"His Majesty has arrived!"

A shrill, high-pitched voice rang out from the doorway.

The crowd, who had just stood up, knelt down again in unison, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Ye Jingchen hesitated.

He felt awkward seeing others kneel before him, but he felt even more awkward kneeling before others, even if that person was the original owner's father.

However, in feudal society under imperial autocracy, the consequences of not kneeling before the emperor seemed to be very serious.

Fortunately, although this emperor was a father, he also seemed to be a loving father. He didn't mind this and strode over to the bedside. He grabbed Ye Jingchen's small body with his big hands, looked him over here and there, and pinched him there. Although the force was a bit strong, his concern seemed genuine.

"Chen'er, you're finally awake. Is there anything else that's bothering you?" The man looked very young, and his voice was full of energy. Because he was so close, it made Ye Jingchen's head buzz.

However, what shocked Ye Jingchen even more was how this man addressed him.

Chen'er? Could it be the 'Chen' in Ye Jingchen's name?

Did he transmigrate into the novel as Ye Jingchen, the cannon fodder prince with the same name as him?

Falling into the water—

He tried hard to recall the contents of the novel. Because he was just a cannon fodder character, there were not many descriptions of this prince. There was only one plot related to falling into the water.

In the Imperial Garden, Ye Jingchen encountered the Third Prince Ye Jingyu by the waterside pavilion. Seeing that Ye Jingyu was alone and without any palace maids or eunuchs, he thought of pushing him into the waterside pavilion to drown him. However, Ye Jingyu was not pushed in, but he himself accidentally fell into the water. Although he was quickly rescued by the eunuchs who were with him, he choked on water and fainted because of the intense struggle.

The novel mentions this event because it is a key point in the feud between the deposed crown prince, the third prince, and the third prince's maternal clan.

The deposed crown prince, having failed in his attempt to harm others, ended up suffering the consequences himself. Upon waking up, he went directly to the emperor to complain, claiming that he had been pushed into the water by the third prince.

Apart from the two princes, everyone else present was from the deposed crown prince's palace, so naturally no one exposed his lie. The emperor, who already favored the crown prince, was furious upon hearing this. Although he did not punish the third prince, he punished the third prince's mother, the Imperial Concubine, by making her kneel before the memorial tablet of the deceased empress for a full three hours and confining her to her quarters for a month. Confinement was a minor matter, but the Imperial Concubine was delicate and precious, and those three hours of kneeling almost ruined her knees, leaving her with a chronic illness.

Afterwards, the Imperial Concubine and the Third Prince tried their best to prove their innocence, but the Emperor only lightly reprimanded the deposed Crown Prince a few times, and then bestowed some gifts upon the Imperial Concubine and her son, thus letting the matter drop.

Later, whenever the Imperial Concubine's knees hurt, she would resent the deposed Crown Prince, and the Third Prince wished he could tear the deposed Crown Prince apart.

"Father—Emperor, I'm alright."

With a hint of probing, Ye Jingchen almost slipped up and called him "Dad." He quickly corrected himself and asked cautiously, "How long have I been unconscious?"

"You've been unconscious for a whole day. If you don't wake up soon, I will have all those quack doctors in the Imperial Hospital executed!" The emperor said, his gaze sweeping down over the three imperial physicians present, his aura extremely powerful.

The three imperial physicians, who were already kneeling on the ground, slid even further down, wishing they could be invisible.

Ye Jingchen was also a little scared, but he still had to bite the bullet and ask, "Then—about your son falling into the water?"

"Jingyu actually dared to push you into the water! The Consort has failed in her duty of education. I have already punished her by making her kneel before your mother's memorial tablet!" the Emperor said casually.

Ye Jingchen: !

He had indeed transmigrated into the body of the deposed crown prince as a child, but—

Heaven is going to destroy him!

He slept for a whole day, so who can tell him how long the Imperial Concubine has been forced to kneel?

"Father, it's not my third brother's fault. Actually, I saw him alone by the water and wanted to scare him, but I accidentally fell into the water myself. It wasn't my third brother who pushed me in!" Ye Jingchen hurriedly explained.

"Really?" The emperor looked at him suspiciously. "With your father protecting you, you don't need to be afraid. Just tell the truth. The palace servants around you all say that Jingyu pushed you into the water."

Ye Jingchen smiled bitterly. The Crown Prince had fallen into the water right before their eyes. Their negligence in protecting him was a serious crime that could very well result in their execution. The palace servants were naturally afraid of taking responsibility, so they could only try to pin the blame on others.

Ye Jingchen reached out and tugged at the emperor's dragon robe. "Father, they were behind me and my third brother at the time, and some distance away from us. It's possible they misjudged us. But I was there myself. I can tell whether I was pushed or fell down on my own."

"Is that really true?" The emperor still seemed somewhat skeptical.

“A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall. I saw my third brother alone by the water, and instead of taking him to safety immediately, I tried to scare him. It was all my fault. Father—Father should punish me.” Ye Jingchen cleverly changed the way he addressed the emperor.

He realized that the novel's portrayal of the emperor's favoritism towards the deposed crown prince was a conservative one. This was no ordinary favoritism; it was practically treating him like the apple of his eye.

He was called "Chen'er" when he was the third prince, but "Jingyu" when he was the third prince; he referred to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial emperor) when speaking to the imperial physician, but as "我" (Wo, the crown prince) when speaking to the crown prince.

The imperial concubine and her son would certainly defend him, but he preferred to believe the palace servants around the crown prince rather than the woman he shared a bed with and his own child.

As for the matter of the deposed crown prince falling into the water, with everyone watching, if the emperor wanted to investigate, he could find out the truth in a short time. There was absolutely no possibility that he was deceived by the palace servants!

This shows that the emperor truly liked the deposed crown prince and had no doubts about him whatsoever.

"A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall? Haha, Chen'er, you're right, I'm very pleased!" The emperor laughed heartily, looking just like any ordinary father in a common family who is especially happy to see his child make some progress.

"So—shouldn't Father Emperor rescind his order and stop making the Imperial Concubine kneel?"

If kneeling causes something bad to happen and creates an enemy, he'll be the one who suffers in the future!

The Emperor was furious when he heard that Consort Gui had gone to the Zichen Palace and made a scene, saying that the Crown Prince had tried to push Jingyu into the water but failed and ended up falling in himself. That's why he punished her by making her kneel before the Empress's tablet. Consort Gui deserved to be punished for slandering Chen'er in order to exonerate herself!

But his Chen'er is completely sincere, and he would be very sad if he found out that the Imperial Concubine had turned the tables on him.

The emperor's face darkened. "She failed to take good care of Jingyu, leaving him alone in danger. Shouldn't she be punished?"

"But since I fell into the water first, I'm afraid the Consort and Jingyu will overthink things. Jingyu and I are brothers, and I don't want to have a rift with him because of this. So, Father, please don't punish the Consort this time, okay?" Ye Jingchen tugged at the Emperor's sleeve and pleaded.

It's shameful for a 30-year-old adult to act cute, but it's not only not shameful for a toddler to act cute, it's also incredibly effective.

This is something Ye Jingchen learned from his young niece, and his whole family is very receptive to it.