The Emperor and Little Chubby Boy 7

The Emperor coughed awkwardly, turning his face slightly to hide his unusual expression, and said, “It’s not that impressive—”

Little Chubby Boy, with his chubby and soft little body, hugged the Emperor tightly. His little bottom bounced a few times on the Emperor, and his small face rubbed vigorously against the Emperor’s chest, showering him with praise without reservation, “Huang Huang is really amazing!”

The Emperor felt his body stiffen. This little, soft guy made him afraid to use any force, lest he hurt him. He didn’t even know where to place his hands.

Lin Lang felt embarrassed for his chubby son, but fortunately, it wasn’t someone else.

He leaned over, tapped Little Chubby Boy’s nose, and scolded, “Will you still run off with strangers next time? There are bad people everywhere outside. You were lucky this time that His Majesty saved you. Next time, if someone kidnaps you and sells you to the mountains, you’ll never see Daddy again!”

The little guy had already cried a lot, his eyes were still red, and the tears on his eyelashes hadn’t completely dried. There were still some dirty tear stains on his eye sockets and little cheeks, making him look pitiful. Now, hearing his dad’s scare tactics, his big black eyes welled up with tears again, looking at his dad with grievance, “Zai Zai will be good, Zai Zai won’t go with bad people anymore, won’t eat the meat bad people give, Zai Zai doesn’t want to be sold to the mountains! Zai Zai doesn’t want to be separated from Daddy!”

Little Chubby Boy babbled on, and seeing the storm brewing, Lin Lang quickly picked him up, patting his back to comfort him, “Alright, alright, don’t cry. Daddy won’t be separated from Zai Zai—” Seeing the little guy like this, Lin Lang couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt and heartache. How could he bear to scare him when he was already so pitiful?

The Emperor, watching from the side, couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little guy too, speaking up for him, “The little guy is quite pitiful. It’s all Xue You’s fault for going too far. I will definitely seek justice for you!”

“But you still need to pay more attention to the little guy’s safety. You only have an old servant at home, who can do some chores but can’t handle other matters.”

“I’ll arrange for two people to be by the little guy’s side. They’re skilled in martial arts, so they can protect him and do some chores—”

Lin Lang looked at him strangely. If he wasn’t sure the Emperor didn’t know the truth, he would have suspected the Emperor knew something.

The Emperor, seeing the person in front of him looking so much like Ning Mo, felt a bit uneasy and said, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lin Lang pursed his lips and said, “I can’t accept such a favor without merit. Your Majesty sending two people to protect us is too much for me.”

The Emperor felt a bit stifled. Besides Ning Mo, no one had dared to refuse him so directly. He felt a bit unhappy, so he turned his head and pinched Little Chubby Boy’s chubby cheek, saying, “It’s not for you, it’s to protect the little guy—”

“Lin Xiaobao, how about I send two guards to protect you? That way, you won’t be bullied by bad people like today, and you won’t have to worry about being sold to the mountains!”

Little Chubby Boy’s big black eyes rolled around, very tempted by the Emperor’s proposal. His little brain naturally didn’t understand what it meant for the Emperor to send two people. He only knew that with powerful people protecting him, he and Daddy wouldn’t be bullied by bad people, and he wouldn’t be sold to the mountains. What a great thing! His chubby little head nodded vigorously, and in a sweet, soft voice, he said, “Thank you, Huang Huang! Huang Huang is so nice!”

The Emperor, looking pleased, said to Lin Lang, “The little guy agreed, so this is between me and him. Lord Lin, don’t interfere.”

Lin Lang: …

At this moment, a “gurgle gurgle” sound came from the quiet carriage. Before Lin Lang could react, Little Chubby Boy patted his little belly and said, “It’s Huang Huang’s tummy making noise! Huang Huang’s tummy is hungry! When Zai Zai’s tummy is hungry, it also makes gurgle gurgle sounds!”

The little guy even imitated the gurgling sound, making Lin Lang laugh and cry. He sneaked a glance at the Emperor, who looked so embarrassed he wished he could disappear on the spot.

The little guy enthusiastically suggested, “Huang Huang’s tummy is hungry, Daddy can make noodles for you. Daddy’s noodles are really delicious!”

The smile on Lin Lang’s face hadn’t completely faded when it froze again. He thought to himself, oh dear, you really know how to create trouble for your dad!

The Emperor was a bit tempted, covering his mouth with his hand in a fake gesture, “I wonder if it would be too much trouble for Lord Lin?”

What could Lin Lang say? He couldn’t refuse the Emperor, who had just saved them and was sending people to protect Little Chubby Boy, a bowl of noodles.

He replied with a gentle demeanor, “It’s just a bowl of noodles, not a bother at all. As long as Your Majesty doesn’t mind.”

The Emperor felt something was off. Actually, this demeanor was typical of Ning Mo, but whenever Lin Lang appeared gentle and refined, he felt it was nothing like Ning Mo. Instead, he always felt Lin Lang seemed to be hiding something mischievous. On the contrary, when Lin Lang was angry or playing tricks, which Ning Mo would never do, he found Lin Lang lively and vibrant, with an inexplicable resemblance to Ning Mo.

The Emperor was staring at Lin Lang, lost in thought, not realizing his gaze was somewhat intrusive.

Lin Lang thought, what’s this guy doing now? Actually, after having Little Chubby Boy, his appearance had changed a lot from before. Plus, he was a few years older, and his looks had matured. He didn’t think he resembled Ning Mo much.

But alas, there were few stunning beauties in the world, let alone a top scholar and a peerless beauty. In the history of Cangxuan, there had only been two such people, so how could they not be compared?

But the more they were compared, the more those familiar with Ning Mo would find that the two seemingly dissimilar beauties were actually very similar. Among them, the Emperor’s feelings were probably the deepest, often leading to moments of distraction.

While both were lost in thought, the Emperor’s stomach rudely “gurgled” again, causing them to snap out of it and exchange a glance.

The Emperor felt extremely embarrassed, and Lin Lang, to ease the awkwardness, asked with apparent concern, “Your Majesty, did you not have dinner before leaving the palace?”

The Emperor, a bit embarrassed, just gave a faint “hmm.”

Wang Dahai, sitting outside the carriage, immediately spoke up to show loyalty to his master, “When His Majesty heard that Lord Lin was stopped by General Xue’s men and taken to Chunfeng Building, he thought General Xue must have no good intentions. He rushed over without even having dinner, fearing that Lord Lin would be wronged by General Xue.”

The Emperor felt even more awkward and couldn’t help but scold, “You talk too much! Do you think your tongue is too much?”

Wang Dahai immediately shut his mouth, cautiously saying, “It’s my fault for speaking out of turn!”

Lin Lang felt a bit strange inside, but fortunately, they soon arrived at the Lin family’s small courtyard, sparing them from the awkward atmosphere that even the carriage couldn’t contain.

Old servant Uncle Lin had been waiting in the gatehouse. Seeing Lin Lang carrying the little master down, his wrinkled face finally relaxed, but he still felt guilty, “Young Master, it’s all my fault for not taking good care of the little master. Did General Xue give you any trouble?”

Lin Lang looked at Uncle Lin’s hunched and aged figure, unable to help but sigh silently. Uncle Lin was indeed getting old. Doing some light chores at home was fine, but taking care of the increasingly energetic little guy was indeed beyond his ability. They really needed to hire someone else.

But now, he was short on money, and hiring someone was difficult. Besides, with his meager savings barely enough to make ends meet, he definitely couldn’t afford the guards the Emperor would send.

He comforted Uncle Lin, “It’s fine. General Xue just treated us to a meal. Uncle Lin, you should go to bed early.”

Uncle Lin nodded, his old voice saying, “Then I’ll go to sleep. Young Master, you should rest early too.”

The Lin family residence was a reward from the Emperor, located close to the palace. This three-courtyard house, though not large, was worth quite a bit.

In the kitchen, hot water was boiling, left for Lin Lang and the little guy to wash up. Adding firewood to the stove saved a lot of trouble.

He lit the stove, washed the pot, fried an egg, sprinkled some salt and pepper, and set it aside. He added a big ladle of water to the pot, boiled it, and cooked the noodles, adding some greens, chopped scallions, soy sauce, salt, and lard to the bowl. He poured in a ladle of hot soup, added the noodles and greens, sprinkled scallions, and topped it with the fried egg. A simple bowl of scallion egg noodles was ready.

The Emperor had never been to a place like a kitchen. But as long as Lin Lang was home, the little guy was always following him around, hand in hand, foot in foot. This small courtyard was only so big, and the Emperor had never stayed in such a small house. Sitting in the main room, staring at Wang Dahai wasn’t a pleasant experience—

So he went to the kitchen to watch Lin Lang make noodles.

But as an Emperor used to grand and spacious palaces, even when visiting a minister’s home, it was always a refined garden with flowing water. He had never seen such a small courtyard. The main room already felt cramped to him, and when he reached the kitchen, he truly understood what it meant to be unable to turn around.

Lin Lang was busy boiling water, cooking noodles, and chopping vegetables. He moved around the stove, adding firewood, while Little Chubby Boy followed his dad around, enthusiastically saying, “Daddy’s noodles smell so good—”

Lin Lang, having heard the little guy’s sweet words many times, knew which ones counted and which didn’t. He deliberately teased the little guy, “So, which is better, Daddy’s noodles or roast goose?”

Such a simple question couldn’t stump the little clever one. The little guy looked up with his chubby face, sincerely saying, “Both are delicious! Noodles with roast goose, Zai Zai can eat a big bowl—”

Lin Lang tapped his little nose, smiling, “Alright, alright, noodles with roast goose, your favorite—”

The little guy, dissatisfied with his dad’s perfunctory attitude, earnestly counted, “Zai Zai’s favorites aren’t just noodles with roast goose, there’s also honey-roasted duck, braised pork knuckle, sweet and sour ribs, beggar’s chicken, squirrel fish…”

The little guy then listed almost all the signature dishes of Chunfeng Building.

Lin Lang couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, alright, I get it, you’re just a little glutton—”

The little guy, not ashamed but proud, happily said, “Hehe, Zai Zai is a little glutton! Zai Zai is a little glutton!”

Liu Qi stood outside the kitchen door, arms crossed, leaning against the dusty door frame, watching the loving interaction between father and son, and unconsciously, a smile appeared on his face.