Wen Zhuofeng said, "You were only twelve years old at that time. Wen Yan let you read that kind of book just to corrupt you. But you are seventeen years old now. You are an adult and can read it."

Zhao Wu finally understood that his elder brother was trying to teach him something. He was unhappy, very unhappy.

He stood up and paced back and forth for a few steps, then stood down and said, "You think I'm stupid, your brother? What do I do? A constable! I've seen and heard everything. Why do I need to read those books to learn about the world? Don't worry, big brother, I know more about some things than you do."

Wen Zhuofeng twitched his lips. It turned out that he understood. Then why didn't he understand his own heart? Could it be that this silly boy really only regarded Miss Xu as a sister or brother?

Zhao Wu asked again, "Brother, do you have a relatively clean storybook that only talks about love and doesn't contain any messy content?"

Wen Zhuofeng thought for a moment and said, "The Story of the Little Girl" and "Wu Erniang" are both pretty good. Although they also tell stories of love between men and women, they don't contain any negative content. The plots are tortuous and the writing style is beautiful, so they can't be considered pornography."

Zhao Wu joked, "Brother, you've read quite a few books."

Wen Zhuofeng chuckled sarcastically and said, "After I broke my leg, Wen Yan had people bring me a lot of storybooks, claiming they were just to entertain me. I read them, but I won't do as he wishes and accept those disgusting girls he gave me."

Zhao Wu thought, maybe he should just buy these two books for Xu Lanyin. She was older than him, and after being hurt by Gu Wangchen, she hadn't wanted to find a husband. Although she had always said she didn't want to marry and wanted to live alone, Uncle Xu might not agree with that now that he was back. He could let her read these books, open her mind, regain her confidence in men, and maybe even change her mind.

Thinking of Xu Lanyin's expression as she looked at the two books, Zhao Wubu smiled kindly.

Wen Zhuofeng asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhao Wu smiled and said, "I was thinking about my sister..." It was not easy to tell his elder brother about letting Xu Lanyin read the storybook, so he said, "I won't tell you anymore. I'm going out for a while."

Two days later, in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the breeze was gentle. The warmth of late spring had made Xu Lanyin somewhat lazy, so she sat under the eaves and watched two little girls sewing.

Baoqi was a playful person, and seeing that Xu Lanyin was kind to the servants, she became even more talkative. She told some gossips about the streets and alleys of the capital, which often made Xu Lanyin and Zhangqi laugh.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the walls, the sound of people talking loudly. A notice had just been posted at the street corner, alleging that Crown Prince Liu Zhaoping and Third Prince Liu Zhaoxian had colluded with the Western Xia Kingdom to assassinate the deposed Crown Prince, Prince Wu Liu Zhaoyin, and important officials, and to sell military intelligence from the Daimyo Dynasty. The Crown Prince had been deposed, and the Third Prince had been demoted to a commoner, exiled to Wuguan and Qiongzhou, respectively. Eight of his accomplices, including the Hong, Wei, and Hua families, were executed for their crimes...

After hearing this, Xu Lanyin quickly stood up and walked towards the front yard.

Uncle Fang and Uncle Xu also heard it and ran out.

Uncle Fang said, "Don't worry, Miss. Let's go out and take a look."

As soon as he opened the door, Zhao Wu rushed in like a gust of wind. He handed the horse reins and whip to Uncle Xu and pulled Xu Lanyin into the hanging flower gate.

Xu Lanyin was pulled all the way into the upper living room by him.

Zhao Wubian walked and said, "Prince Liu Zhaoping was deposed and made Prince of Xiao. He was sent to Wuguan and was never allowed to return to the capital. The third prince was demoted to a commoner and exiled to Qiongzhou..."

Xu Lanyin was puzzled, "They both colluded with the enemy and murdered the deposed crown prince, so why are they treated so differently?"

Zhao Wudao, "According to investigation, although the Crown Prince... oh, now we should call him the deposed Crown Prince or Prince Xiao, he and the Third Prince participated in the assassination through the Yiju Restaurant, but the Yiju Restaurant really helped the Third Prince, and the Third Prince played a decisive role in those events. The Emperor couldn't bear to lose two sons at the same time, so he didn't bear to take ruthless action against Liu Zhaoping..."

The third prince worked hard but did not become the crown prince, so of course he was unwilling to accept this, and he caused a series of events that followed.

Xu Lanyin asked again, "What about Brother Hong and the others? Have they been implicated?" This was what she cared about most.

Zhao Wudao said, "Brother Hong was not only spared from harm, but also redeemed his crimes with his merits. He not only saved his own branch, but also saved most of the Hong family. The reason why Hong Xihuan and his son later turned to the Third Prince was because the Third Prince seized evidence of their crimes and blackmailed them into using them for his own purposes, and promised to take another legitimate daughter of the Hong family as his concubine after he achieved great things..."

This result is different from what is in the book.

Xu Lanyin said, "The Emperor now has two princes left: the demented Fourth Prince, and the ten-year-old Fifth Prince. Could it be that the Zhou family went to such great lengths only to have the Fifth Prince take advantage?"

Zhao Wu shook his head and said, "Of course not. The King of Wu only lost his left arm, so it's not impossible for him to take on important responsibilities in extraordinary times. Besides, his eldest son is already ten years old, the same age as the Fifth Prince. The two princes colluded with the enemy to assassinate the King of Wu, which led to his dethronement as Crown Prince and the death of the late Queen. The Emperor already feels sorry for the late Queen and the Zhou family, so it's impossible for him to appoint the Fifth Prince as Crown Prince. Whether to reinstate the King of Wu as Crown Prince or appoint the Crown Prince's grandson is up to the Emperor."

Xu Lanyin was unfamiliar with the Fifth Prince. Since Zhao Wu was related to the Zhou family, she hoped that the King of Wu and his son would be appointed Crown Prince or Crown Prince.

Zhao Wu then talked about which officials were executed and which were exiled.

Xu Lanyin didn't know any of these people, so she didn't take them seriously. She thought about visiting the Hong family someday, staying in the capital for a while longer, buying a house and a shop, and if there were any good farmland, she would also buy some. She still had a lot of money, so she could invest more.

After Zhao Wu finished explaining these things, he stood up and was about to leave.

Xu Lanyin pulled his sleeve and said, "It's so late. Let's have dinner first. I'll cook two dishes for you myself."

Under normal circumstances, Zhao Wu would definitely stay if Xu Lanyin said this, but not today.

Xu Qingyan left yesterday and was taken directly to the Wu Palace by the people. He returned to the Grand Tutor's Mansion at noon today and has been in a confidential conversation with the old Grand Tutor. Zhao Wu also wanted to meet Xu Qingyan earlier, so he hurried back.

Zhao Wu shook his head and said, "I just came to talk to my sister about this matter. I have other things to do."

He looked at Xu Lanyin, wanting to say something but stopping himself. In the end, he said nothing and walked out with big strides. He walked into the yard, then came back, took out two books from his arms and said, "I bought these for my sister. Read them to relieve your boredom."

Watching his back disappear through the gate of the hanging flower garden, Xu Lan had a hunch that he was worried about something and was trying to hide it from her. She felt a little regretful that she should have pulled him aside to listen to his inner thoughts.

She looked down at the books in her hands, and they turned out to be two storybooks. She laughed again. After traveling through time for so long, and being busy every day, she had read several official historical records of this era, but had never read a storybook.

The gift Zhao Wu gave this time surprised Xu Lan and made her happy.