The Emperor's Beloved: My Ancestor is the Crown Prince?

Chapter 10 The Dilemma of the Imperial Kitchen

When the palace maid presented the freshly prepared milk bottle, Xiao Qingyi's round eyes were immediately glued to it, unable to look away.

"It's Grandma! I want to drink Grandma's milk!"

As soon as the bottle was handed to her, she eagerly leaned in and took a big, satisfying sip—

Immediately, her little face scrunched up in a frown.

"Ptooey! This milk...it tastes awful!"

She turned around and ran to Li Chengqian, hugging his leg tightly. Her upturned face was filled with genuine grievance and accusation.

"Oh?" Li Chengqian's expression remained unchanged, and he did not immediately reprimand the palace servant. He had roughly guessed it—perhaps, the child was just too picky.

The palace servant kneeling on the ground trembled in her voice: "Your Highness, please understand, this...this is freshly squeezed milk, completely unadulterated."

"Go and fetch some goat's milk."

"Yes, sir." The palace servants, as if granted a pardon, bowed and withdrew.

Li Chengqian looked down at the little dumpling still lying by his legs, her eyes slightly red, and finally reached out to lift her onto his lap. Although his movements were a little stiff, his voice was low and gentle: "Don't rush, there will be new ones soon."

Du He watched silently from the side, her heart filled with astonishment: This... is this really the usually dignified and composed Crown Prince?

It seems that this child's identity is far more complex than simply being "of unknown origin"...

Before long, steaming hot goat's milk was carefully served. Little Qingyi's eyes lit up; she took the bowl and brought it to her lips—

The next second, her whole face fell.

"This tastes awful too!" She slammed the bowl on the table, her lips pouting. "Just as awful as the last one!"

Li Chengqian looked at the bowl of goat's milk, then glanced at the untouched cow's milk on the table. Both were freshly taken and cooked, fresh, warm, and of no concern.

If there is any shortcoming, it is probably the lingering, natural fishy smell that was not completely removed.

Could it be... because of this?

This child looks round and innocent, but his tongue is extremely sharp.

He waved his hand, dismissing all the palace servants who looked terrified, leaving only three people in the hall.

"You find the rice tasteless, and the milk too fishy," he said, looking down at the picky little one in his arms, his tone tinged with helplessness. "You won't eat this, you won't drink that, what do you want? To fly to the heavens?"

How could an ordinary family raise such a precious child?

"It's because they really don't taste good..." Xiao Qingyi pouted, feeling wronged, and muttered softly, "The meat was awful too... Yiyi has never eaten anything so bad before."

"It's fine if you don't want to eat," Li Chengqian reached out and gently pinched her chubby chin. "Look how round you are, you probably eat too refined food on a regular basis."

"Wow!" Xiao Qingyi's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had suddenly discovered a huge secret. "You—you're just like my dad! You must have deliberately given me awful food so I could lose weight! You must have been sent by my dad to supervise me!"

The more she talked, the more reasonable it seemed to her, and a smug look of "I'm so smart" shone on her little face.

Li Chengqian remained silent.

...In this whole world, besides his father and mother, who else could command him to do such a thing?

"Grandpa, my tummy is so hungry..." The excitement from before had worn off, and the hunger returned. She clutched her rumbling stomach, looking at him longingly, "I want to eat, I want to drink milk..."

Looking at this delicate and pitiful "little troublemaker," Li Chengqian felt a headache coming on.

"The milk you want to drink is right in front of you," he said, pointing to the two bowls on the table. "Drink it if you want, or go hungry."

Xiao Qingyi glanced at the two bowls of milk, shaking her head vigorously: "But they really don't taste good... They're nothing like the milk Xiaoling makes."

Her voice trailed off, becoming slightly nasal: "I...I want to go home. Xiaoling's homemade milk tea is so fragrant and sweet, it's definitely better than this..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a slight lightness in her body, a strange sensation she couldn't quite describe.

What she failed to see was that Li Chengqian, who was holding her, and Du He, who was standing beside him, suddenly stared in astonishment, their pupils constricting as if they had witnessed the most unbelievable sight in the world.

The soft, round little body nestled in the prince's arms vanished without warning before their very eyes, like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind.

In the blink of an eye, his lap was empty.

The hall was deathly silent.

"...Your Highness..." Du He's throat bobbed, her voice dry and trembling, almost incoherent, "That...that child...she, she..."

He raised his finger and pointed at Li Chengqian's bare knee, his fingertips trembling violently. For a long time, he couldn't utter a complete question.