"Don't be afraid," Qiu Lu said to Yun Xiaojing and Zhan Xiaoli.
At the same time, he kept a wary eye on where they were standing.
No cockroaches crawled towards them.
It was then that Qiu Lu noticed something amiss.
He saw that not a single cockroach had crawled over. Even if one had, it quickly scurried away mid-way!
They had all crawled onto that lady and Li Yuexian!
Soon.
The other people in the tea house reacted.
They looked at Li Yuexian and the young lady.
"The cockroaches are only on them!"
Yun Xiaojing chuckled inwardly.
Hmph!
Let them talk about mother!
Qiu Lu saw Zhan Xiaoli and Yun Xiaojing staring at the cockroaches without saying a word, thinking they were scared.
He then said gently, "There's no need to be afraid."
Zhan Xiaoli looked up at Qiu Lu, his big eyes showing no fear at all.
Yun Xiaojing, however, grinned and said, "Cockroaches are so cute, they're not scary at all!"
Qiu Lu's mouth twitched.
Was his earlier worry in vain?
One was completely unafraid, and the other found cockroaches cute.
He then looked at the children around them who were watching the circus. Upon seeing the densely packed cockroaches, some cried, some hid in their mother's or father's arms.
Or they wore disgusted expressions.
They were nothing like these two.
He found it somewhat unsightly himself.
A moment later.
The two women, who had been screaming loudly, fainted.
Then, they were sent home by their respective servants.
Qiu Lu led Yun Xiaojing and Zhan Xiaoli onto the carriage.
Inside the tea house, chaos ensued.
This was the first time the Haoyue Circus had encountered such a situation during a performance.
As for the tea house owner, he cried after seeing everyone leave.
Everyone who walked out of the tea house chattered about the scene they had just witnessed.
No one could figure out why the cockroaches had taken a liking to Li Yuexian and that lady.
Don't cockroaches prefer dirty places?
Why did they specifically go onto them? Could it be…
They were very dirty?
At that moment, all sorts of speculations began to spread, though this happened an hour later.
At this very moment, Zhan Xiaoli and Yun Xiaojing were in the carriage.
Yun Xiaojing grinned and asked, "Do you like the Second Miss Yun they were talking about?"
His mother was beautiful and incredibly powerful. Anyone who met her and knew her capabilities would like her!
Of course, he hoped even more that his brother would like his mother.
Then he could take his brother to meet his mother!
"Auntie Yun Shu is a good person," Zhan Xiaoli nodded. Moreover, whenever he saw Auntie Yun Shu in the palace, he felt a sense of familiarity and a desire to be close to her.
Yun Xiaojing heard this and thought, there's hope!
If he could take his brother to meet his mother, he would have accomplished something great!
He was only a little over four years old and already so capable!
Mother would definitely be proud!
His eyes darted around, and he had another idea.
"I promised to take you out, and I'll take you out right now!" Yun Xiaojing winked at Zhan Xiaoli and patted himself, acting as if he was a man of his word.
Zhan Xiaoli frowned. "Uncle Qiu is outside."
The carriage windows were very small, making it impossible to jump out.
This was a carriage that Uncle Qiu had specifically chosen, fearing he might escape.
Yun Xiaojing grinned mischievously, "I know! But it won't stump me!"
He suddenly took out his small pouch.
He rummaged through the pouch.
He found a small bracelet.
Then with a click, he pressed it.
Instantly, a small dagger tip appeared.
Next, he used the small dagger to draw a square on the back of the carriage.
Following that, an incredible scene unfolded before Zhan Xiaoli's eyes.
He had thought of cutting through the carriage with a knife before, but it had been impossible.
But now.
It was cut through!
He looked in amazement at the item in Yun Xiaojing's hand.
Yun Xiaojing, sensing Zhan Xiaoli's gaze, looked at the small hidden weapon in his hand and said proudly, "My mother gave it to me! My mother is incredibly powerful!"
Hearing this, Zhan Xiaoli suddenly withdrew his amazed gaze.
He lowered his head, concealing the loneliness and envy in his eyes.
He had never met his mother.
He was so envious of Yun Xiaojing.
He just wanted his mother's love; he didn't need his mother to be powerful.
Yun Xiaojing kicked out the wooden board that had been cut and then rolled out of the carriage with Zhan Xiaoli.
Fortunately, there were tiger skins and cotton pads in the carriage.
After the two little fellows rolled off the carriage, they were completely unharmed.
…
At this moment.
In a tea house across the street.
Yun Shu and Ruan Xi walked in.
They had visited once before, wanting to have tea, but found the tea house noisy with a circus performance, so they went to another tea house.
After just a few sips of tea, before they had finished drinking, they heard many people discussing something.
The tea house had been overrun by cockroaches, which were crawling on Li Yuexian and the other woman.
Upon hearing this, Yun Shu immediately got up.
When the two arrived at the tea house, it was already deserted, with no one inside.
The guests had all left.
Only the tea house's waiters and the proprietor were cleaning up the mess.
"We clean our tea house thoroughly every day, so how could there be so many cockroaches?"
"Did Miss Li and the others bring the cockroaches themselves?"
Several waiters were discussing.
They hadn't noticed Yun Shu and Ruan Xi's arrival.
Yun Shu surveyed the tea house.
The tea house had three floors and was quite large.
When they had arrived earlier, it had been packed with people.
Now that it was empty, it looked vast.
They had left in such a hurry that they hadn't seen Li Yuexian there.
Was Li Yuexian interested in the circus?
And why would Yun Xiaojing be here?
Who had Yun Xiaojing come with?
"Proprietor, was there a boy about four or five years old among the people watching the circus just now?" Ruan Xi inquired.
The waiter was startled and turned to look at Ruan Xi, replying blankly, "Yes! There were many! There were a lot of children of that age today. Are you looking for children?"
Ruan Xi was stunned, not having anticipated this.
It wasn't just adults who were interested in the circus; it was primarily children!
Thinking back carefully, among the densely packed crowd they had seen earlier, there were indeed more children!
"Let's go," Yun Shu said after looking around again.
Yun Xiaojing, being cunning as always, would certainly not still be here.
He knew well that once the news of the cockroach incident at the tea house spread, she would know it was his doing.
He was a troublesome little fellow!
Ruan Xi nodded.
He followed her out.
In front of the tea house, Ruan Xi said with great exasperation, "What is Yun Xiaojing up to? So many tricks for such a young age!"
"He won't cause any major trouble," Yun Shu said, her gaze falling on the bustling crowd on the street.
"Alright, I'll have people keep an eye out in the vicinity for the next couple of days. Oh, right, I investigated, and the reason Yun Yueyin and the Regent haven't reached the capital is because they stopped halfway. It's likely the Regent intentionally delayed their journey, but the specific reason is unknown for now. However, they should be here soon," Ruan Xi said, his expression turning serious.