After working for a few days, she seemed bored with being a bodyguard, her gaze often drifting to the scenery outside. So I put down my pen and took the initiative to walk with her in the royal garden. When I was lost in thought looking at the horizon, she called, “Your Majesty?” I ordered her to call me by my name, forbidding “Your Majesty.” She was surprised but obediently agreed.
After learning my name, she curiously said, “Shang? Isn’t this an unlucky name?” Seeing her innocent curiosity, I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe… that’s really the case.”
“Your Majesty! Born! Born!” A eunuch ran and knelt before the emperor, exclaiming with joy. The emperor, my father, kicked the eunuch away, “Who exactly was born? Have you figured it out? When did I give birth?!”
On that day, I was born, after the crown prince Ning Yi’an. According to birth order, my brother was the eldest prince, and I was the second prince.
However, because my brother was naive, mischievous, and uninterested in studying, I surpassed him in every aspect.
Thus, our parents and everyone in the palace favored me, while treating my brother differently. I might well be the happiest prince in the palace, including among princes from other nations.
No one could imagine that my brother and I would share such harmonious and joyful times…
“Mo’er! Do you want your brother to take you out to play?” My brother jumped out from behind me, his face full of a joyful smile as he extended an inviting hand. I gladly agreed, preferring to play with my brother rather than stay with boring books.
My brother led me, avoiding all the eunuchs and maids, sneaking off to a secluded spot. Unconsciously, he let go of my hand and ran off joyfully. I tried to keep up, but from childhood, my brother was always healthier and faster than me. Unable to match his pace, I tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.
“Uhhuhuhu~” I sat on the ground crying. My brother rushed over immediately, wiping away my tears with his clean, fragrant sleeve, gently hugging me, and patting my back. “Mo’er, don’t cry, be good. Your brother’s here.”
