Chapter 25: Chapter 25: She’s Really So Bad

For a moment, Jianzhen didn’t know how to comfort his young master.

He had just seen the mother and son interacting in the room. On the way, Jianzhen had heard his prince say that he wanted to find the lady who sold the plum blossom cakes. He hadn’t understood why His Highness would seek out a common shopkeeper, but now, he had a few suspicions.

"Your Highness, this servant can draw her out for you." Jianzhen thought that if his prince wanted to see the shop owner, he could make it happen.

But after hearing this, Li Yan just shook his head. "Forget it. Let’s go."

As he turned, even his back looked desolate.

He could once fantasize about what his mother was like. But now, seeing with his own eyes how good Ming Lingyi was to another child—even better than she was to him—the unrealistic fantasies in his heart popped like bubbles and were gone.

But he still felt dejected, along with a hint of inexplicable melancholy.

’It was impossible not to feel a pang of jealousy.’

Li Yan fought the urge to cry. He blinked hard, trying to force back the warm tears welling up in his eyes.

In the end, not only did he fail to hold back his tears, but his little face also turned bright red from the effort, as if he was about to pass out.

This terrified Jianzhen, who was following beside him.

The Little Bun, lost in his self-inflicted sorrow, naturally didn’t notice the figure of Zhang Hu leaving from behind him.

Ming Lingyi saw the neighborhood’s little terror out. A blast of cold wind from the doorway made her shiver, and she stood up to close the door.

Just as she reached the entrance, she felt a pull in her heart, urging her to step outside and take a look.

Ming Lingyi leaned out and saw two short, stout figures in the snow.

She didn’t really recognize the slightly taller one, but the chubby, shorter one gave her a start.

"Young Master!"

Her body reacted faster than her mind. By the time Ming Lingyi had shouted, she was already out of the shop.

Yu Yi, who had been following Li Yan from the Crown Prince Mansion, now stood a little farther away. Her eyes, however, never left the Little Prince, and her peripheral vision was fixed on the unremarkable-looking shop.

When Yu Yi saw a young woman emerge from the shop and got a clear look at her face, she quickly raised a hand and clamped it over her mouth, just barely managing to stifle a gasp.

Yu Yi’s gaze fell upon Ming Lingyi, and her vision began to blur.

Hearing the voice from behind, Li Yan froze for a moment. But as soon as he processed it, his short little legs started moving even faster.

’There’s no way I’m letting anyone see me with red eyes!’

’Especially not in front of Ming Lingyi!’

’Didn’t he have his pride to think of?’

Unfortunately, Li Yan overestimated his short legs. Even if he swung them like pinwheels, he probably couldn’t run very fast.

Ming Lingyi caught up to Li Yan in just a few strides. Bending down slightly, she reached out and pinched the hood of the Little Bun’s cloak.

She wasn’t particularly strong, but restraining a little bun was still an easy task.

So, as Li Yan struggled to run, his short legs just seemed to be marching in place in the snow. His little face, already red from his earlier crying, turned crimson again from the exertion.

"Let go! Let go of Us—I mean, me!"

Li Yan snapped, but he refused to turn and face Ming Lingyi as he said it.

Even now, he was desperately trying to protect his pride and dignity. He absolutely did not want Ming Lingyi to see his red, rabbit-like eyes.

But Ming Lingyi had already scooped him up from the snow.

No matter how much he flailed, it was no use.

Jianzhen had been about to stop Ming Lingyi, but before the word "Insolent!" could leave his lips, Xiao Chun, whom Ming Lingyi had called out from the room, swooped in, scooped him up, and tucked him under her arm as she carried him inside.

Jianzhen: "..."

Even though he was a little eunuch, such close contact with a young woman still made him blush furiously.

’So-so improper!’

Ming Lingyi herded the two children from the snow into the room, then sat them down next to the brazier. "What are you doing outside on a snowy day like this? Young Master, what brings you here today?"

Ming Lingyi currently had her back to Li Yan. She poured each of them a cup of sweet brown sugar and ginger water to ward off the cold.

Li Yan had been covering his face with his small hands, terrified that Ming Lingyi would see his miserable state. As a result, she still hadn’t noticed his large, teary eyes.

Li Yan: "...Just passing by."

Ming Lingyi chuckled. She turned to hand the two of them their ginger water, but her smile froze on her face when she saw the Little Bun sitting by the brazier with red eyes.

"Why were you crying?" Ming Lingyi frowned. "Did someone bully you?" she asked.

As she asked, the face of Li Yun flashed in her mind, and a flicker of anger appeared in her eyes.

Realizing Ming Lingyi had seen his red eyes, Li Yan turned his head away and huffed, half proud and half mortified. He looked like he was refusing to talk.

Ming Lingyi sat down beside Li Yan. "You’re really not going to tell me?"

Li Yan remained silent.

So Ming Lingyi didn’t ask again. She just placed her hands near the brazier to warm them.

For a moment, the only sound in the shop was the CRACKLING of the wood in the brazier.

Jianzhen glanced up quickly at Ming Lingyi. He blinked, thinking she looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t place where he might have seen her before.

In the end, it was Li Yan who couldn’t hold out any longer.

He was waiting for Ming Lingyi to coax him a little more. He thought that if she just coaxed him, he would be willing to tell her everything. But to his surprise, Ming Lingyi just let the matter drop, not pressing him at all.

’She doesn’t care about me at all.’

The more Li Yan thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He stubbornly refused to turn around, sitting on the small stool with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. He buried his head, his eyes growing redder and redder.

His nose began to tingle and, as if it had a mind of its own, it started to turn red too.

The sight of his small back was the very picture of pitiable grievance.

Ming Lingyi had originally intended to wait for Li Yan to confess on his own, but she didn’t expect the Little Bun to start sobbing first.

He thought he was crying so quietly that no one would notice, but there was probably no one in the room who didn’t hear him.

Jianzhen looked completely helpless, unsure whether he should remind his prince of his volume or just cover Ming Lingyi’s and Xiao Chun’s ears.

"A-Aren’t you even gonna ask me again?!"

The one who had been crying sullenly by himself couldn’t help but ask.

’How could anyone be so mean?’

’She gave me a purse just yesterday, but now she’s completely ignoring me!’

’So mean.’