Life between heaven and earth is like that of a traveler on a long journey.
As someone who has already died once, Ye Jingchen understands one thing all too well: no one can accompany another person until the very end; everyone is just a passerby in each other's lives.
Therefore, one cannot be too dependent on another person; everyone must have the ability to live independently.
Ye Jingchen knew that Ye Jinghe relied on him a lot, and this reliance stemmed from his past experiences and inner unease.
Ye Jinghe is still young and does not have the ability to survive on his own, so Ye Jingchen tacitly approves of this dependence. At the same time, he is also slowly nurturing Ye Jinghe's ability to be independent.
For example, at the beginning, he preferred to sing nursery rhymes to Ye Jinghe to sleep every day rather than sleep with him, precisely to prevent Ye Jinghe from becoming too dependent on him.
He reserved private space and time for each of them—their own sleeping quarters and the time they spent sleeping at night.
As Ye Jinghe grows up, this private space and time will gradually expand until he comes of age, leaves the Eastern Palace to build his own residence, and they will have their own things to do and will not see each other every day...
By then, Ye Jinghe had grown into a completely independent individual.
This is what Ye Jingchen wanted to see.
"Brother, you're here! You're finally awake! You can sleep so much! I've been waiting for you for so long!" Upon seeing Ye Jingchen, Ye Jinghe immediately put down his pen and rushed towards Ye Jingchen, complaining as he did so.
He lunged a little too fast and with too much force, and Ye Jingchen stumbled when he caught him.
With that kind of strength, he might be able to lift someone up with difficulty now, but after a while, he probably won't be able to lift them anymore.
Moreover, Ye Jinghe is clearly growing taller now. In another two months, not only will his weight not allow it, but his height may also not allow it.
Each person is an independent individual, and time gradually pushes them apart.
"We should go to Chengqian Palace now, or we'll miss out on lunch," Ye Jingchen said with a smile, holding his hand.
"I really don't want to go have dinner with him!" Ye Jinghe muttered to himself, but he stayed close to his brother.
"Caring for the elderly living alone starts with you and me." Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Ye Jingchen made a little joke.
"Thinking about it that way, he really is quite pitiful!" Ye Jinghe covered his mouth with his free hand and chuckled.
The two brothers strolled from the Imperial Garden to Chengqian Palace with their entourage. Along the way, Ye Jinghe tried to pick every flower he saw, but Ye Jingchen stopped him.
He didn't want Ye Jinghe to send flowers to the emperor as gifts again.
Giving the same gift too often can easily lead to aesthetic fatigue and depreciation, not to mention that Ye Jinghe's flowers may be hiding a crisis.
Since he has no requests today, there's no need for him to bring any gifts to curry favor.
I wandered to Chengqian Palace empty-handed, just in time for lunch.
The timing of the brothers' arrival was quite delicate, and naturally, the emperor received another loving scolding.
"I heard you slept until the end of the 9 AM hour today and didn't even have breakfast. Since you want to learn from the hermits and fast, why don't you skip lunch too, lest you ruin your cultivation?!" the emperor said irritably.
"Your Majesty, I simply slept in. How did it come to your ears that I did something that would incur divine wrath?" Ye Jingchen deliberately looked at the emperor with a mournful expression.
The emperor knew so much about what was happening in the Eastern Palace because many people there were his 'spies'.
Ye Jingchen had no intention of exposing them, nor did he intend to hold the emperor's actions against him.
After all, the difference between 'surveillance' and 'protection' is just a matter of a single thought.
The position of Crown Prince is incredibly stressful, with both internal and external troubles. He wouldn't be foolish enough to put pressure on himself so easily.
"Sleeping in doesn't mean you have to skip breakfast!"
At this moment, the emperor's nagging is no different from that of millions of ordinary parents in the 21st century.
"It's because Father Emperor only allows me to rest for one day a month, so of course I have to catch up on sleep on that day! If I could rest for a few more days, I definitely wouldn't be so sleepy that I would miss breakfast!" Ye Jingchen stretched out his little foot again to test the waters.
"You're lucky if you get even one day of rest! What will you do when you become emperor and don't get a single day of rest?!" the emperor said angrily.
"When the day comes that I keep my word, I will definitely promulgate a law that stipulates a five-day work week with two days off, where people only have to work five days out of every seven days and rest for the other two days!" Ye Jingchen muttered.
"Five days on, two days off? What kind of daydream are you having? Do you think being an emperor is so easy? Five days on, two days off, and you'll be buried under a mountain of memorials!" The emperor slapped him on the forehead in anger.
"I have so many ministers, wouldn't they share my burdens? What use are they to me?" Ye Jingchen said righteously while dodging.
“Some things can be delegated to subordinates, but some things still require your personal attention. Once you’ve relinquished power that you shouldn’t have, it will be difficult to take it back. You’re still so young, do you even know what it means to govern your subordinates?” The emperor thought he was naive and said with disdain.
Ye Jingchen thought to himself, "That's hard to say, after all, modern people have already thoroughly studied these four words."
However, here, at this moment, in front of the emperor, at his age, he couldn't say anything, he could only smile foolishly.
"Father, I'm just worried about your health and afraid you'll get tired!" Ye Jingchen said ingratiatingly.
In fact, he prayed for the emperor every day, praying that he would live to be a hundred years old and remain emperor until the end!
He is different from a certain person in history. He is very open-minded and he is happy to be the crown prince for thirty or forty years, or even fifty years!
While someone is carrying the burden ahead, he can have an incredibly enjoyable time slacking off behind!
Although the words were well-intentioned, the emperor still felt uneasy.
That awful feeling returned. "If you're really worried about me getting tired, then study the art of governing a country and try to relieve my burdens as soon as possible!"
"No problem, Father. It's not just me, but also my sisters and brothers. When we grow up, we can all help you!" Ye Jingchen said decisively.
When things get busy, let the brothers and sisters do the work. He can just remotely direct from behind. This way, he can take a break from his busy schedule and also train their skills. It's a win-win situation!
The emperor's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but considering that Ye Jinghe was still standing there, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
"Don't you like lively gatherings? Today your elder sister is holding a spring banquet at Chaoyang Palace, why don't you go and join in the fun?" the emperor asked.
"The guests at the Spring Banquet are all young girls; it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go," Ye Jingchen replied.
"You are the Crown Prince, what's inappropriate about that? Haven't you always liked good-looking girls? All the young ladies attending the Spring Banquet are quite beautiful, and there are many who are even prettier than that rich kid from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Don't you really want to go and see them?" the Emperor tempted.
Ye Jingchen was speechless. When did he start liking good-looking people?
Besides, it's inappropriate to compare Xie Chang'an, a man, with those young girls, isn't it?
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