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

The birthday party was lively until the evening. After the banquet, Xu Zize and the students from the front yard met up to drink on the veranda in the middle of the lake, while the girls recited poems and enjoyed the scenery.

The evening breeze blows gently, the lights sway, and the water ripples with the lights under the eaves, as if broken gold is floating.

There were special servants helping to barbecue, and Xu Zize was drinking to his heart's content. He was a little tipsy at this moment. He stood up and walked to the corridor, his eyes involuntarily following the familiar figure - Jing Chunxi was leaning on the railing, supporting his chin with his hand, staring at the lake in a trance.

She had been playing with her sisters all day and was clearly tired. A faint trace of fatigue crossed her face, but it only made her skin as white as jade and her eyes as clear as autumn water appear even more beautiful. Her pretty figure was reflected in the shimmering water, as if blending with the lake and sky into a moving painting.

Xu Zize stared at her, his heart slightly moved. In less than a year, this little girl seemed to have grown up a lot.

Now her hair almost reached his shoulders, and her figure was no longer the slender and frail girl she used to be - the new clothes she had made after returning to Beijing seemed a little tight, outlining her increasingly full curves and vaguely revealing her graceful and charming demeanor.

An indescribable throbbing surged in his heart, but he suppressed the urge to get closer. He stopped only four or five steps away from her and called softly, "Xi'er, Brother Xiaokang is going on a long trip."

Jing Chunxi was lost in her own thoughts. Upon hearing the voice, she slowly turned around, a hint of surprise on her face. She blinked and whispered, "Where are we going?"

She thought that if the palace affairs were not so busy, Princess Anyang and the two little princes would not have arrived earlier than Xu Zize, and they would definitely come together.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

Xu Zize turned and leaned against the railing, watching her turn sideways to look at him, and explained: "Go to Shibaao. The rubber workshop must be built as soon as possible. My father ordered Brother Xiaokang to go to Lingnan to supervise this matter personally." His tone was steady, but he could not hide the tenderness in his eyes.

"Do you want Xier to come with you?" Jing Chunxi's voice was a little excited, and he looked at him with bright eyes, his face full of anticipation.

Xu Zize shook his head: "No need, Brother Xiaokang will be back as soon as possible." It's not that he hadn't thought about taking her with him, he also knew that she had never liked the constraints of the deep palace and yearned for the outside world.

But he couldn't - he didn't know when it started, but every time he thought of this girl, he would feel an irresistible urge in his heart. If they continued to be inseparable like in the past, he was really afraid that he would lose control and hurt her.

In reality, he had already drawn up a detailed plan for planting rubber trees and building a workshop in Lingnan. With the Ministry of Works already on the ground, and Jing Changning already in charge, he could have simply dispatched Qingfeng or Luying to oversee the process. But he decided to go himself—perhaps a temporary break, allowing them both time to calm down, was the best plan for their future.

He also had to consider her reputation. In the past, she was still young, and few people in the capital knew her. When she moved around with him, no one talked about her.

Now that she was the renowned Princess Anping, if she continued to follow him around, she would inevitably attract criticism. Rumors would spread like wildfire before she even returned to the capital.

"I didn't want to go, I just wanted to ask." Jing Chunxi also understood the pros and cons of the matter, but he couldn't help feeling sour in his heart. He turned his head to look at the lake, with a hint of anger in his tone.

"Take care, Xier. I'll be back as soon as possible." Xu Zize comforted her softly.

The two of them leaned against the railing back to back. Although they were facing different directions, their shoulders gently touched each other. The warmth from each other came through the clothes, and it was especially warm in the cool autumn breeze.

Jing Chunxi actually really wanted to go - not because he couldn't bear to leave him, but also because he missed his third uncle who was far away in Lingnan, and the naughty Qilang mentioned in his third aunt's letter, and he longed for the pure sky and gurgling stream there.

Xu Zize looked across at the lake, now devoid of her reflection, and felt the scenery suddenly grow more bleak. He softly instructed, his tone full of concern, "Xi'er, don't go to Jiujiang or Jian'an Commanderies this year. Brother Xiaokang has already made all the arrangements there."

"I understand." Jing Chunxi responded in a sullen tone, with no emotion in his voice.

The porcelain from Jian'an County and the tea and local products from Jiujiang County will no longer have to rely on Jing Chunxi's space transportation - the East China Sea shipping routes are already unobstructed and sea transportation matters have been prepared.

This was something they had discussed earlier, and it was also a decision they made together with the old general and the old lady in the space: from now on, they must never take any risks that might expose Jing Chunxi's peculiarity.

Jing Chunxi looked at the shadows of the lights on the lake, shattered by the evening breeze, and a sense of inexplicable annoyance welled up in her heart. Xu Zize's words just now were like an invisible fence, suddenly separating her from the free world that was once within her reach.

She looked down at her blurry reflection in the water—she was no longer the carefree, carefree little girl she had been last year. Her clothes were tighter, her figure was fuller, the way people looked at her was different, and even the way Brother Xiaokang treated her had quietly changed, no longer as carefree.

This change made her feel a little aggrieved for no reason.

Is this what growing up is like? Being forced step by step into a series of "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts"? Constantly worrying about the gazes of others, sizing up rumors? Even the most natural act of companionship becomes inappropriate?

She recalled the past year she had spent traveling with Xu Zize. Although there had been occasional hardships and tribulations, and even fighting, the vastness of the world, the freshness of everything, was such a joy.

Now, it was as if the reins had been suddenly tightened around her, confining her to a neat yet boring courtyard. She wasn't ignorant of the pros and cons, and she understood that Xu Zize's concerns were all for her own good, but it was precisely this "for her own good" that made her feel silently suffocated.

It seems that growing up means losing the qualifications that are taken for granted. You have to think twice before doing anything and be timid. It's really boring.

She sighed softly, and the breath blended into the cool autumn breeze, carrying with it a hint of indescribable melancholy.