What to do if you receive the wrong package?

Gu Yan and the others never expected that the little tiger they were talking about actually knew His Highness the Prince of Chu.

Oh wait, Xiao Hu isn't called Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu's real name is Su Xinian.

Moreover, Su Xinian's identity was also quite unexpected. He was not an ordinary working-class person, but the son of the deceased Princess Zhaoyi, the nephew of the current emperor, and the cousin of Prince Duan Chenke of Chu.

Gu Yan seemed to understand why Xiao Hu was able to find the Wutong Courtyard so easily and then find the Prince's Mansion from there, and why Xiao Hu was initially reluctant to enter the Prince's Mansion.

So that's why she was afraid of revealing her identity if she met someone she knew!

Besides Gu Yan and the others, Lin Mu'an and Bai Hongsheng looked at the "Little Tiger Brother" in front of them with some surprise.

They didn't seem to quite understand what had happened, but were somewhat surprised that Little Tiger knew King Chu.

But why does the King of Chu call Little Tiger Brother Axi?

"Brother Xiaohu? Who is Axi?" Lin Mu'an tugged at Su Xinian's sleeve and tilted his head to ask.

“Axi is me,” Xiaohu replied with a smile, patting Lin Mu’an’s head.

"But isn't Brother Xiaohu called Xiaohu?" Bai Hongsheng was also a little confused and asked.

"Xiaohu is me, and Axi is also me. My family usually calls me Axi," Su Xinian explained considerately to the two little ones.

"Oh! I know." Bai Hongsheng suddenly realized, pointing to himself and Lin Mu'an, "Just like us, my name is Bai Hongsheng and Lin Mu'an, but my older brothers and sisters at home like to call us Shengsheng and An'an!"

"Yes, that's pretty much the idea." Su Xinian's lips curled into a smile at Bai Hongsheng's example.

Ever since Duan Chenke discovered that Xiao Hu was his cousin Su Xi, he immediately ordered the guards in the mansion to prepare a separate courtyard for him.

At the dinner table, Duan Chenke, in front of everyone, including the two little ones, recounted the trip to Mengci Nunnery that Gu Yan and the others had been discussing.

After further discussion, a safer and more detailed implementation plan was finalized. The King of Chu even assigned several agile female bodyguards to serve as the young ladies' personal maids, ensuring their safety.

After a satisfying meal, Bai Hongsheng and Lin Mu'an followed Su Xinian to see his new courtyard with great curiosity.

Hua Yin somehow managed to persuade Jian Yuheng to stay with her at the Prince's Mansion for a while, so Jian Yuheng took Hua Yin back to the Marquis's Mansion to pack their things.

Only Gu Yan and a few others remained, walking towards their lodgings accompanied by Jiang Si and Xuan Yi.

As Gu Yan watched Su Xinian and the children leave, he couldn't help but speculate, "Since Xiao Hu's identity is so powerful, do you think Xiao Hong, whom we're looking for, might also have a powerful identity?"

Zhou Yuran shook her head and sighed, "Maybe. Birds of a feather flock together. Most of us have some kind of status or identity. So, it's hard to say..."

“I feel like I’ve gotten used to it… Even if you tell me tomorrow that Xiao Hong is a princess, I think I can accept it.” Shen Mujin followed behind the others and sat down at the dining table.

“Xiao Hong probably isn’t a princess.” Zhou Yuran shook her head mysteriously.

"What do you mean? Did you guess Xiao Hong's identity?" Gu Yan looked at Hua Yin with shining eyes.

Zhou Yuran said, "I only know that Xiaohu cares a lot about Xiaohong. Since they are not siblings, is it possible that Xiaohu likes Xiaohong? If Xiaohong is a princess and Xiaohu is the emperor's nephew, close relatives cannot marry, you know?"

"I know, but isn't it common for cousins ​​to marry their brothers here?" Shen Mujin shrugged helplessly.

Gu Yan disagreed with Zhou Yuran's idea and quickly retorted in a low voice, "I don't think Xiao Hu's feelings for Xiao Hong are romantic. Xiao Hu looks only twelve or thirteen, while Xiao Hong should be about our age. This age gap in a relationship is too big..."

As a result, Gu Yan was immediately proven wrong by Xuan Yi.

“Su Xinian is almost seventeen.” Xuan Yi overheard the girls’ discussion and couldn’t help but say.

Gu Yan: "Almost seventeen? Xuan Yi, you're not lying, are you? You still look like a child."

Xuan Yi: "Why would I lie to you for no reason? Su Xinian was born prematurely, so she is weak and grows a little slowly."

For the first time ever, Gu Yan didn't argue with Xuan Yi because of his rebuttal. Instead, he looked at Xuan Yi with a smile, which was unusual for him.

Xuan Yi couldn't stand it anymore and took a few steps back with obvious disgust. "Stay away from me. If you have something to say, say it."

Gu Yan: "Xuan Yi, what's going on with Su Xinian? How did she almost become a little beggar? Why don't you tell me?"

“Yeah, yeah, Xuan Yi, we’re really curious! Even Mu Mu is curious.” Zhou Yu Ran looked at Xuan Yi with a gossipy expression, even bringing up Mu Mu to put pressure on him.

Shen Mujin nodded in agreement, looking at Xuan Yi with anticipation.

"Okay, we'll talk about it when we get back to the courtyard."

After Xuan Yi was defeated, he returned to the courtyard, where the group sat on the stone benches and listened attentively to what Xuan Yi had to say.

"Su Xinian's mother was the late Princess Zhaoyi, the current emperor's third sister. Princess Zhaoyi's mother was Consort Li, the late emperor's concubine. Consort Li had a son and a daughter. Although Consort Li's rank was not high and her family had little power, she was very ambitious. She wanted to become the person second only to the emperor."

Consort Li, wanting her son to stand out among the princes and become the crown prince, disregarded the feelings of the eldest princess and devised a scheme to marry her off to Su Zheng, the son of the Left Prime Minister, in exchange for the support of the Left Prime Minister, Su Jiang.

Unexpectedly, after Su Zheng married Princess Zhaoyi, the Left Chancellor turned his back on him completely. After all, Consort Li's son was quite ordinary in terms of talent among the princes, and had absolutely no chance of winning.

Who would bet their "bet" on someone who's bound to lose?

Consort Li suffered a double loss, and could only focus all her attention on her son. However, Consort Li's son was very self-aware and had no interest in the throne. He went directly to the late emperor to express his unwillingness to succeed to the throne.

Hearing this, Gu Yan inwardly exclaimed, "Good heavens!" "If Consort Li knew that her son had personally ruined her path to becoming Empress Dowager, wouldn't she be furious...?"

Zhou Yuran: "I think it's unlikely that she'll die of anger, but she might go crazy and do something crazy."

“You’re right.” Xuan Yi nodded to Zhou Yuran. “After Consort Li learned of this, she appeared completely calm on the surface, and even personally prepared dinner for him. In reality, Consort Li put a sleeping potion in the dinner, and after her son fell into a deep sleep, she set fire to the palace where her son was.”

"Oh my god! His son wasn't... burned to death, was he?" Shen Mujin's eyes widened in shock.

"They say even tigers don't eat their cubs, it seems this Consort Li has really gone mad." Gu Yan shook his head, completely baffled by these crazy actions.

Xuan Yi smiled at Shen Mujin and comforted her, "Don't worry. Consort Li's son is now Prince Yu. Prince Yu is very lucky. He was awakened by the thick smoke and immediately escaped. Although he survived, his eyes were blurred by the smoke for a long time, and he can only see things vaguely."

“Prince Yu?” Zhou Yuran seemed to have heard this name somewhere before. After a moment of recollection, she suddenly remembered it.

"Is that the prince who went to Shaolin Temple to practice Buddhism while still keeping his hair, and prayed for the well-being of the Great Qi?"

“Yes, it’s him.” Xuan Yi nodded in confirmation. “By the way, on September 14th, Prince Ning went to Shaolin Temple to visit Prince Yu.”

"Oh, I see. But..." Gu Yan was a little confused.

"Since there's a prince in charge at Shaolin Temple, why would the enemy still extend their reach there? Aren't they afraid of being exposed?"

"Is the most dangerous place the safest place?" Shen Mujin guessed.

Xuan Yi shook his head and explained, "Prince Yu is only practicing at Shaolin Temple. It doesn't mean he's in charge of Shaolin Temple. I'm afraid even he doesn't know what's really going on inside Shaolin Temple."

Gu Yan: "I see. Let's not talk about Prince Yu anymore, let's get back to Princess Zhaoyi and Xiao Hu. What's their situation?"

Shen Mujin also had many questions. "Yes, and you just said that Consort Li used a scheme to get Consort Zhao to marry Su Zheng. What exactly was the scheme?"

Xuan Yi skipped over Gu Yan and answered Shen Mujin's question directly. "I'm afraid it would offend your ears if I told you. Consort Li drugged Zhaoyi, ruining her reputation. Zhaoyi had no choice but to agree to marry Su Zheng."

Gu Yan and the others frowned upon hearing this. They truly couldn't imagine that a biological mother could do such a thing!

Gu Yan: "This is terrifying. Consort Li must be desperate to become Empress Dowager."

"Yes, later Consort Li accidentally fell into the pond and really went to join the Empress Dowager, which can be considered as fulfilling half of her wishes," Duan Chenke, who had appeared in the courtyard at some point, said.

"Your Highness!" Gu Yan and the others quickly stood up and bowed.

Oh no, looks like I won't be able to enjoy this gossip.

"No need for formalities. I overheard you talking about Consort Zhao?"

"Just a casual remark. We saw that Xiao... Su Xinian was a bit curious, so we just asked casually." Zhou Yuran was afraid that the King of Chu would mind that they knew too many royal secrets, so she quickly explained.

The King of Chu looked at the young ladies with amusement. "Don't be nervous. There's nothing to hide. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Really? Your Highness, you won't blow us up, will you...?" Zhou Yuran was somewhat incredulous.

Duan Chenke was both amused and exasperated.

"real"

"Well... at least Consort Zhao is a princess, so how come Xiaohu looks like a little beggar? This is such a huge difference!"

"Axi is like this now only because he wants to be this way, not because that's the reality."

Gu Yan asked, "Then why did Xiao Hu dress up as someone else?"

"So that I can stay by Xiao Hong's side, and also so that the Su family can completely relax their surveillance on him."

"Surveillance? Why would you need to be monitored?"

Duan Chenke sighed softly, "This requires starting from the beginning."

In fact, Consort Zhao's life after marrying into the Su family was not good. Su Zheng had countless concubines, and each of them dared to act arrogantly towards Consort Zhao, relying on Su Zheng's favor.

Fortunately, Consort Zhao was not a pushover. Relying on her status as the principal wife, she severely punished the two concubines, which brought some peace for a while.

Later, Consort Zhao gave birth to Su Xinian. Although Su Xinian was the eldest son of the Su family, he was weak and sickly from childhood and was not loved by the Su family. If it weren't for the occasional assistance from Emperor Jingrun and Prince Yu, Su Xinian probably wouldn't have been able to raise enough money.

As he grew older, Su Xinian's health improved. He also became more sensible, realizing the difficult situation he and his mother were in. He wanted to seek help from the current Emperor Jingrun and Prince Yu, but Consort Zhaoyi wouldn't let him go, because she didn't want her two remaining relatives to worry while she was still alive.

Unfortunately, Consort Zhao was a woman of ill fortune, and her health deteriorated further. She passed away from illness when Su Xinian was eleven years old. As Consort Zhao's illness became critical, Su Xinian disobeyed his mother for the first time, slipped out of the Prime Minister's residence and ran into the palace. He presented Consort Zhao with a handwritten letter and pleaded with the Emperor to visit his mother.

The Emperor never expected that the withered and emaciated person before him would be the once smiling Consort Zhao. Looking at the lifeless Consort Zhao, the Emperor immediately thought of the farewell letter and her wish for separation.

The Emperor nodded and announced to Consort Zhao that she and Su Zheng had divorced. Upon hearing this news, Consort Zhao seemed to regain her spirits. That evening, she was even able to sit up in bed for the first time ever, and the mother and son enjoyed the happiest dinner of their lives together.

The next day, Consort Zhao passed away.

After Consort Zhao passed away, Emperor Jingrun and Prince Yu discussed Su Xinian's future with him. However, Su Xinian did not want to be trapped in the court. After leaving letters for his two "uncles", he left the Su residence and even left Zhongjing.

“Axi met the sister Xiaohong he mentioned over the past few years and has been following her around ever since. If Xiaohong hadn’t mysteriously disappeared, I’m afraid he wouldn’t have come looking for me at all.”

"Um... Your Highness." Zhou Yuran carefully chose her words, unsure of how to explain.

"Your Highness, is it possible that Xiao Hu didn't come to you on his own initiative?"

"Hmm?" Duan Chenke gave Zhou Yuran an inquiring look.

“Actually, Xiao Hu came to find An An’s older sister, A Yan. It just so happens that A Yan is currently living in the Prince’s Mansion, otherwise…” Zhou Yu Ran didn’t finish her sentence, but Duan Chen Ke already understood what she meant.

Gu Yan was about to give Zhou Yuran a thumbs up and praise her for daring to refute the King of Chu when Duan Chenke's gaze was unexpectedly drawn to her.

Ah Si, help!

Gu Yan silently moved closer to Jiang Si, trying to get him to shield her from the sun.

Duan Chenke: "Oh? So tomorrow I'll have to ask Miss Bai and little Shengsheng to make some progress at Mengci Nunnery. That way we can find the little red sister that Axi mentioned as soon as possible."

"Ah...yes." Gu Yan nodded hurriedly, his answer a jumbled mess.

She now only hopes that tomorrow will come quickly so that she can go to Mengci Nunnery as soon as possible to investigate the truth.