Seeing that Gao Yuan had walked away, Xiao Liyan returned to sit next to Xiao Liyun, looking quite puzzled.

"Gao Yuanren is a decent person, these past few years..."

"Fine, if you don't like him, I'm not going to interfere in your relationship."

"But don't let any bad men outside fool you, okay? After all, you're still my sister~"

Xiao Liyan pinched Xiao Liyun's cheek and said casually, "I wonder what kind of Erlang will catch my Ayun's eye in the future? Will he be a refined gentleman? Or a cheerful one? Or...?"

"Stop teasing me," Xiao Liyun said helplessly, grabbing the hand pinching her face. "I don't want to get married; I just want to stay by Ayan's side."

"That's hard to say. Maybe one day you'll see the Erlang who captures your heart," Xiao Liyan said, pointing to Xiao Liyun's chest.

Xiao Liyun lowered her head and gently squeezed Xiao Liyan's fingers, her eyes smiling but her expression very serious. "No."

"What?"

Have you prepared Mr. Qi's birthday gift?

Xiao Liyun changed the subject, and upon hearing this, Xiao Liyan remembered and pulled Xiao Liyun's hand, saying, "Come on, the things should be ready today. Come with me to get them."

Xiao Liyun followed behind Xiao Liyan step by step, smiling as she looked at the figure in front of her.

——————

"Miss and Miss Xiao have arrived. Please come inside and have a seat. The master will be here in a little while," Qi Xin's personal guard said, leading Xiao Liyan into the main hall before leaving.

After a while, Qi Xin was helped in by his personal guards.

"How come everyone... is here?"

Seeing Qi Xin's pale face, Xiao Liyan's expression darkened, then she smiled faintly and walked to Qi Xin's side to support him.

"Godfather, it's your birthday today, of course we're all here."

"Ahem...you little rascal, come and sit down."

After Qi Xin sat down, he asked everyone to take their seats. Qi Xin looked at Qin Jue, then at Gao Yuan, and finally settled on Cheng Peng. After they finished eating...

Qi Xin dismissed everyone, leaving only Qin Jue behind.

"What do you think of... cough cough... Yuanyuan?"

"Miss is naturally the best."

Qi Xin squinted at Qin Jue, who was staring directly at him, and chuckled, "Heh... the best? But you don't belong here. Leave."

Qin Jue pursed her lips but didn't speak.

"Alright, you can leave now. Cough...cough, we'll leave tomorrow, take Yuanyuan with you."

Qi Xin covered his mouth with a handkerchief, turned his back, and refused to look at Qin Jue.

"Protect Yuanyuan well, so you won't regret it later."

After bowing, Qin Jue left Qi Xin's residence. Against the backdrop of the night, Qin Jue's expression appeared even more indifferent.

After Qin Jue left, Qi Xin held the jade gourd that Xiao Liyan had given him and smiled.

——————

"Brother Qin, where did my godfather ask you to take me?"

"Going to the capital"

Xiao Liyan sat by the river, her feet in the water, and turned to look at Qin Jue in the distance.

"Take your feet out of the river, or your stomach will get cold," Qin Jue said, walking over to Xiao Liyan and pulling her feet out of the water. He wiped them with his clothes and then prepared to put on her shoes and socks.

"No, Brother Qin, I can do it myself."

Qin Jue continued putting shoes and socks on Xiao Liyan without stopping.

Do you know what touching a girl's feet means?

"Hmm?" Qin Jue lowered his eyelids, his expression unreadable, then raised his head and looked at Xiao Liyan.

"Talking to you is really infuriating," Xiao Liyan said, turning her head away when she saw Qin Jue's puzzled expression.

Standing under the tree, Xiao Liyun looked at the two people by the river, pursed her lips, and turned to walk to the horse.

"Ah Yan, we should get going."

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Liyan immediately stood up and walked towards Xiao Liyun, ignoring Qin Jue.

Qin Jue looked up and met Xiao Liyun's gaze in the distance.

"Ayan, it's not even midsummer yet, the river water is still quite cool, don't catch a cold."

"Okay," Xiao Liyan said with a reassuring smile.

They then turned and mounted their horses, continuing their journey towards the capital.

After arriving in the capital, Qin Jue found a courtyard to settle down.

After dinner that evening, he looked at Xiao Liyan and said, "After I've explained, you can see how you arrange things."

"My master asked me to take you away, firstly because his health is failing and he may not be able to protect you anymore, and secondly because he hopes you can go out and see the world."

My master asked me to tell you not to go back.

Xiao Liyan gave a wry smile after hearing this, "Just as I thought."

Then, she knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction of the entire city. After she finished kowtowing, Xiao Liyun helped Xiao Liyan up.

"There's one more thing, which is personal. I hope you can take her with you when you leave here," he said to Xiao Liyun.

"Why?" Xiao Liyan asked, displeased. "And why are you kicking me out?"

"My identity will cause you trouble, even harm, in the future. I hope you can leave and protect yourself."

As Qin Jue spoke, his hand clenched into a fist under the table.

"It's okay, I'm not afraid of trouble. As for whether I'll get hurt, we'll talk about that later. Anyway, I'm not leaving."

"Brother Qin, now that you've brought me out, don't even think about abandoning me."

Hearing Xiao Liyan's words, Qin Jue breathed a sigh of relief, and his clenched fist slowly relaxed.

"Whatever you say," Qin Jue said, picking up his teacup and taking a sip. The teacup just barely concealed the slight smile on his lips.

Xiao Liyan turned to look at Xiao Liyun, and before she could speak, Xiao Liyun said, "Wherever Ayan is, that's where I'll be."

The three of them then explained the whole story in the house.

——————

"I never expected that bastard child to still be alive, and even start threatening me."

"For almost a year, they've been opposing me at every turn."

Liu Wei dug her nails into the palace maid's arm, then noticed the note under the plate of pastries. She asked the maid to bring it to her and began to read it.

"Returning to the palace, haha, you think you'll regain favor just by coming back? It'll only hasten your demise."

Then he whispered in the maid's ear