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

It's not an illusion.

After running and jumping around with the little girl for a while... until dawn, Chen Li, panting heavily, finally stopped and pulled a towel from his sleeve, draped it over his face, and leaned back in his chair without moving.

If it weren't for the intense heartbeat and chest rise and fall after exercise, he would look like he was dead at first glance.

Across the table, Pei Qingzhu held onto the chair, but unlike Chen Li, she didn't collapse immediately. Instead, she stood there catching her breath.

After wiping her face, she flicked her hand, sending a string of water droplets flying, and remained silent for a long while.

After a long while, Pei Qingzhu's questioning voice came from the room where only the two of them were: "Chen Li, tell me the truth, is the little princess... a spirit that the prince brought back from somewhere?"

Chen Li: "..."

Pei Qingzhu: "Chen Li?"

Chen Li slowly raised his hand and waved it, indicating that the other party should not talk to him for the time being.

Let him take a break.

Pei Qingzhu then took a closer look at her colleague and realized that Chen Li was actually exhausted.

He was somewhat surprised: "No way, you're really not good anymore?"

Chen Li finally spoke up quietly: "I've been doing clerical work for the past few years."

It means he hasn't been this tired in years.

To be honest, if he weren't so concerned about his image and didn't want to look shy in front of a young girl who wasn't even blushing or out of breath, he would have given up practicing long ago.

Actually, Chen Li had considered leaving first, since he was the chief steward and could easily come up with several things to deal with.

However, under Xuan Yuanjing's smiling gaze, Chen Li thought for a moment and decided to hold back.

In the end, Xiao Lanxing realized that Chen Li's strength was almost gone, so she suggested that they stop here for today, and then Xuan Yuanjing happily carried her away.

Chen Li: "What little princess? This is the little ancestor."

Pei Qingzhu's mind went blank for a moment, and she subconsciously asked, "Huh? Could it be that the prince is the reincarnation of some divine being from his ancestors?"

Chen Li: "...Don't be silly."

He didn't have the energy to argue with Pei Qingzhu right now.

After exchanging a few words, he realized that he was a former general and hadn't completely neglected his skills in recent years, though he couldn't match Pei Qingzhu's consistent dedication.

Chen Li wiped his face with a handkerchief, sat up, and looked at Pei Qingzhu: "I told you to treat her like a little princess. She's not an ordinary child; she's very capable."

As he spoke, Chen Li felt a pang of jealousy as he recalled how the little darling had dragged them into morning exercises today, all for Pei Qingzhu's sake: "You're quite lucky. You've only met the young lady a few times, yet she's already willing to invite you to train together."

Pei Qingzhu: "I still don't quite understand."

Chen Li picked up the slightly cooled tea from the table, drank it all in one gulp, slowly stood up, and stiffened for a moment after feeling his legs tremble slightly.

After a moment, he said, "It's okay if you don't understand now; you'll understand later."

"Alright, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

Pei Qingzhu didn't stop him. As the chief steward, Chen Li couldn't possibly be idle. It was already quite good that he could sit here and rest for a while.

Pei Qingzhu glanced at the sky, estimated the time in her mind, and said as Chen was about to leave the room, "Shall we have lunch together?"

Chen Li paused for a moment, then waved his hand with his back to him: "Come find me if you have time."

If I'm too busy, then forget it.

Not long after Chen Li left, Pei Qingzhu walked around the room, stretched her wrists, and wondered whether she should get to know her future subordinates or have a chat with Xuan Yuanjing's secret guard commander.

The former is something that will have to be done sooner or later, as for the latter... Pei Qingzhu is not sure whether the leader has been changed after two years.

In fact, the guards of the Prince's mansion were not the main fighting force in the Prince Xuanyuan Jing's mansion; the secret guards were.

This is not to say that the guards are less capable than the secret guards, but rather that the secret guards are far more loyal than the guards, whose numbers are relatively mixed.

Similarly, Pei Qingzhu, as the newly appointed commander of the guards, may not be any less capable than the commander of the secret guards. However, no matter who the current commander of the secret guards is, they will definitely take a different path from Pei Qingzhu, who has such open combat power.

For a bodyguard, the most important thing is not combat strength, but stealth.

If they can't even hide, then there's no point in talking about secret guards.

At this moment, Pei Qingzhu's ears twitched as she heard slightly unfamiliar footsteps approaching from outside.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

Pei Qingzhu: "Go in."

Two bodyguards dressed in black openly carried two basins of unknown liquid into the room. When they saw that Pei Qingzhu was the only one inside, the bodyguard who entered first raised an eyebrow and greeted him, "Commander Pei, where is the Grand Steward now?"

Pei Qingzhu glanced at the copper basin he was holding. The basin contained an ominous-looking dark green liquid that smelled of herbs mixed with a subtle stench, though the overall smell wasn't pungent.

Pei Qingzhu: [It looks a bit like something used for medicinal baths, but the smell is different from anything I've ever had before. This probably wasn't brought for me, was it?]

Pei Qingzhu: "He said he had something to do and left first. I don't know where he went. What's going on here?"

Guard 1: "This is medicine that Miss instructed us to prepare for you and the Grand Steward. She said it's for external application and can relieve soreness after excessive exercise."

The bodyguard behind him stepped forward and gestured for Pei Qingzhu to look at the basin in his hand.

The guard continued to explain, "The one I have is for the Grand Steward. This is yours. Miss said that the Grand Steward's physical condition is a little worse than yours, Commander Pei, so he used a stronger dose. This one pot is enough for you."

Pei Qingzhu's lips twitched: "Did the young princess ask you to prepare this?"

Guard 1: "Yes, Commander Pei, rest assured, Doctor Fang has confirmed that there will be no problem."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingzhu assumed that the prescription for this medicine came from Doctor Fang.

He walked over and sat down, then said to the guard, "Alright, let this brother stay and tell me how to use it. Aren't you looking for Chen Li? He's in a worse situation than me. Since you have this, hurry up and send it to him."

"As for where he is, you guys are always better informed than I am."

The two guards exchanged a glance, and the one who had spoken nodded: "Then Commander Pei, please rest. I will take my leave."

——————————————————————————————

"This, this, this." Xiao Lanxing held one of the man's fingers in each hand, pointing at the medicinal herbs neatly arranged on the ground: "One, one, two."

After she finished speaking, she twitched her little nose, looked around, and spotted a medicinal herb in the corner. Her eyes lit up.

Seeing this, Doctor Fang quickly said, "No, aconite is poisonous, you can't do it casually..."

Before he could finish speaking, the little girl excitedly said to the man beside her, "Lili, Xu, Zhi!"

Dr. Fang almost stumbled and fell.

Who?

Who's the weak one?