Chapter 112: Chapter 112: "You Can’t Be So Partial.

Upon hearing this, a look of what seemed to be utter disdain crossed Ming Lingyi’s face.

But in the end, she relented, allowing Li Yun, who she had nearly shut out, to enter the rear courtyard.

"Find a spot in the courtyard to sit. Don’t wander around, and don’t talk," Ming Lingyi said.

Li Yun: "..."

He had come over precisely to talk with Ming Lingyi.

But Ming Lingyi hadn’t been discussing it with him; she was simply informing him of her decision.

By the time he looked up at Ming Lingyi again, she had already pulled Li Yan into the bedroom.

Some time ago, Ming Lingyi had made a belt.

Her needlework wasn’t exceptional, but it was still presentable.

Ming Lingyi hadn’t used many embellishments on the belt. It was a simple white sash that had a certain elegance. She had embroidered orchids onto it with silver silk thread, giving it a shimmering quality in the sunlight.

When Ming Lingyi took out the sash, Li Yan’s eyes lit up.

Without Ming Lingyi needing to say a word, he had already scampered over to stand obediently before her. He undid the jade-studded belt at his waist, then raised his arms, looking up at her with a face full of anticipation.

Before Ming Lingyi could even ask, "Do you like it?", she turned to see her Little Bun waiting so obediently for her to tie on the sash, and she couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

"You like it?" she asked.

Li Yan blinked and nodded emphatically. "I love anything Mama makes."

He pointed to the sachet at his waist. Ever since Ming Lingyi had given it to him, Li Yan had worn it like a precious treasure, only taking it off when it was being washed.

Growing up, he had never known what it felt like to have a mother. Now that he finally had one, he absolutely adored everything she made.

Yu Yiyanxia also knew how much he cherished the sachet, and always stored it away carefully after it was dried.

Ming Lingyi’s eyes grew warm. As she tied the sash around her Little Bun’s pudgy little belly, she smiled and said, "This one doesn’t seem all that nice. How about Mama embroiders a few more for you next time, so you can switch them out?"

Li Yan nodded, his eyes filled with obvious delight.

But a moment later, he shook his head with some hesitation.

"What’s wrong?" Ming Lingyi asked.

Li Yan: "But won’t Mama get tired?"

Ming Lingyi chuckled. "Not at all. Mama never gets tired doing things for our Little Huachao."

Her words made Li Yan blush. He reached out, clutching the front of Ming Lingyi’s robes and refusing to let go.

"Then for the sachets Mama embroiders for me, can you add my name to them?" Li Yan asked.

"Hm?" Ming Lingyi was a little surprised, but she nodded anyway.

Li Yan smiled, pressing his lips together.

It wasn’t that he’d always felt the need to have his name on his belongings. But when he remembered the green balls that his father, the Emperor, had snatched away before, Li Yan was absolutely certain that if his mother made him many sachets, his father would find a way to take them too.

That would never do!

These were gifts from his mama.

He refused to believe his father, the Emperor, would still dare to take them if his mama embroidered his name on the sachets.

They were all his!

Ming Lingyi, of course, had no idea what her son was plotting. But out in the rear courtyard, Li Yun, sitting on a stone stool, couldn’t help but let out a series of sneezes.

When Li Yan emerged from the room, Li Yun’s gaze immediately fell upon his son’s waist. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ordinarily, Li Yun wouldn’t pay any mind to what Li Yan was wearing. But the sash now at his son’s waist was far too familiar; he couldn’t ignore it even if he wanted to.

Wasn’t this white sash the very same unfinished one he had discovered in Ming Lingyi’s room when he had paid her a nocturnal visit?

The corners of Li Yun’s lips quirked up.

’So it wasn’t for some other man after all.’

But his good mood quickly evaporated when he saw Li Yan’s smug little face.

’Why does Li Yan get one, and I get nothing?’

Li Yun shot up from his seat and gave Li Yan a warning glance. Though clearly displeased, the boy still headed toward the front hall under his father’s stare. The moment Li Yan’s silhouette vanished from the courtyard, Li Yun was in front of Ming Lingyi. "Where’s mine?" he demanded.

Ming Lingyi raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Your what?"

"The sash," Li Yun said, his lips thinning. "He gets one, so why don’t I? This is blatant favoritism."

Hearing his words, Ming Lingyi was nearly floored by the man’s audacity.

"Little Huachao is my son," she said.

The implication was clear: Was Li Yun her son?

If Li Yun were willing to admit it, she supposed she could reconsider.

Li Yun: "..."

He felt a fine, sharp pain emanate from the wound in his heart that had only just begun to heal. And yet, amidst the waves of pain, Li Yun also detected a faint, almost imperceptible itch.

A wound also itches as it heals, a sign of new skin forming beneath the scab.

Now, watching her red lips open and close as she spoke, Li Yun’s gaze darkened.

"It wouldn’t be a gift. I can trade you a piece of information for it," Li Yun said suddenly, as if an idea had just struck him.

Ming Lingyi: "Since when has the Emperor been lacking for a mere sash? Are the palace embroideresses not skilled enough? Or perhaps..."

Ming Lingyi never got to finish her sentence, because a shadow suddenly fell over her.

She jumped, instinctively raising her hand to strike Li Yun’s face.

But the kiss she had expected to land on her lips never came. Instead, her hand, already raised mid-air, was caught by Li Yun, leaving her unable to move.

The man before her simply lowered his head, his breath ghosting across the tip of her nose.

In such close quarters, their breaths seemed to mingle.

They were only inches apart.

Ming Lingyi instinctively tried to turn her head away, but as she moved, Li Yun mirrored her, keeping their breaths intertwined.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Ming Lingyi demanded, flustered, unsure what Li Yun hoped to achieve by keeping her in this suspended state.

Li Yun: "You didn’t want me to kiss you before."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

"But I want to now," Li Yun said, meeting her eyes without flinching. "You said I didn’t respect your wishes, so I restrained myself."

’There must be something wrong with his head,’ Ming Lingyi thought. Why on earth would he say something like that out loud?

"But I didn’t like hearing what you just said," Li Yun said.

Ming Lingyi: "..."

She used to hate how Li Yun made every decision himself, never bothering to inform her.

But now he was laying bare his every thought, and frankly, she didn’t need it.

Ming Lingyi struggled for a moment before finally wrenching her hand free from Li Yun’s grasp. She took a step back, eyeing him warily. "What is it you really want?"

Li Yun’s expression was one of helplessness and feigned innocence. "I just want a sash."

If he didn’t get one, he was afraid he might actually go mad with jealousy.