Ju Mang couldn't break through the forest barrier and couldn't go to the volcano, so he could only wait here. Seeing Xia Xiao coming back in tattered clothes, he hurriedly asked:

"How about it?"

"It's a deer dog. I don't know its name. It has a bad temper and I gave it a good lesson."

"So that's the lesson?"

"Spanking."

"Aren't you afraid that he will bear a grudge? I remember everything clearly."

"It's okay, I won't hit you hard."

Ju Mang couldn't help laughing.

"Fortunately, I was obedient when I was a child, otherwise I would have been beaten by you too."

"I'm not that domineering. He starts swearing now. What should I do in the future?"

"Oh, you're raising him as your son?"

"He's my son now, and he'll be my brother in the future, just like you."

"screw you."

Xia Xiao rubbed his right hand, which was hurt by the previous blow. The skin of the fawn dog was extremely hot, and it was estimated that it would become a real vicious dog when it grew up.

"I'm leaving now."

As soon as Ju Mang replied with one sentence, Xia Xiao disappeared.

In the carriage, Xia Xiao's clothes were intact. He let out a long breath, attracting the attention of Shu Shuang and Hui Yue.

"Afternoon?"

I looked out the car window. The sun was shining brightly and the flowers were in full bloom. It was a beautiful sight. After we passed this vast grassland, we were close to the imperial capital, Zhenxun.

"Xia Xiao."

There was some embarrassment in Shu Shuang's voice. Xia Xiao followed her gaze and looked at Hui Yue, who was looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Shu Shuang told me everything."

Shu Shuang pulled Xia Xiao's sleeve, feeling somewhat guilty. She didn't want to tell him, but when the carriage stopped to rest, the drivers talked for a few words. Although it was just a few ordinary conversations, it was related to last night. After that, Hui Yue kept asking, and Shu Shuang couldn't wait, and was afraid of disturbing Xia Xiao, so she told her.

The wound on Huiyue's little face was still there. She clutched the corner of her clothes with her beautiful hands and frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because your injury has not healed."

"Can……"

"It's not as serious as you think. Now that Master has shown up, no one dares to provoke us. This time is different from last time!"

Hui Yuexiu clenched her fists, and seeing Xia Xiao looking away, she quickly said:

"Xia Xiao, I don't want to be a hindrance to you."

"Don't think too much."

Xia Xiao finished speaking and fell silent. Huiyue had done enough, and the next thing should be done by him.

"Once you arrive in the imperial capital, someone will naturally take care of you."

"who?"

“Here I come.”

Huiyue felt puzzled, but she followed Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang's gaze towards the car door. It suddenly opened and then closed, in just a second, but someone had already entered.

This was a middle-aged man with strong eyebrows and a chivalrous demeanor. He sat by the car door and handed over two bright red flowers. The flowers were freshly picked, gorgeous and fragrant. Even though the man was so fast before, not a single leaf or petal fell off.

"I picked them on the road and gave them to the two girls."

Huiyue was a little surprised. Shushuang took it and said:

"Thank you very much."

Shu Shuang sat next to Hui Yue, who leaned close to her ear and whispered:

"Who is this?"

“I don’t know him.”

Xia Xiao certainly wasn't familiar with someone Shu Shuang didn't know, after all, there was a big age difference. But Xia Xiao could guess who he was, and asked directly:

"Your Majesty has a mission?"

The man smiled heartily and exclaimed:

"The Third Young Master is indeed a man who has come from afar. He is really smart."

This kind of flattery can't be taken seriously, but since he is the emperor's man, Xia Xiao still has to respect him. And no one has called him by this title for a long time.

"You're welcome, senior."

His eyes moved, and he saw someone knocking on the car window behind Xia Xiao. When the man heard it, his sword-like eyebrows raised, and he leaned against the side of the car window. Xia Xiao secretly recognized that the man was quite strong, at least at the top of the Venerable Realm.

When he opened the window, it was Chuan Lian, a teacher from Ningshen Academy, who was riding a horse. Xia Xiao was more respectful to the latter and asked:

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

Chuan Lian looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he asked in a low voice:

"I saw someone come in earlier, is everything okay?"

As he said this, Chuan Lian took a look into the carriage.

"Thank you for your concern, teacher."

Xia Xiao moved his body to the side so that his vision was unobstructed, and then when they looked at each other, he signaled that everything was fine.

Closing the car window again, Xia Xiao said:

"Speak now, or Si Bu Wen will find out."

The man nodded and said:

"My name is Fei Lian, the messenger of the emperor. I want to tell you two things. First, the emperor hopes that you can be more bold in the court and link the Zhu family and the National Elders' Council together. It would be best if you also mention this incident. Second, the emperor wants to ask for your opinion on your marriage."

"marriage?"

Xia Xiao understood the first thing. His Majesty wanted to weaken the power of the Council of Elders to consolidate his rule. The political parties in the court were only covered by a layer of paper. Many people saw through it, but they just didn't say anything. But someone had to expose it. It would be best if this person was outside the two parties and had a noble status. At present, Xia Xiao was the perfect match, but what did marriage mean? Why did His Majesty care about this?

"The Third Young Master has forgotten Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Xia Xiao was stunned. The Great Xia Dynasty had only one princess, named Si Yunying, the emperor's biological sister. She was just beginning to fall in love this year, and she was probably the same age as him, but were they related?

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"Third Young Master is really a forgetful person. Could it be that you forgot about the marriage certificate?"

Xia Xiao's first reaction was to look at Shu Shuang, his panicked eyes revealed a sincere expression. He had never even seen Si Yunying, so how could there be a marriage certificate? Could such a ridiculous plot happen to him and Shu Shuang again?

Shu Shuang didn't know what was going on. Although she trusted Xia Xiao, the light in her eyes dimmed for a moment.

Turning his head, Xia Xiao asked Fei Lian.

"When did it happen?"

"Third Young Master really forgot?"

Seeing Xia Xiao frowning in annoyance, Fei Lian immediately said:

"Four years ago, you regained your sanity following a strange phenomenon in the heaven and earth, and you had a man who came from afar. After that, countless generals and ministers came to you to get engaged. At that time, the court discussed it and decided to marry the princess to you."

"Didn't my engagement break down after I left the Imperial City?"

Xia Xiao still remembered that his dream of having three wives and four concubines was broken at that time. Now that he met Shu Shuang, who had the wild pattern of the extreme day and night engraved on her, he dared not even think about that.

"The princess didn't want to, saying that the engagement had been finalized in black and white, and she didn't want to add a few more strokes to the new edict, so she kept waiting for you to come back."

"Is there anything else?"

Xia Xiao was stunned, his face full of disbelief. How come no one had ever told him about this after leaving the capital for two years?

"Third Young Master is so lucky."

Fei Lian smiled and looked at Shu Shuang Hui Yue, causing Xia Xiao to scold angrily:

"Shu Shuang is enough for me."

Shu Shuang's eyes lit up, and she was delighted. Seeing Xia Xiao turned sideways, she said politely to Fei Lian:

"Please go back and tell His Majesty that I will do my best to handle the matter of the National Elderly House, but I hope His Majesty will forgive me as for the princess."

"It seems that the Third Young Master is not aware of the princess's current situation."

"I've never seen it, so of course I don't know."

"Everyone knows that our Great Xia has a handsome young emperor, but few people know about the princess because she is weak and sickly, and she lives in seclusion and rarely sees outsiders. Over the years, the only people who can see her are the emperor and his servants. But I heard that she is also beautiful, a standard beauty."

Xia Xiao tilted his mouth, showing some resistance.

"so what?"

"Her Majesty wants you to prepare to meet her after the final selection."

"What if I don't see it?"

Fei Lian heard this and said with a smile:

"If I were you, I would go and see him even if it would make my young lady angry. Over the years, your Xia family has fallen into an abyss, and everyone wants to distance themselves from you and dare not get involved in the slightest, but the princess has waited for two years. Putting aside other things, this blind trust alone is enough for you to treat her with sincerity. In our lives, two years is very short, but for the princess, it may be the end of her life."

"Is the condition so serious?"

"The entire dynasty is helpless and has been shelved for eight years. Do you think this is serious, Third Young Master?"

When Xia Xiao was silent, Shu Shuang sat next to him and said softly:

"Go ahead."

Xia Xiao frowned. He didn't like this. He felt it was weird. Talking about love and even marriage with a stranger was always hard to accept. Because he had experienced a lot, Xia Xiao valued sincere feelings more. It was impossible for him to agree to Fei Lian just because of a few words. After agreeing, there was no room for refusal. On the contrary, it was better to refuse first.

"Let's talk about it after the final selection. His Majesty will definitely want me to solve the problem of the National Elderly Home first."

Not bad, smart enough!

Fei Lian sincerely admired Xia Xiao. Whether Xia Xiao accepted it or not, it was better to put it aside for now. What made him admire Xia Xiao even more was his age.

He would not be surprised if a twenty-year-old made such a decision, but Xia Xiao was younger than all the contestants who entered the final selection, and he was still wise and calm.

"I will convey Third Young Master's words to His Majesty, please rest assured."

"When we get to the imperial capital, I'll have to trouble you with one more thing."

"Third Master, please speak."

"Please send someone to protect her."

Following Xia Xiao's gaze, Fei Lian looked at Hui Yue, an ordinary citizen who bowed his head in front of the emperor's envoy.

"From the moment I set foot in the imperial capital, I will not let this young lady lose a single hair."

Fei Lian nodded slightly, signaling Xia Xiao not to worry. After that, he left without delay and disappeared on the plain.

Xia Xiao opened the window, frowned, and looked at the direction the carriage was heading. Shu Shuang beside him didn't know how to tell Xia Xiao. In fact, she really didn't mind Xia Xiao going to find the princess. On the contrary, she admired the princess. It was really touching that she insisted on waiting for Xia Xiao to come back.

Even if she stays at home and is thousands of miles away from Xia Xiao, will she still believe in him? If so, Shu Shuang must do better and believe in Xia Xiao more!

After walking for half a day, they saw red flowers blooming on both sides of the road. These flowers were the same as the ones in Huiyue Shushuang's arms, each one was half the size of a palm, and as red as blood, like a memorial to the dead.

Beside the motorcade, red flowers were blooming, with a strange and evil beauty that amazed the young man's cold eyes. He looked at the road and knew that at the end of the road was the imperial capital.

This return was different from what Xia Xiao had imagined. It might be a little less imposing, but he was definitely going back. The city he had been thinking about day and night was just ahead!