Xuanming and the other two only acted like servants because their young master favored them, and thus they were not treated like servants by him.
Their job is to keep a close watch on the young master at all times.
At this moment, all He Jinran could think about was spending the Lantern Festival with his parents in a few days.
Outside the East Palace,
Qiu Xu, Mu Bai, and Mu Xiao stood outside, chatting idly.
Mu Bai: "Qiu Xu, as far as I know, the late Empress was an only child and had no brothers or sisters. So why does Your Highness call you 'Uncle'?"
Mu Bai was genuinely curious, and as he asked this question, Mu Xiao was also secretly listening.
The guards could be quite gossipy at times.
"My sister is a general's wife," Qiu Xu said truthfully.
He only found out after he became familiar with Mu Bai and Mu Xiao.
Both of them were sons of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and he had never told them about his background.
Mu Bai asked in surprise, "What is your relationship with the General's wife?"
“I am her younger brother.”
"The General's wife's younger brother?" Mu Xiao couldn't help but give Qiu Xu a thumbs up. "From now on, you'll have to look after us brothers."
Mu Bai: "Qiu Xu, you're really lucky."
Those with connections are truly exceptional; once they arrive, they can follow His Highness the Crown Prince, and their future careers are sure to be prosperous.
“Both of you are the same, you are no worse than me.” Qiu Xu was telling the truth.
"We're only slightly better than you in martial arts; otherwise, we're inferior in every way," Mu Xiao said, and Mu Bai nodded in agreement.
They remember it very clearly.
On the day Qiu Xu first arrived, His Highness the Crown Prince was going to arrange accommodations for him.
They couldn't compare to that kind of treatment.
And that's not all,
Your Highness currently only allows Qiu Xu to be near you.
And all they are good for is guarding the gate.
"How can you say I'm inferior? You two are too modest," Qiu Xu said with a smile. These two were quite confident. What made them think that his martial arts were inferior to theirs?
These two people subconsciously assumed that he had entered the palace to gain a higher rank simply because he was a person with connections.
Only he himself knew that he was forced into it.
"Uncle, come with me for a walk in the palace." He Jinran had just come out of the study, where he had spent half the day studying policies for governing the country.
Right now, I just want to go out for some fresh air.
As soon as he arrived, he approached Qiu Xu.
The mysterious shadow behind him followed closely at all times.
Even so, the young master gets annoyed just looking at them.
When have they ever been this tired as bodyguards?
Moving forward, what they need are excellent mental fortitude, exceptional memory, and agile movements.
What they need now is a thick skin.
Qiu Xu nodded. "Where is Your Highness going?"
"The Empress Dowager's palace." He Jinran had never been there since he arrived.
After finishing his speech, he didn't forget to say something to Mu Bai and Mu Xiao.
"You two will stay in the East Palace."
He only needed three people with him.
Mu Bai and Mu Xiao wore bitter expressions.
They glanced at Qiu Xu with envy, but could only follow him secretly.
Now, their identities have been switched with Xuanming and Xuanying's.
The late empress's palace
It has remained unchanged for the same period of the past fourteen years.
When He Jinran arrived, he felt a bittersweet feeling as he sensed the unfamiliar yet familiar atmosphere.
Inside the palace courtyard, the most conspicuous place is the plum blossom tree in the center of the courtyard.
At this moment, the plum blossoms are in full bloom.
Accompanied by Qiu Xu, He Jinran entered the bedchamber.
The bedchamber was cleaned daily by palace servants and was very clean.
Inside the sleeping quarters, a portrait of Li Wenshu hung on the wall.
He Jinran quietly looked at the portrait of his mother.
Unconsciously, it merged with the portraits he had seen in his childhood.
The mother in the portrait,
Two golden hairpins adorn her head, and she wears only a light touch of makeup.
Her delicate eyebrows were like autumn water, and her jade-like skin was accompanied by a gentle breeze.
Wearing an emerald green inner shirt and an outer layer of chainmail,
Its beauty surpasses even the frost and snow, its allure is unparalleled...
As he watched, tears welled up in his eyes.
While he felt a longing for his mother, he also felt a growing resentment towards His Majesty.
Why did such a wonderful mother, such a heroic mother, meet He Lin?
Suddenly, he wanted to go back to the general's mansion.
He had only been separated from his mother for a week, but it felt like an eternity.
He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't even notice that there was someone behind him.
That person, too, felt heavy-hearted...
The time after the New Year was spent in a flurry of activity.
The Lantern Festival has arrived as scheduled.
Today, as usual, Gu Qian went to the morning court.
Qin Susu went back to her parents' home and celebrated the festival with them.
To this day, Captain Qin and his wife are unaware that their daughter lives in the general's mansion.
Qin Susu wouldn't say it, and Liang Yuchen certainly wouldn't say it either.
Early in the morning, Qiu Ling'er was summoned out of the general's mansion by Zhou Zifang, and in fact, she could not refuse.
Outside the mansion, on the streets, people came in an endless stream.
Qiu Ling'er followed Zhou Zifang slowly, her eyes darting around as she thought about her family's future business.
Behind them were Zhou Zifang's two guards, Lin Shu and Qin Wu, as well as Cao Shi, who had always been with Qiu Ling'er.
Cao's trip was also intended to allow her to do some shopping and prepare a dowry for her daughter.
Even though her daughter said that she only wanted to follow her young master and had no intention of getting married.
"Ling'er, where has your brother been lately?" Zhou Zifang felt that Ah Xu was unreliable.
"My brother has entered the palace to become a guard." Qiu Ling'er felt something was missing after not seeing her brother for several days.
"Enter the palace? Become a guard?!" Zhou Zifang was extremely surprised.
Qiu Xu's itinerary was completely unexpected for him.
"He's certainly gotten himself a good job," Zhou Zifang said in a low voice.
Qiu Ling'er: "A good job?"
She didn't think that her brother being a royal guard was a good job.
Because it's too difficult for her to see her brother.
“Yes, royal guards are different from other guards. Most of them are sons of officials. Ordinary people are not qualified to enter the palace as guards,” Zhou Zifang explained based on his knowledge.
Qiu Ling'er: "Is that so? Well, that sounds pretty good." She stopped worrying about her brother entering the palace.
"Brother Zifang, it's already the Lantern Festival, why haven't you gone to Baiyang yet?"
"My dad won't let me go." For the first time, Zhou Zifang listened to his father like this.
"Huh? You're not going to take care of Baiyang's business either?" Qiu Ling'er asked in surprise. Her brother Zifang usually wouldn't want to go back to Shangjin no matter what.
“Your uncle and Lu Jia are in charge of the business,” Zhou Zifang said sullenly.
Qiu Dayu has now been promoted by Zhou Zifang to be the manager of Xingyuelou.
"Oh, so you're not going to study anymore?" Qiu Ling'er noticed that Zhou Zifang seemed to be in a bad mood, and her expression became more serious.
"I'm not reading anymore," Zhou Zifang said seriously.
He and Qiu Yan are the same age, and now they are both twenty-five. His greatest achievement is that he has passed the county-level imperial examination.
His parents also realized that he wasn't cut out for studying.
Therefore, we will no longer force him to take the imperial examination route.
Instead, his parents started pressuring him to get married every day.
This morning, Zhou's mother was still arranging a marriage for him.
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