Being a parent is always a contradiction.
If your child is too mischievous, you get a headache; but if they’re too obedient, your heart aches—especially when that obedience is forced by parental authority...
After her phase of acting out and playing dumb failed, Sweet Dumpling decisively switched tactics: she stayed quietly in the Imperial Mausoleum, ate plain food, copied medical texts, and wrote lengthy self-reflection essays every day.
On the surface, Sweet Dumpling truly seemed to be repenting—at least, that’s what the shadow guards’ reports said.
"Mother, Lily is being so well-behaved—can’t you let her come home early?" Little Dumpling found Serena Feng and clung to her, begging in a soft voice...
Little Dumpling admits he’s most like his father—because, just like his father, he loves sticking close to his mother. As long as she’s around, he feels at ease.
Serena Feng patted Little Dumpling’s head, a faint smile on her lips. "Did Sweet Dumpling write you a letter?" Serena still doubted that Lily was truly repenting.
Just like her previous wild antics, Serena was convinced Sweet Dumpling was only pretending this time too...
No one knows their daughter better than her mother.
Under Serena’s gentle threat and persuasion, Little Dumpling betrayed his sister and handed over Sweet Dumpling’s letter: "For Mother’s review!"
"It’s so thick?" Serena took the letter, which was as thick as a book, and began to read...
She wanted to know: what on earth did Sweet Dumpling write to fill so many pages?
Bear in mind, Sweet Dumpling was still busy copying medical texts—yet she managed to write so much. Clearly, Lily was truly reflecting...
Sweet Dumpling’s letter was just like her: lively and adorable. First, she wrote a long section praising Little Dumpling’s unmatched heroism, and described how much she missed her parents and brother...
Sweet Dumpling spent ten whole pages on this—over ten thousand words.
Reading further, Serena saw Sweet Dumpling begin to describe her life in the Mausoleum.
Just waking up, thinking, eating, sleeping—these four things alone, Sweet Dumpling managed to fill more than twenty pages.
With every section, she added her feelings and commentary, making Serena laugh and cry at the same time...
"So young, and already so thoughtful." Serena’s eyes softened, her gaze full of affection she couldn’t hide.
Just reading the letter, Serena could picture Sweet Dumpling’s innocent, lively face...
Her daughter, no matter what, never loses her true nature—and that’s a good thing!
Even if she has to compromise with life, Serena never wants Sweet Dumpling to become someone else. Her daughter can be spoiled, but she must be clever and clear-eyed about reality.
Reading on...
After finishing her daily routine, Sweet Dumpling began listing every mistake she’s made over the years, one by one—even cutting up Ninth Royal Uncle’s robes and tying bows on the Snow Wolf, she remembered it all.
One by one... all in great detail. Clearly, Sweet Dumpling has an excellent memory—she remembered every single thing.
Now that this pile has landed in Serena’s hands, it’s all evidence.
The thickest part of the letter is this stack of 'evidence'—all written by Sweet Dumpling herself, thirty-five pages in total...
"Is three months too short?" Serena’s smile froze as she finished reading that section.
She had no idea Sweet Dumpling had done so many naughty things behind her back—truly impressive!
"Mom, Lily’s just innocent and naive." Little Dumpling snickered, tugging at Serena’s sleeve to act cute. "They’re all harmless little pranks."
"True enough..." Serena agreed. "Compared to you, Sweet Dumpling’s mischief is nothing. No matter how naughty she is, she’s never broken the Snow Wolf’s teeth, or painted it like a kite and tried to make it fly."
"Uh..." This time, Little Dumpling blushed. "Mom, I was just young and ignorant." He admitted that compared to Sweet Dumpling’s little tricks, his own were much more destructive, but...
But wasn’t it just out of boredom?
"Young and ignorant? Who was it that went tower-jumping with Left Shore? Who rigged traps in the palace so that maids and eunuchs ended up bruised and battered?" Serena put down the letter and looked at Little Dumpling, making him bury his head in his chest...
"Mom..." Little Dumpling whined—his way of acting cute was even deadlier than Sweet Dumpling’s.
"Calling me ‘Mother’ won’t help." Serena tapped his head. "A wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall—don’t you know that? Are you planning to write a ten-thousand-word essay like Tyler Cui did?"
"Mom, please, no..." These days he only sleeps three hours a night—if he had to write a ten-thousand-word essay, he’d be done for. "Mom, I only went tower-jumping with Uncle Left Shore because I wanted to test whether people could fly in midair. You know... If it worked, it could help us win wars in the future. We could use it to scout enemy positions and get a clear view of their situation."
Little Dumpling didn’t dare stop talking, explaining everything in one breath: "I rigged traps in the palace for my own safety—so I could sleep well. I follow Father Emperor around all day, and by night I’m so tired I don’t want to move anymore."
Lately, Little Dumpling’s life has been so tough—he falls asleep the moment he hits the bed, with no energy to pay attention to his surroundings. To keep his strength up, he had no choice but to set traps in the palace, so he could sleep soundly at night instead of staying on guard even in his dreams.
If this were before, Serena would have felt sorry for Little Dumpling and thought there was nothing wrong with his actions. But after learning about Ninth Royal Uncle’s childhood, she realized Little Dumpling grew up sheltered—he couldn’t even handle a little hardship.
Serena sighed and said seriously, "Have you ever thought that what you’re doing doesn’t actually achieve the effect of real training?"
She couldn’t bring herself to be as ruthless as Lady Min, driving her own son to the brink of death or insanity—but she could still harden her heart.
Only by paying now in blood, sweat, and tears can you be safer in the future...
"Mom, I know I was wrong. It won’t happen again." Little Dumpling didn’t argue—he immediately stood up to admit his mistake, his handsome face flushed with embarrassment.
He’d always been a favored child, proud and a little arrogant. Getting caught by his own mother was truly embarrassing.
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"Your father is doing this for your own good." Serena softened her tone as she stroked Little Dumpling’s head. "Both your father and I know how hard it is on you, but... this is your fate. You have no choice."
"You’re your father’s only son. This vast empire rests on your shoulders alone. The livelihoods of countless subjects depend on you, and you can’t afford any mistakes."
"Mother, I understand. I promise I won’t let you down." Little Dumpling was more aware of his responsibilities than anyone—and he worked harder than anyone, too.
His parents fought hard to build this empire; if he couldn’t protect it, he’d be ashamed as their son.
"Good child, you’ve worked hard." Serena felt for him, but no amount of sympathy could change reality.
She and Ninth Royal Uncle were unlikely to have more children—and even if they did...
She and Ninth Royal Uncle wouldn’t put pressure on that child, nor would they raise them like Little Dumpling, with the education of an heir.
It wasn’t favoritism or neglecting other children—it was about guaranteeing Little Dumpling’s position as heir.
She didn’t want brotherly rivalry or fratricide to play out between her sons. That’s why, from birth, she decided their futures and raised them accordingly.
Primogeniture has its flaws—if the heir is weak or something happens to him, the whole family could face disaster...
But in this world, no method is foolproof—risk is inevitable.
Compared to letting brothers fight for the throne, Serena would rather stick with primogeniture. At least it avoids constant bloodshed and preserves family unity.
Whatever happens, Serena can at least ensure that Little Dumpling’s succession will be secure—and she trusts that under Ninth Royal Uncle’s guidance, he’ll only get better...
After a few words of comfort, Serena saw that Little Dumpling wasn’t discouraged, so she went back to reading Sweet Dumpling’s letter...
Sweet Dumpling filled dozens of pages describing her mischief, but in the end, she used half a page to reflect on her mistakes. Her takeaway was...
After half a month of soul-searching, Sweet Dumpling concluded that it wasn’t that she caused too much trouble—it was that she was too clumsy and didn’t cover her tracks well enough. She even asked Little Dumpling for tips on causing trouble and acting innocent, so next time, she could turn big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing at all...
When Serena finished reading the letter, she could only say: this is definitely her daughter—her way of reflecting is truly unique. But...
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Getting into trouble isn’t the issue—the real question is whether you have the ability to clean up your own mess.
"I’m keeping this letter," Serena said, ignoring Little Dumpling’s wounded puppy eyes as she put it away.
"Mother, Sweet Dumpling will say I’m disloyal," Little Dumpling said, looking pitifully at Serena...
No need to guess—Mother is definitely going to show the letter to Father Emperor.
"Don’t worry, I won’t tell Sweet Dumpling," Serena replied with a fox-like grin. Little Dumpling shivered for no reason, but...
Once something is in Serena’s hands, does anyone really think they’ll get it back?
Little Dumpling, just wash up and go to bed!
Just as Little Dumpling expected, Serena gave Sweet Dumpling’s letter to Ninth Royal Uncle. After reading it, Ninth Royal Uncle’s mouth twitched...
"Sweet Dumpling really is bold." She even dared to toss flower petals into his bath—no wonder he broke out in a rash after soaking last time.
And his dragon robe...
It wasn’t the Snow Wolf who tore it—it was Sweet Dumpling who cut it...
How old is she, anyway?
Five years old?
She’s really raising the roof.
And what’s this?
She put medicine in Dr. Redwater’s tea, causing him...
Hmm!
That’s really unacceptable...
"Is three months too short?" Ninth Royal Uncle put down the letter and asked Serena seriously.
Maybe if they gave her another three months, Sweet Dumpling would ‘remember’ a few more things.
"As long as she learns to be careful and covers her tracks, that’s enough," Serena said. She wasn’t afraid of Sweet Dumpling causing trouble—she was only afraid she wouldn’t know how to fix it.
"We used to think that as long as we protected Sweet Dumpling, nothing would go wrong. Now, I’m not so sure. With her personality, she has to learn some survival skills," Ninth Royal Uncle sighed...
He’d always been reluctant to have Sweet Dumpling learn martial arts—but now, it seemed necessary.
"Have Sean Xuan send someone to teach Sweet Dumpling martial arts—focus on survival skills."
And so...
Sweet Dumpling’s time reflecting in the Imperial Mausoleum was extended indefinitely...