Repeatedly broken branches

"Put me down."

"Xiaozhi, what's wrong? Is your leg uncomfortable?" Xia Yuyi asked her with concern.

Xiao Mu smiled and said, "Yes, Father, I sprained my ankle, so Guard Han carried me back."

"Is the princess's foot alright? It must be because the servants below didn't take good care of her!" Zhou Tingxi looked coldly at Xiao Shao standing to the side.

Xiao Shao was so frightened that she knelt down and said, "It's my fault for not following the princess, which caused her to sprain her ankle."

"It's not her fault, I let her go first, it was my own carelessness!"

Xia Yuyi said, "Alright, alright, it's good that you're alright. Xiao Shao, you can get up now!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The dinner is over.

Zhou Tingxi walked to Xiao Mu's side, bent down, and said to her, "Princess, let me carry you back."

Xiao Mu looked at Yu Yanjing and said sternly, "Han Xingbai, come and carry this princess back!"

Yu Yanjing came running over, a smile playing on his lips. "Princess, please."

Xiao Shao helped Xiao Mu up, and Xiao Mu wrapped her arms around Yu Yanjing's neck. She glanced at Zhou Tingxi and said coldly, "No need, General Zhou, I have my own guards."

She just called out to General Zhou?

It felt like a needle had been stuck in my heart, causing a sharp pain.

She just mentioned my guard?

Yu Yanjing was overjoyed.

Back at Yuyin Palace, Xiao Mu jumped off Yu Yanjing's back and looked at Xiao Shao, "Xiao Shao, you can go down first. I have something to say to Guard Han!"

Little Spoon stared in disbelief. "Princess, didn't you sprain your ankle?"

This is a crime of deceiving the emperor! Xiao Shao's heart was in her throat, and she was sweating bullets, but she still obediently went out.

Xiao Mu gestured for Yu Yanjing to sit down, a plan forming in her mind. "Guard Han, you play along with me for Zhou Tingxi, and I'll steal the military tally for you, how about that!"

Yu Yanjing looked bewildered. "Are you sure? That's a military tally."

Xiao Mu didn't know what a military tally was. Wasn't it just a tally? He could just steal it and make a hundred or so imitations, and Zhou Tingxi definitely wouldn't notice.

"Just tell me whether you're willing to cooperate or not!"

"Row."

Xiao Mu raised her hand and said, "Then you should go out first and go to sleep. Save your energy for our act tomorrow."

Yu Yanjing closed the door, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe. He felt a sense of relief, but things couldn't possibly go so smoothly. Why did he trust Xia Yunzhi so much? She was his adversary.

When Xiao Mu woke up in the early morning, she found that no one was in the house. Xiao Shao and Xiao Wan were not there. She didn't care. She casually put on a cloak and went out barefoot. It was already autumn and the air was cool, unlike the heat of a while ago.

"Why are you barefoot?" Yu Yanjing walked in carrying a few crabapple blossoms. His gaze fell on Xiao Mu's jade-like feet. He quickly put down the crabapple blossoms, walked in front of her, and said, "Don't move yet."

He took off his cloak and placed it under Xiao Mu's feet, then quickly went into the house, picked up Xiao Mu's shoes, walked to her, knelt down on one knee, and patiently helped her put on her shoes.

Xiao Mu was flattered. He was the emperor, yet he knelt down on one knee to put on her shoes.

"Don't be so surprised. I am now Guard Han, your guard."

He actually knew what he was thinking; how could he be so amazing?

"I just didn't expect someone like you to be so thoughtful," Xiao Mu couldn't help but exclaim.

Yu Yanjing stood up, a hint of mist in his eyes, and a cold smile on his lips.

"What kind of person am I? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Just like what's being said outside.

It turns out that in her eyes, he was just as cruel, ruthless, and cold-blooded as people outside said—a monster.

Suddenly I feel like I've traveled thousands of miles, but I don't know why.

In a moment of impulsiveness, he ran from Chaoyang to Chen Kingdom. He went from being a high and mighty emperor to becoming her bodyguard. Doesn't this seem like wishful thinking?

What more could he ask for? His goal wasn't the military seal; he just wanted to see her day and night and protect her.

I just want to see her smile, to see her happy. Isn't that enough? I didn't go there with any ulterior motive. Does it matter who I am or what I'm doing?

He's nothing but a lump of mud; how could he dare touch a flower?

"Princess, General Zhou has arrived."

Xiao Mu looked impatient, rubbed her temples, and said to Xiao Shao, "Just tell him I'm not feeling well and let him go home."

"Yes..." Xiao Shao had just turned around to go outside to report when she bumped into Zhou Tingxi, who was staring intently at her.

"Princess, why are you pretending to be sick and refusing to see me?" Zhou Tingxi's gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Yu Yanjing. He was a stranger to him; it was the first time he had seen him at the last banquet.

Yu Yanjing was inexplicably annoyed. He hated that scrutinizing gaze and wanted to snap Zhou Tingxi's neck.

Zhou Tingxi, if you dare look at me like that again, I will make you suffer worse than death.

Xiao Mu ate nuts absentmindedly, not even glancing at Zhou Tingxi. The thought of the filthy things he and Ye Wanwan had done made her want to vomit, and she didn't even want to pretend anymore.

Xiao Mu patted the nut shells off her hands, looked up at Zhou Tingxi with her eyes full of affection and her gaze pitiful, and said with her red lips slightly parted, "General, you are so busy, I don't want you to take time out of your busy schedule to come see me."

Zhou Tingxi was puzzled, and his brow twitched slightly. "But we are engaged, Princess. I want to see you. I want to see you every day."

He didn't know why these secret words, hidden deep in his heart, would slip out, especially with outsiders present.

He no longer wanted to hide it; he liked Xia Yunzhi, not Ye Wanwan.

However, what he and Ye Wanwan did before hurt Xia Yunzhi, and the thought of it was like having his heart ripped out. If he felt this way, how much more so would Xia Yunzhi?

"I seem to remember that you've always been indifferent and aloof towards me."

Yu Yanjing glared at him, his expression icy.

The person he could only admire from afar, Zhou Tingxi actually treated him like this.

He wanted to tear him to pieces, torn him apart by five horses, to be slowly sliced ​​to death, to be cut in half at the waist, to rip out his heart to see what it was like, and then send him to feed the dogs.

Ignoring the presence of others, Zhou Tingxi knelt on one knee in front of Xiao Mu, held her hand tightly, his eyes reddening, and looked at her with deep apology. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Please forgive me just this once?"

Yu Yanjing's eyes flickered slightly. Ha, even the great general Zhou Tingxi, who had dominated the battlefield, had such a humble side. If Shen Ruoxuan were present, she would never believe it.

Xiao Mu pulled him up and said perfunctorily, "Okay, okay, I forgive you. I'm going to leave the palace to play now. You can go back."

Zhou Tingxi's eyes flickered slightly. "Really?"

"Hmm."

Yu Yanjing glanced at him with disdain. Even he could tell that this was just a perfunctory response. Couldn't Zhou Tingxi see that? How exactly did he lead troops into battle?

He might genuinely like Xia Yunzhi, but he's unfathomable, so it's not necessarily an act. Otherwise, Xia Yunzhi wouldn't have asked him to put on this act.

He didn't care whether Xia Yunzhi had any ridiculous marriage contract or not. He liked her and he was attracted to her. That was enough. He didn't mind letting Zhou Tingxi be his concubine.

Moreover, he was very confident in himself, and confident that Xia Yunzhi would fall in love with him.