Looking at Qiu Jingfan like this, Lin Yuxin felt that he looked somewhat like the first time they met.
"You should smile more often, it looks really good!"
Lin Yuxin looked at his smile and praised him.
"Yeah?"
Qiu Jingfan's raised lips paused, and he asked a question softly, as if he were asking himself.
He was neglected from a young age. Unlike his older brothers and younger brothers who had the support of their powerful maternal clan, even if they caused trouble, their father would not punish them, at most he would just scold them.
But he was different. He and Qiu Qiyi were both children of palace maids. Qiu Qiyi's mother died in childbirth, and he was raised by a palace maid who was close to his mother. However, he was executed when he was three years old.
Because his identity as a prince was exposed, the concubines could not tolerate him and wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Qiu Qiyi, but they accidentally killed the palace maid who raised him.
From then on, no one brought Qiu Qiyi food. He began to hide and steal food to grow up. Sometimes when he was caught, he would be severely beaten. The palace maids and eunuchs were under orders from the concubines and never hesitated to beat him.
Even if the emperor knew, he wouldn't care. After all, the child's death was an accident, so it didn't matter whether he lived or died.
Qiu Qiyi's personality became increasingly extreme and ruthless. Anyone who dared to lay a hand on him would be killed by him in retaliation, and his methods were extremely cruel.
Once, because his mother was being bullied, he was in a bad mood and hid away. He accidentally saw him taking a stone and viciously smashing it on the head of a eunuch, smashing it until blood and bones jingled, but he didn't let go.
He only stopped after the eunuch died, and then buried the eunuch in the Imperial Garden. Only he knew about this.
It was from that time that he began to be wary of Qiu Qiyi.
Later, no matter how much he fought with those brothers, he never dared to openly compete with Qiu Qiyi.
But now, in order to survive, I have no choice but to fight him.
He was just a little luckier. His mother was promoted after giving birth to him, but she was still just a beauty. In a palace where concubines were as numerous as hairs on a cow, she was just a nobody who could be crushed at any time.
In addition, the emperor disliked his mother and never visited their courtyard. Even so, the concubines would come to bully them from time to time.
His mother also struggled to survive in the cracks of society to raise him, so he knew from a young age the ugliness of human nature.
As he grew older, he began to work hard in order to make his mother's life easier. Gradually, he stood out among the princes and caught the eye of his father, the emperor. He then entered the Imperial Academy to study with the crown prince and his third brother.
He outwitted and outmaneuvered his brothers, all he wanted was a place for him and his mother to live.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Lin Yuxin didn't say anything more. The two sat for a while, and then Qiu Jingfan went back. They agreed that after deciding on the number of people to go next month, they would go together.
"Is the princess also going?"
Qiu Jingfan looked at Lin Yuxin with surprise.
"What? Can't I go sightseeing and see the scenery of Zhao?"
Lin Yuxin rolled her eyes. What, you look down on women?
"No, we're not going back to play around! People will die! Isn't it better for a princess like you to stay in the capital?"
Qiu Jingfan was very puzzled. Why did Lin Yuxin like to go to dangerous places?
"This is none of your business. Are you alright? If you are, go back now! I need to go back for my lunch break."
Lin Yuxin didn't want to waste words with him and simply kicked him out.
As it turned out, not long after Qiu Jingfan left, Lin Yuxin also failed to get her lunch break, because Cheng Tinghao arrived.
"Xiao Hao? What brings you here?"
Lin Yuxin was pleasantly surprised to see Xiao Hao. She took his hand, patted his head, and asked him curiously.
"Sister, are you really going to marry the Regent?"
Cheng Tinghao held Lin Yuxin's hand and asked reluctantly.
"Hehe, yes! Why do you ask that?"
Looking at Cheng Tinghao's aggrieved face, Lin Yuxin asked with amusement.
She hadn't seen these expressions on Xiao Hao's face in a long time. He usually looked like a grown-up. Had the sun risen in the west today?
"Xiao Hao doesn't want his sister to get married. Sister, why don't you wait for Xiao Hao and wait for him to grow up and marry you?"
Xiao Hao gritted his teeth and looked at Lin Yuxin with a serious expression.
"Hehehe! Xiao Hao, what are you thinking? Even if I get married, I'll still be your sister. I won't abandon you. Besides, you're only six years old now, and I'm already sixteen. When you grow up, I'll be an old maid. Who will want me then?"
"And when you grow up, you will meet a wonderful girl like your sister who will be your wife, and you will be happy for the rest of your lives."
Lin Yuxin looked at Xiao Hao with amusement and said softly.
She roughly understood what Xiao Hao was thinking. He was worried that she wouldn't be happy after she got married, or that she wouldn't want him anymore. He felt uneasy and wanted to get comfort from her.
It's a bit like pre-wedding jitters, feeling uneasy about the uncertainty of the future. However, this phenomenon didn't appear in her and Li Xiaochen, but it appeared in a child.
This made Lin Yuxin burst into laughter.
"I just want my sister to be with me, I don't want anyone else!"
Cheng Tinghao stubbornly clung to Lin Yuxin's waist and wouldn't let go, saying in a spoiled manner.
"Let me go!!"
Li Xiaochen's sharp voice came from outside, startling Cheng Tinghao, who quickly hid behind Lin Yuxin.
Lin Yuxin looked up at the sound and saw Li Xiaochen striding towards her, followed by Xiao Lizi and a group of palace servants carrying trays covered with red cloth.
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