Li Yun looked at the "tiger" blocking his path and instinctively shot a look at Liu Ye.

’I’ve been framed!’ Liu Ye screamed internally. Even if he were a hundred times bolder, he would never dare leak the Emperor’s whereabouts. Besides, Taiji Palace was always heavily guarded. It was impossible for any outsider to spy on its goings-on.

’But recently, with the Emperor bedridden, hasn’t the Crown Prince been visiting every day to attend to him? Given that, how could the Eastern Palace remain completely oblivious to the goings-on in Taiji Palace?’

’If anyone was to blame, it could only be that the Crown Prince was far too clever.’

At that moment, Li Yan spoke in a clear, crisp voice. "Father, you must take care of your health. Leaving the palace today will surely be inconvenient, so why not bring me with you? If you have any business to handle outside the palace, you can entrust it to me. Or, you could take me along, and whatever you need done, Father, you can have me see to it."

Though just a small boy, Li Yan finished his articulate speech, his pair of bright, spirited eyes—which bore a striking resemblance to Ming Lingyi’s—widening as he simply stared at Li Yun.

Li Yun: "..."

’He’s already blocked my path. What can I possibly say now?’

’If I refuse today, he’ll probably bad-mouth me to Ming Lingyi the next time he sees her.’

At the thought of his current strained relationship with Ming Lingyi, and her clear favoritism toward their young son, Li Yun felt the veins in his temples throb uncontrollably.

"Get on," Li Yun said coldly from his palanquin.

But Li Yan didn’t mind his father’s tone in the slightest. He was long used to it. ’The most important thing,’ he thought, ’is that I’ll get to see Mother soon.’

Once outside the palace, the Li father and son switched to a horse-drawn carriage.

Li Yun’s eye twitched when he saw that Li Yan had also brought a three-tiered food box.

"Don’t they feed you enough in the Eastern Palace?"

Completely oblivious to the sour note in his father’s question, Li Yan said gleefully, "Mother said that from now on, whenever I want to taste her cooking, I can go to the restaurant anytime. It’s past noon today, and my belly is full, but I can still eat them tomorrow morning! If I bring a food box, Mother will definitely give me lots and lots of pastries."

After saying this, Li Yan suddenly recalled the time his own father had stolen nearly all of his green balls. He clutched the food box to his chest and asked warily, "Father, you don’t like sweets, right?"

Li Yun: "..."

"The Imperial Chefs never make pastries! It’s because you don’t like them, right, Father?" Li Yan was now in full-on inquisitive mode, blinking as he pressed for an answer.

’Anyone else would have known to shut up by now.’

’Who would dare to grill the Emperor about his personal tastes?’

And Li Yun did, in fact, want to lose his temper.

It wasn’t the persistent questioning that angered him, but rather his own shame turning into rage.

’It was true he didn’t care for sweets, but Yuan Niang’s creations couldn’t be categorized so simply.’

’When he loved someone, he naturally loved everything about her.’

’No matter what Ming Lingyi made, he would love it.’

’But would Ming Lingyi cook for him now?’

’Of course not.’

’If he wanted a taste, he had to snatch it from his own son.’

To his ears, Li Yan’s words, spoken while clutching the food box, were no different from gloating.

A tightness constricted Li Yun’s chest.

And to make matters worse, the troublesome little son sitting across from him was still muttering, pestering him with endless questions.

In the next instant, Li Yun shot his hand out, quick as lightning, and pinched Li Yan’s chattering little mouth shut.

He squished the boy’s lips into a pout like a duck’s bill.

Li Yan: "!"

His eyes widened in utter disbelief.

He wanted to speak, but with his father’s fingers pinching his lips, he couldn’t make a sound.

"Be quiet. It’s too noisy," Li Yun said in a low voice, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

Li Yan: "..."

Unconsciously, a look of hurt began to well up in his eyes.

Seeing that little face, so much like Ming Lingyi’s, Li Yun slowly let go.

As for the boy’s hurt expression, he pretended not to notice.

When the Li father and son arrived at the back entrance of Ming’s Restaurant, it was not yet time for dinner, and the place seemed quiet both inside and out.

Having woken from her afternoon nap, Ming Lingyi was sitting in the courtyard, examining the apricot blossom wine she had brewed earlier.

The moment she lifted the lid, a delicate fragrance wafted out.

She couldn’t sell this wine; the restaurant didn’t have a license for brewing and selling alcohol.

Then again, Ming Lingyi hadn’t planned on selling the apricot blossom wine anyway. After all, she didn’t have time to brew much of it.

When Li Yun knocked on the back door, Ming Lingyi was alone in the courtyard.

In fact, Wu Zhao Yu had been in the courtyard just a moment before, but knowing that her former master was about to arrive, she had found an excuse and slipped away.

Ming Lingyi stood up, muttering that it was probably Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue returning from their errand to gather news.

But when she opened the door, she saw someone who should not have been there standing on the threshold.

"What are you doing here?" The moment she saw Li Yun, Ming Lingyi’s expression soured.

She hadn’t forgotten how, when she had visited him in the palace out of goodwill, Li Yun had tried to control her life.

Ming Lingyi blocked the doorway, clearly having no intention of letting him inside.

Blocked at the door, Li Yun’s lips thinned. "I’m not the one who wanted to see you. He is."

As he spoke, Li Yun pulled Li Yan, who had been hidden behind him, into view.

Li Yan: "???"

’Who was that just holding me back so firmly?’

The moment Ming Lingyi saw the suddenly-appeared Little Bun, her expression immediately softened.

"Little Huachao!"

At that moment, Li Yan desperately wanted to throw himself into the arms of the mother he hadn’t seen in days and act spoiled for a bit. But with his father still holding him by the scruff of his neck, he couldn’t pounce even if he tried.

"Mother," Li Yan said, his tone full of affection as he broke into a grin that showed his little white teeth.

Ming Lingyi reached out, took the Little Bun’s soft hand, and pulled him inside. "Why didn’t you send someone to let me know you were coming? What would you like for dinner?" As she spoke, she reached to shut the back door.

Li Yan exclaimed, "I love anything you make, Mother!"

His gaze, however, followed Ming Lingyi’s other hand as it moved to shut the door.

Unsurprisingly, his eyes met his father’s.

He saw his mother trying to shut his Father Emperor outside, but his father had put a hand on the wooden door, preventing her from closing it.

His father had been looking at his mother initially, but when he realized she wasn’t looking at him at all, his gaze shifted to Li Yan.

Li Yan suddenly felt the pressure.

’Should I say something to help Father?’

Ming Lingyi naturally noticed the silent war of glances between the father and son beside her. She finally looked up at Li Yun. "Since you’ve delivered him, you can go back now."

Li Yun pressed his lips together. ’I haven’t even had the chance to exchange two words with Lingyi and she’s already trying to kick me out? How can I accept that?’

"I’m already here," Li Yun said. "Besides, I’ll have to take him back later. I’ll just wait here in the courtyard."

He knew, of course, that what he was saying was rather shameless.

’But if he insisted on saving face right now, he probably wouldn’t even make it into this little courtyard.’