Rebirth of the Ninth Princess

Ouyang Qingcheng chuckled softly. "My darling, can you understand what your father is saying?"

What a stupid question.

Surely, he had already noticed back in the Sacred Hall.

Yuanjiu continued to ignore him, but Ouyang Qingcheng only found her behavior very adorable.

He didn't mind in the slightest and sighed with amusement while pulling her into his arms for a gentle embrace.

As he held her close, he whispered, "Don't worry, my darling. Don't be afraid. Father will protect you."

Protect... Such a foreign concept.

No one had ever protected her before even in her previous life, and she'd never needed anyone's protection.

Still, his chest was warm—warmer than Hanxue's or Aunt Yue's embrace—carrying a reassuring feeling that made her feel unexpectedly safe.

"My darling, why do your eyes hold so much loneliness?" It sounded like he was talking to himself.

Yuanjiu's heart skipped a beat.

Ouyang Qingcheng went on, unwilling to let the silence persist. "You're only a hundred days old. You should be enjoying the joys of being a baby, like other infants."

What would a baby know about joy?

Yuanjiu dismissed his words as foolishness and turning away again.

She didn't realize how childish her actions appeared.

However, turning over at just a hundred days old was no easy feat—no, it was exceedingly difficult.

As a result, all she could manage was squirming continuously.

"Stop moving. Be good and go to sleep."

Yuanjiu froze, she letting out a string of babbling protests, which only made Ouyang Qingcheng laugh.

Over the past twenty years, he had laughed sincerely before, but those moments combined didn't amount to as many times as he had laughed today.

"Oh that's right, my darling, the ministers sent plenty of gifts for your hundred-day celebration. Let's take a look together."

Yuanjiu found herself roughly picked up and draped over his shoulder.

She could only hang there limply, she was too small and fragile at just a hundred days old to withstand such handling.

They left Ouyang Qingcheng's bedchamber and entered the storage room just to the right.

The gifts for Yuanjiu's celebration had indeed been carefully arranged there.

Ouyang Qingcheng kept chattering away, while Yuanjiu leaned listlessly against his shoulder, not even willing to let out a single babble.

In truth, if she wanted to talk, she could.

But her vocal cords weren't fully developed yet.

Speaking too soon would harm her throat, so for now, she could only produce simple, infant-like sounds.

"My darling, this is the largest magic crystal core Father has ever seen. My ministers are truly generous."

"Oh, this is a Luminous Pearl—quite valuable."

"Hmm, this Essence Pill would be quite effective for breakthroughs during cultivation."

...

Yuanjiu listened to his endless commentary but she still couldn't figure out his intentions.

Could it be that being at the top had left him unbearably lonely, with no confidants to talk to, which forcing him to ramble to a baby?

When she could talk, she would definitely ask him about this.

For now, all she wanted to do was sleep.

And another thing—did his ministers know how talkative their emperor really was?