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

Before he finished speaking, a few petals fell on Jing Chunxi's hair, like a vivid flower ornament.

Xu Zize exclaimed inwardly, how beautiful!

The two stood in front of the flower hall for a while, just wanting to wait for the people behind them.

Green Shadow, who was originally leading twenty guards and walking in front, seemed to be going somewhere else and not living in the same house with them, now ran from the backyard with sweat on his forehead.

As he clasped his fists in salute, he asked, "How come the masters are here so quickly?" He wiped his sweat and pointed to the house opposite the backyard. "They just entered the house over there."

When he was leading the way just now, he deliberately urged his horse to go faster so that he could arrange for the guards to come and see his master.

Seeing the two masters stopped to admire the flowers, he hurriedly asked: "Masters, do you want to wash your faces first? The master's messenger is waiting." The word "master" was pronounced lightly and quickly. Even if Jing Chunxi was dumb, he could tell that it was the King of Yan.

"Let's go to the front yard first." Xu Zize glanced at Jing Chunxi who was counting the wisteria flowers, and suddenly reached out to help her remove the petals on her head.

Then he said to Lu Ying, "Send some refreshments." He listed the items like a treasure trove: "Bring a plate of crab shell yellow cake, tangerine red cake, and lotus flower pastry from Zhiwei Temple, and Longjing tea."

Jing Chunxi stood on tiptoe to reach the wisteria above his head and almost kicked the corner of the wall when he heard the words.

She had no doubt Xu Zize had been there—otherwise, how could he even know that the lotus pastries at Zhiwei Temple should be paired with Longjing tea? Even more incredible, did he really think that Lu Ying could prepare all of these things immediately?

"It's already prepared." As if he could guess what the young lady was thinking, Green Shadow smiled, revealing his fangs. "It's the 'Zhiweiguan' that the master mentioned. I went to queue up at the hour of Yin."

After he stepped back, the two of them went into the house.

Xu Zize lifted his robe and sat down on the rosewood armchair, then patted the embroidered cushion beside him. When Jing Chunxi sat down next to him, he said softly, "When the Empress Dowager was alive, she loved to talk about Jiangnan."

He looked out at the blue sky above the patio and recalled, "She said Longjing tea is purest when brewed with Hupao Spring water, and that the mugwort juice used to make Qingtuan must be kneaded with the hands of a young girl."

The thrush in the corridor suddenly began to sing, and Xu Zize's voice mixed in with the birdsong: "The chef from Jiangnan that the emperor's grandfather found for her will hide a lotus seed in the lotus cakes, saying that it tastes better."

His fingertips unconsciously stroked the raised lotus pattern on the back of the chair, "But I feel..." His voice stopped abruptly and his Adam's apple rolled a few times.

Jing Chunxi noticed that his hands were trembling slightly. She saw that the shadow cast by Xu Zize's eyelashes on his face was filled with a faint shimmer of water.

"If not..." Xu Zize, "If they were born in an ordinary family..." He turned to look at Jing Chunxi, his eyes burning as if containing thousands of words, but when his eyes touched her cheeks, which still had baby fat, all his emotions suddenly disappeared.

Only an almost inaudible sigh was left, dissipating in the spring breeze passing through the hall.

"Brother Xiaokang, do you miss the Empress Dowager?" Jing Chunxi pulled a piece of pine nut candy from her purse and placed it in his palm. Memories of her past life flooded back into her mind like a tide. Thinking about her past and present lives, she suddenly felt a sense of empathy and understood his state of mind at that moment.

Xu Zize told her that the Empress Dowager would comb his hair and teach him how to tie it into a bun. She could even imagine the young man's straight but thin back in front of the mourning hall.

"The Empress Dowager is certainly looking forward to your happiness." Her voice was as soft as catkins, but it made Xu Zize's tense shoulders relax, and the candy in his hand tightened and loosened.

Suddenly, the sound of children playing could be heard outside the courtyard. Jing Chunxi's eyes lit up: "Chancheng's brothers and sisters..." She deliberately raised her voice to change the subject, "Xuecheng said last time that she wanted to teach me sword dancing!"

Xu Zize looked at her deliberately forced face, and the corners of his mouth finally raised a real arc. His face suddenly became gentle, and the outline of his face was a little hard, making him look a little cold.

"Master, the tea and snacks are ready." Green Shadow's voice broke the silence.

The maid, carrying a gilded tray, treaded as lightly as a cat. As the maid placed the teacup down, her bangs fell, obscuring her curious gaze. Only when she leaned forward did she reveal the small pearl pendant on her earlobe.

Green Shadow waved his hand to chase people away as if he was driving away sparrows, but he himself took the pot and poured two cups of pre-rain Longjing tea.

The tea was clear, reflecting Xu Zize's gradually relaxed brows.

The tea is clear and the person's face is as white as jade.

Green Shadow stood with his hands hanging by the carved wooden pillar, his blue-gray robe blending seamlessly into the shadows of the corridor. His lowered brows and submissive demeanor resembled a clay statue, and only when his teacup was nearly empty would he glance up, scanning the table with his hawk-like, sharp eyes.

Not until the two masters had finished drinking the last drop of amber tea, and not until Jing Chunxi had used a silver stick to poke the crispy yellow crab shell, the translucent surface of the orange paste, and the blooming petals of the lotus pastry, and tasted them carefully, did he slowly take out two letters sealed with vermilion lacquer from his arms.

The letter was taken out very slowly, as if performing some solemn ceremony. Green Shadow's fingertips caressed the envelope for a moment before he raised both hands flat and presented them.

Jing Chunxi, pinching half a lotus pastry, froze at the sight, letting the crumbs of pastry fall onto his clothes. "For me?"

There was a slight tremor of disbelief in her voice, and her fingertips, covered in powdered sugar, were suspended in the air, gleaming in the sunlight.

"Yes." Green Shadow's reply seemed to come from far away, his drooping eyelashes casting a fan-shaped shadow on his face. "The signature is Qingshan Villa."

Before she finished speaking, Jing Chunxi snatched the envelope and turned to look at Xu Zize, her almond-shaped eyes filled with turbulent waves. She saw the faint smile on the corner of the young prince's lips, and he nodded to her.

He suddenly realized that all this had been part of his plan - before leaving Yamen Village, or perhaps even earlier, those carrier pigeons had already flapped their wings and flew towards Qingshan Villa.

As Jing Chunxi unfolded the letter, the rice paper rustled in her hands. Her stepfather's handwriting was still as vigorous and powerful as ever, each stroke seeming to pierce through the paper.

My mother's handwriting was much gentler, like a spring breeze caressing willow branches. My brother's handwriting was also much neater, and he even drew a playful little man next to the white paper.

The words were filled with trivial reminders: Mom finally stopped having morning sickness, started liking sour dried apricots, and was eating well and sleeping well...

Finally, there were earnest instructions, telling her not to worry, to remember to eat well, and to consult with the prince and Uncle Fast Foot if anything happened...

As she read, the letter suddenly became blurry. Jing Chunxi blinked hard, realizing it was her tears. She hurriedly wiped it with her sleeve, only to smear the little man her brother had drawn.

"Nothing serious should be happening in the capital," she murmured, her voice as soft as a feather falling to the ground. After all, the entire letter contained no mention of that magnificent prison, not even a single word about the capital.

At this moment, Xu Zize's breathing became rapid and heavy. The letter in his hand trembled slightly, and the ink words seemed to come alive, dancing before his eyes, forming a thrilling chapter.

Prince Hong's figure flickered between the lines, and a 160,000-man army snaked across the map like a black dragon. His blood raced through his veins, and he could almost hear the roar of cavalry and iron cavalry.

"The Jing family should be able to return to Beijing soon!" When Xu Zize blurted out this sentence, he was surprised by the trembling in his voice, as if he was talking about his own family.