42. You stole a dog! I'm going to report this to His Majesty!

Wenhua Hall

There's still a quarter of an hour before class starts.

Jin Lanyue, who knew nothing about anything, was chatting with the little princess on a mat by the window.

“Little White is so chubby now,” the little dumpling gestured, her eyes crinkling into crescents with laughter. “She can eat three big meatballs in one meal! Yesterday, she even took my handkerchief to her bed.”

The little princess rested her chin on her hand and smiled, "It's a good thing you took it with you. If it had stayed in the palace..."

She lowered her voice slowly: "Wei Jiayou's mother, I'm afraid she's already..."

"Woof!"

A white ball of fluff suddenly jumped out of the book box and ran happily towards them.

The two little ones were terrified.

"Little White?! What are you doing here?" The little dumpling was shocked, rubbing its big eyes with its chubby little hands, wondering if it was seeing things.

The puppy nimbly jumped into her arms, affectionately licking her chin, its tail wagging rhythmically.

The little princess reached out to touch it with delight: "Oh my god, how did it follow us here?"

She looked in the direction the puppy had come from: "It must be hiding in your book box, Little Moon. That clever little devil!"

She tapped Xiaobai's nose: "Do you know that dogs aren't allowed in the Wenhua Hall?"

Little White tilted its head, made two "woof woof" sounds, and then went to lick her palm.

"It's much more energetic than it was in the palace." The little princess gently stroked the puppy. "Look how plump and lively it is. If Wei Jiayou saw it..."

"What are you doing?!"

The palace doors were pushed open with a bang.

The young prince stood at the door, his face ashen, his fingers tightly clutching a blonde, blue-eyed doll.

—This is a rare toy from the West, and he thought the little dumpling would definitely like it.

So, she even forgot that she had recently taken sick leave and was not in a good health to appear at the Wenhua Hall. She only remembered that she had happily brought it to her and wanted to give it to her.

However……

Before he even entered the door, he overheard the conversation between the little dumpling and the little princess.

He couldn't believe it and pushed the door open, only to see the familiar little dog—although it had changed a lot, he could still recognize it at a glance; it was his Little White!

He looked at Xiaobai in disbelief, then at Xiaotuanzi and the little princess, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

“Wei Jiayou…” The little princess hurriedly stood up.

The little dumpling hugged Little White and stammered, "Little prince, we...we..."

"So it really was you!" The young prince's voice trembled, and his eyes instantly reddened. "So you were lying to me from the very beginning!"

"No," the little princess rushed forward, "Wei Jiayou, listen to me..."

"What did you say?" the young prince abruptly interrupted her. "What did you say about how you conspired to steal my dog? Or what did you say about me behind my back?"

Xiao Bai seemed to sense that something was wrong and shrank behind the little dumpling.

“Little Prince,” the little dumpling stepped forward cautiously, “Little White was injured, it needed…”

"Shut up!" the young prince suddenly raised his voice. "What right do you have to make decisions for me?"

His tears finally fell: "It's mine...it's my dog..."

The little princess reached for his hand: "We're just..."

"Don't touch me!" The little prince shook her off and threw the doll he was holding away. "I hate you all!"

"I'm going to complain to Father!" the little prince cried, his eyes red and his voice trembling with tears.

The little princess quickly stopped him: "Wei Jiayou! Calm down and listen to me—"

"Get away!" The little prince turned around abruptly and pushed the little princess away at the same time.

The little princess stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground, accidentally hitting her forehead on the table.

The young prince had already run out of the Wenhua Hall.

Xiao Bai suddenly ran out from behind Jin Lanyue, chased her to the door, barked twice, and then looked back at them, bewildered.

"Little Cloud!" The little dumpling didn't chase after her, but instead ran towards the little princess with a startled cry. When she saw that the little princess's forehead was red, her little hands trembled with fear.

The little princess bit her lip and covered her forehead with her hand: "Did we... do something wrong?"

The little dumpling squatted down, its voice muffled: "I don't know... I'm afraid Xiaobai will die, but Prince Su is very sad..."

Qu Zijin rushed over upon hearing the commotion, and was astonished by what he saw: "What... what's going on?"

"Grand Tutor," the little dumpling wiped away her tears and suddenly stood up, "Look at the little princess. I'm going to find His Majesty."

The little princess opened her eyes wide in surprise: "Little Moon, you..."

"It's all my fault." The little dumpling picked up Little White, her face tense, her voice choked with sobs, "I secretly took Little White away..."

Qu Zijin paused, surprised by Jin Lanyue's handling of this emergency.

While having him take care of the little princess, she frankly admitted her mistakes and took the initiative to face them.

He never expected that a three-year-old child would have such a sense of responsibility.

"But..." The little princess was about to speak when she accidentally touched the red and swollen area while covering her forehead, causing her to gasp in pain, "It hurts!"

"Princess!" Qu Zijin rushed forward to check on her injuries, fearing that she might have suffered a serious injury.

The area where it was hit was red with a slight swelling in the center, but there was no bleeding or bruising, so it didn't seem to be a big problem.

Qu Zijin breathed a slight sigh of relief: "I'll go and call the imperial physician."

He had just stood up when he suddenly felt a surge of emotion—Jin Lanyue and Xiaobai were gone!

-

Imperial Study

Jin Lanyue was easily led inside by the eunuch.

As she approached the room, she heard the little prince crying inside, sobbing as he complained to his father.

The little girl entered the room. Having spent several months in the palace, she now knew quite a bit about etiquette.

At this moment, she knelt down properly with Xiaobai and said in a childish voice, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The little prince immediately pointed at her: "Father! She's the one who stole Little White!"

“Little Prince,” the little dumpling looked at the little prince and said in a clear voice, “I’m sorry.”

She said solemnly, "I shouldn't have taken Xiaobai away secretly, and I shouldn't have kept it from you."

The little prince was stunned; he hadn't expected the little dumpling to admit his mistake so readily.

"I'm just scared," the little dumpling said, its voice trembling slightly. "I feel so sorry for Little White... I'm afraid it will die..."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried her best not to let them fall and explained earnestly to the young prince.

Although his speech was a little unclear, he still managed to speak clearly.

The young prince pursed his lips and remained silent.

Wei Xiuming finally spoke: "Do you know that stealing is a serious crime?"

"I'm sorry," the little dumpling said, head bowed, her tiny hands clutching the hem of her clothes, "but...but Xiaobai really looked like she was about to die..."

As she spoke, she finally couldn't hold back, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing this, Xiaobai quickly went over and licked her face, making comforting "woo woo" sounds.

The air seemed to freeze; the hall was so quiet that you could hear the little dumpling's tense breathing.

The little dumpling lowered its head and saw its tears falling one by one onto the gold brick.

She clutched the hem of her dress tightly, and she thought—

Punish her if you must, just don't hurt Xiaobai.

Although her intentions were good, the outcome was also good.

She stole, and that's wrong.

She is willing to be punished.

And to the side...

The young prince nervously glanced at his father's face, his fingers twisting his sash.

He suddenly began to doubt whether he had done something wrong.

Because right now, Xiaobai is indeed very healthy and happy.

This was completely different from the way he looked when he was by her side, covered in wounds and looking dejected.

They're right. Xiaobai would die if he were with him, but he'd be fine with Xiaotuanzi.

Isn't it too selfish of him to insist that Xiaobai stay by his side?

Even though he clearly saw that Xiaobai was doing well, he still stubbornly insisted on coming to complain, and if the little dumpling was punished because of it...

Thinking of this, he felt a pang in his heart.

Little White nestled at Little Dumpling's feet, its wet nose gently touching her calf, but it dared not bark as usual.

Wei Xiuming tapped his fingers lightly on the dragon table, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two children.

The young prince noticed his father's gaze fixed on him, and his heart clenched instantly.

Finally, Wei Xiuming shifted his gaze and fixed it on the little dumpling.

“Princess Fukang.” Wei Xiuming suddenly spoke, startling Jin Lanyue so much that her shoulders trembled.