In the East Palace, Pei Yan accompanied Tao Ti back to Yaoguang Palace.

After traveling for so many days and drinking two glasses of wine at night, Tao Ti fell into a deep sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The window was half open, and the breeze made the candlelight flicker, shining through the smoky pink curtains and onto her sleeping face.

Pei Yan bent down, tucked the quilt for her, and stared at her for a long time.

Thinking of how she had stood up for him in front of her father, Pei Yan's handsome face revealed an extremely gentle smile, and his fingers gently stroked her face.

He murmured, "Artie is so nice."

Soon, Pei Yan let down the curtains, walked slowly out of the bedroom and went to the side hall.

The door of the side hall was tightly closed, but the windows were wide open, and wind was blowing in.

Gu Feng, dressed in a black robe, was already waiting at the table with a sword in his arms.

Seeing Pei Yanlai, he stood up and saluted, and said jokingly, "Your Highness, did you coax the Crown Princess to sleep?"

Pei Yan smiled gently, "The little girl is very well behaved. She fell asleep as soon as she lay down. I didn't even need to coax her."

Gu Feng, "..."

What's with this boastful tone?

Gu Feng shook his head and sighed, "I didn't expect that the Crown Princess, who looks so delicate and gentle, is actually quite courageous. When that bottle hit me last time, my heart skipped a beat."

Later, when he saw them both fall into the water, he was extremely nervous, but due to the situation, he couldn't help but go ahead.

"It was indeed very sudden. Even I was startled." Pei Yan spread his hands helplessly and smiled, "But her accident this time made father more convinced that the assassination was done by King Mu. Father has decided to get rid of King Mu..."

Gu Feng said, "This is a good thing. King Mu has been doing evil in Luoyang for many years, and he should have been dealt with long ago."

Pei Yan said, "If I am not mistaken, the imperial edict to punish Prince Mu will be sent to Luoyang tomorrow. By then, Prince Mu and his family will be taken back to Chang'an... Prince Mu and the Zhou family are in collusion, and if something happens to Prince Mu, the Zhou family will definitely be uneasy. At the dinner today, my father directly said in front of Zhou that he would kill Prince Mu. First, it was a warning, and second, it was a warning. It is very likely that Zhou will kill Prince Mu on the way to Beijing."

Gu Feng frowned and asked, "Then your subordinates sent people to secretly escort King Mu and his family?"

Pei Yan hummed softly, "At least let them fight each other."

Gu Feng agreed, and as if remembering something, he said, "The decree for Zheng Xuan to take over as the prefect of Luoyang Prefecture has been issued this morning. As for the person who will take over the position of Mu Wangfu Mu, according to the information we have obtained, it is very likely to be the prince of Yu Wang."

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes, "Prince Yu."

Gu Feng said, "Although Prince Yu has always favored you, Your Highness, this Prince Yu has been in frequent contact with the Third Prince recently..."

Pei Yan hesitated for a moment, "Well, I will find a suitable opportunity to visit my fourth uncle and play two games of chess with him."

Knowing that His Highness had something in mind, Gu Feng said no more and turned his attention to Pei Yan's injury.

Seeing Pei Yan's happy face, Gu Feng chuckled, "It seems that the relationship between Your Highness and the Crown Princess has improved a lot after this dangerous encounter."

Pei Yan raised his lips, his handsome face full of smiles, "Well, everything is fine now."

Gu Feng nodded, "When the master and his family return to Chang'an, they will see that you and the Crown Princess are so loving and affectionate, and they will definitely be happy for you."

At this point, he added, "The master and his family have already arrived in Jincheng. The old lady is old, and the weather is getting hot. The master is afraid that if he rushes, the old lady's body will not be able to bear it, so he has to travel slowly all the way. He will have to travel for at least another month."

Pei Yan nodded and whispered, "Alright. The old house of the Gu family has been abandoned for so many years, so I might as well take this time to renovate it."

The two chatted for a while and then dispersed.

The night is getting deeper.

Pei Yan lay down on the bed slowly. After a while, the little girl beside him came over with her hands and feet as if she automatically sensed the heat source.

She was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed, but she was mumbling something with her soft cheeks pressed tightly against his chest.

Although it was early summer, the weather was getting hot and humid. She was no longer wearing pajamas as tightly as before. The material was silky and thin, and the collar was half open, revealing a piece of scarlet camisole.

Below the snow-white neck is a delicate and prominent clavicle, and further down, the curves of the mature body rise and fall in an orderly manner...

A casual glance is enough to make people feel uneasy.

Pei Yan held her soft body, thinking helplessly that it was only early summer and it was so hard to endure.

If the weather gets even hotter in a few days, so hot that she can't even wear a silk undershirt, and she continues to crawl into his arms without any defense like this, how can he bear it?

His slightly thin fingertips gently kneaded her earlobe. He looked at her peaceful and sweet sleeping face, his mind full of thoughts on how to bully her, bully her until she cried, bully her until she begged for mercy...

Unfortunately, it's just something I can think about now.

The little girl had just accepted his love, and he was afraid that if he moved too fast, it would scare her, so he asked her to pull back.

Pei Yan closed his eyes and thought, there is a long way to go, what he endured now, he could get back with interest later.

Tao Ti didn't know that she had been clearly arranged by a big-tailed wolf. She slept well without any worries. When she woke up the next day, the sky was bright and the sun was already high in the sky.

After lunch, she lazily lay on the couch, flipping through a storybook while thinking about what to eat for dinner.

At this moment, Linglong came over and reported respectfully, "Crown Princess, the wife of Marquis Yongwei wants to see you."

Zhang is here?

Tao Ti was startled, and quickly stuffed the love story book under the cushion, and sat up, "Linglong, am I dressed okay? Is my hair okay?"

Linglong thought it was okay, and comforted her, "Madam Hou is your biological mother, the Crown Princess. Even if the Crown Princess dresses casually, she won't take it to heart."

Tao Ti thought, although this is true, Zhang has always been very strict with rules and she might find fault with it.

But it was too late to dress up now, so she looked in the mirror and made sure she was neat and tidy, then asked Linglong to invite Zhang in.

Zhang was wearing a dark blue dress and a bun, not a fancy dress. She had lost a lot of weight in the past few months, and her face was so haggard that even powder could not hide it.

Tao Ti was surprised. Why was Zhang like this? Did she know that Luo Yang was in danger and was worried like this?

As she was thinking, Zhang was about to bow to her, so she quickly stepped forward to hold her back, "Mother, there's no need to be so polite."

Zhang then stood up, took a step back, raised her beautiful eyes, and looked at Tao Ti carefully, with tears glistening in her eyes.

This expression was exactly the same as the one Emperor Zhaokang had when he looked at Pei Yanshi yesterday.

Tao Ti sighed in her heart. It was pitiful that all parents in the world were so affectionate. Although Zhang was not good at expressing her love, she still cared about her daughter in her heart.

After thinking for a while, Tao Ti walked up to Zhang, reached out and hugged the middle-aged woman in front of her, patting her back gently and whispering, "Don't worry, mother, your daughter is fine."

This sudden warm hug made Zhang shiver all over.

Afterwards, she couldn't help but raise her hands, hugged her daughter in front of her, and choked up, "Okay... okay... I'm glad you're okay. A'ti, it was all your fault before. It was my fault. I shouldn't have treated you so harshly... I was confused..."

These days, Zhang has thought a lot.

She felt like a complete failure, her marriage was a mess, and her relationship with her daughter was a mess.

She self-righteously imposed her own ideas on her daughter, forgetting that her daughter is also a living person with thoughts and feelings...

Fortunately, it is not too late for her to wake up now. At least her daughter is still there, and she can still make up for it and try her best to recover.

Zhang held Tao Ti tightly for a long time.

She could no longer remember the last time she held her daughter in her arms. It seemed like many years ago, when her daughter was still a child.

When Zhang thought about the fact that she and her daughter had been estranged for so many years, her heart was filled with guilt and self-blame, heavy and extremely uncomfortable.

After the hug, Tao Ti and Zhang sat on the couch together.

Tao Ti handed a clean handkerchief to Zhang, whose eyes were red with tears, and said softly, "I'm sorry to have made mother worry."

Zhang wiped her tears and waited until she calmed down before she spoke, "In the letter from your aunt Lu, she only mentioned that you had sprained your ankle. How do you feel now? Is it not serious?"

Tao Ti smiled awkwardly, "It's nothing, I just sprained it, it's healed a long time ago."

As she spoke, she stood up and turned around in front of Zhang with ease.

Zhang was relieved and said "OK". She couldn't wait to ask about Pei Yan's injuries and the assassination that day.

Tao Ti ate some pastries and beef jerky with preserved fruits while recounting the incident. When she spoke, she did not elaborate, just like Pei Yan did yesterday, but simply summarized it.

She was afraid that if she said too much, Zhang would feel distressed.

Even so, Zhang's brows became more and more tightly knitted, and she gritted her teeth and cursed, "Those damn assassins, and that King Mu, are not good people at all!"

Taoti poured her a cup of rose tea and pushed it in front of her. "Evildoers will be punished. Your Majesty will punish them. Mother, try this flower tea. It's good for your beauty."

Zhang picked up the rose tea, and the rich aroma lingered at her nose. It had a fresh taste with a light sweetness.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Taoti stopped talking about those heavy things and turned the topic to the interesting things in Luoyang. She also talked about Aunt Lu, "Aunt Lu is a very good person, gentle and kind. Before leaving, she gave me a large carriage of gifts, and some of them were her special products for you. I also bought some fabrics and jewelry for you in Luoyang. You can take them back later."

Zhang was touched to hear that her daughter had not forgotten to buy her a gift when she went to Luoyang, but she was also overwhelmed with shame.

Why had she been so stubborn in the past, always finding fault with her daughter and not seeing her good points?

Zhang put down the teacup in her hand and said to Tao Ti, "Ah Ti, mother came here today and brought you a gift."

Tao Ti was stunned, her dark and clear eyes showing curiosity, "What is it?"

Zhang chuckled and called out.

After a while, an old woman came in with a cage, inside which was a snow-white Linqing lion cat.

The little cat has fluffy fur and a pair of beautiful mirage eyes, one is bright yellow with golden light, and the other is crystal clear blue, as clear as glass beads.

The little kitten was originally sleeping lazily. After being taken out of the cage, it looked around with its two round eyes. Finally, it turned its little head towards Tao Ti and meowed softly.