Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber (The Return of the Condor Hero) 39 First Encounter

  After hearing Long Yitian's half-joking words, Yong Hui hesitated for a moment before slowly releasing his hand, then asked in a low and cautious tone: "Is the Emperor going to punish me?"

  Long Hui's eyes widened slightly, and he really couldn't keep up with Yong Xuan's extremely erratic thinking. This taking off clothes to bathe and punishment were fundamentally unrelated things, it was truly unknown what was going on in that little brain of his?

  He temporarily stopped the action in his hand, Long Yintian gazed at Yongyuan's eyes that were obviously written with seriousness and unease, and asked: "Yongyuan, when did I say I wanted to punish you?"

  Yong Xuan pursed her lips and saw that Long Yitian didn't seem to be angry at this moment, so she hesitated and said: "But... I did something wrong... and made the Emperor angry..."

  Long Hui Tian originally wanted to scold Yong Xuan a few words, but seeing that he indeed had the intention of repentance at this moment, he softened his voice and patiently said: "I am indeed angry, although you are still young, being mischievous is not unacceptable, but you also cannot recklessly act without regard for your own safety. If today you really fell to the ground, have you ever thought about what the consequences would be?"

  As Long Yinhuan spoke, Yong Xuan's unease dissipated somewhat, and his eyes indeed showed a clear sign of remorse. "I know I was wrong, it won't happen again."

  "It's good that you know, I'm just afraid you won't remember for long...", As he spoke, Long Yintian continued to undress Yong Xuan, "This time I won't punish you, but it's not indulgence either. If there's a next time, you'll suffer more than just punishment, understand?"

  "Uh-huh." Yong Xuan nodded obediently, looking like a well-behaved good kid. However, in the instant when Long Yitian turned around, a faint smile flashed across his face, and then quickly returned to calmness, giving people a feeling as if it was an illusion caused by dizziness.

  He casually hung his clothes on a nearby rack, and Long Yitian turned around to carefully carry Yongheng into the bathtub. Since this bathtub was built in proportion to an adult's height, the water in the pool was still a bit deep for Yongheng.

  Yong Xuan seemed to have also sensed the danger brought by the deep water, and once again grasped Long Yintian's sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.

  Long Hui lowered his head and looked at the dragon robe that had already been soaked by the water, the wet clothes sticking to his body felt extremely uncomfortable.

  The little one glared at the restless little rascal, and he simply tore off his clothes and stepped into the bathtub. Then, with his arm, he firmly locked Yongheng in his chest, completely subduing this unruly little guy.

  Yong Xuan had never thought that his Emperor would do such a thing, and in his stunned state, his normally sharp mind was completely blank. It wasn't until the unobstructed friction between their skin brought him an inexplicable strange feeling that he slowly came back to himself, his face involuntarily growing hotter once again.

  Feeling the soft and smooth touch at his fingertips, Long Hanyan casually lowered his head to take a look, only to see that Yongheng had buried his head in his chest and refused to lift it up, even when he was splashed with water.

  This scene made him feel a little amused, and as he slowed down his movements, he asked with a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Yongxuan, are you shy?"

  "No... nothing...", Yong Xuan weakly refuted, still not lifting his head, but the gradually reddening ear tips easily pierced through his lie.

  Long Yintian looked at Yongheng's stubborn expression, the smile in his eyes grew thicker. However, he had no intention of letting Yongheng off so easily, because Yongheng had already piqued his interest. He pinched Yongheng's chin and applied a bit of force, effortlessly forcing him to lift his head.

  Shyness, panic, helplessness, and regret intertwined in Yu Yongyuan's eyes, flashing by quickly. In the face of Long Yitian's almost flirtatious behavior, the proud and stubborn him subconsciously wanted to resist, but the arms that bound him were like rocks, making his struggles seem so weak and insignificant.

  Although he knew it was futile to resist, Yongyuan finally gritted his teeth and gave up all resistance, resignedly closing his eyes. He really didn't want to see any mockery or disdain in Long Yitian's eyes, even if it was just because of his young age.

  Long Hui Tian was always extremely perceptive, whether it was intuition or insight. In the instant when Yong Xuan closed his eyes, he still saw the sharpness deeply buried in Yong Xuan's eyes.

  For a seven-year-old child, it's either too precocious or the child is too clever. After observing Yongheng's reaction again, Long Yitian felt that both reasons should be present to some extent.

  It turns out that Ba Ge Yongyuan is not as innocent and introverted as he appears, if properly cultivated, it's possible that his future accomplishments will surpass those of Yongjing.

  As for Yongyan, he also left the palace and built his own mansion at the beginning of the year, was granted the title of Prince Yuan of Guang, and his residence is just a street away from that of Yongzheng. Currently, he is serving in the Ministry of Works among the Six Ministries.

  Although Yongjin has not been in the Ministry of Works for a long time, his abilities have gradually emerged. Compared with the Ministry of Rites, the personnel relationship in the Ministry of Works is more complicated, and due to various reasons, he also has more opportunities to contact local officials. Overall, there is absolutely enough space to show off his talents.

  After a while, Yong Xuan realized that Long Yitian seemed to have no intention of letting him go at all. The shyness in his heart became even more intense. Although he knew it was a big deal to resist his own emperor, he still couldn't help but say in a barely audible voice: "Emperor... enough already..."

  Jian Yongxuan was already somewhat unbearable, and Long Yitian only then loosened his grip, gently stroking his back with a half-joking tone, recounting an absolute fact: "In front of me, it's best not to be too willful, that won't do you any good."

  Upon hearing this, Yongxuan's body stiffened slightly. Although he felt a bit uneasy in his heart, he still decided to pretend to be ignorant and said in a soft, pitiful tone: "Your son will listen from now on, please forgive your son this time, Imperial Father."

  Long Hui Tian naturally heard the small thoughts in Yong Xuan's words, but this time his mood was indeed very good. Through the small discovery just now, his affection for Yong Xuan seemed to have increased a bit more, so he didn't plan on exposing it. As for this little episode, it quietly passed between the two of them without being mentioned.

  Time slowly passed in this strange father-son exchange, and when Long Yitian carried Yongyuan out of the bathroom, it was already two hours later.

  As for why Long Hanyan came out holding Yongyuan, it was entirely because of Yongyuan's entreaties. Since he didn't hide his thoughts and directly spoke up to fight for what he wanted, there was also a bit of probing involved in this.

  Although this approach was indeed a bit adventurous in Yongxuan's own eyes, the result was good, and Longyintian didn't think much of it either. It was clear that he had no impatience or rejection towards his son's closeness and dependence.

  Wu Shu came to pay his respects and waited outside the door. Long Yitian was about to order him to deal with those slaves, but Yong Xuan took a step ahead and opened his mouth, saying in a somewhat embarrassed small voice: "Imperial Father, I feel a bit hungry."

  Long Hui's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he looked down at the little one in his arms with an expressionless tone: "Didn't you have lunch just now?"

  "No...," Yu Xuan didn't finish his sentence, not because he was afraid to say it, but rather because he felt a bit embarrassed. Did he really have to admit that he had climbed the tree on a whim to steal bird eggs and ended up getting stuck, causing him to miss lunch?

  "Hmm...", Long Yitian also noticed that Yongzheng was in a bit of distress, and very magnanimously didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he instructed Wu Shulai: "Wu Shulai, go to the imperial kitchen and bring over some refreshing pastries. Also, send someone to inform Empress Jiaogui not to worry."

  After Wu Shu came to receive the order, he left immediately. All the way, his mind was filled with thoughts. He could see that the emperor seemed to like Eighth Prince Yongzheng very much, otherwise he would not have been so indulgent and taken care of him. And that Eighth Prince did not seem to be a simple person. Although he is still just a child now, what he has done cannot be viewed with the eyes of a child. 'Both princes are so outstanding, this Imperial Noble Consort's luck is really good, the key is whether they can grasp it...'

  After the tea ceremony, Wu Shu came over with a small pastry and placed it on the table one by one, then quietly retreated without making a sound. Throughout the process, he didn't utter an extra word, nor did he ever look up at Long Yintian, showing that he was still very clear about his own identity and had self-awareness, which was also one of the important reasons why Long Yintian chose him.

  After dismissing everyone, Long Yitian sat down at the table with Yongyuan in his arms, playing with Yongyuan's hair that still had water vapor on it, while watching Yongyuan gobble up food like a wolf. It seemed this child was really starving.

  "Cough, cough, cough...", due to eating too quickly, Yong Xuan unfortunately choked, coughing out tears, her small face scrunched up in distress.

  Long Yin hastily poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to Yong Hui's mouth, carefully feeding him to drink, then gently patted his back and said: "Eat slowly, little hungry wolf, no one is competing with you."

  "Hungry...... Hungry wolf!?" It wasn't until Yong Xuan had finally caught his breath that he realized what Long Yintian had just said. Due to the pride and self-respect in his bones, he hadn't even had time to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes before he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Long Yintian, and his mouth still refused to give up as he retorted: "If I'm a wolf, then what is Imperial Father?"