Chapter 24: Demanding an Explanation from the Bureau of Brocade Affairs

Under the twilight, at the garrison manor, little Xun'er sat on his father's shoulders, his eyes curved into crescents of joy. Ever since he had woken up from his afternoon nap to find his father sleeping beside him, the two had been inseparable.

He had insisted on waking the man up by chanting "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," and then the father and son had spent two incense sticks' worth of time laughing and wrestling in bed before finally, reluctantly, getting up. Even then, they remained glued to each other.

"Xun'er, it's time for you to sleep."
"Daddy."

Seeing the child clutching his father's head and refusing to let go, Yan Chaonian felt it was too much to look at. Yan's mother stepped forward to take the boy, but he wouldn't budge, repeating "Daddy" over and over. In just half a day, Yan Chaonian estimated Yuan Shen had heard the word "Daddy" two hundred times, as if the boy were making up for all the lost time.

"Leave him be, let his father take care of him."

Yan Chaonian instructed Yuan Shen to bathe their son. Yuan Shen found it novel and even more amusing, but when his son sat naked in the small washbasin, he hesitated, afraid to move. "Can I use some strength?"

He hadn't noticed while the boy was dressed, but why was he so delicate?

"Hold