Two and a half years?!

Just as Qiao Yu was about to start a fight, he suddenly remembered the task prompt telling him to be mindful of his words and actions as a prince.

The system's prompts shouldn't be without reason; he should probably act the part first.

"Ahem, you don't need to panic! I... this prince was just joking."

Qiao Yu paused mid-sentence, realizing that a prince shouldn't refer to himself as "I" but as "this prince."

The two small eunuchs exchanged nervous glances, both lowering their heads, afraid to speak.

It would be fine for Qiao Yu to make such reckless jokes, but they could really lose their heads if they overheard them.

At the same time, they harbored a hint of doubt in their hearts. Could this fourth prince have damaged his brain from being submerged in the bath?

You see, the fourth prince was usually well-versed in literature and treated people with courtesy. How could he suddenly say such rebellious things?

"Come, help this prince up!"

Qiao Yu stretched, and the two small eunuchs dared to rise from the ground. One hurriedly supported Qiao Yu, while the other had already prepared the mouth-rinsing tea, holding the basin to the side, serving him with utmost care.

After Qiao Yu rinsed his mouth, he felt much more refreshed.

"By the way, where are the residences of the other three princes? Show this prince the way!"

The small eunuch who was about to leave with the mouth-rinsing basin staggered upon hearing this, nearly falling to the ground. He scrambled away, pretending not to have heard.

The other small eunuch, unable to escape, could only kneel on the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

"Your Highness, spare me! This servant dares not! Moreover, His Majesty has instructed that without his command, Your Highness is not allowed to leave Chonghua Palace!"

"What? Does that mean he wants to imprison me? Is that old fart tired of living?" Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow, then realized something was amiss.

His current identity was the fourth prince, so wouldn't the emperor be his cheap old man?

Sure enough, when Qiao Yu looked down, the small eunuch kneeling on the ground had turned to stone.

Too frightening, too frightening. The small eunuch even began to wonder if he was still dreaming.

How novel! The fourth prince calling the emperor an old fart?

"Hehe, not awake, hehehe, I'm definitely not awake!"

The small eunuch's eyes were vacant, a silly smile on his face, as he ran out in a crazed state, clearly scared out of his wits by Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu: "..."

But that's right, the setting in this instance was an ancient imperial court. Who would dare to scold the emperor in ancient times? Did he want to play a game of wiping out his entire clan?

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Speak of the devil, Qiao Yu was just thinking about it when a shrill voice sounded outside, clearly that of an old eunuch.

Inside Chonghua Palace, a large group of people filed in, led by a man with a dragon-like gait and tiger-like strides.

A towering crown, a python-dragon robe, and a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered with golden thread shimmered vividly as the man moved.

The newcomer was none other than Qiao Yu's cheap old man in this instance, the ruler of the Crimson Flame Kingdom, Kang Shunzheng.

Kang Shunzheng wore a solemn expression, his square face faintly tinged with anger.

Among the people behind him, one with his head lowered was the small eunuch who had just held the mouth-rinsing basin.

He must have notified Kang Shunzheng that the fourth prince had awakened, which was why Kang Shunzheng had rushed over in such haste.

Qiao Yu and Kang Shunzheng stared at each other for a long time, neither speaking. The atmosphere inside Chonghua Palace became extremely heavy, so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

"You rebellious son, do you have anything to say to朕 (zhèn, imperial 'I')?" Kang Shunzheng finally couldn't help but speak, a majestic aura of one who had long held a high position pressing down on Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu couldn't help but smack his lips.

"Goodness, I'm actually seeing a live emperor."

Qiao Yu didn't mean anything else by this; he just lived in modern society, where he could only see emperors in history books or TV dramas, so he was very surprised.

But Kang Shunzheng heard something else entirely.

He could actually see a *live* emperor? Did that mean he had seen a *dead* emperor before?

Kang Shunzheng was consumed by rage. If the person before him wasn't his son, he would have ordered the execution of his entire clan.

"Silence!" Kang Shunzheng roared, "Aren't you going to explain to朕 (zhèn) why you were found in the Empress's bath after getting dead drunk?"

Kang Shunzheng's eyes held disappointment, and faintly, a hint of killing intent.

If his most favored son really had an affair with his empress, it would be an utter disgrace to the Crimson Flame royal family!

"You already know I was dead drunk, so why are you asking me? Are you senile? Go ask your wife!"

Qiao Yu showed no mercy, while secretly pondering whether his halberd could kill his cheap old man in one hit.

"You rebellious son, how dare you!"

Kang Shunzheng roared and pointed a trembling finger at Qiao Yu.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger!"

The people behind him all knelt down in unison.

Several old eunuchs, their hair already turning white, exchanged glances, their faces even whiter than their hair.

They were all veterans of the palace and had never seen His Majesty so angry. Today, the heavens might change...

However, Qiao Yu, the person in question, remained unmoved, calmly meeting Kang Shunzheng's gaze.

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, and a scene of father-son infighting was about to unfold,

A sharp voice rang out again.

"The arrival of the Noble Consort Yang!"

Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow. In this setting, Noble Consort Yang was the fourth prince's birth mother.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

A beautiful woman draped in a gossamer emerald green silk gauze walked in. Noble Consort Yang first paid her respects to Emperor Kang Shunzheng before hurrying towards Qiao Yu.

She reached out a hand and tremblingly touched Qiao Yu's cheek.

Feeling the warmth of Qiao Yu's face, she could no longer restrain herself. Tears streamed down like a dam breaking, and she embraced Qiao Yu tightly, her voice trembling.

"It's good you're awake, it's good you're awake!"

At this moment, Noble Consort Yang shed her false pretenses. She was simply a mother who was overjoyed to see her child safe and sound.

Qiao Yu was silent.

Ever since his mother left when he was six years old, he had never felt such a warm embrace.

This sudden maternal love made Qiao Yu somewhat uncomfortable.

He felt like something was stuck in his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.

But when he met Noble Consort Yang's eyes, filled with concern, Qiao Yu couldn't help but squeeze out two awkward words from his throat: "Mother."

Hearing Qiao Yu call her "Mother," Noble Consort Yang's emotions became even more uncontrollable, and tears gushed out instantly.

During the half-month that the fourth prince was unconscious, she had come to visit every day, but the fourth prince had shown no signs of waking up.

She had thought that she would never hear her child call her "Mother" again.

"Enough! Yang Mengxuan, do you know what good things your good son has just done!"