I Don't Want to Be a Charmboy【Quick Wear】

Chapter 387 His Highness the Crown Prince is Outstandingly Talented (25)

Lin Shen walked away cursing in his mind, his steps quick and hurried, as if trying to shake off the suffocating oppression behind him and the surging anger in his heart.

The night breeze brushed against his feverish cheeks, but it couldn't dispel the scorching breath that lingered around his neck and ears.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt that the slap he had just given Jiu Fangcheng was too lenient. He should have slapped him a few more times with both hands to knock off his arrogant and fearless attitude!

But somehow... somehow he managed to manipulate me with just a few words.

"The reputation of the crown prince must not be tarnished."

Jiu Fangcheng understood this perfectly!

This pent-up frustration was stuck in his chest, unable to escape or come down, making him feel choked and uncomfortable.

If he were to return to that grand hall filled with clinking glasses and feigned affection, and see those fawning faces, he feared he would lose his composure on the spot.

Disturbed and confused, he took a step and walked towards the Imperial Study.

At this hour, the Emperor is most likely still there reviewing memorials.

The area outside the Imperial Study seemed unusually quiet tonight, with only the Grand Eunuch Li Quan and a few Imperial Guards standing guard at the door. There were no palace servants or officials coming and going as usual.

A hint of doubt flashed through Lin Shen's mind, but he didn't dwell on it.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince approaching from afar, Li Quan immediately put on a respectful smile and jogged forward to greet him: "This old servant greets Your Highness. Is Your Highness here to see His Majesty? His Majesty was just mentioning you."

"Hmm." Lin Shen nodded casually, without stopping. "I can go in by myself. Eunuch Li doesn't need to follow."

Upon hearing this, Li Quan hesitated for a moment, but quickly bowed and said, "Yes, this old servant obeys." He then stopped and stood there with his head bowed.

Lin Shen stepped across the threshold and entered the familiar imperial study. The outer room was brightly lit, but there was no one in sight.

"Father?" he called out, his voice somewhat clear in the empty hall, but no one responded.

His doubts deepened, and he subconsciously slowed his steps as he walked toward the inner hall.

The inner palace was where Emperor Qi occasionally rested and handled confidential matters, and its furnishings were simpler.

His gaze swept across the bookshelves, the screen, the bed... but Emperor Qi was nowhere to be seen.

"Strange..." Lin Shen muttered to himself, pacing back and forth twice, his eyes filled with confusion.

Li Quan just said that his father was there, and the person should have just entered. How come he disappeared in the blink of an eye?

He paced unconsciously beside the imperial desk, his fingers tracing the smooth surface of the table, his gaze falling on the inkstone, the ink still fresh, clearly used not long ago.

"Why is Bao'er here?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind, gentle yet carrying a hint of something... off?

Lin Shen suddenly turned his head and saw Emperor Qi standing by the beaded curtain leading from the inner hall to a side pavilion. He didn't know when Emperor Qi had appeared.

The strange feeling in his heart resurfaced; he had clearly looked over there carefully just now, but had not seen anyone.

"Father, where have you been? Why haven't you answered my calls for so long?" Lin Shen suppressed his doubts and asked with a hint of complaint.

Emperor Qi, dressed in casual clothes, slowly stepped forward. In the candlelight, his face appeared exceptionally gentle, and his eyes held a tenderness that was almost affectionate as he carefully traced Lin Shen's eyebrows and eyes.

He smiled faintly, reaching out to gently brush away a strand of hair that had fallen from Lin Shen's hair during his earlier entanglement with Jiu Fangcheng, tucking it behind his ear.

"Father was looking for an old file inside. Perhaps he was too focused, because he didn't hear my Abao calling me. Why did you come over from the banquet so early?"

Feeling his father's long-lost affectionate gesture, Lin Shen was slightly taken aback, but then his attention was diverted by his question, and he pouted.

"It's nothing, I just found the banquet too boring. It was all the same flattery over and over again, it was so annoying."

The boy's undisguised complaints made Emperor Qi chuckle softly, a chuckle tinged with indulgence and a complex, indescribable emotion.

Only after Lin Shen glared at him with displeasure did he slightly suppress his smile and take Lin Shen's hand.

"Since you feel bored, then don't go. Come, Abao, accompany your father to write some calligraphy and calm your mind."

"Okay." Lin Shen nodded, letting Emperor Qi pull him toward the desk.

Emperor Qi placed a fine purple-haired brush into his hand, while he himself stood behind him, lightly holding the edge of the table with one hand, his posture seemingly ordinary.

Lin Shen lowered his head, gathered his sleeves to grind the ink, then held his breath and began to write on the Xuan paper.

He was focused on the flow of the pen and did not see that the Emperor Qi standing behind him had long since transcended the realm of "watching the writing," his gaze becoming deep and lingering, like a silent spider web, intricately wrapping around him. In his eyes surged the preciousness of something lost and found, unspeakable emotions, and a kind of fervor buried deep beneath the years, almost bursting forth.

A short while later, Lin Shen wrote down a line of poetry: "Repeated prosperity and abundant harvests".

These four characters are written with vigorous strokes and a spacious structure, subtly revealing their inherent elegance and character.

Emperor Qi looked down and his gaze suddenly sharpened. In a daze, he seemed to see another proud and flamboyant figure from many years ago, who had also written similar handwriting and the same words.

That instant of overlap sent a surge of emotions through him.

He had known before that they were very similar.

The appearance is similar, the stubbornness in the personality is similar, even the handwriting... it's as if they were carved from the same mold, as if heaven had truly taken pity on him and sent that person back to his side in another way.

This thought, like the strongest liquor, both intoxicated him and left him with a lingering, bone-chilling fear.

"What are you thinking about, Father? Look, isn't it beautiful?" Lin Shen finished writing, put down his pen, and turned to ask with a hint of anticipation, interrupting his daze.

Emperor Qi instantly regained his senses, all the turbulent emotions in his eyes subsided, leaving only a gentle smile.

He picked up the paper, examined it carefully, his tone filled with undisguised pride and doting affection.

“Beautiful, my dear Abao, you are so talented in writing, much better than your father was back then.”

Lin Shen was a little embarrassed by the praise. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, and finally showed the first genuine smile of the night, temporarily putting aside his unpleasantness in the rockery and the inexplicable doubts he had just had.

Behind him, Emperor Qi's gaze returned to the four characters "Chongxi Leiye" (meaning "repeated prosperity and successive generations"), his fingertips lightly brushing the still-wet ink, his eyes deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.