The child before them was the most troublesome of the three!
Yun Xiaojing bared his small, white teeth, his smile exceptionally bright and radiant.
Jiang Luoxi raised her hand.
Her anger coalesced in her palm.
A mere child not yet five years old!
“Ah! You’re going to hit me?!”
Seeing Jiang Luoxi raise her hand to strike him, Yun Xiaojing’s eyes immediately reddened. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, and he dashed towards the guards stationed at the entrance of the Night King’s mansion.
His pitiful appearance stirred the guards’ protective instincts. “Miss Jiang, what are you doing?!”
Yun Xiaojing clung to a guard, wailing loudly.
He cried with extreme grievance.
His cries made the guards’ hearts ache as if being squeezed!
He was their King’s son!
This woman before them wanted to hit the King’s son, their beloved Xiao Jing?!
The guard drew his sword.
Other guards shielded Xiao Jing.
Jiang Luoxi, consumed by fury, looked at her raised hand and frowned. In that instant, she truly wanted to kill Yun Xiaojing before her!
Just as she was about to lower her hand, she suddenly saw Yun Xiaojing turn his head and make a face at her!
The Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Study.
Yun Shu and Zhan Tianye followed the palace attendants into the palace.
They soon arrived at the Imperial Study.
Inside the Imperial Study, Zhan Tianhong was not reviewing memorials.
Instead, he was lying on a nearby couch.
Hearing their entrance, he sat up from the couch.
“Fifth Brother, Second Miss Yun, you are here,” Zhan Tianhong said, his voice laced with a hint of weakness.
Yun Shu looked at Zhan Tianhong.
Compared to yesterday, Zhan Tianhong’s complexion was paler, and his eyes held a hint of confusion.
Such a drastic change in just one day?
What had happened?
“Your Majesty.” Yun Shu and Zhan Tianye spoke almost simultaneously.
Zhan Tianhong looked at them with an unreadable expression.
A sense of desolation suddenly arose in his heart, reminiscent of those years when he could only grit his teeth and endure everything alone, treading on the edge of a knife every step of the way.
“How is the Regent now?” Zhan Tianhong’s face turned a cold white, and he asked in a deep voice.
Yun Shu stated directly, “If the Divine Physician Zuo cannot find a way to cure the Regent, he is in grave danger.”
If he merely wanted to inquire about this matter, Zhan Tianhong could have sent any palace attendant to the Regent’s mansion to get the answer. Why would he go through them?
This action was clearly redundant.
Therefore, Zhan Tianhong’s true intention was not this.
For some reason, Yun Shu suddenly recalled the first time she met Zhan Tianhong. He had been frail and helpless then, and the dragon robe he wore seemed oversized and heavy. At that time, she had thought that even in her era, despite the turmoil in the world, a youth his age would not have to bear so much.
In the blink of an eye, a mere few months had passed. The youth had grown taller, and his mind had become unfathomable.
She looked at Zhan Tianye.
From Yun Changfeng, she had learned more about the matters between the two brothers.
Had it not been for the late Emperor’s imperial decree to pass the throne to Zhan Tianhong, the throne would have belonged to Zhan Tianye.
However, even after losing the throne, Zhan Tianye did not resent the late Emperor. Instead, he followed the late Emperor’s wishes to assist Zhan Tianhong, preventing Zhan Tianhong from being controlled by Zhan Ming.
The sacrifices made in the process were self-evident.
Yet, at this moment, she could feel that the trust and closeness between the two brothers had significantly diminished.
“He is so gravely ill! You… you cannot save the Regent?” Zhan Tianhong stared at Yun Shu and asked.
Yun Shu met Zhan Tianhong’s gaze. Did he wish for Zhan Ming to remain unharmed?
Zhan Tianye spoke at the opportune moment, “What does Your Majesty mean?”
Upon hearing this.
Zhan Tianhong froze.
Perhaps he himself did not have an answer to this question.
The youth’s complexion became even paler.
He sighed, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. “He is, after all, my sixth uncle.”
A sharp, frigid glint flashed across Zhan Tianye’s dark eyes, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
Yun Shu pursed her red lips.
Silence fell upon the Imperial Study.
After a long while, Zhan Tianhong looked at Zhan Tianye with a complex expression, as if seeking confirmation. “Fifth Brother, no matter what happens, you will still stand by my side, won’t you?”
Yun Shu looked at Zhan Tianye.
Zhan Tianye’s gaze was faint, carrying the coldness of ice and snow on a high peak, yet not overly chilling. After a long pause, he responded with a single word, “Mm.”
Sensing Zhan Tianye’s indifference, Zhan Tianhong realized something and immediately turned to Yun Shu, asking the same question. “Second Miss Yun, I can always trust you, can’t I?”
“As long as Your Majesty does not deceive me, I will certainly not deceive Your Majesty,” Yun Shu replied.
Zhan Tianhong’s eyes flickered. For a moment, no one could truly grasp the multitude of thoughts swirling within the young man’s mind, nor how many of them were extinguished.
Inside the Night King’s mansion.
The atmosphere was extremely tense.
Steward Wang glared furiously at the person standing before him.
His hand trembled as he pointed at Jiang Luoxi. “You said there would be no problem, and I let you take Young Master Xiao Jing. Who knew you would try to hit Young Master Xiao Jing! And you even made Young Master Xiao Jing cry! If not for the guards, wouldn’t you have already beaten Young Master Xiao Jing?!”
Zhan Xiaoli, with his hands behind his back, his little face stern, said, “I don’t care if it was the Emperor who sent you to our home, you have no right to hit Xiao Jing!”
“So you’re a bad woman! Is your heart black? Completely black!” Zhan Xiaofeng cursed angrily.
He was infuriated!
The thought of Xiao Jing crying made him want to poison Jiang Luoxi! How dare she bully his brother!
Yun Xiaojing, being protected by several people, secretly watched their expressions. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Well…
He had been scared since he was little. Let alone that Jiang Luoxi hadn't hit him, even if she had, he would have retaliated and made her suffer immensely! He simply couldn’t stand her pretending to be good! If she had the nerve, she should have continued pretending even after knowing she'd been tricked, but unfortunately, she was exposed immediately and still wanted to hit him!
Don’t think he didn’t see that she had wanted to kill him in front of the jewelry shop earlier!
Facing their rebukes, Jiang Luoxi maintained a stern expression but showed no sign of panic. Instead, she calmly defended herself, “Xiao Jing misunderstood. How could I possibly hit him?”
She had wanted to kill him.
She had never imagined that one day, she would feel such intense killing intent towards a child.
Yun Xiaojing snorted, hugging his arms. “Don’t think I’m a child and can lie with my eyes open. You did want to hit me! Isn’t it because I said I wanted to give the things you bought for me to my mother, and you got angry and didn’t want me to give them to my mother, so you wanted to hit me? If I hadn’t dodged quickly, I would have been beaten by you!”