Ling Yongnian's face was extremely gloomy, and his eyes were filled with unconcealed ferocity, making him look like a thug who wanted to kill.

As dusk fell, pedestrians hurried home, and many people called their children home for dinner.

In front of the Lai residence, Princess Ning'an paced anxiously, clutching her handkerchief and stamping her feet as she waited.

When she saw Ling Yongnian, her face lit up with joy, and she called out sweetly, "Third Imperial Brother."

Ling Yongnian was slightly surprised when he saw her, and immediately turned and left.

Princess Ning'an was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught up with him, "Third Imperial Brother."

The more she shouted and chased, the faster Ling Yongnian ran.

Finally, Princess Ning'an lightly touched the ground with her toes, leaped out, and landed in front of him, spreading her arms to block his path.

"Third brother..."

She had barely opened her mouth when Ling Yongnian turned around again, making her so angry that she stomped her foot and said, "Try leaving again, and you won't be my brother anymore."

Ling Yongnian stopped and looked down at his shoes. “This humble subject is naturally not the princess’s brother. Please do not call me that, princess. I cannot bear such a title and fear it will shorten my lifespan.”

"Oh...you." Princess Ning'an quickly grabbed his arm. "Third Imperial Brother."

Ling Yongnian slapped her hand away, "Take care, Princess."

Princess Ning'an's face fell with anger. "Third brother, this is no fun. I'm really going to get angry."

Ling Yongnian then turned around, his voice softening, "I'm sorry, I was already demoted and ended up being chased by dogs all day. I was so embarrassed and ashamed, I didn't want you to see... I'm sorry."

His voice sounded a little hoarse as he finished speaking.

“This matter…sigh…” Princess Ning’an also felt guilty. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t persuade my father, and I couldn’t persuade my brother, the Crown Prince either.”

Ling Yongnian raised his head and smiled gently: "It's nothing. It was my fault for not thinking things through and trusting others, which almost caused the deaths of ordinary people. This is my sin."

Princess Ning'an opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, "Anyway, you are my third brother, and always will be."

Ling Yongnian smiled bitterly and did not respond.

Third brother?

Ha, after all, they weren't born of the same mother. How could his third brother compare to the Crown Prince, his own brother?

Ning An is just being hypocritical, pretending to be a good person while secretly giving him attitude.

"Third brother, what's wrong with you..." Princess Ning'an frowned as she looked at Ling Yongnian's tattered clothes.

Ling Yongnian turned to the side, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Third brother, what's wrong with you? You just said you were chased by a dog for a long time. How could you, the dignified Third Prince and a disciple of the Holy Extreme Sect, be chased by a dog for so long?" Princess Ning'an was furious.

Ling Yongnian's face showed even more embarrassment and awkwardness.

He said she had ulterior motives; she pretended to care, but every word she said hit him where it hurt.

Ling Yongnian looked down at Princess Ning'an's worried face and felt it was all hypocritical.

But he still explained gently, "In Sunjia Village, I caused trouble for Lord Mo. Now that I'm going back, I wanted to apologize and say goodbye, but they wouldn't let me in and even humiliated me, setting their dogs on me."

"This is outrageous!" Princess Ning'an's face flushed red with anger. "This is simply too much!"

Ling Yongnian smiled gently, "Don't be angry, I understand. After all, I almost killed an entire village and almost made her people curse me. I understand why she's angry with me."

Seeing how good-natured he was, and how he spoke well of others, Princess Ning'an felt sorry for him.

But then he thought about it again and felt something was wrong. "Actually, Lord Mo doesn't seem like an unreasonable person. Could there be some misunderstanding?"