Seeing the two men hesitating, Xiao Ruyu stepped forward and threw herself into Duan Yiling's arms, raising her head with tears in her eyes.

[Just go and search. If we can find Lu Zongyuan, my stinky brother's illness can be cured.]

[You have made great contributions, and your uncle will not blame us. ]

Duan Yiheng was more calm and felt that this matter was a bit abrupt. He squatted down and said to comfort her, "We understand the little princess's feelings, but now that her father disagrees, we have no other choice."

He looked at Xiao Ruyu helplessly. Although he was heartbroken, he could not think of a good solution.

Duan Yiling, however, remained quiet, seemingly thinking about something.

He suddenly said, "Wait, I have a solution."

Xiao Ruyu and Duan Yiheng looked at him at the same time, stopped crying, and asked expectantly.

[Brother Yiling, do you have any good ideas? ]

Duan Yiling smiled slyly and whispered something in their ears.

Duan Yiheng's expression changed slightly, and he rejected it, "No, we can't do this rashly."

However, Xiao Ruyu thought this was a good idea, and immediately wrapped her arms around Duan Yiheng, with a hint of coquettishness in her soft and soft voice.

【As long as we search faster, we won’t be discovered. 】

Duan Yiheng nodded after being fooled, and turned to Duan Yiling and said, "Brother, you come with me. The little princess will wait here first."

Half an hour later, the two men sneaked back.

Meeting Xiao Ruyu's expectant gaze, Duan Yiheng pulled out a smile and took out a dark military token from his arms.

Got it! The military token to dispatch the officers and soldiers of the capital!

Just now Duan Yiling suddenly remembered that there was a military token in Marquis Duan's mansion. If he got it, he could dispatch soldiers to search without telling Marquis Duan.

Xiao Ruyu raised her lips and smiled, looking at the two of them with admiration.

[Then we will dispatch officers and soldiers to search immediately! ]

She came forward and kissed both of them on the face.

Duan Yiling, who got the "benefit", smiled from ear to ear and patted his chest.

"Don't worry, little princess. Leave it to us!"

When the people from the Ministry of War saw Duan Yiheng and Duan Yiling coming, they came out respectfully to greet them.

"Young Master of the Marquis' Mansion, why are you here?"

Duan Yiheng cleared his throat, looked calm, took out a military token from his bosom, and spoke in a serious manner.

"I am here on my father's orders to dispatch officers and soldiers to search the city for the Lu clan's evil followers!"

Although the people from the Ministry of War were suspicious, they immediately knelt down and saluted after seeing the genuine military token.

"Yes, we will take people to search now!"

Xiao Ruyu followed behind and saw that the task was accomplished. She showed her pearly teeth slightly and was about to throw herself into Duan Yiheng's arms but was stopped by Eleven.

Eleven lowered her voice, indicating that it was getting late, "Little Princess, we should go back to the palace, otherwise the Queen will find out."

It had been more than half a day since they came out. As dusk was approaching, Xiao Ruyu reluctantly said goodbye to her two cousins ​​and hurried towards the palace in small steps.

As long as she returned before dinner, Empress Duan would not notice that she had sneaked out of the palace again.

On the long street, Xiao Ruyu was flapping his legs towards the palace when a sedan chair suddenly blocked his way.

"Mother...Mother..."

Queen Duan sat upright on the sedan chair, her face unclear. She lowered her eyes to look at Xiao Ruyu and spoke slowly.

"I haven't seen Yu'er all afternoon. Where did she go?"

Oh no, how could I run into my mother?

Xiao Ruyu muttered to himself that he was unlucky, his mind was working quickly, and he spoke hesitantly.

[Eleven and I went to Master’s place in the afternoon...]

She didn't dare look up at Queen Duan, for fear of being seen through by her.

"oh?"

Empress Duan raised her voice, stepped down from the sedan chair, leaned over and picked up Xiao Ruyu, "I just came back from the imperial physician's visit. Which master did Yu'er go to see?"

【Mother, I was wrong. 】

Seeing that he couldn't hide the truth from her, Xiao Ruyu simply admitted his mistake quickly, hung his head in frustration, and leaned against Queen Duan's neck.

[I just went with Eleven to investigate the matter of Lu Zongyuan. We want to capture him as soon as possible.]

Queen Duan sighed softly and touched her head, with a hint of helplessness in her words.

"Yu'er, don't get involved in the court's affairs anymore."

"That's fine this time, but next time you can't leave the palace so capriciously."

What she said was exactly the same as what Lord Duan said. Xiao Ruyu was somewhat unconvinced and struggled to jump out of her arms.

[Why doesn't mother allow me to investigate? This concerns the safety of my stinky brother! ]

Seeing that Queen Duan didn't understand her, she felt aggrieved.

Empress Duan saw her tears falling and quickly wiped them with a handkerchief, "Why are you crying again for no reason?"

"I don't want Yu'er to always get involved in the court's affairs. There is a reason for that..."

[Mother, do you think that as a princess, I should be like those women from famous families in the capital? ]

[She has lived in the boudoir for a long time, hidden deep in the harem, and cannot go out and flaunt herself in the streets. ]

【Is it right?】

Xiao Ruyu turned her head away stubbornly, refusing to let her wipe her tears, with tears in her eyes.

Queen Duan's hand holding the handkerchief froze, and there was confusion in her eyes.

"Little Princess, you have to take on the responsibility of a princess. Otherwise, with so many eyes staring at you..."

Xiao Ruyu could no longer listen to her words. Her vision was blurred by tears, and she argued with her with all her might.

[But that's not the life I want. ]

[I just want my stinky little brother to get better soon. ]

"I can't do anything to you. You can do whatever you want. I won't care about you anymore."

Empress Duan was also a little angry. She stood up and returned to the sedan chair, "The emperor has summoned me. Yu'er, go back by yourself."

After saying that, she asked Madam Cui to leave and left Xiao Ruyu's sight.

Seeing Queen Duan leave, Xiao Ruyu also became angry with her and went straight back to the palace.

She didn't even go to eat dinner, and stayed in bed crying quietly.

I fell asleep while crying, and when I woke up again, it was already late at night.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Xiao Ruyu touched her stomach helplessly, stood up and found that Eleven had come without her knowing.

He handed the food to Xiao Ruyu and said, "The little princess must be starving. Eat something quickly."

Xiao Ruyu pouted, feeling really aggrieved.

[Eleven, why don’t you think my mother trusts me? ]

[I don’t want to be trapped in these high-walled mansions like those ladies from wealthy families.]

When she said this, her tears almost fell into the bowl.

Eleven was about to say something but stopped himself and gently wiped away her tears.

"The little princess may have misunderstood the queen..."

He suddenly brought up something, "Little Princess, do you still remember the last time we returned to the palace, the Queen came to see Eleven late at night?"

Xiao Ruyu stopped crying and looked at him with her head tilted in confusion.

【Why do you bring this up suddenly? 】

"That day, the Queen did not come to reprimand Eleven, but..."

"Tell Eleven that she knows the little princess is not someone who can be easily conquered, and she will never willingly be trapped in these red walls."