“Your Highness, the area in front of the Taiji Hall is so solemn and majestic. After court, all the officials will pass by there. With so many people and so much chatter, what if someone bumps into or knocks over the gift you gave to His Majesty? Wouldn’t that be a pity?” Fangfei tried to dissuade him from this idea.

"I will take good care of it!" Ye Jingchen said confidently.

The Taiji Hall is not far from the Chengqian Palace, and there is a path leading directly to a side gate in the hall. However, only the emperor and his eunuchs can walk on this path; no one else is allowed to walk on it, not even the crown prince.

If you go around from the front, you have to climb the steps.

Nine is the ultimate number, and the steps are exactly ninety-nine, no more and no less, symbolizing the pinnacle of human achievement.

Ye Jingchen was determined to climb the steps himself, and he couldn't climb them too slowly, since the emperor might dismiss the court at any time. If he was too late, he wouldn't achieve the effect he wanted.

The palace servants couldn't stop them, so they could only wretchedly climb along with them.

Climbing ninety-nine steps while protecting the flowers in his hands really exhausted Ye Jingchen.

He secretly resolved that once he was fully familiar with this identity, he would definitely put physical training on his agenda!

When he reached the entrance of the Taiji Hall, the court session had just ended. The ministers left the Taiji Hall in neat rows, then dispersed in front of the hall, gathering in twos and threes to descend the steps.

The seating arrangement during the morning court session was very particular; the higher one's rank, the closer one stood to the emperor. This resulted in lower-ranking officials being the first to leave the Taiji Hall.

The crown prince was still young and rarely appeared in public, so many officials had never seen him before and did not recognize him. Their first thought upon seeing him was, "How can there be a child in front of the Taiji Hall holding a flower? This is too ridiculous."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!