Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Qi Xiao played with the folding fan in his hand, opening and closing it, closing and opening it again, and couldn't let it go of the picture of galloping horses. He was just like a child who was easily satisfied with a fun toy.

Qi Xiao was a prince, a prince. He was pampered but not spoiled. Before leaving Yuanjing at the age of ten, he lived a cautious life in the palace. The imperial palace was filled with treasures, but none of the rewards ever fell upon him. In that cold, square city, like a living grave, those treasures were merely burial objects, no matter how precious they were. Later, Qi Xiao was sent to Fuzhou. He lost even his mother, becoming a complete orphan.

In Qi Xiao's less than seventeen years, he'd only ever been treated kindly by a handful of people, and he wanted to cherish every last bit of it. Tang Ling might not trust him yet, but she'd spent hours painting a fan for him in shackles, with her wrists bruised. Even if the thought was fake, Qi Xiao was moved by it.

"I like it very much." Qi Xiao smiled softly, and his eyes suddenly filled with surprise and expectation when he looked at Tang Ling.

At this moment, Qi Xiao suddenly abandoned his schemes and cunning, and simply liked the boy, and Tang Ling was at a loss.

"I like it very much, thank you." Qi Xiao only said this one sentence, but he said it many times. It was like thunder exploding in Tang Ling's ears, and it became so harsh that even his original intention of taking the opportunity to take back the hairpin was stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it.

Qinglan quietly walked over to Tang Ling and gave her a secret look, but Tang Ling seemed not to notice. Qinglan could not help but say, "Your Highness, please return my son's hairpin."

Tang Ling frowned and glared at Qinglan. Although Qinglan said what he wanted to say but couldn't, Qinglan didn't know how to beat around the bush and spoke in a harsh tone, as if he was asking for a debt. He didn't take Qi Xiao, the King of Chu, seriously at all. Tang Ling was not sure about Qi Xiao's temper, and it was not impossible that he would kill Qinglan in a rage.

Qi Xiao slowly closed the folding fan and held it in his palm. The smile on the corner of his mouth gradually flattened. He raised his eyes lightly and glanced at Qinglan, then moved his eyes to Tang Ling and paused slightly. Without saying a word, he stood up suddenly.

"Your Highness..." Tang Ling's heart skipped a beat and he quickly stood up. He knew that Qinglan's mouth would cause trouble sooner or later, but he didn't want to save Ye Huai and then kill Qinglan.

Qi Xiao seemed not to hear, or simply didn't want to pay attention, and walked away. As he reached the door, he was almost bumped into by A Yu who came back to get medicine.

Ah Yu quickly took two steps back and bowed to apologize.

Qi Xiao lowered his eyes and saw the ointment in A Yu's hand. He reached out and snatched it away, then left without looking back.

A Yu stood there in a daze, not understanding what was happening, but she knew that Qi Xiao was very unhappy, and the person who could make Qi Xiao unhappy must be someone in the room. She had only been away for a while, so what had happened?

"How come...how come this person changes his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book?"

Tang Ling sighed and slapped Qing Lan on the forehead: "From now on, don't speak unless I tell you to."

"...Young Master? Young Master, why?"

Tang Ling held her forehead with her hand. "You think he's my dad. Think again about what you did and said just now."

"My Lord...? I... How can he compare to my Lord?!" Marquis Xun'an was second only to the emperor and above all others. Who dared to act rashly in front of him? Qinglan wished he were a wooden stake, someone whom Marquis Xun'an could not see. Not to mention speaking nonsense, he dared not even utter a word.

Tang Ling shook her head. "He's the Prince of Chen, the King of Chu. How dare you bully him just because he's young? If he'd gotten angry and wanted to chop you down earlier, I wouldn't have been able to save you."

"...Young Master..." Qinglan felt a little aggrieved. He did not mean to bully Qi Xiao because he was young. It was just that when they first met Qi Xiao, he teased Tang Ling and robbed her in the street. Such behavior was simply an intentional insult and was really hateful and abominable. They were under house arrest in the palace, and Ye Huai was seriously injured. Tang Ling did not see Ye Huai's injury with her own eyes, but Qinglan hated him so much that his teeth were about to break. He was holding back his anger and felt indignant for his young master. He could not please Qi Xiao at all.

"Don't ever mention that hairpin again."

Qinglan lowered his head and replied, "Yes. Qinglan doesn't dare to speak nonsense anymore."

***

"What's wrong? Who has displeased our prince? Hey, where did this fan come from? What kind of secret weapon is hidden inside it?"

The folding fan in Qi Xiao's hand was suddenly pulled away, and he reached out to grab it back: "Mine."

"I know it's yours, so what in the entire Chu Palace isn't yours? Can't you even take a look?"

Qi Xiao flipped his wrist and put the folding fan back to his waist.

"You're so stingy. How could my senior brother steal yours?" It was the first time that Bai Xiqiao saw Qi Xiao like something so much that he couldn't let him touch it.

"What are you looking at? It's just a fan. Go and see if the one in the west yard is dead."

"That little wound won't kill you." Bai Xiqiao was originally going to the west courtyard, but since Qi Xiao was so determined, he couldn't let Qi Xiao go. He sat down next to Qi Xiao and said, "A fan isn't something you'd like. Where did you get it?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Hmm...it was given to me by the son of Marquis Xun'an?" Bai Xiqiao looked at Qi Xiao with a sly smile. "Xiao'er, what are you thinking? When did you become so kindhearted? Helping him once wasn't enough, but you have to help him again and again?"

"It just happened. Ye Huai is quite skilled, maybe he'll be useful in the future."

Bai Xiqiao disagreed: "His skills are good, but are Zong Sheng and I any worse than his? A loyal dog recognizes its master. You may not be able to defeat Ye Huai. Besides, he is so impulsive as to break into the palace at night. I'm afraid his brain is not very smart. He may be a disaster in the future."

"I set up the trap and laid the hook. If he doesn't come to break in, won't I look stupid?" Qi Xiao deliberately lured Ye Huai out. He knew about Ye Huai's existence when they were in Tiger's Mouth Gorge. Now Tang Ling is in the palace but Ye Huai is nowhere to be found. Yongcheng is full of the Tiger's Power Army. It is the worst time to cause trouble.

"So I don't understand, why would you spend so much time and effort on a Zhou hostage?"

"I'm not doing this for Tang Ling. Those Qi spies are always elusive and a serious threat. But this is Yongcheng, and I don't think they would dare to take action here. I'm afraid the journey back to Yuanjing will still be troubled."

"Your evasiveness is really making me even more worried." Bai Xiqiao exposed Qi Xiao's situation with one sentence, shaking his head and sighing, "After all, he's a hostage of the Zhou Kingdom. You can't use him to get to the capital, but if you get too close to him, sooner or later you'll be gossiped about, and it'll become something others can use to hold you back."

"Brother, you are so nagging. I am not going back to argue with anything. I will leave after I finish my business. It is impossible for me to be close to him." Qi Xiao took out the folding fan from his waist, threw it to Bai Xiqiao, and walked out.

Qi Xiao felt a little regretful as soon as he walked out the door. He really liked the fan, but he was afraid of being nagged by Bai Xiqiao if he wanted to turn back, so he had to leave.

Bai Xiqiao opened his folding fan and took a look. "A picture of galloping horses? You really know how to cater to his tastes."

Bai Xiqiao just closed the fan and smelled the scent of ink. He opened it again and looked at it carefully and smelled it: "Hand-painted by himself? He is really a talented man. No wonder Xiaoer likes it." Bai Xiqiao shook his head. Qi Xiao was usually aggressive, but Bai Xiqiao understood him. He just wanted to be loved and cherished, like other children.