Chapter 131: Chapter 131: The Domineering Little Dumpling

Li Yun didn’t dwell on it for long before quickly rising from his seat.

He refused to be isolated by the mother and son.

If Li Yan could live with Ming Lingyi, why couldn’t he?

Without him, there would be no Li Yan in this world.

With this thought in mind, Li Yun quickly ordered his men to prepare a horse. He was leaving the Imperial Palace.

Ming Lingyi had no idea that someone had just left the palace and was heading straight for her courtyard.

She led Li Yan into the room she had prepared for him long ago.

Although the Little Bun was only five, and it would have been fine for him to sleep in the same room as her, Ming Lingyi had still prepared his room on the same side as the Wu Brothers, considering Li Yan’s status.

Now, Li Yan was staring at Ming Yanshu, who had just walked in.

After leaving Wangxian Building earlier, Li Yan had been so immersed in the joy of getting to stay with his mother that he hadn’t noticed another child his age had returned with them.

When Ming Yanshu entered, Li Yan spun around and walked right up to him. "Why did you come in? Who are you?"

He looked like a little tyrant, his guard up completely.

Ming Yanshu was taken aback. Perhaps it was because Li Yan’s aura was quite intimidating, and he was exceptionally sensitive to the emotions of others. For a moment, Ming Yanshu was cowed and answered honestly, "My name is Ming Yanshu. I live here. This is my home."

Li Yan’s little brows furrowed. It was hard to say which of Ming Yanshu’s words had struck a nerve, but he suddenly declared, "This is my home!"

He sounded rather childish.

Standing to the side, Xiao Chun tilted her head. ’Shouldn’t the Crown Prince’s home be the Imperial Palace?’ she thought. ’How could our little restaurant’s backyard be called the Crown Prince’s home?’

Wu Zhao Yu, however, heard this and thought it made perfect sense. The home of Her Ladyship was, of course, also the home of their Little Prince.

As for Shi Mingyue, her mind couldn’t help but wander to other matters. ’If our restaurant can be called the Crown Prince’s home, couldn’t we use his name to attract business in the future?’

Ming Yanshu let out a small "Ah," his eyes full of confusion. "But I’ve lived here before, and I’ve never seen you."

Ming Yanshu looked at the many guards surrounding Li Yan, thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Besides, our home is very small. With all these people you have with you, we don’t have enough rooms!"

Li Yan: "!"

’I already told him this is my home! How can this person not understand me? He even dares to claim it’s his home.’

"Why is your name Ming Yanshu? Why do you have the same surname as my mother... as Sister Ming? You’re not part of the Ming Family!" Li Yan actually had little memory of his maternal relatives, but he remembered Aunt Yu Yi telling him that his maternal grandfather and grandmother had come to see him when he was very little, and that he also had an uncle. His mother’s family didn’t have many relatives, and he’d never heard about his uncle getting married around the time of his own birth.

’What right does this person have to share a surname with his mother?’

Li Yan puffed out his cheeks, his heart filled with discontent.

Ming Yanshu was stumped.

As for why he shared a surname with Miss Ming, it was because he had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. He had no parents and no idea what his original surname was.

"...Boss Ming gave me the name," Ming Yanshu answered earnestly.

After saying this, he retorted to Li Yan, "Then who are you? You’re not from here. You weren’t here when I was living here before!"

’Even by beggars’ rules, Li Yan was the newcomer! He should be the one listening to the one who was here first!’

’How did things get turned around to where he was the one being questioned?’

Once he realized this, Ming Yanshu’s confidence returned.

Li Yan’s mood suddenly soured.

’He hadn’t even had the chance to take his mother’s surname yet. What right did this person have?’

Just then, Xiao Chun walked over, carrying bedding for Li Yan’s room.

The weather had been sunny recently, and with the restaurant being quiet today, she had taken all the bedding out of the cabinets to air in the courtyard.

As soon as Xiao Chun stepped through the doorway to the courtyard, she saw the Little Crown Prince and Ming Yanshu standing there, as if in a standoff.

The atmosphere was very strange.

Xiao Chun asked casually, "What are you two doing?"

Hearing a familiar voice, Li Yan turned around, his tone aggrieved. "Why does he have the same surname as Sister Ming? Why is he here? I didn’t see him when I was here before!"

Li Yan felt as if everyone had secretly started doting on another pet while he wasn’t looking.

Xiao Chun, holding the bedding with one arm, scratched her head. She failed to grasp the Little Crown Prince’s delicate sensitivities and answered casually, "My lady took him in, of course he’d take her surname. Little Stone only came to the restaurant a couple of days ago. You’ve probably seen him before but just didn’t notice."

Hearing this explanation only made Li Yan feel more bitter.

"Why did she have to take him in? She should have taken me in instead!"

’He wished he could be at the Ming Family’s home every day.’

’He wished he could be with his mother every day.’

’Wasn’t he more obedient than this person in front of him?’

’And, and...’

While Li Yan was busy reflecting on what he could have possibly done wrong to make his mother take in someone else instead of him, Xiao Chun was so frightened by the Crown Prince’s words that she nearly dropped the bedding in her arms.

’Was he kidding?’

’Their tiny little restaurant, taking in the Crown Prince?’

’That was a death wish, wasn’t it?’

Xiao Chun gave a dry laugh, feeling completely unable to respond. She decided to abruptly change the subject. "Why don’t you come and see your room, Your Highness? My lady tidied it up herself!"

Li Yan’s mind was troubled, but upon hearing Xiao Chun’s words, he couldn’t help but follow her.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t stand the restaurant smells that clung to her, so she went to bathe as soon as she got back.

After changing into her nightclothes and putting on an outer robe, she finally headed to the adjacent courtyard.

Since it was where all the men lived, Ming Lingyi normally wouldn’t set foot there.

But with the Little Bun staying in the back courtyard today, Ming Lingyi was worried he wouldn’t be comfortable in the unfamiliar place. Plus, with no one familiar around him, she couldn’t rest easy.

When Ming Lingyi knocked and entered, she was surprised to see Ming Yanshu was also in Little Huachao’s room.

Ming Yanshu was sitting opposite Li Yan. The two had found a Nine Linked Rings puzzle from somewhere.

"Wow, you’re amazing!" Ming Yanshu’s eyes were glued to Li Yan’s hands as he watched the latter solve the Nine Linked Rings with just a few deft movements.

Li Yan casually handed the puzzle to him. "What’s so amazing about this? If you like it, I... I’ll give it to you."

It was Ming Yanshu’s first time ever seeing a Nine Linked Rings puzzle. The one in his hands wasn’t an ordinary puzzle, either—it was crafted from smooth, lustrous white jade.

The jade alone was incredibly valuable.

Ming Yanshu didn’t know the value of the puzzle, but he could guess it wasn’t cheap.

"I... I can’t take this..."

’He couldn’t just accept things from others.’

"I’m not just giving it to you," Li Yan said.

He had, of course, seen his mother come in, but what he wanted and what he had to say was nothing that couldn’t be said in front of others.

"From now on, here at the Ming Family’s home, you can’t always be pestering my... Sister." Li Yan had originally wanted to say he couldn’t pester his mother—she was *his* mother, not anyone else’s.

’He was just that possessive.’