After He Jinran was taken away by He Lin, he entered the Eastern Palace.

At the East Palace, the two gentlemen had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing He Lin and He Jinran, they both paid their respects.

He Lin waved his hand, signaling the two to stand up.

"Jin'er, you are now fourteen years old. You must have your studies. Starting tomorrow, you will study the policies of governing the country with your teacher."

He Jinran looked up, his face full of protest.

Heaven, what he dislikes most is reading.

"I can learn at home too."

"No, you're not allowed to go anywhere!" After round after round of assassination attempts, He Lin was terrified.

"Until the matter is investigated thoroughly, your father forbids you from leaving the palace even a step!" As he said this, he didn't forget to glance at Xuanming Xuanying following behind Gu Xiaoran.

The two men respectfully clasped their hands in response to His Majesty's command.

"Why should I?" He Jinran naturally objected.

"I want to go home!" He still had things to take care of outside. Both times he had left in such a hurry that either his father or He Lin had forcibly taken him away.

As a result, that assassin was left in the Prince Yi's kitchen.

So he wanted to go and find the person.

“This is your home.” After saying that, He Lin added, “As for General Gu, Father will take care of the rest.”

They then forcibly kept He Jinran in the palace.

He Jinran was unwilling, and his expression turned ugly.

He and the two gentlemen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Making him study is more torturous than putting him under house arrest.

On second thought, house arrest? It's not that easy.

He glanced disapprovingly at Xuanming and Xuanying, those two ingrates.

Finally, he simply went to his bedchamber and lay down.

He may appear to be lying down, but his mind is racing with brilliant ideas...

That day, when Gu Qian and Qiu Yan heard the eunuch's message that Xiao Ran had been kept in the Eastern Palace by His Majesty,

Both of them disapproved.

Gu Qian inexplicably felt that the palace was a complex place with many people, and therefore not necessarily safe.

As for Qiu Yan, she initially thought that Xiao Ran might cause chaos in the palace.

Unexpectedly, at dinner time that day,

He Jinran miraculously appeared at the dining table in the General's Mansion.

He Jinran had planned to go to the Prince Yi's residence first, but as expected, she was turned away at the door.

With his stomach empty, he decided to go home and eat first, and then go find assassin number nineteen after he had eaten his fill.

Qiu Yan and Gu Qian were puzzled.

Qiu Yan: "Didn't you enter the palace?"

"It's too stuffy in the palace, I came out for some fresh air," He Jinran said with a smirk.

Xuanming Xuanying was still guarding his bedchamber in the East Palace, so he was all alone.

Gu Qian: "His Majesty has allowed you to leave the palace?"

He Jinran: "...Uh, yes, His Majesty is reasonable and won't put me under house arrest." If he told the truth, would his father beat him?

After finishing his meal, under the close watch of Gu Qian and Qiu Yan,

He went back to his room, lay down on the bed, and prepared to 'go to bed'.

Hearing the door open outside, He Jinran looked up and saw that it was Qiu Xu. He quickly sat up.

"Xiao Ran, are you alright?"

He Jinran chuckled:

"I'm perfectly fine, Uncle-Master... no, Uncle, why aren't you asleep either?"

Qiu Xu: "I couldn't sleep, so I came to see you."

He Jinran had a gut feeling that Qiu Xu had come to lecture him.

"What brings you here so late at night?"

"Take my advice and calm down." Qiu Xu knew He Jinran's temperament well, so he was worried and came over to remind him not to cause any more trouble.

He Jinran smiled and replied, "I understand."

After Qiu Xu finished speaking, he also left the courtyard.

And little did they know, two quarters of an hour later,

He Jinran then appeared in the kitchen of the Prince Yi's mansion.

Of course, he didn't go through the main entrance.

Just as he cautiously pushed open the door to the Prince Yi's kitchen,

"Xiao Ran!"

At the sudden call, He Jinran shuddered.

"Why do they walk so quietly?"

He Jinran muttered a dissatisfied remark, but as soon as he turned around, it was Qiu Xu who stood there.

"Uncle, how did you know I was here?"

Qiu Xu: "Guess how I knew?" This Xiao Ran, she's dressed up so well that even he almost didn't recognize her.

Because Zhou Zifang had fallen in love with his own younger sister, the family begged him to mediate, but his sister had absolutely no feelings for him.

Therefore, Qiu Xu was in a dilemma, wondering how to refuse.

I wanted to ask my older sister for advice.

Sure enough, he encountered a dark figure traversing the night sky.

Thinking it was another assassin, he became wary and followed the dark figure out of the general's mansion, only to find out that it was Xiao Ran who had secretly left.

Xiao Ran's lightness skill was so good that he managed to chase him all the way to the Prince Yi's mansion.

"No one has been able to discover my whereabouts so far; my uncle is the first." He Jinran's escape from the palace, though requiring considerable effort, has not yet been discovered by His Majesty.

He had initially been quite pleased with himself, but now, seeing Qiu Xu, he felt somewhat insecure.

He wondered, where exactly did things go wrong?

"Don't be too arrogant!" Qiu Xu asked, "What are you doing at the Wing Prince's residence?"

He Jinran: "I've come to find that puppet."

"puppet?"

"It was last night, a suicide bomber who managed to escape. Sigh, I'll tell you the details another day."

“Xiao Ran, if we are discovered by the guards of the Prince Yi’s mansion, we will be treated as bandits.” Qiu Xu felt that He Jinran’s actions were very inappropriate. “It would be safer to enter through the main gate.”

"He won't be discovered," He Jinran thought to himself. If he could enter the mansion through the main gate, why would he need to do this?

He knew that the Prince of Yi's mansion was very poor, and there were few guards and servants.

As He Jinran spoke, he pushed open the door and entered the kitchen.

Qiu Xu followed closely behind, wanting to see what Xiao Ran was up to.

He Jinran entered the kitchen but could not find the assassin anywhere. He wondered if the man had been thrown into a mass grave.

Unexpectedly, the moment he looked up, he was nearly scared to death.

The assassin from last night, number nineteen, was now hanging upside down from the beam in the kitchen.

Qiu Xu's face turned pale. "This person... hanged himself?"

"Probably not," He Jin then realized.

It seems that the Third Imperial Uncle has not eaten in the kitchen all day.

He leaped onto the beam, and with a single push, the assassin plummeted vertically.

Qiu Xu reached out and took it, placing Nineteen on the ground.

Touch your breath first,

"Still alive."

He Jinran then swayed Nineteen's body.

"Hey, wake up."

Nineteen opened her eyes blankly, glanced at He Jinran only vaguely, and then closed them again.

"Xiao Ran, why are you looking for him?" Qiu Xu was genuinely puzzled.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." He Jinran smiled mysteriously.

Qiu Xu had already guessed what he was going to do.

"Too risky!"

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub." He Jinran couldn't catch the person behind the scenes, and his days were filled with misery.

This is really affecting his mood.

As he spoke, he poured a mouthful of water into Nineteen's mouth, forcing him to open his eyes again.

This person must be extremely hungry.

"Uncle, find something to eat."

Qiu Xu looked around and found a plate of pastries in the corner of the kitchen. He took one out and stuffed it into Shijiu's mouth.

After swallowing, He Jinran fed him water.