Emperor Cheng lifted Duanmu Jinhong's bandaged hand with a distressed look, looked at it for a while, and suddenly turned around and shouted at Duanmu Qingchen angrily: "Do you know you are wrong? Look at what you have done to Hong'er! You know that your third brother loves to play the piano and cherishes his hands the most, but look at what he has become now! If his fingers can't be healed, you will find me a hundred recitations of the Heart Sutra!"
Duanmu Jinhong stared blankly at the angry Emperor Cheng in front of him. Emperor Cheng's anger made his heart surge with warmth and made his throat ache. He saw how much love his father had for him, and saw that his father loved him so much.
After Emperor Cheng finished yelling, his eyes became heavy. He lowered his head and lowered his voice: "How did you get in?" Emperor Cheng asked without looking at Duanmu Qingchen.
Duanmu Jinhong was slightly startled, looking at Emperor Cheng's evasive gaze. The sensitive him seemed to have sensed something. He frowned slightly, trying to recall Duanmu Qingchen's usual frivolous look, and suddenly raised his face and grinned an extremely artificial smile: "I'm curious, I can't help it..."
"Then remember this!" Suddenly, Emperor Cheng interrupted Duanmu Jinhong's words with great force, his expression becoming particularly solemn, "Today, you went in on your own! It has nothing to do with anyone else!"
Duanmu Jinhong sat on the edge of the bed in a daze. Emperor Cheng's tone and expression made his heart shake violently like an earthquake.
The whole room fell into silence.
Emperor Cheng was silent for a long time. He didn't look at Duanmu Qingchen. He turned around and gently covered Duanmu Jinhong on the bed with a quilt: "Tell me, what are you better than your third brother?"
Duanmu Jinhong stared at Emperor Cheng's back in amazement. He was actually... praising himself... He had never thought that Emperor Cheng would praise himself in front of Duanmu Qingchen...
“At the Mid-Autumn Festival party, you slipped out to play again! Fortunately, the third brother took charge and stabilized the situation, otherwise it would have been a mess!” Emperor Cheng looked very disappointed. “Alas! You and the third brother each have your own strengths. The third brother is more stable than you, but the third brother’s temperament... Alas... If he had a cheerful personality and was kind, the throne might not necessarily be yours!” Emperor Cheng stretched out his finger and pointed at the air vigorously, as if he was pointing at Duanmu Qingchen’s head.
Emperor Cheng nodded for a while and found that Duanmu Qingchen was particularly quiet today. He frowned and said, "Why are you so quiet today? Do you know you are wrong?"
Duanmu Jinhong came back to his senses in panic, and immediately imitated Duanmu Qingchen and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I know I was wrong."
"Well! Treat your third brother well after you realize your mistake. Don't tease him for no reason. You joke with him even though you know he will take it seriously!"
Emperor Cheng's words once again made Duanmu Jinhong mesmerized. It turned out that their father really understood them.
“It would be better if you two could get together. You should learn from the third brother, be more calm and steady, and stop thinking about going out to play all the time. And the third brother…” Emperor Cheng’s eyes softened again when he looked at Duanmu Jinhong who was sleeping on the bed. “As for you, if you could learn from your brother the Crown Prince, open your heart and go out to play more, you would find that the world outside is more worthy of your love than this throne…” Emperor Cheng’s throat became choked, his palms and backs of his hands were all flesh, and the last thing he wanted to see was brothers killing each other.
Duanmu Jinhong's heart suddenly ached. It turned out that his father actually knew all the secrets of today. However, he ordered Duanmu Qingchen to pretend that he didn't know...
His heart seemed to be blocked by something, and the entanglement and deep guilt in his heart made him almost suffocate and vomit.
“Chen’er… in the future, you must make use of Hong’er, so that he doesn’t feel that you have neglected him…” Emperor Cheng sighed and instructed, “Or you can sideline him, give him power, let him share the worries of state affairs with you, let him be busy with government affairs, maybe… he won’t think about other things…” Emperor Cheng looked at Duanmu Jinhong’s peaceful sleeping face with pity, but he didn’t know that the real Duanmu Jinhong was already sitting behind him.
Duanmu Jinhong had never expected that when he stood in Duanmu Qingchen's perspective, what he saw would be different from what he had usually guessed and speculated.
He had always thought that his father did not like him because he was quiet and aloof, and Emperor Cheng did not get close to him. Now he realized that it was not that his father did not love him, but that he pushed away his father's love, he pushed away everyone's love.
He also felt the favor that Emperor Cheng had for Duanmu Qingchen, because even when Emperor Cheng scolded him, his tone was still doting.
If he had known this earlier, perhaps he would not have become what he is today, nor would he want Duanmu Qingchen to disappear. However, both Duanmu Qingchen and his father chose to keep this secret in their hearts. No one blamed him. He made the biggest mistake in the world, a mistake that would disappoint everyone, but in the end, it was his father and his brother who protected him.
"Chen'er... I've thought about it..." Emperor Cheng gently held Duanmu Jinhong's hand and became serious again, "I have indeed treated Hong'er too badly. You are right, Hong'er likes that Lin Shiyue, I should fulfill his wish, I should fulfill his wish... Moreover, this incident makes me feel that you! Don't deserve such a good girl!" Emperor Cheng suddenly shouted again.
Duanmu Jinhong was surprised again. Father and Duanmu Qingchen had already talked about Shiyue? Father suddenly said that he should fulfill his wish... Was he saying...
"So father has decided that when Hong'er wakes up, he will marry Lin Shiyue to you!" Emperor Cheng turned around and said solemnly.
Duanmu Jinhong was immediately overjoyed and knelt down reflexively to thank the emperor: "Thank you, father, for your help!"
Emperor Cheng was stunned, and felt angry and amused at the same time: "Chen'er, look how happy you are for your third brother!"
Duanmu Jinhong, who was kneeling down to express his gratitude, felt as if his brain was hit hard by a hammer. A loud "buzz" sound made him unable to hear what Emperor Cheng said next.
"Well... When we get down the mountain tomorrow, father will talk to the Right Prime Minister about this matter. Hong'er will definitely be happy, hehe... father gave the throne to you and gave the best woman in the world to the third child. This should be considered fair, right? Hahaha..."
"Buzz-buzz-buzz-" Duanmu Jinhong's head was buzzing and went blank.
Your fate will also be exchanged... Lian Youyou's words began to echo in his blank mind. So, this is their fate, a destined fate. Duanmu Qingchen gets the throne, Duanmu Jinhong gets Lin Shiyue, and now... they... have exchanged...
He got the throne...
Duanmu Qingchen...
Got…
The woman he loves...
Fate is so fair! (To be continued)