If it's for no other reason than that Su Xiaoxiao would advise him to give up during the martial arts tournament for his safety, then at least Su Xiaoxiao has no ill intentions towards him.

Moreover, Jing Zhe found her quite interesting. Qiu Qianqian had once told him that of the Prince of Jin's two children, Su Xinping inherited the Prince of Jin's lust, greed, and darkness, but not his intelligence.

On the contrary, Su Xiaoxiao did not inherit any of the bad traits of Prince Jin; she was only as clever and quick-witted as him.

Her willful and capricious nature is simply due to being pampered and spoiled since childhood in the Prince of Jin's mansion, but she is still very kind at heart.

Therefore, Jing Zhe wondered what would happen to Su Xiaoxiao if they really went to war with the Prince of Jin one day.

He would never let go of his hatred for the Prince of Jin because of her, after all, she was not his woman, and because of this, he did not want to make her his woman.

What awaits him is endless entanglement and pain.

But he could choose to take her away from Jinxi, so that when war broke out, she would be far away from here.

This was the only thing Jing Zhe could do for her.

Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoxiao agreed without even thinking, smiling and nodding, "Okay, okay! I'll go back to Jingzhou with you now, but you absolutely can't go back on your word!"

"..."

Although Jing Zhe really wanted to, he had only mentioned it casually, and he didn't expect her to agree so readily!

"Um... Princess, shouldn't you discuss this with your father?"

"No need, he agreed."

"Um... well, you should at least pack your luggage, right?"

Watching Su Xiaoxiao swagger out of the mansion, it seemed she was preparing for a spontaneous trip!

Su Xiaoxiao turned around and smiled gently: "Hehe, I prepared it last night and put it in the car a long time ago!"

Before they could finish speaking, Su Xiaoxiao had already arrived outside the door.

At this moment, Su Moyan's luxurious carriage was already waiting outside the door. Feng Lianru was sitting outside the carriage, and Su Moyan also leaned out of the window when he heard the noise.

"Xiaoxiao, shall we get ready to go?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe couldn't help but look at Su Xiaoxiao with admiration. Without a doubt, he had been tricked by Su Xiaoxiao!

Su Xiaoxiao had already made up her mind to go to Jingzhou, and she had also analyzed the requests that Jing Zhe might make, so she deliberately tried to get information out of him and was waiting here!

If you're always walking on the edge of a trap, how can you avoid getting trapped?

Jing Zhe cupped his hands to Su Xiaoxiao: "Little Princess, your move is impressive. I concede defeat!"

Su Xiaoxiao chuckled, "It's been two years since I last went to Jingzhou. I've missed Uncle Emperor and Sister Mo Chen terribly since I last saw them, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to go back to Jingzhou with you!"

After saying that, perhaps feeling smug, Su Xiaoxiao's big eyes narrowed into slits.

Jing Zhe bowed again, feeling inferior.

But then she glanced inside the door and asked curiously, "The young princess is going to Jingzhou, she certainly can't stay for long, can she?"

Su Xiaoxiao nodded: "Yes, I'll be staying here long-term!"

"Won't the Prince of Jin come to see me off?"

"My father went to see my master early this morning. I heard he has some important matters to discuss, so he won't be coming!"

Jing Zhe glanced at Su Moyan and thought to himself, "His Highness the Crown Prince left from Jinxi, and from the Prince of Jin's residence. Why didn't the Prince of Jin show up to see him off? Is this on purpose?"

Su Moyan winked at him and said, "Prince Jin hosted a farewell banquet for me last night, but I have other matters to attend to and I want to depart as soon as possible, so I can't wait any longer!"

Su Moyan didn't want to say too much in front of her innocent younger sister. Jing Zhe understood and stopped asking questions, but he had already written it down in his notebook so he could complain to Emperor An when he got back.

At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao had already gotten into the car and excitedly called out to Jing Zhe, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get in the car!"

"..."

Seeing Jing Zhe's expression, Su Xiaoxiao realized the ambiguity in her words and blushed slightly as she said, "What I meant was—you should get in your carriage quickly. My brother wants to set off as soon as possible, so don't delay any longer!"

Jing Zhe handed the luggage to Hanhan and had him put it in his carriage. Then he walked to Su Xiaoxiao's side and said, "Princess, please get in the carriage. We'll be leaving soon!"

"oh."

Su Xiaoxiao glanced at him, then obediently went inside.

Jing Zhe came to the car window, ready to say goodbye to Su Moyan.

"President Jing, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again!"

When Jing Zhe went to Liangzhou to help Liu Jinghong, he was helping the officials, soldiers, and people of Liangzhou. But in the end, he was helping Anguo and the imperial court!

"Your Highness is too kind. As a court official, this is simply my duty!"

Listening to their polite and formal conversation, Su Xiaoxiao curiously approached, thinking to herself, "We're clearly going back to Jingzhou together, so why does it sound like we're about to part ways?"

"Then, President Jing, shall we part ways here?"

"Very well, Your Highness, after you return to the capital, I hope you will take care of the rest!"

Su Moyan was somewhat moved. Jing Zhe's request for his help indicated that he had already accepted him. Moreover, Jing Zhe's affairs involved the most core interests of the court's future, and his involvement would be very beneficial for consolidating his position.

He patted Jing Zhe on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Then I will wait for President Jing's triumphant return in Jingzhou! I will hold a banquet for President Jing to welcome him back!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"etc…"

Su Xiaoxiao finally sensed something was wrong and poked her head out: "Aren't you coming back with us?"

"No, I need to go to Liangzhou!"

"..."

"Let's go, Little one!"

At Su Moyan's command, Su Xiaoxiao was pulled back, and at the same time, he called to Feng Lianru to start the carriage.

The moment the car curtain fell, Jing Zhe caught a glimpse of Su Xiaoxiao's resentful gaze through the gap. If he had been inside the car, he might have been bitten...

You tricked me, and I tricked you back. Hmm, that's fair...

"Young Master, shall we leave too?"

At this moment, Hanhan, who had already put his luggage away, came over and asked. He had already heard from Jing Zhe that they were going directly to Liangzhou.

Since Hanhan came from Mangshan and didn't feel much of a sense of belonging to Jingzhou, going to Liangzhou and returning to Jingzhou made no difference to him, and he still had that carefree, silly smile on his face.

"Okay, let's get ready to go—"

Before they could finish speaking, the Prince of Jin's carriage came up from behind and stopped in front of them.

"Is President Jing leaving? It seems I've returned just in time. Any later, and I fear I wouldn't have been able to see President Jing off on his final journey!"

"Hehe, Prince Jin is very busy with state affairs and has difficulty walking, so there's no need for him to come back to see me off!"

The King of Jin deliberately emphasized the words "the last journey." Everyone was not stupid, so Jing Zhe did not hold back and directly used his leg, which had been stabbed by Lu Li, to make a sarcastic remark.

"Hehe, President Jing, have a safe journey!"

"Heh heh, Prince Jin, take care of... your body!"

"..."

With the last sentence, Jing Zhe's car had already started, and regardless of whether he could hear it or not, he drove off.

————