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

"What? People from Prince Jing's residence have arrived?"

Looking towards the source of the voice, one could see a woman with her hair styled in a cloud-like updo, a gold and jade hairpin tucked into her hair, and a soft handkerchief in her hand, the material of which was clearly not cheap.

The woman was wearing a plain blue velvet embroidered jacket. Her clothes made her look like she was in her thirties or forties, but her face was very young. If you didn't look closely, she probably looked to be in her twenties.

She is Zhou Fu, Su Jianming's wife and Su Mingxuan's mother.

As mother and daughter, Zhou Fu and Su Mingxuan naturally share some similarities. Su Mingxuan's beauty is largely inherited from Zhou Fu.

When the beautiful woman Zhou Fu heard the gatekeeper's announcement, her hand trembled and she almost dropped the teacup, but she showed no sign of being embarrassed. Her slightly furrowed brows made her look particularly pitiful.

Zhou Fu: "The Prince Jing's Mansion...why would they come to our door at this time? What did he say just now? Whom did they return?"

Although she was asking the question, she was already thinking quickly in her mind, and soon she thought of the person she had secretly bribed in her earlier years, and her heart skipped a beat.

Zhou Fu quickly calmed down and remembered the reasons she had prepared for doing these things in the first place.

Without waiting for the gatekeeper to repeat himself, she sighed and said, "I know about this matter. Go and tell that commander that I will explain the reasons to His Highness Prince Jing in person another day. As for that person..."

Zhou Fu wasn't sure who had been arrested or how many had been sent back. He pursed his lips before continuing, "Since they've been sent back, let's have Steward Xu go and settle them in first. We'll discuss the rest when Master returns."

Su Jianming was still at the yamen. Su Mingxuan's presence had brought him benefits and a lot of attention, so he couldn't just skip work without a reason.

The doorman was initially uneasy, but seeing the lady of the house's natural and composed attitude, he assumed he was making a fuss over nothing and quickly breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.

However, Zhou Fu did not want to have any direct conflict with Pei Qingzhu and wanted to suppress the matter for the time being. But Pei Qingzhu was an obedient follower and was not so easy to deal with.

Not long after, Zhou Fu received another message saying that the commander of the guards of the Prince Jing's mansion wanted to see her in person before he would hand over the person.

But if you refuse, they won't leave. They'll just lead you to stand at their front door, letting all the passersby look.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu remained silent for a long time. After patting his chest, he turned to his trusted aide beside him and frowned, saying, "I feel a little uncomfortable in my chest. Go and get me some pills."

The confidante's expression remained calm, and she nodded slightly, indicating that she understood what she meant.

After his trusted confidant left, Zhou Fu frowned, seemingly genuinely uncomfortable.

The doorman hesitated for a moment: "Madam, since you're not feeling well, perhaps I should..."

Zhou Fu sighed, "Well, I'm just a woman. Since he's acting on the prince's orders, what can I do... Oh well, let's go invite him into the manor."

Pei Qingzhu stood at the door for almost half an hour before the mistress of the mansion finally invited her inside.

The doorman's expression was clearly not good, and Pei Qingzhu naturally noticed it as well, but he just smiled and didn't care.

Pei Qingzhu: "Thank you for your trouble."

The doorman's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Thinking of his mistress's discomfort, he felt a little resentful, but that was all.

This guy surnamed Pei looks like he's a trained fighter; he could probably kill him with a single punch.

Pei Qingzhu finally met Zhou Fu.

He still had that same smiling face. If you didn't look at his attire in the cold winter and the unusual lightness and steadiness in his movements, you wouldn't think he was a martial artist if he changed his clothes. He looked more like a gentle and refined young master.

"It's been a long time. Madam Su is as elegant as ever." He said this, then stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

Although somewhat disrespectful, this person's actions and demeanor possessed a certain elegance, as if it were not intentional.

Judging from the meaning of his words, Pei Qingzhu and Zhou Fu seemed to be acquaintances.

Zhou Fu wore a gentle smile, looking dignified and poised, no different from those noblewomen: "Commander Pei, you are too kind."

Pei Qingzhu: "Since Madam still remembers me, then I will save myself the trouble of introducing myself."

"I believe Madam already knows the reason for my visit today."

Zhou Fu: "Yes, but, about this matter..."

Pei Qingzhu raised her hand to stop Zhou Fu from uttering any further explanation, and slightly turned her head to indicate that Zhou Fu should look at the old man who was being carried in behind him.

He was a martial artist with excellent physical condition. Standing in the cold wind for a while was no problem for him, and he had even endured colder conditions.

But the old gardener, who was tied up tightly, was a different story. If Pei Qingzhu hadn't been ordered to deliver him alive to Zhou Fu, and had just instructed the driver to put him back in the carriage, he might have frozen to death by now.

Even so, the old gardener's appearance at this moment was not very good. If it weren't for the fact that the people from Prince Jing's Mansion hadn't deliberately taken off the cotton-padded jacket he was wearing, which came from the mansion, he would have looked like a beggar who had been dragged out of some nook and cranny.

His body was hunched over, his hair was disheveled, and there were many dirty marks on his body, as if he had rubbed them off somewhere.

When Zhou Fu turned her gaze to him, she subconsciously tilted her head away, her gaze following him, her actions revealing rejection and disdain.

Seeing this, Pei Qingzhu smiled and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Madam. Actually, if this person hadn't been suspected of plotting to kill the Prince, the Prince's mansion wouldn't have treated your people so badly."

Hearing this, Zhou Fu felt a chill run down her spine, and her back straightened subconsciously: "Commander Pei, please be careful with your words. What do you mean by 'my people'? I am just a woman; how could I possibly interfere in the affairs of the Prince's mansion?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't clear enough." Pei Qingzhu smiled and apologized, but there was little remorse in her eyes: "It's like this, actually the Prince's mansion found out that this person was instructed by the Madam to do some things he shouldn't have done."

Zhou Fu: "Then..."

Pei Qingzhu didn't care what she was going to say and continued, "Of course, this is only this person's side of the story. After the prince learned about it, he felt that the matter was questionable."

Zhou Fu's heart, which had been pounding, slowly calmed down a little, but it was still pounding. She thought she had concealed her expression well, but in Pei Qingzhu's eyes, her unnaturalness was still quite obvious.

Pei Qingzhu smiled and continued, "But our prince has only been awake for a short time now, and he doesn't have the energy to deal with all these miscellaneous matters. Besides, this person hasn't had a chance to really harm the prince."

"Considering that you, Madam, once received the Empress's life-saving grace, and that your character was praised by the Empress, I have decided to send the person to you. I will trouble you to prove your innocence."

Pei Qingzhu: "I hope that Madam will not betray the Prince's trust."

Zhou Fu's smile froze, and after a while, he slowly said, "Thank you... for your trust, Prince Jing."