Li Yan could never have imagined it. It had only been a few days since he'd seen his mother, yet now his respected Father Emperor and the mother he so relied on were about to abandon him and leave.
The disappointment was too much for the Crown Prince to bear. He sat sulking in the Eastern Palace, a pout on his chubby little face.
His two short legs dangled in the air, swinging listlessly back and forth.
Li Yan was dressed in a small, apricot-yellow robe, his hair tied up in a little jade coronet. But at this moment, gloom was written all over his delicate, doll-like face.
'Father Emperor said he and Mother were going to Jiangnan for a visit. The trip would be two or three months at the shortest, and at the longest... well, Father Emperor didn't say. But Li Yan was sure it would be a very, very long time.'
'Was there really not a single extra spot in Father Emperor's carriage?'
'He was so small! He wouldn't take up any room at all!'
'How infuriating!'
