Jiang Qingqing was dressed up by her maid. She wore a bright blue palace dress, which exuded the royal maturity that should not be underestimated.

But when the attention fell on Jiang Qingqing's palm-sized face, she had a sweet appearance, but there was a gleam of light in her bright eyes.

He looks calm and steady, without any sign of old age. On the contrary, he has a feeling of prosperity and youthfulness.

The carriage from the princess's mansion to the imperial city gate was ready.

Jiang Qingqing walked out of the main house, but did not see Xiao Linting in the yard.

She recalled that a few days ago, she had jokingly asked her uncle whether he would accompany her to the palace to celebrate her birthday.

At that time, they had agreed that he would accompany her into the palace.

Today is such a critical day, but there is no sign of the emperor's uncle.

It has to be said that she did feel a considerable sense of loss in her heart.

Gan Yuan and Gan Lin were walking in front. They keenly felt that Her Royal Highness the Princess's pace was gradually slowing down, so they both stopped and looked at her.

Jiang Qingqing pursed her lips and said nothing. She put away her lost mood, walked straight past the two people, and walked to the front hall as if she was familiar with the place.

Nafu was seen in the front hall, but the emperor's uncle was not seen beside him.

Jiang Qingqing's heart was slightly moved. She lowered her head, lifted the heavy hem of her palace dress, stepped out of the princess's mansion, and waited for the coachman to put the carriage seat in place. She just stepped on it and was about to bend down to walk in.

Suddenly, the curtain of the carriage was lifted by someone from inside, and then a slender hand was stretched out with the palm facing up, motioning Jiang Qingqing to come over.

She had her head lowered, and suddenly a hand appeared in her sight. Although it was very sudden, it only took Jiang Qingqing a few seconds to recognize who the hand belonged to.

Involuntarily, Jiang Qingqing's round eyes gradually brightened, and she placed her hand on Xiao Linting's big hand without hesitation.

With the force given to her by Xiao Linting, Jiang Qingqing quickly bent down and entered the carriage.

Only then did Jiang Qingqing see clearly how the emperor's uncle was dressed today.

The facial features looked ordinary and unfamiliar, but Jiang Qingqing had been looking at those phoenix eyes for so many days that she could still recognize at a glance that this person was Xiao Linting.

"Is this on the emperor's uncle's face the legendary painted skin?"

Jiang Qingqing sat in the carriage and looked at Xiao Linting. She immediately understood that he was not in the mansion because Xiao Linting had found a way to accompany her into the palace.

Xiao Linting was surprised. Jiang Qingqing usually stayed in Beijing, so how could she know these little tricks in the martial arts world?

He nodded slightly, but before he could explain himself, Jiang Qingqing, curious about the technique of painted skin, leaned forward and stretched her neck to get close to Xiao Linting's profile.

She looked left and right at Xiao Linting's cheeks to see if there were any obvious creases on his face.

It just so happened that at this moment, the carriage probably ran over some uneven stones, and the entire carriage shook violently for a moment.

At this moment, Jiang Qingqing, who was sitting restlessly, quickly lost her balance and was about to fall over.

Xiao Linting stretched out his long arms and quickly grabbed her waist, then held her in his arms to prevent her from falling.

But because of the two different forces, Jiang Qingqing fell to her knees in the carriage, and several clumps of hair on her temples fell off.

The girl's bright eyes were filled with panic, but when she raised her head, her slender cheeks were only the size of a palm, and she looked delicate and dainty.

Xiao Linting sat steadily in the carriage, but because he had just opened his legs to protect her from falling, she happened to kneel in front of him, and her little hands grabbed his thighs in panic.

The touch has a momentary muscular feel.

Jiang Qingqing's earlobes soon turned red. She raised her little hand in panic and pursed her lips.

From Xiao Linting's perspective, the pair of small lips that were pursed until they were rosy red became more and more prominent.

He turned his head slightly mischievously, looked to the other side, clenched his fist and coughed lightly.

Jiang Qingqing realized belatedly that her action was somewhat ambiguous, so she hurriedly lifted her skirt and sat firmly in the carriage.

Her little hands kept adjusting the hem of her clothes and tucking the loose hair from her bun behind her ears. She didn't dare to look up at the emperor's uncle again.

"I will approach Your Highness in the name of your palace guard, but after entering the palace, I cannot appear by your side immediately. Your Highness must be more careful during this period."

Xiao Linting quickly changed the subject, deliberately bringing the conversation in a serious direction.

Jiang Qingqing nodded her head in response. In order to make the atmosphere less awkward, she jokingly said, "Returning to the palace is like going home. Why should we be careful?"

When Xiao Linting heard this, he slowly raised his deep phoenix eyes and looked at the girl in front of him.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Your Highness' birthday party is of great significance, and I don't want to cause any trouble."

"I have missed five years of accompanying Your Highness on his birthday, but I don't want to miss your coming-of-age ceremony."

The calm and mellow voice seemed to have an extra layer of depth in the narrow carriage, lingering in Jiang Qingqing's ears.

Jiang Qingqing was stunned for a moment. Listening to Xiao Linting's words, she clenched her hands slightly under her wide sleeves.

The man in front of her was someone she felt was extraordinary at first sight after she came here.

In their subsequent interactions, she was always very clear and aware.

Xiao Linting always treated her like an elder to a junior, or at the very least, like a subject to subject.

Otherwise, why would he call himself "The King" to others, even to Princess Qi Yang, and always call himself "Subject" when talking to himself?

But... she is not an ignorant girl. Jiang Qingqing has experienced human love, and she knows too well what kind of atmosphere is created when sparks arise between two people of the opposite sex.

Jiang Qingqing's round eyes did not carry any emotions at this moment, she just simply looked at Xiao Linting.

Why did Xiao Linting have an emotional change towards her during these five years?

"Okay, I understand." Jiang Qingqing said slowly.

Xiao Linting saw that the little girl's expression did not look normal, so he reached out and touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

"It's the height of summer now. The palace dress is so heavy. Is it hot?"

The subtle thoughtfulness and concern made Jiang Qingqing's heart moved.

She bit her lower lip, then pretended to be relaxed and said, "If I could eat the cool and sweet osmanthus jelly right now, that would be great!"

She turned her head slightly and raised her hand to lift the curtain again. She was afraid that Xiao Linting would notice her avoidance, so she pretended that she was avoiding him to see the scenery.

Xiao Linting didn't notice this little detail. He was reminiscing about how far the imperial kitchen in the palace was so that he could go to the imperial kitchen in person and get a bowl of osmanthus jelly.