I am The Villain’s Dad

The next day, Linglong appeared listless as she looked around for the Empress. In the end, no matter how repellent she was in her heart to study with the Empress, in reality, she knew she still had to do it, regardless of whether she is her mother or the Empress of a country. There was nothing she could do to change anything.

Suddenly, Grandfather Chen came up to her, and she received a decree from him. According to it, she could now live in the Princess’ Palace from now on, and she has no need to receive any education from any concubine or empress in the palace.

“Mother Empress… Did she really say that?”

Linglong was relieved. She really didn’t want to study under her Mother Empress, as the only thing she wanted was to leave the palace and see her father.

“Yes, Princess, you can live in the Princess’ Palace starting today.”

Every princess had their own exclusive palace from birth. When a princess turns six years old, she can choose to go out and live in another house. Of course, such is not the case for princesses who were to be raised as heiresses to the throne. Although there are Princess mansions, they will not choose to go out and live alone, because they must be trained in the palace. Linglong was always loved by the Empress, and she wanted to accompany her father in the palace, so she didn’t leave the Prince Consort’s Palace.

Ever since the Empress threw her father out of the palace, she always wanted to go out of the palace to look for her father. Unfortunately, because the Lord said that the princess was still young, and that it would be inconvenient for her to leave the palace, she was forbidden from leaving. The Empress also seemed to be reluctant to let her out, so she stayed here, suffering all the while.

Unexpectedly, the Empress issued a decree, allowing her to freely enter and leave the Princess’ Palace. This also meant she could return to the palace or leave and go outside if she so wanted.

“Grandfather, did Mother Empress finally understand my feelings? Were the characters I wrote yesterday too ugly, or the song I played too harsh, that it finally shocked Mother Empress awake?” Linglong was so excited that she held onto Grandfather Chen’s hand tightly as she kept asking.

“Princess, Your Majesty is your mother after all. She still cares for you,” Grandfather Chen reminded her.

Could a mere princess shake the Empress’ might? Even if that person was her own daughter, it still wouldn’t work. Yet, the Empress still relented for the princess this much. For the princess, she resisted public opinion and insisted on raising her personally. Then, after the princess opposed it, she issued another decree, letting the princess go out of the palace. Such a thing could only happen if the Empress wanted, and only if the Empress was willing to spoil her princess so much.

“I… I know…” Linglong’s voice was weak as she responded. Indeed, she was relying on Mother Emperor’s love for her. That was why she kept acting aggrieved with Mother Empress all the time, hoping that Mother Empress would buckle and grant her request. However, now that Mother Empress has promised her freedom, she feels ashamed of abusing Mother Empress’ love for her. She has acted so capriciously and made a commotion in the harem. God knows what the old women of the former dynasty will do to the Mother Empress now.

“I will make amends with Mother Empress!”

Still, the most urgent thing right now was to go out of the palace and see Father. Father has surely been suffering so much outside, and she really couldn’t stand waiting around anymore. As for Mother Empress, she will confess her faults when she finds the opportunity next time.

***

On this day, Su Yuyang was going at it as usual. By now, he had just closed the stall and was about to go back to the inn to rest. As he walked, he thought about his living situation, and decided he couldn’t just keep living in the inn. Also, he already had enough money on hand to buy a small house, so he didn’t need to rent a house here. He imagined further, once he bought his small house, he would plant flowers and trees in the yard, and grow wine grapes while raising dogs in his free time. Owh, what a happy little life to live.

“Father…”

As Yuyang was just about to turn around, planning to go back to the shop owner and get his money to pay for the small house he was looking at, he saw a beautiful young girl standing in front of the door to his room at the inn, looking at him with eyes full of worry. Su Yuyang has long known how this little daughter of his, Linglong, looked based on the original owner’s memory. Seeing how she was here in person, Su Yuyang felt distressed for this daughter, who has surely gotten herself in trouble for him.

Being born into a royal family means living a life separate from the carefree and happy lives of ordinary people. At such a young age, she has already lost her father, lives alone in the palace, and seeks revenge for her father. This little girl, Linglong, was suffering more than many others at her age.

However, as far as he remembered according to the original owner’s memories, the two of them would never meet each other again once he left the palace. Why did she run out this time? Yet, after just a moment spent thinking about it, Su Yuyang realized this peculiarity was nothing new. At that time, the Empress Mingyue also shouldn’t have appeared in his room either. When he was on a mission, it was expected that he would more or less change the direction of the plot somehow anyways. Even if he wasn’t attempting to complete the task this time, the turn of events has changed quite significantly due to his arrival.

“Linglong, why are you here?”

“Father, I miss you so much!” Linglong, however, did not say anything further as she directly jumped into Su Yuyang’s arms and started crying loudly.

“My good Linglong…”

Su Yuyang also felt a burst of sadness that came from the original owner’s soul. Reaching out with his hand, he patted Linglong’s back and waited until her mood calmed down a little before he opened the door of his room to take his daughter inside and let her cry her heart out. Although Linglong had practiced martial arts since she was a child, it was just an aid to strengthen her body, and it surely couldn’t be compared to Mingyue, who is a Empress. Yet, in Su Yuyang’s opinion, her own daughter is good in every way. Even if she has the ability, she certainly wouldn’t be like that rude scum girl who would simply enter another person’s room without their consent.

“Father, how are you doing these days?”

“I have been pretty good. You must have had a hard time in the palace, right? You’ve lost weight.”

In truth, Su Yuyang did not know whether she had lost weight or not, but he just thought she looked pretty haggard.

“Father also…”

Linglong was about to say that her father had also lost weight, but when she looked at Su Yuyang again, it was clear he had put on a lot of weight, and his whole body appeared much more energetic than before, so her words trailed off.

“I’m doing very well, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

Su Yuyang was amused by this little girl’s embarrassed expression. As he expected, she was a considerate little girl. At such a young age, she already knew how to take care of her father’s emotions and not say anything that might hurt his heart. The men of this era were as beautiful as the women, who are not willing to make themselves fat. Fortunately, or not, Su Yuyang did not subscribe to their culture, and still thinks that a man should be strong. Otherwise, it will be too easy for him to be controlled by others if he has no power. Fearing that the little girl would not believe it, Su Yuyang also showed her his muscles while telling her about his recent situation over the past few days. Suddenly, the little girl started crying.

“Father, there is no need to keep saying words to comfort me… You are suffering outside!” Linglong cried, deeply saddened by his current appearance.

Su Yuyang froze for a moment before understanding what had just transpired. The idea of men in this era were not anything that he had imagined. It seems, if they needed to support their life themselves, it was considered a miserable life. It was even worse for him, a young man who was brought up in the palace by the Empress and had never done any rough work before. Now, he has to work so hard to earn money and support himself. Perhaps, it was natural that his daughter reacted in such a way.

“Linglong, you don’t understand. Out here, I am much happier than in the palace.” He truly felt this way, not just to comfort his daughter. “When I was in the palace, I couldn’t sleep at night. I worried daily whether you might one day be snatched away by the Lord too, whether Her Majesty would be disgusted with me, all my thoughts were spent on things I didn’t know, trying hard to learn everything I didn’t know and wasn’t good at, but I knew how the people in the palace laughed at me. In the end, I ended up kicked out, but I was in a place more peaceful than ever. Although I could accompany you in the palace, in the end, I was never happy, especially when I saw Princess Furong walking with the Lord. My heart still aches remembering it.” After trying to understand the emotions of the original owner, Su Yuyang finally spoke as much.

“Now that I have been exiled from the palace, I can do what I am good at and what I like every day. When I earn money, I can buy whatever I want, eat whatever I want, and no one can control my actions anymore. Apart from missing my beloved daughter dearly, I am jubilant.”

“Does Father really like life outside the palace?” After noticing the shine in his smile, Linglong remembered how unhappy she was as she stayed in the palace, and how after she received the decree from her Mother Empress, allowing her to leave the palace, she was so full of joy as well.

“Mhmm.” Su Yuyang nodded. He didn’t want to go back to the palace anymore. If he did, he might create a disturbance in the harem, and make the whole country a state of unrest.

“Then, I will accompany you!” Linglong smiled as her eyebrows curled, and she took out the imperial decree issued by Empress Mingyue to show Su Yuyang.

“So, you can live in the Princess’ Palace from now on?” Su Yuyang was taken aback. In his opinion, the Empress did not seem like such a reasonable person. When she came to see him last time, she did not act as if she would let people off so easily. In the end, soon after, not only did she leave him alone, but she even let her daughter do as she pleased?

“Um… About the palace…” Linglong talked about the absurd things she had done recently, and looked at Su Yuyang with shame. When she faced the Empress, she could do so bravely and with no stint in her conscience, but facing her father Su Yuyang, who had been with her since she could remember and was the one who taught her decorum, she didn’t dare look at him in the face as she told him of her escapades. She was deeply afraid that he would be disappointed, and that he would feel that all the teachings he has given her over the years would have been for nothing.

“Well done! Hahahaha, not bad for my daughter!” Yet, upon hearing it, Su Yuyang did something she couldn’t imagine. He burst out in laughter, making Linglong smile in relief and happiness.

From Su Yuyang’s point of view, he understood how aggrieved the original owner felt, and how much suffering his daughter would have gone through. When he first started this life, he struggled on what action to take and whether to go back and help the original owner take revenge. Unfortunately, the original owner’s wish was not to stir up blood in the harem. The original owner didn’t have the confidence to create chaos and live through the consequences of royal blood spilt, so Su Yuyang chose to live outside the palace and put the thought of revenge at the back of his mind. Even so, he forgot that his daughter, worthy of being a great villain in the past life, could stir up the whole harem depending on her whims, but it is very much to his liking.

“Father doesn’t think I was insolent?” Linglong never thought that her father would be accepting of the things she did, even praising her so much. She was a little embarrassed receiving praise for it.

“Not at all, well done! If someone dares to bully you in the future, you can deal with them like this! You are the princess of this country. Why should you act humble?” Su Yuyang patted Linglong on the shoulder. “In the past, it was father’s fault for not understanding this. I thought that if I just tolerated everything, it would help us grow closer to your sister and your mother. As it turns out, I was wrong, so wrong! I often wondered why I had to prove my innocence when I was on trial in the first place. It seems, my daughter could already see more clearly than I do, is wiser than I am, and has helped father out of the evil spirit.”

“It’s good that father doesn’t blame me.” Linglong lowered her head as she blushed. It felt good to be praised by Father.