Wei Hanzhang felt repulsed from the thought of returning to the inner city.

But as night fell, it was time for her to go back.

After bidding farewell to his solemn-looking mother, Wei Hanzhang boarded the sedan chair back home.

She promised that man last night that she would go to Chengming Palace to accompany him today, but she broke her promise and did not go. She stayed at Jiang's place for a whole day, and he did not even send anyone to look for her.

...Could it be that today's government affairs are too busy and he has no time to look for her?

If that was the case, then did she escape a disaster today? This thought vanished as she stepped into the gate of Qixiang Palace.

The main hall door was closed. Ning Hai, the eunuch, stood sideways in front of the door. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he walked over quickly, saying respectfully, "Young lady, you are back. His Highness has been waiting for you for almost two hours, and he didn't allow anyone to call you back, saying that he couldn't keep you captive."

It's a pity that he always finds ways to speak well of his own prince, just to make the two masters live in harmony and have a sweet marriage.

As he spoke, he was also carefully paying attention to the expression of this little ancestor, but he found that the girl, who would be more or less touched when hearing these words on weekdays, now had a calm expression without any change, as if she didn't hear what he said at all.

Ning Hai was startled and whispered, "What's wrong with you?"

Wei Hanzhang lowered his eyes and did not answer. After calming himself down, he walked up the stairs.

...You can hide from the monk but you can't hide from the temple. Sooner or later, we will have to get along.

When they reached the palace gate, Luzhu and Lulan who were following behind him took a step forward and pushed the door open. When Wei Hanzhang stepped through the door, he turned his head and glanced at Lulan, and ordered: "Make me a pot of herbal tea and bring it to me."

Lu Lan bowed and agreed, then turned and left without closing the door.

It was dark, but candles were already lit in the hall, making it brightly lit.

Wei Hanzhang walked in and looked around carefully, and found Xiao Junzhan sitting in front of her desk, flipping through... the notebook she had read.

He frowned slightly, as if he had encountered some problem. It was clearly a miscellaneous book, but in his hands, it made people feel that it was a report on state affairs by some high-ranking official.

Wei Hanzhang seemed to understand why she had been so fascinated by this man who was much older than her some time ago.

...born to be very good-looking.

"What are you standing there for?" Xiao Junzhan looked away from the book, waved at her, and said with a smile, "Come over here."

Wei Hanzhang pursed his lips, prepared himself mentally, and then walked over slowly.

Before she reached him, he grabbed her with his long arms, put them around her waist and held her on his lap.

"Ranran, how was your day?" He held the girl tightly in his arms and asked softly, "Are you happy?"

"...Not bad." They were very close, and there was a faint familiar smell lingering around them. The joy he had felt when he smelled this smell before was gone, and Wei Hanzhang just felt like sitting on pins and needles. He whispered, "I want to go down, can you let me down?"

The voice was still the same, but there was no trace of friendship in the tone, only unfamiliarity and nervousness, even a little... stiff.

Xiao Junzhan was so perceptive that Wen Qian's smile slowly faded. He paused, then suddenly reached out and held her chin, lifting her face up. He looked at her carefully for a while and said, "Did I make you angry in some way? Why is Ranran like this?"

"I want to go down," Wei Hanzhang clenched his hands into fists, trying his best to suppress the resistance in his heart. He freed his chin, lowered his eyes slightly, and repeated, "Can you let me go down?"

For fear of hurting the girl, Xiao Junzhan didn't use much force when holding her chin, and the hand was easily freed. He gently pinched the free fingertips, as if lingering on the delicate touch, without saying a word.

The tense atmosphere in the air made Wei Hanzhang feel a little uneasy. She raised her eyelids slightly, but her eyes met his drooping ones.

His eyes were as dark as ink, and the emotions in them were unfathomable, revealing no trace at all, but they made her heart skip a beat and she felt a little panicked.

Realizing that the little girl was frightened by him, Xiao Junzhan blinked gently, and a smile quickly appeared on his face. He coaxed: "Ran Ran, give me a kiss and I will let you go, how about that?"

Kiss him? Wei Hanzhang shook his head and was about to speak when Lulan came in with a cup of herbal tea.

She breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Let me go first."

This person is very sensible. No matter how close they are on a daily basis, they are always together when they are alone.

Even the personal maids had never seen them act recklessly.

But this time, even though Lulan was almost close, her hand around her waist did not loosen at all, but instead held her even tighter.

Xiao Junzhan lowered his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms, without even shifting his gaze, and said in a calm voice: "Close the door and get out."

Hearing the words "Close the door", Wei Hanzhang panicked and said hastily, "Don't go out!"

The sound was so loud that Lu Lan, who was in a dilemma, was frightened.

Xiao Junzhan was also stunned. He stared at her quietly for a few breaths. Looking at her stubborn eyes, he said softly, "Good girl, what did I do to upset you? Tell me, don't make me guess."

You are the supreme ruler of the world, and you are the only one he is gentle and considerate to, and his voice is tender and seductive, not to mention that he has an extremely handsome appearance.

Which little girl wouldn’t feel her bones soften after hearing this?

But Wei Hanzhang was not moved at all, she could even point out countless shortcomings of this man.

An old man, a gentleman praised by all in the court and the country, had repeatedly lusted after the young girl. He had even broken into her bedroom at night when she was asleep before she even reached the age of 15.

He didn't care about the rules. Even though they were not married, he always touched her, rubbed her and hugged her.

He always liked to kiss her under the excuse of 'I couldn't help myself' and even touched her under her clothes.

She repeatedly asked him not to sit on his lap and wanted to get off, but he seemed to ignore her.

The more he thought about it, the more upset he became. A hint of annoyance flashed across Wei Hanzhang's eyes, and he said bluntly, "Can you let me go? We are not married yet, and it is really inappropriate for you and I to get along like this."

After waiting for a long time, I finally heard her say this.

"How do you and I get along? Who dares to gossip?" Xiao Junzhan lowered his eyelids slightly to cover his cold eyes. He suppressed the sudden suspicion and anger in his heart and said, "Were you fine last night? You promised me to come to Chengming Palace today. Why did you break your promise?"

"I figured it out overnight. What we did was wrong. People are intimidated by your majesty, so they naturally don't dare to gossip, but wrong is wrong." Wei Hanzhang couldn't stand it any longer, so he grabbed the hand on his waist and struggled: "Let me down!"

"You figured it out overnight?" He seemed to have heard a joke, his eyebrows slightly curved, and he said no more. Instead, he looked sideways at Lu Lan who was shivering beside him, and said in a voice that was colder than ever before, "Get out."

Lu Lan was devoted to her master. Seeing them arguing, she hesitated and refused to leave. She knelt down hurriedly and begged, "Your Highness, please calm down. My girl..."

(End of this chapter)