45. Not a single drop of rain or dew can be distributed evenly.

The Imperial Study.

After a thorough examination, the imperial physician confirmed that the two children and the puppy were only slightly frightened and were otherwise unharmed.

The little princess's forehead wound had been bandaged up, and she was now sitting at a round table with the little prince, eating pastries that had just been delivered from the imperial kitchen.

Wei Xiuming absentmindedly pinched a piece of pastry, his eyes frequently glancing towards the corner of the hall.

There, Qu Zijin was holding Jin Lanyue and gently coaxing her.

The little dumpling's eyes were red and watery from crying, and there were still traces of tears on her pink cheeks. Her soft hair was half loose, with a few strands sticking to her forehead, making her look pitiful yet adorable.

"Are you still scared?" Qu Zijin gently wiped away the tears on Xiao Tuanzi's face with a handkerchief, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

The little dumpling shook her head, her tiny hands clutching Qu Zijin's collar, refusing to let go: "Grand Tutor, isn't Yue'er utterly useless..."

"How could that be?" Qu Zijin pinched her little face tenderly. "Teacher was so brave today, she saved Xiaobai."

As if it understood, Little White immediately responded with soft whimpers, straightened up, and stretched out its front paws to paw at the little dumpling. Unfortunately, its legs and paws were too short to reach it, and it cried out in frustration, which finally made the little dumpling smile.

When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, and tears still clung to her eyelashes, glistening in the light.

Wei Xiuming felt inexplicably uneasy as he watched this scene.

So he picked up a piece of pastry and deliberately raised his voice to himself, "Which imperial chef made this pastry? It's sweet but not cloying, and melts in your mouth. It tastes very good."

Sure enough, the little dumpling's ears twitched, and it turned its head curiously.

Taking the opportunity, Wei Xiuming waved the pastries in his hand: "Want to try some?"

Seeing this, the little princess immediately chimed in knowingly, "These pastries are delicious, and they have sweet fillings inside!"

The little dumpling hesitated, glancing at Qu Zijin and then at the pastries in Wei Xiuming's hand, her face filled with struggle.

Qu Zijin couldn't help but chuckle. He bent down, put her down, and gently nudged her, saying, "Go on."

The little dumpling immediately fluttered towards Wei Xiuming like a butterfly: "Yue'er wants to eat!"

Wei Xiuming personally fed the pastries to the little dumpling's mouth, and watching her happily nibble on them, the inexplicable sourness in his heart finally dissipated.

He then picked her up and placed her on his lap, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips: "Eat slowly, don't choke."

The young prince quietly leaned closer and handed over the pastries he was holding: "This...this is delicious too."

"Mmm, thank you..." The little dumpling held one in each hand, taking a bite of each one with equal care, "Mmm, so good! So good!"

As the little dumpling ate, its eyelids began to droop involuntarily.

Her little head bobbed up and down like a chick pecking at rice, and crumbs of pastry fell all over her.

"It seems the teacher is sleepy." Qu Zijin walked over, knelt down, gently took the pastries from her hands, and wiped her little hands, which were covered with pastry crumbs, with a handkerchief.

The little dumpling snuggled into Qu Zijin's arms in a daze, rubbed its little face against his chest, and settled into a comfortable position without moving.

The little dumpling in his arms was taken away in the same way again, and Wei Xiuming was a little unhappy.

But he's an adult, not a child anymore, so he won't directly express his likes or dislikes.

So he cleared his throat and asked with concern, "Does my dear minister still have lessons to teach today?"

Qu Zijin gently patted the little boy's back and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I think it's best to skip today's class. The prince, princess, and county princess have been frightened and it's not suitable for them to continue their studies today. Also... I'd like to send the county princess back to her residence to rest first."

Wei Xiuming's gaze fell on the little dumpling's sleeping face. He unconsciously reached out to touch her hair, but then withdrew his hand halfway: "Alright."

There was a hint of disappointment in his tone that he himself didn't realize.

The little princess keenly sensed her father's mood and leaned closer to whisper, "If Father likes Little Moon, he can just summon her to the palace to play another day."

Wei Xiuming coughed lightly, feigning seriousness: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

But she couldn't help glancing at Qu Zijin's arms again.

Qu Zijin didn't notice his movements, but carefully got up, afraid of waking the little one in his arms.

The little dumpling smacked its lips in its sleep, its little hand unconsciously gripping Qu Zijin's clothes.

"Your subject takes his leave," Qu Zijin said, bowing.

Upon seeing this, Xiaobai immediately scrambled up from Wei Xiuming's feet, wagged its tail, and followed him.

As Wei Xiuming watched the group of people leave, he suddenly found the pastries no longer appealing.

Looking at her son and daughter in front of her, and thinking about their "glorious achievements," she felt they weren't so appealing after all.

"Father?" The little prince timidly offered a piece of pastry. "This...this is delicious..."

"And this! Father, try it!" The little princess wasn't as afraid of the little prince as she was, and excitedly handed him a piece of pastry.

Wei Xiuming snapped out of his daze, took the pastries from his son and daughter, and patted their heads one by one: "Yes, thank you."

—Never mind, the child is alright.

-

The residence of the Marquis of Beiding.

Qu Zijin stepped off the carriage quietly, carrying the sleeping Jin Lanyue into the mansion, with Xiaobai obediently following behind.

The little dumpling's face still bore traces of tears, and her long eyelashes cast faint shadows on her cheeks.

The servants at the mansion quickly made the announcement.

"What's going on?" Jiang Xiyue and Marquis Beiding rushed over when they heard that Qu Zijin had suddenly come to visit with his daughter.

Upon seeing their daughter's appearance, the two rushed over, their voices trembling.

Qu Zijin lowered his voice and explained, "Something happened in the palace today..."

He recounted the events in detail, and added at the end: "...Fortunately, His Majesty was wise and not only bestowed Xiaobai upon the teacher, but also punished Consort Shu by confining her to her quarters."

"What?!" Marquis Beiding roared in fury, but fearing to wake his daughter, he forced a low voice. "How dare Consort Shu treat my daughter like this? Does she really think my Marquis's mansion has no one to rely on?! Does she really think I'm just a useless person?!"

Jiang Xiyue stroked the little dumpling's face tenderly: "My poor Yue'er, she must have been terrified."

Qu Zijin said softly, "Teacher is very brave. Today, we are grateful that she made the decisive move to go to His Majesty."

Jiang Xiyue couldn't help but turn away and wipe her tears: "Yes, if it weren't for Yue'er's cleverness in getting help in time, otherwise..."

She only got halfway through her sentence before she couldn't continue.

Otherwise, who knows what might happen?

Two defenseless children were captured by Consort Shu and her men, and the puppy was beaten to death in front of her daughter. This would inevitably cause great psychological trauma to her daughter, and this psychological shadow may accompany her for the rest of her life.

Even more terrifying is that Consort Shu might do something to her daughter in private...

Jiang Xiyue didn't dare to think any further.

Just hearing about what happened to her daughter today made her feel like she was suffocating, her heart aching so much she could hardly breathe.

Although her daughter wasn't born into wealth or privilege, she was still pampered and cherished by her family. She had never encountered anything so dangerous before.

“Madam,” Marquis Beiding gently patted her shoulder, comforting her, “Why don’t you take Yue’er downstairs to rest for a while? I would like to have a private talk with Grand Tutor Qu.”

"Okay." Jiang Xiyue nodded, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, took the little dumpling from Qu Zijin, and left with her daughter in her arms.

-

When Jin Lanyue woke up, she found herself on her familiar bed, with Xiao Bai curled up at her feet, fast asleep.

She immediately jumped out of bed and ran barefoot outside, calling out, "Mother! Father!"

"Slow down." Jiang Xiyue was sitting in the outer room. Hearing the voice, she immediately got up and hugged the little dumpling who was rushing towards her. "Be careful not to fall."

She looked at her youngest daughter with concern, fearing that something bad might happen to her after being so frightened today.

However, to everyone's surprise, the little dumpling looked fine.

"Mommy, Mommy!" The little dumpling danced with excitement. "Little White is Moon's! The Little Prince and Moon are friends! I can even bring the puppy to play with us!"

She then puffed out her little chest and said proudly, "Yue'er was amazing today! Yue'er saved the little prince and Xiaobai!"

Just then, Marquis Beiding pushed open the door and came in. Hearing this, he walked over, squatted down, and pinched her little nose with a smile: "Father has heard about it too. Our Yue'er is really amazing."

Jiang Xiyue gently tidied her messy hair, saying, "Yes, our Yue'er is the bravest."

The excited little dumpling didn't notice the secret glances exchanged between her parents.