However, this time he didn't show any displeasure. He just looked at her teasingly and said softly, "A'Wu, you are my Crown Princess. What would it look like if you did the work yourself? Xiao Fengyun was willing to let you wash his clothes back then, but I can't bear to let you."

"..." For some reason, Yu Qingwu felt that his words were meant to provoke.

She glared at him, feeling somewhat helpless, "Your Highness, you and I are, after all, members of the same sect. In our sect, everyone takes care of their own laundry and everything else. We've always lived like this since we were little. Now, after only being away for half a year, it would be inappropriate to return with a maid."

"Besides, Chun Tao is not a member of our sect. It's somewhat inconvenient to go together. You know, there are always a few troublemakers in our sect. If they were our own fellow disciples, they would at least show some restraint, and the female disciples all have some martial arts skills, so they wouldn't hesitate to beat up those troublemakers."

"But Chun Tao is different. She is just an ordinary, weak woman. If she goes with us, I worry..."

Yu Qingwu lowered her eyes, not continuing her sentence.

But after hearing her words, Xie JinYan immediately understood.

Yes, the Xiao family sect was a mixed bag, with descendants of famous families in the martial world gathered in one place. But so-called famous families didn't necessarily mean they had upright characters. Even with the master's restraints, the master could only control his own disciples.

Moreover, even if he could restrain others, there would always be a few who slipped through the net.

For example, A'Yue back then.

She played tricks right under the master's nose.

Again and again, until she finally touched the master's sore spot and was expelled from the sect.

In addition, A'Yue only had him as a backer, unlike the other disciples who had strong backgrounds.

However...

Lowering his eyes and smiling at the woman, Xie JinYan said softly, "Shijie (senior martial sister), are you worried that the Xiang family and Wang family scoundrels will harm Chun Tao? Don't worry, it won't happen. They wouldn't dare, and they can't."

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu was a little confused.

But from Xie JinYan's eyes, she vaguely read something.

Frowning, she pulled him to the side, lowered her voice, and asked him, "Your Highness, what do you mean by that? Did... did something happen?"

"It's nothing. It's just that when I returned to the sect at the beginning of last year, I discovered that the Xiang family scoundrel was trying to sneak into shijie's room at night, and I got angry and kicked him, crippling him..."

!!!

"Crippled?" Yu Qingwu was shocked and took a while to recover from Xie JinYan's words.

Then she slowly recalled that at the beginning of last year, one night, she did hear some noise outside.

She vaguely seemed to hear the Xiang family scoundrel's voice. She had originally thought of releasing a poisonous scorpion to bite him, but just as she got up, the noise stopped, so she went back to bed.

She thought that the Xiang family scoundrel had noticed that she was going to release a poisonous insect, so he had wisely left.

But... Xie JinYan had dragged him away?

That's not right. The male disciples' residence and the female disciples' residence were far apart. Why would Xie JinYan appear outside her room in the middle of the night?

A trace of doubt flashed in her eyes. Yu Qingwu suddenly raised her head, looked at the man suspiciously, and questioned him with her mouth and brain synchronized, "Your Highness, why were you outside my room in the middle of the night?"

Hearing this, Xie JinYan, who had been wearing a smug look, was immediately choked.

He had originally wanted to show off in front of her, but he didn't expect her to suddenly ask this.

Could he say that it was because A'Yue had been driven out of the sect by her before, and he wanted to avenge A'Yue?

Or rather... he wanted to use the excuse of avenging A'Yue to take the opportunity to get close to her, and preferably get her pregnant, forcing her to submit to him?

Xie JinYan naturally didn't dare to say these words. It was too despicable! It would ruin his image!

But he swore that this idea only lingered in his mind for a moment. When he walked to her door, he just wanted to secretly put the newly bought pastries in her room.

Looking at each other, a hint of guilt flashed in Xie JinYan's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and looked at Yu Qingwu innocently, hurriedly explaining, "Shijie, don't look at me like that. Am I that kind of person? I was just thinking that you like to eat osmanthus cakes, so I brought you osmanthus cakes when I returned from the capital."

"As a result, I had a fight with the Xiang family scoundrel later, and the osmanthus cakes were scattered."

Speaking of this, Xie JinYan was also a little angry.

Wasn't it true? If it wasn't for that Xiang fellow, the osmanthus cakes would have been sent out long ago. Why would it have been Xiao Fengyun's turn to be so attentive the next day?

Thinking of this, Xie JinYan couldn't help but complain, "If it wasn't for that Xiang fellow, I should have been the first to send a gift on New Year's Eve. Why did Xiao Fengyun get to show off the next day? And he even asked you to wash his clothes. It was so cold, why didn't he wash them himself? I got angry and kicked him into the water..."

"That person just likes to say platitudes and take credit for things."

Yu Qingwu was originally a little suspicious that Xie JinYan had ulterior motives, but now seeing him so angry, she believed him a little.

For a moment, her mood became complicated.

She remembered that she had seen Xie JinYan kick Xiao Shixiong (senior martial brother) that day and had gotten very angry with him, feeling that he was as willful as before, and even bullied Xiao Shixiong for no reason.

But now that she thought about it, Xiao Shixiong seemed to have treated her very well, saving her and speaking up for her.

However, it seemed that in the many years that followed, she was the one who washed Xiao Shixiong's clothes.

And Xiao Shixiong seemed to take it for granted, even in the coldest weather.

However, it seemed that every time she finished washing Xiao Shixiong's clothes in winter, Xiao Shixiong would always encounter some accidents for no reason.

Either he fell into the water, or he tripped inexplicably while walking on the road. The most outrageous time was when he said that he had encountered a "ghost shave" in the middle of the night, and both his eyebrows, along with a large patch of hair in front, had been shaved off...

Now that she thought about it, this was completely man-made. Xie JinYan was retaliating...

In that instant, Yu Qingwu suddenly didn't know what to say, and she suddenly remembered something.

She bit her lip tightly, looked at Xie JinYan with a complicated gaze, endured her emotions, stared at that stunning face for a long time, and then asked him in a low voice with a hint of nasality, "Your Highness, you kicked Xiao Shixiong that day because he asked me to wash his clothes."

"Then why did you fight with him one day later? Was it because he... he took credit for your accomplishments?"