This was the most restful sleep Ye Jinghe had ever had in his memory.

He didn't have nightmares, didn't wake up hungry or cold in the middle of the night, and wasn't disturbed by his dog servants. He slept soundly until dawn.

When he opened his eyes, he was even a little dazed.

The soft, warm bed and the soft-spoken palace maids all told him that he had finally escaped that dark, hungry, cold, and tormented hellhole.

"Brother—brother?" he murmured, looking confused.

Ye Jinghe started remembering things very early, and in his painful memories, this so-called 'older brother' definitely occupied a large and vivid part.

His brother was once the person in the palace who hated him the most, calling him the son of a lowly palace maid and ordering the palace servants to bully and humiliate him.

Consort Shu's biggest mistake was simply ignoring him; the one who truly caused him to suffer endless torment in Changchun Palace was his brother.

No, I should say he was my older brother from before.

But ever since he ran into his brother in the Imperial Garden the day before yesterday, Ye Jinghe keenly sensed that his brother had changed.

The look in his brother's eyes was no longer filled with the obvious disgust he used to have, nor with that condescending attitude as if looking at an ant. Instead, it was one of surprise, peace, and even pity.

Yesterday, when his brother broke down the temple gates that had confined him and walked toward him into the light, he seemed to glow as well.

In that instant, he made a decision.

When his brother hugged him, he did not resist or struggle, and even hid the disgust in his eyes.

This was his first attempt, and he succeeded.

His brother carried him and swaggered away from Changchun Palace, which felt like a prison. Consort Shu was furious but helpless.

After leaving Changchun Palace, he knew his brother was tired from carrying him, but he just wouldn't let go or let anyone else carry him.

This was his second test of his brother.

If his brother disregarded his wishes and abandoned him to the palace servants, it would mean that his brother's kindness towards him was fake, and that his goodwill and protectiveness towards him were all for ulterior motives.

He wanted his brother to do that because he didn't want to have any expectations of anyone.

But his brother did not abandon him.

Even though he had to rest frequently along the way, he gritted his teeth and carried him back to the East Palace.

After arriving at the Eastern Palace, his elder brother personally washed his hands and face, and fed him porridge.

The older brother ate delicious food himself, but fed him bland white porridge.

Although the warm, thick white porridge was a rare delicacy for him, compared to the table full of delicacies next to him, he found it particularly unpleasant to eat.

Because of this bowl of plain porridge, he began his third test—going mad.

In fact, his mental illness was not entirely uncontrollable, but he liked the feeling of being insane, and could take revenge on those around him who bullied him without restraint.

Therefore, he will not tell anyone this secret!

He was so afraid of starving in Changchun Palace that he subconsciously drank the tea he was using to rinse his mouth. When a palace maid came to take his teacup, he took the opportunity to go mad.

His older brother immediately stepped forward to stop him, and he waited to be beaten up—every time he went crazy in Changchun Palace before, he would be beaten by the palace servants.

There were several times more palace servants in the East Palace than in the Changchun Palace, but the elder brother did not ask the servants for help. Instead, he used his hands and feet to hold him down and gently comforted him.

He was unhappy.

A fleeting act of kindness is more disgusting than malice.

He bit his brother's arm.

It bit down very hard.

As he bit, he maliciously hoped that his brother would shake him off and beat him up, which would make him feel much better.

Unfortunately, even after being knocked unconscious by the old imperial physician's needles, he didn't get the beating he wanted; instead, he was met by the emperor.

He was an unwanted prince who was abandoned at birth and sent to Changchun Palace. Since he could remember, he had never seen his biological mother, nor had he seen the emperor many times.

But thanks to his brother, he saw the emperor, his father, for two consecutive days.

The emperor's attitude towards him remained unchanged; he continued to dislike and ignore him.

Both were the emperor's children, but the emperor treated his brother and him completely differently. Just as the lackeys said when they were beating him, the crown prince was the emperor's heart and soul, while he was just a pile of shit that the emperor had excreted.

My heart and liver are precious, they are my life. I would only feel disgusted to see their excrement.

After discovering that he couldn't speak, the emperor's gaze made him even more uncomfortable.

But his brother defended him in front of the emperor.

The emperor was very displeased with this.

He was happy when the emperor was unhappy.

Later, his older brother took him to take a bath.

He has had too many unpleasant experiences with taking a bath.

His dog handlers paid him no attention whatsoever. They would only remember to bathe him once every ten days or so, until he was completely stinky. The bath water was always either too cold or too hot, rarely at the right temperature. Moreover, they wouldn't bathe him themselves; they would just throw him a rag and tell him to wash himself, so he strongly resisted bathing.

He refused to get into the bathtub, but his brother took advantage of his momentary lapse in attention and threw him in without hesitation. The moment he touched the water, he almost went crazy again.

The water in the bathtub was unexpectedly warm, and my brother even gave him a bath himself. Although he scrubbed him quite hard, it was a painful but comfortable experience.

He took the most comfortable bath he could remember, but—his brother scrubbed him three times, was it because he thought he was dirty and smelly?

But after taking a shower, his brother kissed him. No one had ever kissed him before. For the sake of the kiss, he generously forgave his brother's dislike.

What pleased him most was that his brother persuaded the emperor to let him stay in the Eastern Palace.

After the emperor left, his brother taught him to speak. He didn't want to speak at first; if he couldn't speak, he couldn't speak. He didn't want to talk to anyone anyway.

But his older brother was so annoying. He taught him over and over again, but he wouldn't speak, and his brother wouldn't even hug him!

He liked his brother's embrace; it was very warm.

He compromised for the sake of this embrace, since he could only talk to his brother and not to anyone else.

When he started speaking, his brother was overjoyed and kept praising him for being smart.

He is certainly very smart, even smarter than his brother thought. If his brother continues to like him, he can become even smarter.

Being with his brother made him feel for the first time that time flew by, especially after dark.

It was dark and he should have gone to sleep, but he didn't want to. He was afraid that this was just a beautiful dream, and that when he woke up, his brother would become that annoying brother again.

He wanted to sleep with his brother, but was refused. His brother even tied him up with a blanket, making him unable to move. Just as he was about to go crazy, his brother started singing a nursery rhyme to lull him to sleep.

The simple melody, the ridiculous lyrics, and the gentle patting from his brother created an unexpected hypnotic effect, and his eyes closed without him even realizing it.

As his consciousness began to fade, he thought, "I hope that when I wake up, I'll still see this older brother."