Chapter 1372: Chapter 1367: Willing to Pick Stars for You

Mu Rongche sat by her bedside, his fingers gently tracing the bridge of her delicate nose, “There are plenty of delicious things to eat! Minglou’s fish cakes, West Market’s lion’s head meatballs, Fanhua Street’s lotus seed and jade dew cakes–if you like them, I’ll take you to taste them all across Lian Hai Kingdom.”

“I want to eat,” Chen Ruobai said, a longing in her clear, distinct eyes.

She had never tasted anything as sweet, as tender and glutinous, as delicious as she had today.

Only now did she realize that what she had eaten before… weren’t even worth calling food!

“There, there, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t eat too much at once, I’ll take you to eat something delicious every day.”

Mu Rongche gently patted her quilt, lulling her to sleep.

He was just a teenager himself, but having seen the concubines and queens in his father’s palace sooth his younger brothers and sisters to sleep like this, he imitated them.

And it seemed to work extremely well.

Chen Ruobai soon fell asleep.

He kept his promise, taking Chen Ruobai to enjoy delicious foods daily, letting her taste every delicacy within the prince’s mansion. If it wasn’t available within the mansion, no matter how far away, he would personally go to buy it.

The most exaggerated time was when the servants mentioned the beef milk pastries from Dongyun Shacheng were delicious. Chen Ruobai wanted to eat them, so Mu Rongche rode out on horseback, taking two days and one night, and brought back fresh beef milk pastries from Dongyun Shacheng.

He had kept them warm against his chest the whole way, and when he presented them to Chen Ruobai, they were still piping hot.

Chen Ruobai consumed an entire package contentedly.

At that time, the servants in the prince’s mansion discussed it spiritedly, saying that their young prince had gone insane to indulge a seven or eight-year-old girl to such an extent–exhausting a warhorse just to buy her a tasty treat.

Old King, upon hearing of this, was also quite angry and scolded him, accusing him of neglecting his duties for doting on a stinky girl.

Calling her a worthless piece of trash.

“She is not worthless; those who have wronged her are worthless!” Mu Rongche argued fiercely with his father that morning, his anger directed squarely at him, causing his father great embarrassment.

Old King was so incensed that he almost beat Mu Rongche severely in the great hall. He said, panting, “You defy your own father… over a bastard child! Do you know that when she was sent here, she was not pure, and you still cherish her like a treasure! You’re truly foolish beyond belief!”

Mu Rongche’s eyes flashed with shock, “What are you talking about?”

She was bullied in Ji Yun Country?

She was just a child!

Old King thought Mu Rongche would be furious and ashamed upon learning this truth and would then throw that little wretch out of the prince’s mansion.

But to his surprise, Mu Rongche’s expression was one of agony; clutching his chest, he gasped for air for quite some time before looking up with his eyes bloodshot, staring at him, and declaring word by word, “She is pure and untainted; it is only those who bully her, those who vainly attempt to gain something from her, who are dirty and despicable!”

“You… you bastard!”

Old King was so agitated that he fainted right there in the royal court.

Queen Qiya, Mu Rongche’s mother, upon hearing this news, immediately sought out Mu Rongche, looking at him with eyes full of concern, “Child, your actions are becoming more and more unfathomable to your mother. How could you confront your father like that? He intends to leave the throne to you! Don’t you know that your brothers have been coveting it for a long time?”

By being so defiant and unfilial, wasn’t Mu Rongche just giving his brothers a reason to attack him and seize the throne?

Mu Rongche’s spirit was high, and he had military achievements to his name–why would he care about such things? He boldly told his mother, “If my brothers have the capability, let them come and take the throne; if they don’t, they wouldn’t be able to hold onto it even if it was given to them! I owe Xiao Bai’s mother, and I owe Xiao Bai; in this lifetime, I will treat her as my treasure, cherishing her unconditionally.”

In his view, it was all what he owed her.

Had it not been for his initial kindness, going through all the trouble.

The entire witch tribe was able to escape disaster, and the witch women no longer had to suffer such humiliation.

Xiao Bai’s clan had been wiped out, and she had lost her mother, living such a difficult and miserable life; he absolutely would not let her endure any bit of grievance.

That’s what he thought, and he insisted on doing so.

Chen Ruobai lived in his mansion for seven years, her doting reached its zenith, and even Queen Qiya was quite envious of her.

Once she offhandedly mentioned she wanted the stars in the sky, Mu Rongche then ordered people to try every means to reach the heavens. He tied all his homemade rockets to a chair, held two large kites in his hands, and then sat on the tallest tower in the capital of Lian Hai Kingdom, ordering his men to light the fuse, hoping to soar into the sky to fetch her a star.

At that time, the old king and Queen Qiya were both stunned by him, and all the commoners in the capital stood below the tower watching this heart-stopping scene.

As a result, of course, before Mu Rongche could touch the skyline, he crashed down harshly.

Luckily, his martial arts were strong, and his lightness skill was exceptional, so he saved his own life.

But he also broke his leg, and lay in the prince’s mansion for a full half-year, unable to attend the royal court or go to battle.

All his glory and military achievements were snatched away clean by his brothers during that half-year.

His father, the king, even disdainfully ignored him entirely, allowing rivals who came to challenge him to empty out his prince’s mansion.

Many of the opportunistic servants in the mansion swiftly ran off.

During this time, only Chen Ruobai stayed by his side.

In the summer days, Luo Heng carried a soft couch to the pavilion by the lake, and Chen Ruobai would sit beside him, rolling up her pant legs, dangling a pair of small legs white as jade in the water, singing songs joyfully.

Mu Rongche rested his arms behind his head, looking at her carefree silhouette, his heart brimming with contentment.

“I don’t know what Your Highness finds to laugh about, the next time the princes come, you might find a blade at your neck,” Luo Heng sighed heavily.

He had already grown lazy advising His Highness; whatever he said wouldn’t be heeded, acting just like a foolish ruler!

Only doting on this little troublemaker all day long, constantly stirred up by her, yet still offering his undivided heart and efforts.

He even broke his leg for her, and yet she never came to change his dressings, often creating chaos on his wound. Almost breaking it again before the bone had time to heal.

“If they come, then I shall fight. Lying here doesn’t mean I can’t wield a knife.” His dagger hung beside the soft couch. If anyone entered the mansion and touched his Xiao Bai, he absolutely would show no mercy!

“Mu Rongche! Check if my feet are clean,” Chen Ruobai ran over to him, lifting her small feet for Mu Rongche to see.

These feet were delicate and soft, the shiny toenails faintly pink, so tender they made one want to cherish them.

“I’ll help you wipe them.” Mu Rongche beckoned her over, embraced her in his arms, and took a handkerchief, drying off the water on her small feet.

Chen Ruobai, playful as ever, after he dried them, she directly stepped on his face with her feet.

“Hmm…”

Mu Rongche’s eyes were stamped by her little feet, instantly feeling dizzy.

“You’re insolent!” Luo Heng was so angry he felt like his lungs would explode!

This little wolf pup simply didn’t know what’s good for her, daring to do such a thing to Mu Rongche.

“Don’t scold her,” Mu Rongche regained his composure, pressing his temples, and glared at Luo Heng.

—————-

The inspiration for Mu Rongche’s attempt to reach the heavens comes from Wan Hu, an official from our ancient history who dreamt of space travel. While Wan Hu harbored dreams of space flight, our Mu Rongche did it purely to pluck a star for Xiao Bai, knowingly engaging in an impossible feat, silly and adorable. But in the author’s view, all the fiery passion in this young man’s heart was dedicated to doting on his Xiao Bai. Thus, the chapter is titled: “Willing to Fetch a Star for You,” hoping all readers will encounter such a lover who would give everything for you.