The four grandsons of the Geng family burst into laughter upon seeing Yun Xiaojing, a little brat raised by a fool, daring to challenge them to a competition.
This was too funny!
The four of them were renowned for their intelligence in the capital. Despite their young age, they were proficient in both scholarly and martial arts, and every child in the capital had heard their names!
Yun Xiaojing couldn't quite understand their arrogance.
"A competition?" Zhan Xiaoli furrowed his small brows. He didn't like competing with others.
Zhan Xiaofeng also showed little interest. His only passion lay in medicine and poisons.
Yun Xiaojing, the only one eager to compete, grinned foolishly like a simpleton from a landlord's family.
Jiang Luoxi lowered her gaze to Yun Xiaojing and said softly, "You don't have to compete if you don't want to."
She sounded like a gentle elder sister.
Yun Xiaojing rubbed his arm. Goosebumps rose on his skin.
He preferred Aunt Yiqing's smile and gentleness.
The aunt in front of him wasn't pretty when she smiled! Not as pretty as Aunt Yiqing!
But Yun Xiaojing still grinned, "I want to compete."
Then, he looked at the Empress Dowager and asked, "Your Majesty, is there a reward for winning?"
The Empress Dowager's face darkened at the mention of rewards. However, seeing the expectant looks on the Geng family's grandsons' faces when they heard "reward," she asked them, "If you win, what reward do you want?"
She completely ignored Yun Xiaojing.
Yun Xiaojing's eyes darted around, and his small hands moved beneath his sleeves.
That old hag!
So stingy!
"Whatever Grandma gives us, we'll like it!"
"We don't need rewards!"
Their words were as sweet as honey.
Nearly everyone in the capital knew how intelligent the Geng family's grandsons were.
With a few sweet words, they had the Empress Dowager beaming.
"I think you have no respect for your grandmother. If we win, I'll slap you ten times! And then you'll properly kowtow and apologize to your grandmother." The eldest Geng grandson, relying on his height, crossed his arms and looked down at Yun Xiaojing.
He then pointed at Zhan Xiaoli and Zhan Xiaofeng.
"Xiaoli..." Zhan Xiaofeng frowned. They were so annoying!
And they wanted to slap Xiaojing!
Zhan Xiaoli grunted. He put his hands behind his back and said to the Geng grandsons, "If you lose, you'll also get ten slaps."
"I'll help Xiaojing fight back," Zhan Xiaofeng stepped forward.
But just hitting back would be too easy for them!
They could bully him, but they couldn't bully his brother!
The four Geng grandsons heard this and thought it was the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard. Win?
The Night King's heir was too confident in that little bastard raised by a fool!
How could that little bastard possibly win?
...
A little over half an hour later.
Yun Shu encountered Zhan Tianye at the palace gates.
Zhan Tianye was about to leave the palace when he met Yun Shu. He then learned that the Empress Dowager had sent someone to invite Xiaoli and the others into the palace. He immediately went with Yun Shu.
"Don't worry, the Empress Dowager wouldn't dare to do anything to them," Zhan Tianye said, raising his hand and gently taking Yun Shu's hand.
Yun Shu's hand stiffened. Just as she instinctively tried to pull away, she encountered his warm and doting gaze. Her heart skipped a beat. "Mm, I know the Empress Dowager won't do anything to them."
Zhan Tianye tightened his grip on her hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
Her hand was so soft.
Delicate and boneless.
And exceptionally smooth.
Unlike his calloused palm.
Palace attendants passing by were astonished to see them holding hands.
Although they all knew the relationship between the Night King and Miss Yun the Second, they also knew that the Night King had never been so close to anyone in public!
Years ago, some foolish palace maids had tried to seduce the Night King, but all had failed, and some had even lost their lives!
So, was the recent rumor that the Night King would not marry Miss Yun the Second false?
The tenderness in the Night King's eyes when he looked at Miss Yun the Second just now was not fake!
Before the Night King's legs were crippled, many women had secretly said that whoever could make the Night King treat them with gentleness for the rest of his life would be willing to exchange that for lifetimes of good fortune.
However.
Yun Shu didn't have the leisure to care about what the palace attendants thought.
When the two of them appeared together in front of the Empress Dowager's palace.
Jiang Luoxi happened to be walking out of the palace.
She stopped upon seeing the two of them, her gaze involuntarily falling on their clasped hands.
She then raised her eyes and looked at Yun Shu with an unreadable expression.
Should she call Yun Shu bold, or ignorant?
Yun Shu noticed Jiang Luoxi's gaze and then looked at her. "Did you bring Xiaoli and the others into the palace?"
Just then, she saw a hint of unconcealed pride and disdain in Jiang Luoxi's eyes.
Yun Shu curved her lips. This was getting interesting.
The more she looked at this Jiang Luoxi, the more she realized she wasn't simple.
Zhan Tianye's gaze swept coldly towards Jiang Luoxi.
Jiang Luoxi immediately felt an intense pressure.
She pursed her lips, seemingly unfazed by Zhan Tianye's indifference, and replied, "Yes, the Empress Dowager was worried about others and asked me to invite them into the palace. I could also take care of them on the way."
As soon as she finished speaking.
A wailing cry erupted from inside.
"Wuwuwu..."
Then, the Empress Dowager's scolding followed, "How dare you!"
This reprimand was full of menace, exuding an aura that could surely make one's legs tremble.
In the harem, who dared to easily anger the Empress Dowager?
Hearing the scolding, Yun Shu and Zhan Tianye exchanged a glance.
Then, they entered together.
Jiang Luoxi, left behind, her eyes flickered. She then turned and looked at the two of them.
Her gaze swept over Yun Shu, and finally settled on Zhan Tianye, who was being pushed by Qiu Lu.
It was as if she could see through his back and into his legs.
He could stand up.
She could make him stand up again.
However.
The person she wanted to help was her man, a man who could stand by her side and fight alongside her.
Not, another woman's man.
The light in her eyes rippled as she suddenly realized her emotions were a bit out of control. She immediately lowered her gaze again.
At this moment.
Yun Shu and Zhan Tianye, who had entered, were both startled by the scene before them.
They had initially expected the aggrieved cries to come from the three little ones.
Instead, it was a child with a wide-open mouth, howling on the Empress Dowager's lap.
One of the Geng family's grandsons?
And beside him, three children with red and swollen faces, holding back their tears.
Yun Xiaojing and his three companions stood by, unharmed. Seeing the four Geng grandsons crying or looking wronged, they were truly helpless.
Three little faces, the same look of helplessness.
The Empress Dowager saw Zhan Tianye and Yun Shu and was furious. With them and those three little brats, her anger was uncontrollable. "Night King, Miss Yun the Second, look at the good children you've raised! They actually dared to hit someone!"
"Why did they hit someone?" Zhan Tianye asked coldly. This question was not directed at Yun Xiaojing and the others, but at the Empress Dowager.
His cold, expressionless face startled the four Geng grandsons.