An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

The two couplets were placed side by side on the altar, and Jing Chunxi had Madam Zhou light a few more candles. In the warm yellow light, her fingertips hovered just an inch above the paper, examining it inch by inch, from the beginning to the signature.

The rice paper used for the couplet was old, slightly yellowed at the edges, but the ink on the two characters "遮风" (block the wind) was still as bright and dark as new. She even leaned over and sniffed the paper, only to smell the faint scent of agarwood.

"This mounting..." Jing Chunxi thought he had discovered something, and suddenly turned the couplet over and carefully examined the silk on the back.

Seeing this, Madam Zhou also came over, her fingers like dry branches tracing the seams of the mounting cloth. After they removed the upper and lower poles, Jing Chunxi tapped the wooden axle with his fingers, listening for a hollow sound. In the end, there was nothing but the dull response of the wood.

"Madam Zhou! The retired emperor and the empress dowager... didn't leave you any message before, or is there anything unusual?" Jing Chunxi asked unwillingly.

But suddenly, Nanny Zhou shook her head slightly, and her silver hair drew messy arcs in the candlelight.

"The Queen Mother was always thinking about Prince Yan until her death, and she was also worried about the Crown Prince's fate."

The old nanny's lips trembled as she tried to recall the worried look in the Empress Dowager's eyes before her death, but her gaze drifted to the dark night outside the Buddhist temple.

"Mammy, if Xi'er takes the couplet out, will anyone cause trouble for you?"

Jing Chunxi's slender fingers twisted the corners of his clothes nervously, and his eyes glanced at the dark sky outside the window from time to time.

As the time for her appointment with Prince Jing approached, she turned the couplet over and over in her hands countless times, but still couldn't see anything strange. She was so anxious that beads of sweat oozed from her palms, and she could only come up with this last resort.

She deliberately spoke hesitantly so that Madam Zhou would think that this suggestion might not be feasible, and she might even be more willing to help.

She thought of the complicated patterns she had copied out from Tao Mansion last time. No one could figure out the clues at that time. Finally, when everyone was gathered together to discuss, they accidentally discovered the hidden secrets.

Nanny Zhou's wrinkled hands paused in mid-air. She raised her head for the third time to confirm Jing Chunxi's gaze. Those old yet still clear eyes seemed to see through people's hearts.

Jing Chunxi thought she was still hesitating, so he quickly took a half step forward and said in a light and urgent voice: "Three days, at most three days, Xier will come back again, and I will never go back on my word." As he spoke, he raised three fingers as if to swear, and his fingertips trembled slightly because of nervousness.

It would take almost two days to go back and forth. Even if he worked without sleep, he would only have more than a day to give them a serious analysis. However, Jing Chunxi did not dare to say too much, as he did not want to put Nanny Zhou in danger.

Madam Zhou slowly shook her head, her graying hair swaying slightly with the movement. She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling noticeably, as if she had made a great decision.

"Since it has been taken out, don't send it back, but..." She suddenly lowered her voice and almost squeezed out the following words from between her teeth, "...Miss...it must be handed over to Prince Yan, or the Crown Prince." When she said the last few words, the wrinkles on Nanny Zhou's face tightened, and a hint of determination flashed in her turbid eyes.

After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes tightly, her skinny fingers tightly grasped the collar of her clothes, and her chest heaved violently.

After a long moment, she finally opened her eyes again. As she turned around, her clothes rustled against each other. She staggered towards the table where the Empress Dowager's tablet was enshrined.

She knelt slowly, her knees making a slight thud as they touched the ground. Her bony fingers trembled slightly as she clasped her hands together, her dry lips moving as she muttered something in an almost inaudible voice, as if informing her deceased master of this momentous decision.

Jing Chunxi felt a little distressed. Looking at the old man who suddenly looked much older because of her words, she suddenly regretted her decision.

"What if," Jing Chunxi bit his lower lip, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the couplet.

The figure sitting on the dragon throne appeared in her mind. If he found out that something in the palace was missing... Nanny Zhou's hunched back looked particularly thin in the candlelight. Jing Chunxi seemed to have seen the scene of the imperial guards rushing in and dragging the old man away.

"Since it was written by the late emperor to the master, it is only natural that we burn it and let the master take it away." Madam Zhou's voice was eerily calm. She never turned back, but simply placed her hands, covered with age spots, flat on the ground and slowly pressed her forehead against them. She held this position for a long, long time, like a frozen statue, with only the slight rise and fall of her back showing that she was still alive.

Jing Chunxi understood the deeper meaning behind these words—Madame Zhou had already prepared a worst-case scenario. Her nose tightened as she noticed the simple wooden hairpin in the old woman's graying bun was slightly askew.

"Miss, please be careful. I'm sorry I can't see you off." After an unknown amount of time, Nanny Zhou's voice came from the ground. Because her face was pressed against the ground, her voice was muffled and had some echo, but every word was clearly heard by Jing Chunxi.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I'd rather wait for Xi'er and the prince to come back." Jing Chunxi burst into tears, but finally quickly rolled up the couplet.

......

"What's wrong?"

Prince Jing frowned and watched Jing Chunxi walk towards him in an extremely awkward posture.

The girl's shoulders were as stiff as two wooden boards, her arms were tightly clamped at both sides of her body, her back was slightly hunched, her neck was stretched forward, and her walking posture was like a frightened little eunuch who had just entered the palace.

She took every step carefully, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Seeing Prince Jing asking questions with suspicion, Jing Chunxi hurriedly jogged a few steps, the soles of his shoes making rapid tapping sounds on the bluestone slabs.

She stopped when she was almost touching Prince Jing's back, and stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "It's okay, grandpa, please go." Her warm breath sprayed on the old man's ear, and her voice was filled with undisguised nervousness.

The guard walking at the back twitched his lips but remained silent.

Just now, when Jing Chunxi climbed over the wall, he saw it clearly - the little girl was clearly holding something like a scroll in her hand, which she was now holding tightly under her arm. The scroll seemed very valuable, and she had to prevent it from falling and was afraid of being discovered. How could her movements be natural?

The guard looked down at his wide sleeves and wanted to say that his tall stature made him more suitable for hiding things, but when he saw Jing Chunxi's posture as if he was protecting food, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.