Jun Buli hadn’t noticed Yingzi’s gaze at all. He hesitated at the door, unsure whether to go in. He’d only just caught a glimpse of the little baby a moment ago — hadn’t gotten a clear look at anything, and he was terribly curious.

At the same time, he felt a bit awkward. He was already seventeen or eighteen, and here Mommy had only just brought him a little sister.

Fortunately, none of his consorts had borne him any children yet — otherwise, who knew, they might end up older than this little sister, which would be too much for him to bear!

The people outside were all hesitating, while inside, Ziqing lay exhausted on the bed, utterly drained, her face pale as a sheet of white paper. The old nanny had already fed her a large bowl of ginseng broth, but she still hadn’t fully caught her breath.

If Guxi hadn’t given her some of his true energy earlier, she didn’t know how much longer she could have held on.

Now she was conscious, but truly without a shred of strength — completely unable to get up, too tired even to want to move a finger.

Jun Beiyue brought the little princess over beside her so she could see, so happy he didn’t know what to say, just grinning at Ziqing the whole time.

“Silly,” Ziqing said helplessly. If anyone else caught Jun Beiyue grinning like this like a fool, they wouldn’t even recognize him.

“Our daughter — we have a daughter!”

Jun Beiyue looked at the child, studying her closely to see who she resembled more. But she was still too small to tell — he only thought her nose looked a bit like Ziqing’s.

Ziqing studied the baby carefully too, and the more she looked, the less satisfied she seemed. She couldn’t help but ask Jun Beiyue, puzzled, “Why is she so ugly?”

The question completely floored Jun Beiyue. Ugly?

From the very first moment he’d laid eyes on his daughter, neither his conscious nor his subconscious mind had held any standard of beauty or ugliness — there was only happiness, nothing but happiness.

“Ugly?” he echoed back at her.

Ziqing blinked, very seriously. “Very ugly.”

“All newborns look like this. Xiong Bao was the same, wasn’t he?” Jun Beiyue comforted her.

“It’s not the same. She’s a girl — she has to be pretty! It doesn’t matter for a boy,” Ziqing said earnestly. Those words, overheard at the door by Jun Buli, made his heart turn to ice.

He’d meant to go in and take a peek, but upon hearing that, he came to an abrupt halt.

He had an ominous premonition — with his little sister’s birth, he would officially be promoted to “the emperor brother,” while simultaneously being cast into the cold palace of parental neglect.

Still, thinking it over, it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

With a little sister for Mother to fuss over, at least she wouldn’t be so focused on the matter of Consort Li.

He mused that from now until his little sister grew up and understood things would take several years, and knowing his mother’s temperament, there was no way she’d leave it to a wet nurse — she’d insist on handling everything herself.

And once his little sister reached the mischievous age, especially with his own encouragement thrown in, she was sure to give Mother no end of headaches!

And once this year passed, that would be her coming-of-age ceremony, after which countless suitors would surely come seeking her hand. Then Mother could go fuss over her sister’s marriage instead!

The more Jun Buli thought about it, the happier he became. He decided he would dote on this little sister very, very much.

Seeing Jun Buli suddenly grinning to himself for no apparent reason, Situ Jing’er and Meng Duo’er beside him couldn’t help but shudder involuntarily — was something wrong with this guy? Had he been possessed by something?

Yingzi, meanwhile, was conflicted. Seeing the young master in such good spirits, he mulled it over and decided to hold off on mentioning the matter of Consort Li for now, so as not to spoil everyone’s happy mood.

He thought that keeping this quiet was also for Her Highness’s sake — he didn’t want Her Highness, already so exhausted, to also have to worry about Consort Li’s affair. Surely the prince would understand, surely he would speak up for him!

So Yingzi nodded to himself, firmly. That settled it.

Situ Jing’er, glancing back and recalling Yingzi’s foolish expression, poked Meng Duo’er with her finger. Meng Duo’er looked over, puzzled — what was wrong with this pair, master and servant?

At this moment, no one could disturb Ziqing’s joy.

Even as she complained her daughter was ugly, she still longed to hold her. Unfortunately, after all that exhausting labor, she truly had no strength left, and could only gaze at her longingly. Just then, the little princess had already opened one eye, beginning to take in the world.

The couple laughed together for a good while before Ziqing suddenly remembered something and said urgently, “Beiyue, she shouldn’t be like Xiong Bao, should she?”

The Meng clan’s and the Isolated Island clan’s bloodlines had merged, breaking the constraints of the Ren Gu constitution, but producing instead the strange constitution Jun Buli had — a boy immune to all poisons, with lethally toxic blood. What about a girl?

To this day, they still weren’t sure exactly what was going on with Xiong Bao’s constitution — they only knew it was special, that everything else about him was normal, and that it didn’t harm his body or his life.

Still, not knowing for certain left them unable to feel at ease.

“Beiyue, draw some blood and have Old Jue take a look,” Ziqing said flatly.

Bringing this up, Jun Beiyue was more anxious than anyone. But looking at his daughter’s adorable little face, how could he bear to do it?

The little baby had stopped crying by now, and whether it was because she liked Jun Beiyue or simply because he was closest to her, she kept her eyes half-open, staring right at him.

After hesitating for a good while, this iron-blooded prince still couldn’t bring himself to do it. He said flatly, “Let’s wait a few days. Once she’s a bit bigger. Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

Ziqing looked at the little bud-like fingers of the baby, feeling reluctant herself. She simply nodded in agreement.

By then, Jun Buli had already come in, tiptoeing over to look, finally getting a clear glimpse of his little sister’s face. His first reaction was the same as Ziqing’s — he blurted out, “This girl’s really ugly, isn’t she!”

The moment those words left his mouth, Jun Beiyue’s brow furrowed at him, and Ziqing narrowed her eyes at him too. Clearly, these parents only permitted themselves to call their daughter ugly — not anyone else.

Of course, Jun Buli wasn’t afraid of them either. He smiled and talked his way out of it, “Mother, I probably looked just like this when I was a baby too.”

That was more like it. Ziqing nodded, her attention returning to the little princess’s face. “Just wait — in a few days, she’ll be a proper little beauty in the making!”

Jun Buli smirked dismissively, though in truth he wanted nothing more than to go take a proper look at his sister, to hold her. Seeing his father’s behavior, he was truly green with envy!

He knew it well — his days of being the sole favorite were coming to an end. His father really was the type to favor daughters over sons!

Meng Duo’er and Situ Jing’er couldn’t wait any longer either, and crept in carefully, tiptoeing, afraid of disturbing the baby. But the moment they got close, Situ Jing’er nearly cried out — thankfully she managed to hold it in. “So pretty, just like Uncle Beiyue!”

Though she’d said it quietly, Jun Buli still heard it. He rolled his eyes hard, and, careful not to startle his sister, said softly, “Where’s she pretty? Talking nonsense with your eyes wide open at such a young age — what’ll you be like when you grow up?”

Situ Jing’er glared at him and called him an idiot before walking over to the bedside. “Aunt Qing, I’ve seen a few of the ladies in the palace give birth before — I know how to judge these things. The little princess’s nose is like yours, and her eyes and mouth are like Uncle Beiyue’s. She’ll grow up to be a great beauty.”

Whether this girl was just saying it to please Ziqing or whether it was actually true, in any case, Ziqing was delighted, and Jun Beiyue was delighted too.

Meng Duo’er leaned in as well. Though the little princess’s field of vision wasn’t very wide yet, she seemed to sense that there were quite a few people around, and her other eye slowly opened too — her pupils were pitch black, pure and clean beyond compare, the kind of eyes people couldn’t bear to look away from.

Looking into her eyes, even Jun Beiyue found himself secretly marveling, already looking forward to what she’d look like when she grew up.

At that moment, Old Jue came in too, though he lingered timidly to one side, not daring to approach. Seeing this, Jun Beiyue smiled and waved him over, joking, “Father-in-law, why don’t you give your niece a name?”

Jue Mingzi was overjoyed with surprise, but didn’t dare agree right away — instead he looked to Ziqing, as if seeking her opinion.

Ziqing agreed at once, joking, “Go ahead and bestow her a name!”

Jue Mingzi was so excited he was practically dazed. Hearing the word “bestow,” he actually nodded repeatedly, “Good, good, good! Let this old man think it over.”

Everyone around them laughed at the sight, and the little princess, seeming to sense everyone’s joy, even curled her tiny mouth into something like a smile.

With Ziqing giving birth, she had no time to spare for Baili Xiaosheng’s affairs. She instructed Jun Buli to take care of it — but Jun Buli simply passed it all off to Guxi instead…

…