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

Since Xuan Yuanlin personally visited Prince Jing's residence to see Xuan Yuanjing, he has been waiting for Prince Jing's residence to make a move.

He didn't want to see Xuan Yuanjing, but Xuan Yuanlin wasn't completely brainless. If he really was, he wouldn't have been able to outmaneuver his brothers and get to where he is now.

Xuan Yuanlin knew very well how much he resented Xuan Yuanjing, but as long as he couldn't find a major fault in the other party's achievements, he couldn't really break off relations with him.

You hate the other person, you wish they were dead, but you have to swallow your anger.

Whenever Xuanyuan Lin thought of Xuanyuan Jing, he felt that he was a truly pathetic emperor.

At this moment, Xuanyuan Lin would never have remembered that the reason he was able to bypass all his brothers and take the throne from the late emperor was because of his "deep brotherly affection" with Xuanyuan Jing.

Xuan Yuanlin looked at the person in front of him who was still kneeling steadily despite being kicked by him, and his anger only increased.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped himself just in time.

Finally, the cold anger on his face subsided, and a hint of annoyance and apology appeared on his face, but he restrained himself from revealing it. His tone was a little gentler than before: "Get up, let's let it go this time."

Xuanyuan Lin: "Since things have come to this, there's no point in saying more. Have you arranged for someone to keep an eye on things?"

"Upon receiving the news, we immediately arranged for people to follow him in secret, but Prince Jing has many skilled men around him, so my subordinates dared not get too close."

Xuanyuan Lin frowned, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes, but he suppressed it. "Is that so... Well, after all, we are brothers. I don't want to think too badly of him. However, the news I received earlier was truly shocking. Even if not for my sake, for the sake of the people of this world, I cannot take it lightly."

"Have someone keep a close watch from a distance, and report any unusual activity immediately."

"Yes."

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"Is the number of people confirmed?" Xuan Yuanjing stood under the corridor, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking at Xiao Lanxing who was curiously observing the hot spring entrance not far away, and asked in a low voice.

"Pretty much. Those who are secretly watching probably don't realize that the villages around here are all the prince's men. They think they can disguise themselves as villagers, but in reality, they will be exposed as soon as they get close to this area."

As Pei Qingzhu spoke, the skewer in his mouth curled up slightly with the movement of his mouth: "As Your Highness predicted, some of these people are obviously from the palace, and some look like thugs on the surface, but in reality they are doing dirty work for those powerful and wealthy families."

"Oh, by the way, there was one person from Lord Gu's side. He didn't follow us all the way. He only followed us for a while before the carriage left the city, and he stopped following us after we left the city."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Gu Mingxin?"

Pei Qingzhu hummed in agreement.

When Xuanyuan Jing mentioned this person, some memories flashed through his mind, and he also remembered what Xiao Lanxing had told him last time.

To be precise, it was her true feeling.

Besides Xuanyuan Jing himself, for whom would Pei Qingzhu travel all the way back from Zhangzhou?

Xuan Yuanjing knew the list, and Gu Mingxin was one of them.

Xuanyuan Jing and Gu Mingxin have known each other for many years.

Back when he and Xuanyuan Lin were "brothers," Xuanyuan Jing recommended Gu Mingxin to Xuanyuan Lin because Xuanyuan Lin always said he didn't have enough manpower.

Gu Mingxin lived up to his name, as bright and clear as the moon, possessing noble character and outstanding literary talent.

Xuanyuan Jing and Gu Mingxin are friends. Although they have not actually interacted much since they met, this does not affect their relationship.

Even though we're not together, we still exchange a lot of letters. Who says pen pals aren't friends?

However, he meant well back then, thinking that a wise ruler and virtuous minister would be a good story; now it seems that he has actually tricked Gu Mingxin.

Xuanyuan Jing: "He must be concerned."

Pei Qingzhu: "Lord Gu has been relatively quiet in court these past two years."

Two years ago, Gu Mingxin was considered a favorite of Xuan Yuanlin. Although she was only a third-place scholar, she was more popular than the top two scholars.

In other words, Gu Mingxin himself was able to remain composed. Even when accompanying the emperor on multiple occasions, he remained a dignified gentleman in public and in private, self-disciplined and courteous.

He never speaks empty words, and he never takes anything that falls into his hands lightly. He does his best in everything, no matter how big or small.

Therefore, even though he was very popular, no one said he was arrogant.

Xuanyuan Jing said calmly, "He still has a brain."

The "he" in question did not refer to Gu Mingxin; the tone of the voice carried a hint of sarcasm.

Pei Qingzhu was somewhat surprised. She turned to look at Xuan Yuanjing, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to ask directly, "Your Highness, you seem to be..."

"Very surprised?"

Pei Qingzhu nodded and answered honestly, "I thought you would hesitate."

Xuanyuan Jing twitched the corners of his lips, a forced smile, "I'm not that stupid."

In reality, Xuan Yuanjing himself knew that if he hadn't truly heard Xuan Yuanlin's hostile thoughts, he might have remained conflicted for a while longer.

Xuanyuan Jing: "Since he knew he had murderous intent towards me and even acted on it, then he is my enemy."

Neither of them said who the person was, but they both knew who it was.

Just as Pei Qingzhu was about to speak, she heard a soft, childlike voice from below: "Who? Enemy? Where?"

He looked down and found that Xuan Yuanjing had already squatted down and affectionately hugged the little girl who rushed towards him.

Xiao Lanxing cautiously hugged Xuan Yuanjing's face, examined him carefully for a moment, and then nuzzled his cheek. "Daddy, where are the enemies?"

Xuanyuan Jing: "Oh, so Xingxing was listening?" He thought the little girl was completely absorbed in exploring her new environment.

Pei Qingzhu was somewhat speechless. He hadn't forgotten that the person in front of him had hearing that was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. After all, he had given himself away to the other person more than once because of his heartbeat.

Although Pei Qingzhu was unaware at this time that, on Xiao Lanxing, the sound of a heartbeat combined with micro-expressions could reveal some of the person's thoughts.

However, these skills are currently in a passive activation state, and Xiao Lanxing herself cannot explain the principle behind them. But she can sense if someone is lying or acting strangely in front of her.

Xiao Lanxing: "I'm listening to what Daddy says."

How could she not listen to what Xuanyuan Jing said? It's just that she wasn't interested in what they had been talking about, so she was mostly focused on having fun.

Xuanyuan Jing: "Hmm, I see. The stars have been watching me all along, haven't they?"

Xiao Lanxing nodded seriously.

Xuanyuan Jing's eyes were full of smiles, as if tiny starlight was shining: "Father disturbed Xingxing's play, I'm sorry."

Xiao Lanxing shook her little head and asked earnestly, "Where is the enemy?"

She went to deal with him.