Guo Luoluo paused for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Oh, I see. Heyue, although countless people have tried to befriend me in the past, I still quite like you. See you again someday."

After saying that, he smiled brightly, turned around and left.

He Yue was stunned. She wanted to call out to her, but ultimately gave up, and a sense of loss welled up in her heart.

So, was I really overthinking it? She didn't recognize me.

"Hey, let's go." Yan Yue tugged at He Yue's sleeve as she looked at her in a daze.

Heyue was sullen and followed Yanyue to the official residence, and then returned to the outside of the Qianqing Palace.

At that moment, Marhan was pacing back and forth outside the Qianqing Palace with his hands behind his back. When Irgen Gioro saw them return, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Heyue and Yanyue exchanged a glance and quickly stepped forward.

"Father, Mother, what happened?" they both asked in unison.

Before Lady Irgen Gioro could speak, Marhan pointed an enraged finger at Heyue: "What happened? How dare you say that? Who gave you the audacity to beat the Thirteenth Prince and keep it from your father?"

Father rarely lost his temper like this. Upon hearing this, Heyue and Yanyue's hearts skipped a beat, their faces changed, and they lowered their heads, feeling extremely guilty.

Indeed, since Consort Zhangjia mentioned this matter earlier, Father must have already learned about it. Since things have come to this point, there's nothing more to say. Heyue dared not meet Father's furious eyes and quietly admitted her mistake: "Father, your daughter was wrong."

Yan Yue was also worried, and said softly and coquettishly, "Father, Seventh Sister did it for me, so please don't blame her. If you want to blame someone, blame Sixth Sister. It was Sixth Sister who didn't take good care of Seventh Sister."

"We'll talk about your matter when we get home!" Marhan snapped at Yan Yue, his anger growing. Yan Yue shrank back, not daring to say another word.

Suppressing his anger, Marhan instructed Irgen Gioro: "Take Xiao Liu back to the manor first."

Irgen Gioro opened her mouth, looked at Heyue, but ultimately said nothing more. She sighed, took Yanyue's hand, and said, "Little Six, you go back with your mother."

“Mother, Seventh Sister…” Yan Yue said anxiously, still worried about Seventh Sister. Irgen Gioro interrupted her calmly, “Seventh Sister will be alright.” Then she pulled her away.

Yan Yue had no choice but to swallow her words and silently pray for her seventh sister.

As Heyue watched her mother and sixth sister leave, leaving only herself and her father, she swallowed hard, feeling uneasy. Just as she was about to say a few nice words to please her father, Marhan slapped her across the face with a crisp "smack".

Heyue was stunned by the blow, covering her face, filled with shock and grievance, her eyes quickly reddening.

Waaah, my father is really angry. In my memory, he has never laid a hand on me, or even cursed at me. This time, he hit me so hard.

Heyue burst into tears, feeling wronged. Malhan's eyes flashed with heartache, but he stubbornly refrained from offering any words of comfort, and instead sternly rebuked her: "Kneel down!"

Heyue pouted, knelt down in a daze, head bowed, heartbroken.

Marhan also knelt down in the direction of the Qianqing Palace and shouted loudly, "Your humble servant Marhan, along with my daughter, requests an audience with Your Majesty."

A moment later, Wei Zhu came out and, seeing the scene before him, said with a smile, "Lord Marhan, the Emperor summons you in."

Marhan stood up, tightly pulled Heyue into the Qianqing Palace, and kept his head down all the way to the East Warm Pavilion, where he knelt down and said, "This servant Marhan respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health."

Heyue knelt down with Marhan.

"No need for formalities." Emperor Kangxi said calmly from above. Marhan thanked him but did not rise. "This servant is guilty and has come to apologize to Your Majesty."

"Oh? What crime have you committed?" Kangxi's voice, full of interest, came from behind him.

"My youngest daughter did not recognize the Thirteenth Prince's identity that day and beat him. It was due to my poor upbringing that my daughter committed an unforgivable mistake. I beg Your Majesty to punish her." Marhan's voice was deep and resolute.

Emperor Kangxi was silent for a moment, then laughed: "I just summoned the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince to inquire about what happened, and you came here. In my opinion, the Thirteenth Prince was indeed at fault first. You don't need to apologize. Get up."

Marhan was taken aback, then said, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty," and stood up.

"Is this the little girl who beat up the thirteenth prince? Raise your head and let me see what kind of three heads and six arms she has that made her able to beat down my thirteenth prince." Kangxi asked with great interest.

Marhan was sweating profusely and extremely embarrassed.

To everyone's surprise, Heyue did not raise her head for a long time. Kangxi was puzzled and spoke again: "Raise your head." This time, his voice contained a hint of authority.

Marhan quickly intervened, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, I fear I might offend Your Majesty's eyes."

Emperor Kangxi laughed in exasperation: "Don't try to play games with me. What kind of fierce-looking person could she possibly be?"

"Your Majesty is joking." Marhan smiled awkwardly and gestured amiably: "Raise your head."

Heyue slowly raised her head, looking directly at Kangxi behind the imperial desk. Her cheeks were red and swollen, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but her eyes were clear and fearless.

Kangxi was stunned for a moment. The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince, who were standing to the side, glanced at her and their expressions changed instantly. One of them frowned but quickly concealed his emotions and lowered his eyes. The other stared at Heyue in surprise, motionless for a long time.

"Marhan, what is the reason for this?" Kangxi pointed at Heyue, his face dark and clearly displeased.

Marhan knelt down again with a thud: "Your Majesty, I only just learned that my daughter was so audacious as to beat a prince. I feel truly sorry for Your Majesty, and I was also angry that my daughter was so ignorant, so I beat her in a fit of anger."

"Hmph!" Kangxi slammed his hand on the imperial desk, laughing in exasperation: "How could you lay a hand on such a small child? I have always heard that you are a loving husband and father. Look at this, look at this, a beautiful little girl has been beaten like this, her eyes are all swollen from crying. If I didn't know, I would doubt whether she is your biological daughter."

Marhan lowered his head even further, filled with fear: "It was my impulsiveness, but it was my daughter who hit someone. It was my fault for not teaching her properly. I am so disappointed in her. Although I am angry with my daughter, I am even angrier with myself. Although I hit my daughter, my heart is bleeding. But I do not want my daughter to learn that reckless and unruly nature, so I had to teach her a lesson."

"Enough, enough, stop with the nonsense. Don't I know you? Judging from your appearance, I can't do anything about her. But I'm not an unreasonable person. Since I said I wouldn't hold it against her, I'll keep my word. However, I heard that this girl got into a fight with someone outside the Qianqing Palace and was slapped. Now you've hit her too. It's pitiful. Don't you feel sorry for your precious daughter? How could you be so cruel?"

Kangxi saw through his thoughts, but he was not angry; instead, his tone was somewhat teasing.

Marhan was filled with shame and kowtowed, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."