In late spring, roses bloomed profusely in the back garden of the General's Mansion, covering half the moon-shaped gate. Chen Weiwan squatted behind a rockery, clutching a freshly baked candy cake, stifling a smile as she watched a servant sweeping fallen leaves nearby. Chuntao squatted beside her and lowered her voice, "Miss, look at that new servant! He's sweeping leaves like he's performing a shamanic act."

"Shh..." Shen Weiwan stuffed a piece of sugar cake into her mouth, and the syrup stuck to her fingertips. "Last time you said he was a spy sent by Liu's family. Today we have to find a reason to kick him out." As soon as she finished speaking, footsteps suddenly sounded behind her, and she was so startled that she almost dropped the sugar cake on the ground.

"What are you doing here, sneaking around?" Seventh Prince Xiao Yu's voice was tinged with laughter. His dark-black robe brushed against a rose branch, startling a flurry of pink and white petals. He was holding a food box, wrapped in the oil-paper packaging of the "Tian Xin Zhai" restaurant that Shen Weiwan often visited.

Chen Weiwan stood up, and the crumbs of candy cake fell on her skirt: "Why is your highness here? I was... admiring the fallen leaves." She pointed randomly at the leaves that the servant had swept into a pile, but saw Xiao Yu squatting down, picking up the candy cake crumbs on her skirt, and his fingertips brushed against the embroidery thread on the corner of her skirt.

"Do I need to hide behind a rockery to admire the falling leaves?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow and opened the lunch box to reveal the plum blossom cake inside. "It's freshly baked and still warm."

Chun Tao noticed the cakes in the food box and swallowed her saliva: "Your Highness is really thoughtful. My young lady loves sweet things like this."

Shen Weiwan glared at Chuntao and reached for the plum blossom cake, but Xiao Yu grabbed her wrist. His fingertips felt slightly cold as he touched the mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist: "I heard you went to Jingxin Temple yesterday?"

"Yeah." Shen Weiwan pulled back her hand, broke off a piece of plum cake and stuffed it into her mouth, "My cousin turned the cabbage into weeds and had a quarrel with the abbot." Thinking of Shen Ruoruo wearing a coarse monk's robe and her face pale, she couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Xiao Yu looked at the smile in her eyes and suddenly reached out to wipe the frosting off her cheek. "I used to think it was funny to see you setting traps for others." His tone gradually deepened, his eyes falling on the bracelet on her wrist. "It wasn't until last time in Shuntian Mansion, when I saw Shen Ruoruo pounce on you, that I realized that all those 'silly operations' of yours were just to protect yourself."

Shen Weiwan's fingers tightened around the plum cake, causing syrup to squeeze out from the cracks in the cake, burning her fingertips. She lowered her head, watching the ants on the ground dragging sugar residue into their holes, and muttered softly, "I can protect myself. No one else needs to worry about me."

"Really?" Xiao Yu's voice approached, carrying a faint scent of ink. "What about your previous life?"

Shen Weiwan raised her head suddenly, and met his bottomless eyes. The setting sun shone through the rose branches, casting a fine shadow on his face, making the seriousness in his eyes particularly clear. She thought of the chaotic sticks in the snow in her previous life, and of Liu's cold eyes, and her nose suddenly felt sore.

"I was stupid in my previous life." She turned away and stuffed the remaining plum cake into Chuntao's hand. "Now I'm smart. No one can bully me anymore."

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment, then suddenly squatted down and picked up a fallen rose petal. "Weiwan," he called her by her full name for the first time, his voice low and solemn. "Before, I was just enjoying the show, not understanding the scars hidden beneath your silly face."

He crushed the petals with his fingertips, staining them with pink juice. "From now on, as long as I'm here, no one will dare to use you as a weapon, no one will dare to force you to marry someone else, and no one will dare to let you die in the snow."

Shen Weiwan's heart skipped a beat, as if struck by something. She looked into Xiao Yu's sincere eyes. There was no teasing, no amusement, only a seriousness she had never seen before. The wind blew through the rose trellis, and petals fell, a few landing on Xiao Yu's hair.

"Who asked you to protect me..." She turned her head stubbornly, only to see Chun Tao hiding behind the rockery, peeking out half of her head and blinking at her desperately. She suddenly remembered the last time Xiao Yu tripped Shen Ruoruo with a broom. He could have just ignored it, but he still did it.

"I can make them cry by myself," she said, kicking the stones at her feet, her voice softening. "Why would I need the protection of His Royal Highness the Prince?"

Xiao Yu suddenly smiled and reached out to pluck the petals from her hair crown. "Yes, yes, Miss Shen is the best at deceiving people." He stood up and brushed the petals off his skirt. "But I heard that the nuns at Jingxin Temple are learning to grow vegetables recently. Do you want to go and teach them?"

Shen Weiwan burst out laughing: "Your Highness, do you want to see your cousin being chased by the nuns?"

"More than that." Xiao Yu raised his eyebrows, a sly look flashing in his eyes. "I also want to take you to the West Market. I heard there's a new shop called 'Candy Cake Tree' that sells candies that look like small trees. Don't you want to plant a candy cake tree?"

Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up, and she had already forgotten the touching feeling just now: "Really? Then let's go!" She grabbed Xiao Yu's sleeve and ran forward. The hem of her skirt swept across the rose bushes, startling a group of butterflies.

Chun Tao followed behind, clutching her food box. Seeing her young lady tugging at the Seventh Prince's sleeve, her eyes curved with laughter, she couldn't help but secretly pinch herself. Was this still the young lady who had been bullied in her previous life and cried under the covers?

When she ran to the garden gate, Shen Weiwan suddenly remembered something and stopped: "By the way, Your Highness, you just said...to protect me in the future, are you serious?"

Xiao Yu looked down at her. The golden light of the setting sun fell on her hair, making her eyes look like falling stars. He reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head. "Of course I'm serious."

Shen Weiwan's cheeks heated up, and she shook off his hand: "Who asked you to touch my head!" She turned and ran out of the house, her voice drifting over, "Go to the West Market to buy sugar cakes, you pay!"

Xiao Yu watched her running away, the smile on his face growing deeper and deeper. Chun Tao followed, holding a food box, and whispered, "Your Highness, my young lady..."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!