Thinking of his older brother, Shen Ye felt a little sad again.

I wonder how my older brother is doing.

Counting the days, it's been almost six years since he and his uncle "died".

How is Mother? How is my elder brother?

Are they doing well? Do they miss him and his uncle?

Oh, and Father Emperor, how come he's still alive?

Unable to resist, Shen Ye asked, "Does Your Highness know how the eldest prince of the Great Jin Dynasty is doing?"

Shen Ye didn't even dare to call him "Big Brother".

Lili quietly turned her head to look at Gu Ziyi.

She was also quite curious. Gu Ziyi had previously said that the Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty wouldn't live past this winter. With winter fast approaching, she really wanted to know how the situation in the Great Jin Dynasty would develop.

Gu Ziyi glanced at him with a smile and asked in return, "In what way?"

Shen Ye hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back; naturally, he wanted to know everything.

Seeing Gu Ziyi's reaction, Shen Ye realized that his older brother should be alright.

He then stopped asking questions to avoid causing further trouble.

Shen Ye shook his head and shut his mouth.

Gu Ziyi calmly withdrew his gaze and smiled.

Lili always felt that Gu Ziyi was an unfathomable person, and that he seemed to care about Da Jin's affairs but also didn't care.

Well... to put it another way, it's more accurate to say that everything is under his control.

Because he cares, he keeps everything under his control; and because he has everything under control, he doesn't really care.

But what relationship could the Great Jin have with His Highness?

Lili couldn't understand it.

Lili hesitated for a moment, then asked him softly, "Your Highness, may I ask you something?"

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," Gu Ziyi said, bowing his head.

Since that's the case, then Lili won't hold back: "Is Your Highness very certain that the First Prince will win in the end?"

Gu Ziyi was somewhat surprised, but did not refute it.

With just a nod, Lili understood. She sighed inwardly, no wonder Gu Ziyi suddenly put the caravan business on the agenda a few months ago; it seemed like everything was planned.

Some things are best left unsaid, and Lili isn't one to pry too deeply, especially when it comes to something so important. It's better for Lili to know as little as possible.

The people of Anding City clearly all knew Gu Ziyi. As he walked along the main road, the passersby greeted him warmly, and Gu Ziyi mostly responded with a slight nod.

Throughout history, those who possess wealth, power, and status have always been arrogant, and the higher one's position in power, the more they value class distinctions.

The children of the upper class generally disdain any association with ordinary people, and this is especially true for the children of the royal family.

Even a wise and benevolent ruler like Emperor Ganzheng could not be as close to the people as Gu Ziyi, or rather, could inspire such affection in them.

He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. With this mindset, Gu Ziyi will do nothing wrong.

Lili was happy for him, and also a little surprised: "Your Highness is really popular. These people all seem to like Your Highness very much. They respect and love you, and they are affectionate and dignified towards you."

“My maternal grandfather guarded the border when he was just over twenty years old, and it has been more than thirty years since then. To put it bluntly, in this city of Anding, my maternal grandfather’s prestige even surpasses that of my father. As for me, I have only gained some influence by taking advantage of my maternal grandfather’s reputation.”

Gu Ziyi smiled faintly, and it wasn't hard to see the slight pride beneath his smile.

Two fine horses led the way, with Zhui Feng and the others following behind. As they passed, the people readily made way for them.

Amidst countless warm greetings and salutations, there was even a pretty young woman who blushed and chased after him a couple of steps, wanting to drop him a handkerchief.

Lili chuckled, thought for a moment, then raised both hands and waved enthusiastically to both sides: "Hi, hi, hello, hello to you too, you're so pretty! This is my Crown Prince brother, do you like my brother too?"

Gu Ziyi asked with a puzzled expression, "What are you doing?"

Lili explained earnestly, “Your Highness is so dashing and handsome, and you are also talented in both literature and martial arts. I’m sure many young ladies are enamored with you. Although Lili and Your Highness are not blood-related siblings, we are closer than blood-related siblings. However, others are unaware of this, and Lili is afraid of being misunderstood. It would be bad if this caused Your Highness to lose his chance at marriage.”

"What nonsense!" Gu Ziyi frowned, her first reaction being to refute Lili's talk of some kind of messy marriage.

But after thinking it over, Gu Ziyi's expression changed slightly: "...We're more like siblings?"

Lili blinked: "What's wrong?"

Gu Ziyi stared at her intently, his eyes holding something faint and indescribable that she couldn't understand.

Lili suddenly felt a little guilty.

What's wrong? Can't she be her sister?

Wow, Gu Ziyi is of dragon and phoenix blood, so being siblings is indeed a bit much.

However, she wasn't exactly lying, since they could actually be siblings, even if they weren't actually related and it was just a title.

"Um?"

Gu Ziyi lowered his eyebrows, adding a sense of pressure, and took in Lili's confused and guilty expression.

"Then, then, then...cousins?" Lili asked tentatively.

"Ha." Gu Ziyi laughed in anger.

Lili felt even more confused.

Nothing works?

"That's weird," Lili muttered.

Gu Ziyi took a breath, gritted her teeth, and looked away: "You'd better pray that your coming-of-age ceremony comes late."

"Coming-of-age ceremony?"

Lili was puzzled. There were still more than six years left. What was wrong?

When a girl turns fifteen, she enters the ranks of adult women and is eligible for marriage. The coming-of-age ceremony symbolizes that she has left her girlhood behind and entered the ranks of adult women.

Lili realized, could it be that His Highness wanted to marry her off?!

Lili immediately surrendered, refusing pitifully, "No, Your Highness! Lili is a woman among women, a female among females, a great woman like an eagle, she absolutely cannot be so hastily bound by marriage!"

Gu Ziyi chuckled softly, wondering what this little girl was thinking about all day long.

Finally, as if he had been rendered powerless, he used his left hand to straighten Lili's head, making her look straight ahead, and his voice returned to calm: "Sit still."

“…Oh.” Lili stroked the horse’s mane listlessly, but couldn’t help herself, “Your Highness, could you please not arrange a marriage for me? It seems a bit inappropriate…”

Gu Ziyi had nothing to say.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, we arrived at the General's Mansion.

Lili had never been to the General's Mansion before, nor had she ever seen any other General's Mansions.

In Lili's imagination, the General's Mansion should be as solemn and majestic as described in novels, with two imposing stone lions at the entrance, a vermilion gate and a bird's shadow.

However, when Lili actually arrived at Chu Zhenyue's residence in Anding City, she found that it was very different from what she had imagined.

The General's Mansion lacks ornate carvings and paintings, but possesses a simple and dignified charm.

The gate was a very ordinary wooden door, without any stone lions or anything else at the entrance. The only bright spot was the two brass rings on the wooden door.

From a distance, Lili could roughly see the scene inside through the open door; it was also plain-colored, spacious but not luxurious at all.

"Wow!" Lili exclaimed in surprise, "The old general is so unassuming."

“Well, my maternal grandfather disliked extravagance and there wasn’t much to enjoy here,” Gu Ziyi teased. “However, the Chu family’s general’s mansion in the capital was bestowed by the late emperor, which might satisfy your imagination.”

Lili's body trembled: "How did Your Highness know what I was thinking?"

"It's written all over their faces."

Lili patted her face, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Gu Ziyi dismounted and caught Lili below, while Chu Zhenyue also personally led his men to the gate of the mansion.

Shen Ye was stunned the moment she saw Chu Zhenyue. Although he had white hair, his temperament was undeniably resolute.

His uncle was also a seasoned general, but although the old general had a kind face, he still exuded a more dazzling aura than his uncle.

When Lili saw the old general, she stood properly and bowed, saying, "Lili greets the general."

Chu Zhenyue calmly sized up the young girl; she had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and exuded an imposing aura without being angry.

Gu Ziqi hid somewhat awkwardly behind Lili.

Lili remained calm, knowing that the old general was observing her.

Chu Zhenyue laughed heartily and helped her up: "You little rascal, you've grown from a little girl into a big girl, you've lost weight, but you're still so beautiful!"

"Grandpa Chu always teases Lili. Last time, he even said that Lili was as fat as a snowball."

"Really? That's all good!" Chu Zhenyue laughed, his military bearing and cheerfulness becoming unrestrained. "I was just worried that A-Yi would spoil you and turn you into a chubby little girl in the future."

Gu Ziyi handed the things to the servant, walked over and greeted Chu Zhenyue, saying helplessly, "Little Fatty is fine, Lili is fine either way."

Lili blushed. What little chubby girl? She's clearly a fairy!

Seeing that the two children were still so close, Chu Zhenyue felt relieved and smiled broadly.

He had developed a great interest in Lili ever since he learned that the strategy he had devised was actually proposed by a child named Lili.

A few years ago, when Lili went to Yuncheng, he specially put aside his military affairs to go to Yuncheng to meet her. He was even more fond of Lili, this simple and kind little dumpling.

He was incredibly bored at the border, and apart from his grandson Gu Ziyi, he had no one else he could truly be close to. He practically had to treat Lili like his own granddaughter.

Especially when Lili calls out "Grandpa Chu", oh my, it's so sweet it melts my heart!

Lili secretly pinched Gu Ziyi and glared at him.

Gu Ziyi raised an eyebrow and rubbed it indifferently.

Lili had no choice but to bring up Gu Ziqi to change the subject. She pulled Gu Ziqi out from behind her and said, "Grandpa Chu, this is Ziqi, the grandson of Marquis Chongbo."

Chu Zhenyue was a veteran of countless battles, having killed many enemies. He exuded a chilling aura and had a scar on his eyebrow.

Gu Ziqi had never seen such a person before, and not every child is as fearless as Lili. Somewhat flustered and bewildered, he immediately performed a kneeling bow.

"Ziqi greets the General!"

This amused Chu Zhenyue greatly, and he deliberately bent down to stare at him: "Oh, Gu Yan's grandson."

Gu Ziqi shuddered, and the little guy looked like he was about to cry: "Please don't eat me! I'll ask my grandfather to make you some chicken soup!"

"Tch, I'm not that old man's wife, I won't drink his chicken soup." Chu Zhenyue waved his hand dismissively.

Marquis Chongbo Gu Yan was henpecked. He and his wife lived in perfect harmony for the rest of their lives. Whenever he upset the old lady, he would personally cook a pot of chicken soup to appease her.

Chu Zhenyue is a military general; he doesn't care about such things.

"Alright, Grandpa, let's have dinner quickly. Pear has been starving all the way here."

"Huh?" Lili shook her head. "I'm fine."

Upon hearing his grandson say that Lili was hungry, Chu Zhenyue quickly ordered someone to prepare a meal.

"Let's go in."

He picked up Gu Ziqi and hugged him personally: "Come on, tell your Grandpa Chu what funny things your grandfather has done lately?"

Gu Ziqi trembled: "Huh?"

Lili was laughing uncontrollably from behind.

After dinner, Chu Zhenyue asked, "How long do you plan to stay here?"

Lili pondered, "It's not certain yet. It depends on how long you're willing to let Lili mooch meals."

"Hahahaha." Chu Zhenyue laughed loudly, "It can take as long as you want! You don't know, it's just A-Yi all by himself on weekdays, and he has to be busy with this and that all day long. I'm just an old man, so lonely!"

Steward Zhao chimed in, "Yes, His Highness is usually very busy, and sometimes it takes him a long time to have a meal with the General. Miss has finally come to Anding City, so she should stay as long as possible."

Steward Zhao was an old man in the mansion. He was brought by Chu Zhenyue from the capital and had been by Chu Zhenyue's side to handle affairs since the first day Chu Zhenyue came to the border. Naturally, he knew that at this age, the old general wanted nothing more than to guard the border for the country and to enjoy the happiness of being surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Unfortunately, the Chu family was all in the capital, and Chu Zhenyue rarely returned to the capital even after several years. Being alone on the border, he inevitably experienced moments of loneliness.

Lili smiled and said, "Of course, Lili would love to have a few more meals with Grandpa Chu."

There were no maids in the general's mansion, only servants and guards transferred from the army.

After dismissing the servants, Gu Ziyi picked out one of Pear's favorite snacks from the pastries that the servant had just brought and placed it in front of her, saying, "The General's Mansion doesn't have any maids, which is inconvenient for you. I'll assign someone to take care of you."

After saying that, Gu Ziyi said calmly, "Nineteen."

A woman dressed as a maid in plain clothes entered and respectfully bowed her head to greet Lili: "Greetings, Miss."

Lili was somewhat surprised. This maid didn't look like a maid at all. Her eyes were sharp, and she was calm and heroic, more like a swordsman.

"Your Highness, this cannot be..."

"Yes, this is An Qi's younger sister. Her abilities are above average in the Dark Guard Camp, so don't worry."

Female bodyguard, so cool!

Lili's eyes would light up in an instant.

Damn it, when Lili was little, she fantasized about being the greatest swordsman in the world, invincible against all.

Or become a ruthless female assassin, invulnerable to bullets and blades, capable of anything.

That's so cool!

What a cool girl!

An Shijiu met Lili's shining eyes, paused for a moment, and then hesitantly gave her a smile in return.

Lili became even more excited and immediately grabbed her hand.

"Sister, what's your name?"

An Shijiu glanced at Gu Ziyi, and after receiving her approval, replied softly, "This servant ranks nineteenth in the Dark Guard camp. Miss, you may call this servant Shijiu."

"That won't do. My sister is so handsome, how can she be called Nineteen?" Lili frowned. "How about Lili gives my sister a name?"

The little girl had soft hands and a sweet smile, leaving An Shijiu somewhat at a loss.