Gu Qian withdrew his hand, but as his palm slid, he felt the thick, hard calluses on Duan Xiu's fingers and fell into thought.

Seeing that Gu Qian had stopped moving, Duan Xiu subconsciously tightened his grip on Gu Qian's wrist.

"Brother, no matter what, we're still brothers."

Gu Qian withdrew his hand without replying, and instead drew a throwing knife from his hand.

"Duan Xiu, have you seen this throwing knife before?" Although he was not on good terms with the Qin family, he had no conflict with Duan Xiu and Duan Tianzhang.

Duan Xiu took it and examined it carefully.

"Big brother also likes to play with throwing knives?"

“Answer me.”

Duan Xiu took another careful look.

"Brother, that's a strange question. Such throwing knives can be forged at any blacksmith shop outside."

"Forging at will?"

"Yes. Why is Big Brother so interested in this throwing knife?"

"Don't tell anyone what I asked you about."

Gu Qian left a message and got into the carriage.

Duan Xiu stood there, staring blankly in the direction the carriage had gone, his mind replaying the flying knife.

Tonight, by the time Qiu Yan and the others returned home, it was past 1 AM.

Perhaps because she slept too late, Gu Xiaoran suffered from insomnia once again.

"Woof woof..."

Under the night sky, he heard two barks and cried out in alarm.

"lightning!"

He rushed out of the dormitory, taking three steps at a time.

But then a black puppy appeared in his yard.

The moment Gu Xiaoran saw the puppy, tears welled up in her eyes.

"lightning."

They look so alike.

It looks almost exactly like lightning when it's young.

Gu Xiaoran couldn't help but squat down and hug the puppy to her chest.

"Lightning, you must also be reluctant to leave me."

As he spoke, he felt a figure move. He looked up and saw that He Lin had somehow appeared beside him.

We just parted ways, why is this person chasing after me again?

Looking at how much Gu Xiaoran loved the black dog, He Lin thought to himself, "My stupid guard has finally done something right this time."

He noticed that Gu Xiaoran was only holding the black dog and ignoring him, which made him feel a little uneasy.

This wasn't the first time he'd felt that, in Jin'er's eyes, his status was far inferior to that of a black dog.

"If you can't sleep, talk to Father." Jin'er's words, though seemingly sarcastic, left He Lin feeling uneasy for a long time.

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he felt. Naturally, it was because he was worried about him that he came.

"..." Gu Xiaoran did not believe that he and He Lin could talk about anything.

"Jin'er, your father will not make things difficult for you. If you do not wish to enter the palace, your father will build you a mansion outside."

"No need." Gu Xiaoran picked up the puppy and stroked its fur.

"Okay, you can move in whenever you're ready." This time, He Lin didn't insist.

The two stared at each other in the courtyard, having nothing more to say. Gu Xiaoran yawned repeatedly and began to shoo them away.

"Your Majesty, if we don't go to sleep soon, it will be dawn."

"Mm." He Lin was even more natural than Gu Xiaoran, and immediately strode towards his bedroom.

"Father Emperor will sleep with Jin'er."

Gu Xiaoran, he turned around,

Before he could leave, He Lin stopped him in his tracks.

"I'll sleep in the suite, I promise I won't disturb you."

Gu Xiaoran decided not to leave, as he was afraid of disturbing his father and mother's sleep.

"You say you are my father, then what about my birth mother? Where is she?" He desperately wanted to know the truth.

He Lin: "..."

Gu Xiaoran's question suddenly brought back painful memories.

If he could, he would want to keep these painful memories buried deep inside.

Originally, Gu Xiaoran couldn't understand why this was the case.

Even if his birth mother was disliked by He Lin and lost his favor, even if she passed away, she would still be buried in the imperial mausoleum.

But now, he understands.

“You abandoned your birth mother.”