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

After hearing this, Xu Dingchun looked at his facial expression again, carefully examining every emotion in his eyes. After confirming his gaze again and again, he said, "Xier didn't see you, did she?" His voice was low and full of obvious worry.

"No," Xu Zize paused for a moment, as if considering his words, and then continued, "This matter is a bit tricky, and the two elders have to give Xiaokang some advice!" He frowned slightly, revealing a rare look of embarrassment.

Prince Jing snorted and said unhappily, "You'd better be telling the truth, otherwise don't step through this door again." Although his tone was still tough, his clenched fists had relaxed slightly.

Xu Zize looked at the old man with a firm gaze, "If Xiaokang breaks his promise and dares to let Xier down, he will be struck by lightning." Then he raised two fingers and made a gesture of oath, his eyes burning and unquestionable.

"Let's talk inside first, so as to avoid being seen." Xu Dingchun hurriedly pushed the two people who were arguing with each other to the study in the front yard, and said to Ah Qi who had already caught up, "Don't let anyone get close." His voice was very low, and his eyes swept around the courtyard vigilantly.

The three of them hurried through the corridor and arrived at the study in the front yard. Xu Zize carefully closed the doors and windows, and the room suddenly became quiet, with only the occasional crackling of sparks from the charcoal basin.

Xu Zize pondered for a moment, and seeing that they were a little anxious, he slowly spoke.

"That's Xu Ziyi's man!" His voice was very low, but it exploded in the room like thunder.

"What does he want to do?" Xu Dingchun couldn't remember who this person was, and his brows furrowed. Prince Jing, however, almost slammed the table and roared, "That evil creature!"

He slammed his hand on the rosewood table, causing the tea set to clink.

"Of course I'm dissatisfied and want to rebel, but it's difficult to do it from my father's side. I want to bury someone near me, but I don't want Xiaokang to find out."

It was only at this moment that Xu Zize began to recount the story of the former crown prince, who had been demoted to a commoner and then exiled to Qianzhou. His voice was calm, but a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"He colluded with bandits in Qianzhou and Xiangxi, but he didn't show his true colors, which is why we didn't notice it. This time he took the initiative to fall into the trap." Xu Zize's fingers unconsciously traced the outline of the map on the table, and his tone gradually became heavier.

Xu Zize recounted how he happened upon Qin Ailian and her brother in Lingnan, how he encountered danger, and how Qin's brother blocked two swords for him. In a cave, nearly bled dry, he entrusted his sister to him, asking him to take her as his woman. His narrative was clear and coherent, and every detail stood up to scrutiny.

Unfortunately, the two siblings had no idea that Xu Zize was surrounded by over a dozen secret guards. It was Xu Zize who had already noticed and signaled the guards not to take action, allowing the siblings' drama to continue. At this point, Xu Zize's lips curled into a cold smile.

"So, you want to lure the snake out of its hole?"

Xu Dingchun and Prince Jing were both veterans of battle. They realized that His Highness had other motives for not killing the woman outright but bringing her back to the capital. Their expressions grew serious, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"The borders of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi are all rocky mountains and forests with many caves, making them easy to defend but difficult to attack. Xiaokang doesn't want to waste the lives of his soldiers on suppressing bandits, so it's better to lure him out." Xu Zize's eyes became sharp, and he tapped the table heavily with his fingers.

"So you want to make Xier suffer?" Xu Dingchun suddenly got a little angry, his voice unconsciously raised a few degrees, his eyes full of heartache for his sister.

"If she knew Xi'er was my weakness, she would be in danger, and your families would be implicated."

Xu Zize showed a look of pain on his face, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Xiaokang has been deliberately distant during this period. From today on, anyone who wants to know Xiaokang's feelings will sneer at me and feel that it is not worth it for Xier." His fingers clenched his robe tightly, and his knuckles turned white.

Finally, he added, "Now that Xier's reputation as Princess Anping is well-known, Xu Ziyi cannot be unaware of the close relationship between Xier and me, so we will become increasingly distant." His voice was low and firm, but it could not conceal the bitterness in it.

"How long are you going to hide this from her? She will be heartbroken." Xu Dingchun was furious. Prince Jing also stared at him with his copper-bell-like eyes, with both anger and worry in his eyes.

Xu Zize seemed to have made a great decision and continued, "It would be best if it's just like the misunderstanding you just had. I'll go see her later, and it would be best if Xier has a fight with me and slaps me a few times." There was an imperceptible tremor in his voice.

After a pause, he continued, "Then, Grandpa Wang stood at the door and scolded me and drove me out. He said that if I dared to come again, he would break my legs." He looked at Prince Jing with a pleading look.

Prince Jing hummed angrily, his beard twitching, "I dare not overstep the line and give Your Highness such a show of power." Although he said so, his eyes had softened, and he was obviously weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

By the time Xu Zize finished telling the story, the air in the study was so heavy that water could almost be squeezed out of it. The crackling charcoal fire reflected on the faces of the three people with different expressions.

"Your Highness is back. I saw the carriage parked at the door." Xiaoman trotted in from the front yard, her voice filled with suppressed joy.

The cry was so clear and resounding that it startled the birds resting in the yard and made them all fly away, the sound of their wings cutting through the air being clearly audible. Jing Chunxi, who was sitting by the window daydreaming, could hardly have missed it.

This sudden good news caught July and September off guard. They had already received a secret message from Ah Qi and were ordered to keep the news secret for the time being.

The two of them hid behind the pillars and exchanged anxious glances. Jiu Yue's fingers subconsciously clasped the stone in her sleeve, and she wanted to throw it out immediately to knock the ignorant boy unconscious - His Highness and the Prince had specifically instructed her not to reveal it, for fear that the princess's emotions would fluctuate too much, and now everything would be over.

"Really? Where are the people? Why don't they come in?" Jing Chunxi stood up suddenly, his fingertips unconsciously clenching his cuffs.

She had been waiting for too long, from the time the autumn leaves turned yellow to the time the winter snow first fell, and she had almost concluded that he would not be able to come back before the New Year.

The closer it got to the end of the year, the more numb she felt, like a thin layer of ice forming on her heart. She dared not touch the thought easily. But she never expected that when she least dared to think about it, he would come back.

A surge of warmth suddenly surged through Jing Chunxi's heart, and she almost instinctively wanted to fly through the moon gate and rush to the front yard. However, as soon as her steps reached the bluestone archway, she was stopped by July and September, one on each side.

Qiyue said calmly in a low voice, "Princess, please be patient. His Highness is discussing important matters with Prince Jing and the Crown Prince in the front hall and cannot be away for the moment."

Jiu Yue quickly took over, her tone light and gentle: "The prince specifically asked Ah Qi to pass a message in, asking you not to worry, just wait in the courtyard, His Highness will come as soon as he finishes his business."

Upon hearing this, Jing Chunxi suddenly stopped and realized that she had lost her boudoir and should be well-behaved.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her pounding heartbeat, turned, and quickly walked towards the embroidery building. Her voice trembled slightly as she instructed the two new maids, Chengfen and Lanfen, "Quickly, brew a pot of the finest cloud mist tea. Use the set that looks like the one in the sky after rain. Also bring two plates of plum blossom cakes and lotus seed pastries from the small kitchen."

Her steps were so light that she seemed to be flying. She took two steps at a time, four steps at a time, and hummed a tuneless little tune without realizing it.

This look fell into the eyes of several newly selected maids behind her, who found it novel and interesting. They exchanged glances with each other and smiled: It turned out that the princess, who was usually dignified and reserved, could also be so excited and forgetful at times.

But no matter how long he waited, the gate of the courtyard was still empty, with only a few dead leaves occasionally blown up by the breeze.

"Princess, it's getting late. Where do you think we should set up the dinner?" Xiaoyu stepped forward for the second time and asked softly, with worry in her eyes.

Jing Chunxi still shook his head, waving his hand to signal her not to ask any more questions. She had her own thoughts, but also a silent hope: since the meeting in the front yard had taken so long, her grandfather would surely invite Xu Zize to dinner. As soon as the meal was served in the front yard, someone would surely come to call her over.

At this moment, a deep but angry rebuke from the grandfather could be faintly heard from outside the courtyard wall, followed by the high-pitched voice of the father, and in between was the familiar voice of Xu Zize, who had forgotten his social status at this moment and was pleading with urgency!

"You don't have to go in! Xi'er won't see you!"

"Since Your Highness has made up his mind, there is no need for you to visit Prince Jing's mansion again!"

"Let me go up! I must explain everything to Xi'er in person!"

"No! I will never let Xi'er see you again!"

"You're reaping what you sow! What are you still dreaming of?"

Jing Chunxi suddenly stood up from the embroidery stool, her heart pounding. She rushed to the fence and leaned over to look down. At the entrance to the courtyard downstairs, she saw her grandfather and father pushing and shoving Xu Zize. The three of them were all red in the face, and they were arguing fiercely, one trying to stop the other.

Not only them, but even Xu Zize's Qingfeng and Ah Qi were fighting to pull their master away, and they had already started using fists and feet, with their clothes fluttering in the wind and making thumping sounds.

The chaotic scene frightened Chuntao and Tangshuang, who had never seen such a situation, so much that their faces turned pale. They wanted to persuade them but didn't dare, and wanted to stop them but couldn't. They could only tremblingly follow the prince's instructions and hold the courtyard gate with Xiaoman and the other two to prevent the prince from rushing in.

"You...what are you doing?" Jing Chunxi finally saw Xu Zize's figure in person, but it was not as warm and pleasant as before. He was completely confused, and his mind was a mess.

Should she go down now, or should she go down and ask for clarification?

Xu Zize was usually extremely respectful and courteous to his grandfather and father, so why was he acting so erratically today, actually engaging in physical combat? And why were his grandfather and father so adamant in trying to stop him? They'd been discussing this for so long, behind closed doors, right after returning. And that was the reason? Combined with the fragmented words they'd just blurted out...

"Xi'er, don't worry about it! Go back to the attic! He's not worth it!"

"Xi'er! Listen to my explanation! Things are not what you think! Placing that girl there is only a temporary solution, and Brother Xiaokang had no other choice!"

"Oh! What a makeshift plan! The rumors of the hidden mistress have spread all over the city, and you still dare to speak so righteously!"

"Then what do you want from me? Her brother died tragically before her eyes while trying to save me! And we were alone in a cave in the desolate mountains for three days and two nights! If I don't take responsibility for her, what else can she expect but death?"