The young man continued to smile faintly, then frowned in surprise. "The former Imperial Preceptor, 'Night Extreme,' had already gone traveling before Nian Nian even came to the capital. Why is he seeking out Nian Nian?"

A boy with a faint, seemingly innocent smile deliberately emphasized the words "Night Extreme".

The look in Zhuangyou's eyes behind him was so intense that she wanted to poke two holes in the head of this little prince with sesame filling.

All he does is deceive her little princess! She thinks that the person behind this scheme that's been trying to take Niannian away might actually be him!

"Night Extreme? Is that Uncle Beard?"

Sure enough, thanks to Huo Chengche's "unremitting efforts," a soft, sweet little voice, full of sleepiness, rang out, sounding exceptionally clear in the slightly oppressive and quiet room.

A look of surprise flashed in Huo Chengche's eyes. He looked down at the sleepy little boy rubbing his eyes in his arms and asked with a smile, "I wonder if Master Yeji is Nian Nian's Uncle Beard? What does Uncle Beard look like?"

The little dumpling nestled in his older brother's arms, yawning sweetly. He rubbed his soft, tender face against his warm chest, his sweet, baby voice soft and sticky, "Mmm... Uncle Beard has a long beard, and a red mole between his eyebrows, and mmm..."

The little dumpling tilted her head and thought carefully for a while, then pouted and snuggled into her older brother's arms, saying in a childish voice, "He smells nice, but not like Mommy, not like my older brother, not like Sister Zhuangyou, and not like my godfather..."

Finally, the silly baby recounted the stories of everyone she knew, but didn't mention what kind of fragrance it was.

Huo Chengche smiled, his eyebrows curving in amusement. His voice was gentle and clear, with a slight huskiness unique to young men. "Hmm, Niannian is really great! So, is his name also 'Yeji'?"

The little boy nodded his head vigorously, "Yes! That's right!"

Huo Chengche's dark eyes were deep as he held the soft little baby in his arms, his brows slightly furrowed.

The little girl seemed to sense that her older brother, the Crown Prince, disliked Uncle Beard, so she quickly waved her little hands and tried to speak well of him.

"Brother Crown Prince, Uncle Beard is so kind! He never gets angry when he loses at playing chess with Daddy, unlike Uncle Ugly Bird next door, who always makes a scene before leaving! And he even steals Niannian's snacks! Humph! Uncle Beard always brings snacks for Niannian!"

"And also, Uncle Beard will take Niannian to play in the mud, unlike Fifth Brother, who only knows how to take Niannian to play in the mud. Every time he comes back, Mother gets angry, and then Fifth Brother gets thrown out, hehehe~"

...

Huo Chengche listened to the little boy's words, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, a faint smile on his face, but his eyes held even more complex emotions.

The way the little boy described him was more in line with the image of the ethereal and gentle National Preceptor Yeji that he remembered. He was always so otherworldly, seemingly detached from the mortal world. He was clearly very approachable, yet also subtly distant. These contradictions, when combined, created an unusual harmony in him.

Whenever you see him, you can see a profound and enlightened understanding in him.

Throughout the Huo imperial family's history, Ye Ji can be considered the most accomplished imperial advisor, a figure that even ten Changxu combined could not match.

Huo Chengche's dark eyes grew even deeper.

Fortunately, Huo Chengche didn't listen carefully. Zhuang You, who was standing next to him, heard the little boy's soft, childish voice clearly saying "Uncle Stinky Bird" and "Duiyunyun"... Her eyelids twitched again and again, and she felt so guilty that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

So, after the little baby kept nagging, Zhuangyou finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Before her little darling could reveal the entire secrets of the Prince's mansion, she quickly interrupted: