Xiao Junzhan lowered his eyes slightly and let her kiss him. When she had kissed him enough and wanted to leave, he held her waist and held her on his lap, holding her hands in his palms.

He looked at her quietly and said softly, "Ran Ran, can you tell me what happened when you went out today?"

"You really don't know?" Wei Hanzhang asked curiously, "Didn't your secret guard tell you?"

"Not yet," Xiao Junzhan said with a smile, "Not just today, but from now on, without your permission, they will not report your news to me against your will."

“……”Wei Hanzhang was silent for a moment, and was actually a little moved.

He understood in his heart that in the eyes of a superior like him who held the power of life and death, respect was probably the most scarce thing.

She told him in detail what she had heard in the teahouse today, and also told him about the interesting things that happened with Cao Xinrou when they were children in Xuzhou.

Gu Yundan is a few years older than Gu Yunran, and he is different from his cousin. When he was fifteen or sixteen years old, he had several beautiful girls arranged by his family to be around him, so he knew about love affairs very early.

He was a man of considerable talent, and it was common for him to go to brothels with his classmates and friends and take prostitutes on boat trips. He was a famous talented and romantic man in Xuzhou.

However, Cao Xinrou was a true daughter of an aristocratic family. She didn't care about her fiancé's social events at all. These women who were not presentable were not even worth her special attention, let alone being jealous of them.

She never imagined that one day she would run into her fiancé in a brothel, and that he had such a shameful identity.

Among the four men traveling with her, three had been her patrons.

Wei Hanzhang felt heartbroken just thinking about it. If it were her, she would definitely not be able to bear it, even if she did not attach much importance to women's chastity in this era.

Reliving Cao Xinrou's life experience, Wei Hanzhang said gloomily: "Actually, I know that if we really talk about this matter, it seems that Gu Yundan cannot be blamed, but Rouniang has suffered too much. I don't know who to blame."

Xiao Junzhan was silent for a long time after hearing this. Seeing that the little girl in his arms was about to cry again, he reached out and scratched her nose, coaxing her: "I think her choice was not impulsive. I'm afraid she had already decided to die. It was only the appearance of Gu Yundan that led to her death that day."

"What do you mean by that?" Wei Hanzhang disagreed. "A few days before Rou Niang died, I ran into her. At that time, she asked me to return the handkerchief to Gu Yundan, saying that we were not destined to be together in this life. She didn't look like she wanted to commit suicide."

"From what I've heard from you, Miss Cao wasn't someone who was strong enough to survive such a difficult situation," Xiao Junzhan said, "The reason she didn't commit suicide after joining the Jiaofang Bureau was because her relationship with Gu Yundan kept her alive."

"Meeting you and telling you all the things she had to tell you were her only remaining thoughts in this life. After she finished telling you all the things, she was determined to die. Meeting Gu Yun was just the final blow to her death."

Xiao Junzhan lowered his head and kissed the frowning brows of the person in his arms, and said softly: "For her, death may be another kind of perfection."

Wei Hanzhang climbed up Xiao Boqian's neck, buried her face in his neck, and cried.

She knew that all the male members of the Cao family had died, and a number of the women who had entered the Jiaofangsi had probably died as well. Cao Xinrou's parents, brothers and sisters were no longer alive, and her lover had seen her in her most miserable state...

Death is indeed another kind of perfection.

But she was still very sad.

Such beautiful childhood memories are just memories after all.

Most of the people in my memories are unrecognizable, or... dead.

"You're right. I've thought about that, too. If I were Rou Niang, I wouldn't be able to survive." Wei Hanzhang wiped her tears on the side of his neck and sobbed, "Although I believe that life is only once and should be cherished, but... in that situation, I really can't survive."

If he were Gu Yundan, he would never watch his little girl fall from the building that day.

Wei Hanzhang sniffed and didn't dare to tell him that when she put herself in Cao Xinrou's perspective, the character she thought of was Gu Yunran.

Gu Yunran, who also grew up together.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't guarantee what Gu Yunran, who grew up with her, would do if she really encountered that kind of thing, but she actually believed in Xiao Boqian, believing that no matter what her situation was, he would not ignore her and would not abandon her.

She was actually very vigilant and she was not someone who easily trusted others, but... compared to Gu Yunran, with whom she had been in a relationship for more than ten years, she still trusted Xiao Boqian, whom she had known for no more than half a year.

Wei Hanzhang stared at him in a daze.

Does this person have magical powers? Xiao Junzhan gently kissed her eyes and said softly, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...Nothing." Wei Hanzhang held his arm and changed the subject: "This time when we go to the summer palace, I plan to bring my seventh sister with me, the one you saw last time. By the way, she is going out with me today."

Xiao Junzhan said: "Okay, you can decide for yourself."

Wei Hanzhang raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Why do you react like that? My father has three daughters in total. One is my elder sister, and my grandfather won't let her go in the family temple. The other one is my seventh sister, and because she was born out of wedlock, my grandfather almost sent her to be a concubine. She looks timid, so I always want to take care of her more."

Xiao Junzhan paused, stared at her for a few seconds, and whispered, "Ranran, do you want to hear the truth?"

"What's wrong?"

"Based on my experience of observing people, your Seventh Sister..." Xiao Junzhan said calmly, "is born with a rebellious nature, and is not as docile and harmless as you describe."

"......!" Wei Hanzhang was extremely shocked. He climbed up his neck and sat up, staring with wide eyes and asked, "You also know the art of face reading?"

"...No," Xiao Junzhan smiled helplessly, "I am in a high position, I have seen many people, I always have some experience, but it may not be accurate, Ranran, you don't need to take my words to heart."

This being said, as he is the Crown Prince Regent, of course we have to listen to what he says.

but……

Wei Hanzhang laughed and said, "She is born to be rebellious. Who says that women should not have ambitions? Who says that women must be servile, subservient, and let others control their lives, living like a puppet?"

She pointed at her face and said, "Look at me, can you see that I have a rebellious streak in me?"

"Ran Ran, that's not how you understand it." Xiao Junzhan laughed and said, "If you are willing to take care of this sister, then take care of her. It's not a big deal."

After all, if you are a smart person, you will know who you should not offend.

Wei Hanzhang reached out and poked his cheek, asking, "Tell me, am I a rebel?"

(End of this chapter)