Sweet Dumpling has always known her father is like a black sesame bun: quiet on the outside, but secretly full of mischief. How does she know this?
It's simple! Felix Fuller said so, Uncle Holden said so, Adrian said so, Uncle Cui said so, and even Grandpa Guo (Dr. Marcus Guile) and the others all say the same thing. So...
Sweet Dumpling has always known that her father, the Emperor, is not someone to mess with. But since he always dotes on her, she's never been afraid of him.
As for her mother?
Everyone says her mother, Serena, is gentle, generous, good-tempered, and reasonable. But Sweet Dumpling knows her mother is not easy to deal with at all. If she really gets angry, she dares to make her father kneel on a washboard—and he wouldn’t dare let anyone know, only secretly kneeling in their room.
She saw it when she was little... her father kneeling on a washboard!
Shh, this can't be told to anyone. If people found out, she'd get in big trouble!
At home, the first person Sweet Dumpling never dares to offend is Serena (her mother). Actually, it’s Little Dumpling (Rory, her brother). And last... is Prince Nolan (her father).
See, after just finishing her round of rolling and acting cute with Prince Nolan (her father), Sweet Dumpling turned into a little sweetheart, massaging Serena’s (her mother) legs.
Prince Nolan (her father) watched from the side, feeling a pang of jealousy: This daughter of his was truly ungrateful. Clearly, the one who spoils her most at home is him, her father—so why is she always trying to please Serena (her mother) or Little Dumpling (Rory, her brother) instead?
Is it because he’s too kind, so he’s easy to bully?
Prince Nolan’s teeth ached with jealousy, but what could he do? His precious daughter had her back to him, working hard to curry favor with Serena...
"Mother, is it heavy?"
"Mother, is it light enough?"
"Mother, should I massage here a little more?"
"Mother, it feels good, right? Have I gotten better? Grandpa Valley Master praised me for recognizing more and more acupoints. Soon I’ll be able to become a certified healer, and someday I’ll be a doctor even better than you or Grandpa Valley Master."
Sweet Dumpling kept acting cute and showing off, while Serena smiled, enjoying her daughter’s filial piety. But...
Enjoyment is one thing, but what needs to be done still has to be done.
"Sweet Dumpling, tell me—why did you come looking for your father and me alone?" Serena (her mother) was not like Prince Nolan (her father), who would forget how much trouble Sweet Dumpling could cause just because she called out sweetly a few times. Serena always kept a strict eye on discipline.
Uh... Sweet Dumpling paused her massage. "Mother, I just missed you both." That much she had to say...
"Anything else?" Serena was certain there was more—she knew her obedient daughter would never travel so far just because she missed them.
"N-no, nothing else. I just missed you both." Sweet Dumpling didn’t dare look at Serena, resting her head on her mother’s leg, trying to bluff her way through. But she forgot...
Her mother was not her father. Serena would never let her get away with it.
"If that’s the case, now that you’ve seen us and eased your longing, you can head straight back." Serena showed no mercy in sending her away. Sweet Dumpling was stunned...
"Mother, you want to send me away?" She started fake-crying: "Mother, you don’t love me at all."
"Is it that I don’t love you, or that you’re lying?" Serena wasn’t having any of it. Seeing Prince Nolan soften, she shot him a cold glare; he could only rub his nose and step back, lest he get caught up too.
When Serena lost her temper, even Prince Nolan was afraid.
"Mother, Lily isn’t lying—Lily really did miss you both." Sweet Dumpling insisted, and at least on this point, she was telling the truth.
"Anything else? Is there no other reason? Sweet Dumpling, you know your mother is usually easygoing, but if I really get angry..." Serena didn’t finish, but Sweet Dumpling understood perfectly.
Sweet Dumpling glanced nervously at Serena and whispered, "Mother, are you going to put me in the little dark room?"
"Depends on whether you come clean. Tell me everything you’ve done lately, one by one. If you forget even one thing, you’ll spend a day in the little dark room." Serena’s tone was light, but Sweet Dumpling’s face changed at once.
Could she say that she hated the little dark room most of all?
Mother was just too mean.
"Mother, this is abuse! I’m going to complain..." She was still young, easily scared.
"Complain to the Emperor? Your father is right here. Or... you could go to the capital and complain to Little Dumpling?" Serena thought: This brat, if she dares complain about me, she must be tired of living...
Did she forget that the current emperor was her husband, and the next emperor was her son?
"Mother, I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously." Sweet Dumpling chickened out again, her big wet eyes turning to Prince Nolan for help.
She silently begged for help, but...
Prince Nolan couldn’t refuse his daughter’s pleading look, but he could pretend not to see it.
Prince Nolan quietly pulled out a book and started reading intently: apart from the words, he saw nothing else.
Well... Sweet Dumpling knew without thinking—there was no hope for rescue now.
"Mother, if I confess, can you go easy on me?" But before she started, Sweet Dumpling still tried to bargain for herself.
Serena nodded. "It depends on how serious it is."
"Alright then..." Sweet Dumpling drooped her head. "Mother, there’s a lot to tell. Can I sit down while I explain?"
"You can squat there and massage my legs while you talk." Serena’s cunning side showed again. Sweet Dumpling pouted at her, confirming her mother wasn’t joking, and could only squat tearfully by Serena’s legs. Then...
She told everything: how she left Little Dumpling (Rory, her brother) behind in Jiangnan, how she accidentally killed the poisonous herb and upset Grandpa Guo, how she ran off to Mystic Healer Valley to avoid punishment, only to be tormented by Little Dumpling (Rory) in all sorts of ways.
When it came to her own mistakes, Sweet Dumpling glossed over them, but when it came to Little Dumpling (Rory)'s punishments, she told everything honestly.
"Mother, Rory was so mean! I really didn’t do it on purpose—I just wanted to see the poisonous herb. But my brother was petty and punished me. Mother, when you return to the capital, you have to help me get revenge."
After all that, her last sentence was the real point.
Prince Nolan nodded: Rory really was too much. Even if he was educating his sister, he shouldn’t have scared her. Though Nolan had allowed it, he hadn’t meant for Rory to torment Sweet Dumpling endlessly. But...
Serena said, "Your brother did very well. I’m quite satisfied. Go on..."
Well, now not only would Serena not take Sweet Dumpling’s side, even Prince Nolan wouldn’t help.
Sweet Dumpling was thoroughly frustrated, but didn’t dare talk back—she could only keep recounting how they went to the Imperial Mausoleum, how she rescued Miles Lan, and finally, she didn’t forget to praise herself: "Father, Mother, wasn’t I amazing?"
"You were pretty amazing—daring even to steal someone your father had locked up." Doing things on a whim, never thinking about the consequences—Serena wondered who she took after.
"Ah... Miles Lan—that little rascal—was someone Father locked up? Why would Father imprison a child? Miles looked so pitiful."
Sweet Dumpling’s sense of justice overflowed, and she blinked at Prince Nolan. But how could he explain this to her?
It was too complicated to explain, so he simply said nothing. Sweet Dumpling filled in the blanks herself: "Ah... I get it! It must be because his surname is Lan. All the Lans are bad guys. There was once a villain named Lance Quinn (Lan Jiuqing) who bullied Mother. Don’t worry, Mother—ever since I learned that rascal’s name was Miles Lan, I stopped talking to him and left him with Rory. Don’t worry, I’ll be just like you and hate all the bad guys named Lan."
Sweet Dumpling clapped her hands, delighted, completely missing the dark look on her father’s face behind her...
"A villain named Lance Quinn? Where did you hear that?" Prince Nolan’s icy voice rang out behind Sweet Dumpling.
If it were anyone else, they’d probably be terrified. But this was Sweet Dumpling.
She wasn’t afraid of Prince Nolan at all…
"Father, don’t ask where I heard it—I just know. Anyone named Lan is a villain. Mother, am I right?" She was a good child; she wouldn’t sell out Felix Fuller.
Of course, betraying Uncle Fu wouldn’t benefit her now, so she wouldn’t do it.
"That’s right. Very clever." Serena rubbed Sweet Dumpling’s head approvingly. Prince Nolan’s face grew darker, but…
Which of these mother and daughter was afraid of him?
Praised by her mother, Sweet Dumpling grew bolder and continued to confess all her misdeeds to Serena—including tricking Dr. Redwater, leaving Mystic Healer Valley, and causing trouble for Grandpa Valley Master.
In other words, Sweet Dumpling was a walking disaster—wherever she went, someone suffered. Anyone who met her was in for trouble…
Not to mention Rory and Grandpa Valley Master—even Spring and the shadow guards could tell, not to mention the Eighteen Riders who chased after her.
"So, after all the trouble you’ve caused, how should I punish you?" Serena had a headache. She never imagined she’d have a daughter so mischievous…
So wild and unruly—was this really a good thing?
"Ah…" Sweet Dumpling plopped down on the ground. "Mother, I confessed everything, and you still want to punish me? Didn’t you say confessing would mean a lighter sentence?"
"It’ll be lighter, but not so light that I let you get away. Think about it—how many people have you offended on this journey? It’s lucky Dr. Redwater has a good temper, or else..." Serena almost wanted to spank Sweet Dumpling. This child...
She was just too reckless—thinking that with an emperor for a father and a future emperor for a brother, she could do whatever she wanted. She didn’t realize how dangerous the world really was, nor that even the Emperor couldn’t see everything…
Seeing her mother angry, Sweet Dumpling quickly admitted her mistake: "Mother, I know I was wrong. Please, just forgive me."
"You admit your mistakes quickly, but you never change." As soon as Serena said it, she realized how familiar those words sounded. She looked up…
Sure enough, she saw Prince Nolan’s teasing gaze.
Uh… Serena was speechless.
She swore, she was never this naughty as a child—so Sweet Dumpling definitely didn’t take after her.
Prince Nolan curled his lips in a knowing smile…
He’d never been this mischievous as a child either, so…
Who did Sweet Dumpling take after? Did it really need to be said?