The three-year-old host decides to raise an emperor father for himself.

Xuanyuan Jing was in a bad mood.

Chen Li was in an even worse mood.

So Chen Li came to apologize again.

Xiao Lanxing wasn't there this time because she was sleepy.

That's how kids are; when they want to play, they're so energetic they could outrun several adults, but when they're tired, they can fall asleep instantly, without a care in the world.

Xuanyuan Jing didn't dislike the little girl, but the reason he hadn't deliberately avoided her interacting with others before was essentially a test.

At this moment, there are no outsiders here.

Xuanyuan Jing: "There's no need for further apologies. I understand your difficulties. This palace is said to be my residence, but in reality... ha."

Xuanyuan Jing: "It was fine before, but now that I have awakened, the people in this palace should recognize who their master is."

Chen Li replied solemnly, "Yes, Your Highness, rest assured, I have already had people secretly keeping an eye on those suspected individuals."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Did you find out anything from that so-called junior manager?"

Chen Li lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness, that man claimed to be named Liu An. He was transferred here when the Prince's Mansion was first built and has been working here ever since."

"Liu An has a godfather in the palace and knows several eunuchs. I'm worried about alerting them, so I can only have people investigate secretly. We haven't found out yet which of those people are from the palace."

As for deeper issues, it is impossible to draw quick conclusions in a short period of time.

Xuanyuan Jing accepted this readily: "I understand."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Then what is Liu An's purpose in suddenly appearing around me at this time?"

When this matter was mentioned, Chen Li's eyes suddenly sharpened, but his attitude remained respectful and humble: "Your Highness, Liu An initially denied it to the death, and the people in charge of the interrogation were almost fooled, but later they found out that Liu An had hidden poison in his residence."

After a pause, Chen Li frowned and continued, "After obtaining the physical evidence, Liu An still wanted to deny it, but in the end he couldn't withstand the interrogation and admitted that he wanted to find an opportunity to poison the prince."

At this point, Chen Li felt both angry and pleased.

What angered Chen Li was that Liu An, as a member of the Prince's mansion, had committed such a treacherous act. Most importantly, Chen Li had already discovered that the other party had already taken action.

However, what no one knew was that while Chen Li had tried his best to maintain the outward appearance of peace in the Prince's mansion over the past two years, he was actually very vigilant both inside and outside the mansion. Therefore, the food sent to Xuan Yuanjing over the past two years had been secretly disposed of.

The one that actually entered Xuan Yuanjing's mouth was done by someone else arranged by Chen Li.

Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to wait for the prince to wake up, and would have silently caused the prince to lose his life in his sleep.

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Jing's expression remained largely unchanged.

Only the system in another room detected the man's momentary psychological fluctuation, then looked at the "darkening" value in the background data and fell silent.

——————————————————————————————

The affairs of the Prince's mansion and the conspiracies and schemes around Xuan Yuanjing have little to do with little Lanxing, who is only three years old in both body and mind.

Although she wanted to protect her father, the limitations were there, and the little baby's mind couldn't understand those complicated things.

Xiao Lanxing had a good sleep, and when she woke up it was already dusk. She got out of bed in a daze.

This time, the maid named Nuandong was keeping watch by the bedside. She noticed Xiaolanxing's movement before she even opened her eyes and gently called out, "Miss is awake? Would you like some water?"

Xiao Lanxing sat there blankly for a while, then turned her head slightly and saw Nuandong squatting by the bed. She blinked and stretched out her hands.

The smile in Nuandong's eyes became more genuine. After understanding her meaning, she reached out and picked her up, gently patting the little girl's back like she was comforting a child: "The head steward has arranged a small kitchen for you. Your food has already been prepared there. I was just wondering whether I should wake you up for your meal."

Little Lanxing nestled limply in the pretty older sister's arms, and upon hearing this, softly hummed in response, asking, "Where's Daddy?"

Warm Winter: "Are you asking about the Prince?"

Warm Winter: "This servant doesn't know either. We can ask, but it's hard to say whether we can get any answers."

This is the truth.

The fact that Nuandong was assigned to Xiaolanxing's side indicates that she belongs to the faction that Chen Li trusts in this palace.

However, this level of trust wasn't high enough for her to freely inquire about the whereabouts of the master of the Prince's mansion.

Xiao Lanxing had just woken up and lazily yawned when she heard the system say in her mind: "[Xuanyuan Jing is currently indoors. He doesn't plan to let outsiders know he's awake yet, so it's inconvenient for him to go out.]"

Xiao Lanxing didn't understand why her father had to hide his sleeping and waking times from others, but that didn't matter to her.

All she wanted to know was that Xuanyuan Jing was her father, and she wanted to stay with him.

So Xiao Lanxing reached out and patted Nuandong on the shoulder, then pointed towards the door.

Although she didn't say anything, Nuandong could still understand what she meant.

Warm Winter hesitated for a moment: "Won't you have some water and something to eat? If you want to go out and play, let's have something to eat first. You slept all afternoon, and I heard you didn't eat much at noon. Aren't you hungry?"

Xiao Lanxing shook her head.

Seeing this, Nuandong could only smile and obey Xiaolanxing's words, carrying her out the door.

Then, Xiao Lanxing pointed to the place where Xuan Yuanjing lived on the other side, indicating that Nuandong should take her there.

Nuandong hesitated for a moment, glanced at the heavily guarded house, and finally walked over with a faint smile on her face.

As soon as they got close, they were stopped by two guards.

The other party's attitude wasn't bad either. He looked at Nuandong, then at the person in Nuandong's arms, and said somewhat nervously, "The Grand Steward ordered that no unauthorized personnel may enter without permission."

Just then, Xiao Lanxing turned around and looked him over. The guard's tone softened unconsciously: "If Miss wants to go in, please wait a moment while I go and ask for permission."

Xiao Lanxing blinked: "Okay."

Guard: Good boy/girl.

With that, the guard went to ask for instructions.

The system muttered: [Isn't this redundant? Now everyone knows Xuan Yuanjing has woken up.]

Xiao Lanxing tilted her head and didn't say anything.

She shifted her gaze slightly and saw something flash by in the corner of the yard. She blinked and suddenly struggled in Nuandong's arms.

Nuandong was somewhat surprised, but she had some martial arts skills and reacted quickly, so she didn't let Xiaolanxing fall out of her arms before she was caught off guard.

After holding the person securely, Nuandong quickly realized that Xiaolanxing wanted to get down, so she squatted down and let her go, asking, "Miss, are you going to walk by yourself?"

Xiao Lanxing let out a soft "ah," patted her clothes after landing, and without explaining, turned and ran towards the spot where the shadow had just flashed by.

Warm Winter: "Hey? Wait, Miss!"