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

In the end, it was Nuandong who carefully rolled up the blueprints and went to report to Pei Qingzhu.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lanxing was temporarily cared for by another maid—Nuan Dong, who took close care of Xiao Lanxing. However, Nuan Dong was merely a steward-like figure around Xiao Lanxing; in reality, there was more than one person taking care of the little girl.

However, compared to other factors, a mild winter has more to say.

Xiao Lanxing nestled in Xuan Yuanjing's arms, her hands unconsciously pinching his earlobe again. The man was used to her occasional little habit, and while carrying her along the veranda, he spoke gently about Zhu Xiyue.

"The Miss Zhu you like might come to the capital next spring or summer, then you can meet her."

Xiao Lanxing asked, "Want to play together?"

Did Zhu Xiyue come to ask her to hang out?

Xuanyuan Jingcheng replied honestly, "No, I just came to meet with this king. I will probably stay for a few days before setting off for Jiangnan."

"Do the stars know where Jiangnan is?"

The little girl blinked: "Going to Yangzhou in the third month of spring?"

Xuanyuan Jing: "Hmm, as expected of Xingxing, you still remember this poem."

Xiao Lanxing beamed with delight: "I'm smart!"

Xuanyuan Jing: "Yes, yes, Xingxing is so smart!"

So Xuanyuan Jing naturally changed the subject and talked to Xiao Lanxing about the scenery of Jiangnan. He also recited a few lines of poetry related to it, and they were quite happy together.

Meanwhile, Pei Qingzhu was having a bit of a headache.

"You're saying the prince sent you to bring this?"

The mild winter nodded calmly.

Pei Qingzhu: "The prince asked me to work with you to make the things in this picture?"

The mild winter continues to nod in approval.

Pei Qingzhu: "Use the bamboo that the little princess asked you to find yesterday?"

The mild winter still nodded.

Pei Qingzhu: "...Really?"

Nuandong met his gaze with sincere eyes.

Pei Qingzhu rubbed her forehead, unfolded the drawing, glanced at it again, and then rolled it up again.

Then, he walked around the room twice, coughed lightly, and turned to look at Nuandong: "So, can you make it?"

A mild winter.

Pei Qingzhu: "Don't be like this, can you speak?"

The warm winter was peaceful: "The prince said that you have three days to make one."

Pei Qingzhu: "...You'd better not say anything."

Warm Winter continued, "Don't worry, Miss said that as long as you make the things according to the drawings, Miss will take care of the assembly."

Pei Qingzhu: "Can we find some craftsmen?"

Nuandong looked at him silently. Although she didn't speak, her eyes revealed what she wanted to say: I don't mind, but do you dare?

Pei Qingzhu avoided her gaze and muttered, "This thing is obviously not meant to be shown to outsiders, but the prince should have his own craftsmen. We can just ask Chen Li, right?"

Warm Winter: "..."

Please go and ask the prince yourself; she didn't hear anything.

Pei Qingzhu remained silent for a while. Seeing that Nuandong really didn't say anything and looked like she had "you have the final say," she sighed and said after a long while, "Alright, the prince should be having dinner with the little princess at this time. I'll go ask the prince later."

Asking is pointless.

Xuanyuan Jing: "I don't trust anyone else with this job. Qingzhu, you're the person I trust most here."

Pei Qingzhu...sink.

Pei Qingzhu wiped her face: "Alright, you can rest assured that I'll handle things."

The key point is that what Xuanyuan Jing said wasn't just sweet talk; it was the truth.

Although Xuanyuan Jing secretly met with several people and finalized some matters after arriving at the villa, those people's relationship with the Jingwang Mansion had become distant over the past two years.

This secret meeting was inherently risky, both for them and for Xuanyuan Jing.

In this situation, the fact that these people are willing to come is already a statement of their commitment.

However, Xuanyuan Jing could not entrust this matter to them with peace of mind. Firstly, he was not at ease with them, and secondly, the potential risks were too great. It would be far better to entrust it to Pei Qingzhu, who had already taken over some affairs of the Jingwang Mansion.

Xuanyuan Jing may not necessarily distrust them.

But if we're talking about the people I trust the most, it's definitely Chen Li and Pei Qingzhu.

There's no comparison; after all, besides themselves, they also have their families and clans behind them.

Unlike Chen Li, who was all alone, Pei Qingzhu's entire family sought refuge with him.

Well, although the Pei family is far away in Zhangzhou, their population is actually not that large.

Then Pei Qingzhu was pulled by Xiao Lanxing to train in the mountains behind the village.

Pei Qingzhu: "...A warm winter is in your hands."

Mild winter: ...

Warm Winter: So in the end I still came alone, except I had an extra superior, right?

Warm winter: Okay, no problem.

Xiao Lanxing's life in the villa didn't seem to be much different from her life in the Prince Jing's mansion; it was just a different place.

In less than three days, Nuandong, being a novice, and with Pei Qingzhu helping out in her spare time, spent a day and a half making the parts the little girl had requested.

The main body couldn't be made, but the main problem was the small, intricate parts that Xiao Lanxing wanted. If the size was even slightly off, Xiao Lanxing would shake her head and refuse. Plus, the makers were all novices, which is why it took a little time.

That day, Xiao Lanxing sat in the warm room, her eyes sparkling as she began to assemble.

Looking at the mountain, the tooth, the bronze wall, the pivot, the hook...

With tiny hands, great strength, and remarkable dexterity, she assembled all the parts into a crossbow that looked quite professional, all under the astonished gazes of everyone in the room, at a speed where a slight misstep would lead to a major mistake.

Then, when the night was dark and the wind was high, Xuan Yuanjing, holding Xiao Lanxing, and Pei Qingzhu, nervously holding the crossbow that contained part of his hard work, silently appeared at the pre-prepared test site.

Xuanyuan Jing stood in the shadows, listening to Xiao Lanxing's slightly nervous mutterings, and nodded slightly to Pei Qingzhu on the other side.

Pei Qingzhu raised her hand.

Pei Qingzhu pressed the button.

call out--

call out--

call out--

Boom!Boom!

click-

【hiss! 】

Xiao Lanxing: [Yay! It worked!]

Pei Qingzhu: [It actually worked! And the power is quite considerable. Three arrows fired in quick succession, and judging from the sound, the power of each shot was almost the same. It feels more powerful than the crossbows the court issued during the previous battles.]

Pei Qingzhu: [The bamboo material limits its power. If it were made of materials used in ordinary crossbows, the power might be even greater.]

Pei Qingzhu: [Regarding the rope the young princess mentioned, she doesn't seem very satisfied with the one I found. If we could find the kind of rope she described, it might be more effective.]

Xuanyuan Jing didn't even need to ask; he could know the outcome simply by listening to Pei Qingzhu's thoughts.

His brows relaxed, he hugged the little girl in his arms tighter, took a deep breath, and then lowered his head to rub his cheek against hers: "Let's go back."

Pei Qingzhu: "Yes."

Xuanyuan Jing: "Clean it up."

Someone responded in a low voice from the shadows.

The guards' voices rose and fell, but in reality, the area was extremely quiet at the moment, all the subtle sounds were swept away by the howling cold wind.

Xiao Lanxing heard the rapid heartbeat of Xuan Yuanjing beside her ear.

getting bigger.