My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Lin Ye walked over and sat down next to Xiao Douzi. The sofa cushion sank slightly, and Xiao Douzi naturally leaned in at almost the same time he settled down.

She didn't say anything, but simply hugged his arm with both hands, tilted her head slightly, and looked at him with a mixture of doubt and worry in her eyes.

"Godfather, what happened?" The voice was soft and gentle, but the question was very serious.

As he spoke, his fingers unconsciously tightened around a small piece of fabric on Lin Ye's sleeve. The force was so light, as light as a feather falling on the water's surface, yet he still noticed it.

This child is so perceptive.

Lin Ye sighed inwardly. He believed he had controlled his facial expressions well; from the moment he finished shopping at the mall until he returned to the living room, his demeanor and tone were no different from usual.

The snow was still falling outside the window, thick and heavy, bending the branches of the plum trees in the yard. Occasionally, a clump of snow would slide down from the branch and hit the ground with a dull thud.

The cobblestone path in the villa's yard was long gone, completely covered by snow. Only a few thin stalks of withered grass that hadn't been cleared from the snow peeked out from the sides, trembling slightly in the wind.

Little Douzi still sensed something was wrong. Children can't analyze situations or draw logical chains to deduce conclusions, but their intuition is often frighteningly accurate.

They can smell the subtle unease in the air that adults think are well hidden, just as small animals can sense changes in air pressure before a storm.

Lin Ye looked down into her clear eyes, which reflected the snow light outside the window. They were clean, bright, and without a trace of impurity, like the clearest pool of water in a mountain stream, from which you could see to the bottom.

He suddenly hesitated, and the hand resting on his knee unconsciously tightened.

Little Douzi is still so young... only five years old, and still in kindergarten.

For modern children of the same age, the biggest worries are probably being stopped from watching cartoons before they're finished, having their snacks hidden away so they can only eat a little each day, or their best friend from kindergarten not coming to school today...

These are trivial little things.

But now, he has to make her face things that even adults find suffocating.

The terrible natural disasters, the floods that devoured fields and houses like ferocious beasts, and the various underhanded schemes and plots hidden in the shadows, all for the sake of that dragon throne.

Are these too early and too heavy for a five-year-old child?

Lin Ye's hand rested unconsciously on the sofa armrest, his thumb gently stroking the velvet fabric.

It was dark gray short-pile fabric, with a soft, dense feel. When you stroked it, it left a faint mark, which would disappear when you turned back.

His fingertips repeatedly traced the same small area, the fabric becoming slightly warm from the touch. That patch of fabric darkened slightly compared to the surrounding fabric, as if the warmth of his fingers had left a faint mark.

The sunlight streaming in through the window made the brown wooden floor shine brightly.

The wood grain is clearly visible in the light, with winding lines resembling tree rings extending outwards, some darker and some lighter.

A floor lamp was lit in the corner, its milky white shade emitting a warm orange light, the edges of which blended into the snowy light inside the room.

Tiny dust particles floated slowly in the light, drifting so slowly that it seemed as if time itself had slowed down.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that Xiao Douzi wasn't the kind of child who knew nothing.

She has already had experiences that others may never encounter in their entire lives.

She had seen her father's face on his deathbed, witnessed the power struggles and intrigues among various factions in the filthy palace, and had to struggle to survive amidst all of this in order to receive that letter and find her.

Although she may not understand the complex causes and effects of many things, what she sees and hears is already different from that of ordinary children.

Moreover, this child has always had his own ideas.

Instead of worrying about it and making decisions for her, it's better to just ask her what she thinks.

As Lin Ye thought about this, the hesitation in his heart slowly dissipated.

He adjusted his posture so that he was facing Xiaodouzi directly. The sofa made a soft sound as he moved, and the springs in the cushions creaked slightly.

He held her small hand in his; it was warm, and his nails, which he had just trimmed a couple of days ago, were short, round, and very neat. The nail plates were a pale pink, gleaming with a pearly sheen under the light.

"Little Douzi." Lin Ye looked into Little Douzi's eyes and spoke, his voice not loud, but more serious than usual.

Little Douzi immediately sensed his seriousness. Her little body straightened unconsciously, her expression serious, her eyes fixed on him, waiting for his next words.

A breeze swept past the window, causing a small snowflake to fall softly from the eaves, pattering against the windowpane with a soft rustling sound.

The shadows of the plum trees in the yard were cast on the snow, tinged with a pale gray-blue by the gradually darkening sky, and the shadows of their branches swayed gently in the wind.

"Did Xiao Douzi really mean it when she said she wanted to be emperor?" Lin Ye asked her, deliberately slowing down his speech so that she could understand every word.

"Being an emperor is very, very tiring. More tiring than going to kindergarten, more tiring than doing homework, more tiring than cleaning."

He listed things she was familiar with one by one, so that she could understand the extent of her "tiredness" as much as possible.

"And once I become emperor, I can no longer do whatever I want like I do now."

He paused, then gently pressed his thumb on the back of her hand.

The light from the floor lamp shone from the side, casting a warm glow on his profile. His forehead and nose were illuminated, while his eye sockets were hidden in shadow, making his gaze appear exceptionally deep.

"At that time, many people will talk to Xiaodouzi. Some will tell the truth, and some will tell lies. Xiaodouzi needs to learn to distinguish between them."

"Little Douzi might trust the wrong people, might do the wrong things, and might get heartbroken, sad, and exhausted. In that case, does Little Douzi still want to be emperor?"

After the last question was asked, the room fell silent for a moment. Only the soft hum of the central air conditioning blowing warm air and the distant whooshing sound of the wind rustling through the treetops outside the window could be heard.

Without much hesitation, Xiao Douzi blurted out, "Yes!"

Her voice was still soft, but her tone was so firm, as if she were saying something that was only natural, and it carried a sense of defiance.

"Little Douzi said he'd protect his godfather, and he wasn't just saying that!"

After speaking, she pouted, her two pink lips pressed tightly together, her cheeks puffed out slightly, and her eyebrows furrowed into a small "川" character.

The warm light from the floor lamp cast a golden halo over the fine downy hairs on her face, making her puffed-out cheeks look like a freshly steamed bun.

She looked both serious and aggrieved, as if Lin Ye's questioning just now was a huge sign of distrust towards her.