"Your Highness, this old minister has examined the Fifth Prince. His vocal cords are fine, and he should be able to speak." Finally in his area of expertise, the old physician straightened his back and said confidently.
"Then why hasn't he said anything?" Ye Jingchen asked.
"Perhaps the Fifth Prince doesn't want to speak, or perhaps he doesn't know how to speak yet," the old physician replied.
Ye Jingchen leans more towards the latter possibility: perhaps no one in Changchun Palace has the patience to teach Ye Jinghe to speak.
However, the reason for this can be found out by asking someone from Changchun Palace.
Ye Jingchen looked at the emperor.
"Zhang Shunde, go and summon Consort Shu and the palace maids who serve the Fifth Prince to the East Palace. I have questions for them!" the Emperor commanded with a stern face.
He looked at Ye Jinghe in Ye Jingchen's arms. The arrival of this child was an accident, and an accident that made many people unhappy. Therefore, his birth mother was only given the title of concubine, and the emperor had never seen her since she gave birth, as if there was no such person in the palace.
Therefore, Ye Jinghe was sent to Changchun Palace as soon as he was born, not only because Consort Shu made the timely request to raise the child, but also because the emperor simply did not want his birth mother to raise the child.
Therefore, the emperor never visited the child or mentioned the child during those four years.
It was the emperor's indifference that led to Consort Shu and the palace servants' contempt and mistreatment of Ye Jinghe.
But the child is innocent.
Ye Jinghe is his child, and no one but him can neglect or bully this child!
Children are very perceptive of people's gazes. Faced with the emperor's silent scrutiny, Ye Jinghe showed great resistance, burying his head in Ye Jingchen's neck and shoulder, and unconsciously tightening his arms around Ye Jingchen's neck.
That suffocating feeling came back.
"Father, you frightened little brother Jinghe!" Ye Jingchen said to the emperor in an accusing tone, while expertly patting Ye Jingchen's back to comfort him.
The emperor glared at Ye Jingchen with displeasure, thinking, "He's really forgotten his father now that he has a younger brother!"
Ye Jingchen's attention was focused on Ye Jinghe, and he didn't see the emperor's resentful gaze at all.
"Fangfei, prepare hot water for the Fifth Prince to bathe," he instructed.
According to his plan, after bringing Ye Jinghe back to the East Palace and having breakfast, he should have given him a bath. The child hadn't had a bath for several days; he was not only filthy but also had an indescribable odor. If he wasn't bathed soon, Ye Jingchen wouldn't be able to stand it.
Not only Ye Jinghe wanted to take a bath, but he also planned to take one.
After all, he had carried him all the way from Changchun Palace to the East Palace, and now that he was carrying him again, he felt that he had that scent on himself.
Hot water for the bath was quickly prepared, but because Ye Jinghe resisted getting close to anyone else, Ye Jingchen had no choice but to carry him to the bathroom.
"Father, please rest here for a while. I'll be able to clean Jinghe and my brother up soon," Ye Jingchen said to the emperor before leaving.
"You're going to give Jinghe a bath? I'd like to go and see too." The emperor's heart melted at the thought of the tiny Ye Jingchen, who wasn't even as tall as the bathtub, standing on tiptoe and diligently scrubbing the even smaller Ye Jinghe.
"What's so interesting about taking a bath?" Ye Jingchen said with a pout, but then he suddenly remembered Ye Jinghe's injuries and changed his mind. "If Father wants to give Jinghe a bath, that's fine too, but you can't get angry later, or you'll scare Jinghe."
The emperor was puzzled. Why was he angry over just taking a bath?
And when did he ever say he was going to give Ye Jinghe a bath?
He just wanted to see how Ye Jingchen would give Ye Jinghe a bath!
But after Ye Jingchen undressed Ye Jinghe, revealing his battered and emaciated body, the emperor slammed his hand on the edge of the bathtub in anger, almost breaking the small bathtub that had been custom-made for Ye Jingchen.
"How dare they?!" the emperor roared, but fell silent when he saw Ye Jingchen's condemning gaze and Ye Jinghe's cowering appearance.
Ye Jingchen held the naked Ye Jinghe and was about to put him into the bathtub, but Ye Jinghe, who had been very well-behaved before, suddenly began to struggle, and the expression on his little face was one of deep fear and resistance.
Ye Jingchen was worried that his resistance and struggle would trigger his mania, so he quickly carried him away from the bathtub.
After getting some distance from the bathtub, Ye Jinghe immediately stopped struggling, but he still clung tightly to Ye Jingchen like an octopus.
Ye Jingchen's heart sank.
Ye Jinghe's strong resistance to bathing must be because he had a very unpleasant experience when the palace servants bathed him before.
"Don't be afraid, Jinghe. I just want to give you a bath. After the bath, you won't smell or itch anymore," Ye Jingchen coaxed him gently.
Ye Jinghe understood, tightened his grip on Ye Jingchen's hand, and shook his head repeatedly.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to shower, but I want to. Showering is very comfortable. How about I take a shower first?” Ye Jingchen said, putting Ye Jinghe on the ground and walking towards the bathtub himself.
He had only taken a few steps when he encountered resistance.
Turning his head, he saw Ye Jinghe running over and grabbing his hand, shaking his head anxiously at him.
"Jinghe, you don't have to take a bath, but you can't stop me from taking one!" Ye Jingchen said with a smile, dragging Ye Jinghe firmly closer to the bathtub.
Ye Jinghe was clearly afraid to get close to the bathtub, but he also didn't want Ye Jingchen to get close, which put him in a difficult position.
Just as he hesitated, Ye Jingchen gave him a bright smile, then picked up Ye Jinghe, put him in the bathtub, let go, and backed away.
The movements were as fast as lightning, completed in one smooth motion.
Ye Jinghe struggled instinctively, waving his little hands wildly, before belatedly realizing that the water in the bucket was neither hot nor cold, but warm and comfortable.
He paused for a moment, looked at Ye Jingchen, his lips twitched, trying to imitate Ye Jingchen's smile, but found that he didn't know how to smile at all, so he could only purse his lips and lower his head.
Seeing that he had finally stopped resisting, Ye Jingchen rolled up his sleeves, took a bath towel, and prepared to give him a bath.
"What happened to your arm? Why is it bandaged? Are you injured?" The emperor stepped forward, grabbed Ye Jingchen's arm, and asked.
Ye Jingchen realized he had been careless; he should have been more discreet.
"Father, don't worry, it's just a small wound, it'll be fine in a few days," he said casually, trying to pull his arm away.
"Fangfei, tell me what happened?" The emperor gripped his arm tightly, looking at Fangfei, the only one left there, with a serious expression.
Fangfei glanced at Ye Jingchen, stepped forward, and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this was caused by the Fifth Prince's bite when he went berserk just now."
The emperor immediately looked at Ye Jinghe.
Ye Jingchen instinctively stepped between Ye Jinghe and the Emperor, then realized that his height was insufficient to block the Emperor's view. He said helplessly, "Father, Jinghe didn't do it on purpose; he's been poisoned."
"Besides, he's so young and weak, and the wound is shallow, so it won't hurt," he added, giving the emperor a fawning smile.
The emperor scrutinized Ye Jingchen and Ye Jinghe, and after a long while, he asked in confusion, "Why are you so protective of him now? Didn't you dislike him the most before?"
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