On a quiet morning, sunlight shone halfway into the alley.
The gate in the alley was ajar.
A magnificent carriage stopped in front of the black lacquered gate, and an eight- or nine-year-old child stepped out and skipped through the gate.
"Auntie—"
Zhao Wenqi passed through the hanging flower gate of the He family's house and jogged into the courtyard.
The old trees in the courtyard cast a dappled shadow on the ground.
In the interplay of light and shadow, a bamboo chair stands, upon which sits a person quietly.
The man seemed to have just gotten up and arrived; his hair was still unkempt.
Thick, black hair cascaded down from his head, partially obscuring his handsome face.
Her head was bowed, and her starry eyes were half-closed.
Zhao Wenqi walked to his side, squatted down, and looked up at the man's face.
She reached out a small hand and brushed the hair away from his face, revealing his handsome yet melancholy countenance.
"Fourth Imperial Uncle, what are you doing here?" Zhao Wenqi asked in surprise.
Zhao Changqing glanced at him sideways: "This is my courtyard, why can't I come?"
Zhao Wenqi stood up, looked around, and seeing that the courtyard was quiet, he couldn't help but let out a surprised "Eh?"
"Huh? Where's Auntie? Why is it so quiet today?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changqing leaned back and slumped against the chair.
"He Youyou...she's gone."
Zhao Wenqi stepped forward, sat on his lap, grabbed Zhao Changqing's shoulders with both hands, and swayed him back and forth: "Where did Auntie go? Why didn't she tell me? Did she go back to Jizhou?"
Zhao Changqing kept his eyes closed, letting him do whatever he wanted.
When he got tired of wandering around, he spoke again: "Wenqi, I may have... made her angry. She didn't want to live next door to me anymore, so she moved out and moved to Ali's official residence."
Zhao Wenqi stared wide-eyed: "Auntie... she's angry with only you?"
Zhao Changqing hummed in agreement.
"Oh—" Zhao Wenqi patted his chest with his little hand, "Thank goodness, Auntie still likes me, so I'm relieved. Fourth Uncle, I'm going to find Auntie now."
As he spoke, he turned around and was about to run away.
He hadn't run two steps when someone suddenly grabbed him by the back of his collar.
His body was lifted into the air and grabbed in someone's hand.
His fourth uncle's cold and stern face appeared before him.
"Zhao Wenqi, you run pretty fast..."
Zhao Wenqi blinked: "Fourth Imperial Uncle, you think so too? My Crown Prince also said that I'm running faster and faster."
Zhao Changqing ground his back teeth: "Hmm, soon. You're just going to leave me like this and go have fun by yourself? Don't you care whether I'm happy or not?"
"Fourth Imperial Uncle, but now you've angered Auntie, so you're her enemy. If you're happy, Auntie won't be happy, and if Auntie isn't happy, then I won't be happy either. So, you'd better play by yourself."
He struggled twice and managed to break free from Zhao Changqing's grasp.
They ran away...
Zhao Changqing stared blankly as he disappeared through the door.
Then, he slumped back into his chair.
After a while, the door opened again.
Footsteps sounded; someone entered the courtyard.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law—"
The newcomer stood in the courtyard and laughed, "Oh, it's Fourth Brother! Where's my sister-in-law?"
Zhao Changqing raised his eyelids: "Zhao Changyi, what are you doing here?"
"Fourth Brother, you know I've come here because I have something important to say."
"What important business do you have?"
"Hehe, I just found some top-notch craftsmen in my ironworks. Their skills are superb. I was just about to ask my sister-in-law to go and take a look."
Zhao Changqing sighed deeply: "She moved to Ali's official residence."
"Oh, so suddenly? You didn't even say hello..." Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Changyi turned around and walked towards the door, calling out as he went, "Fourth Brother, you can play by yourself. I'm going to talk to my sister-in-law about serious business."
The courtyard fell silent again, returning to tranquility.
The only noise was the cicadas chirping in the branches, which was quite annoying.
Another half hour passed.
The courtyard gate opened again.
Light and steady footsteps, accompanied by the rustling of clothes in the wind, passed through the hanging flower gate and walked in.
Cheng Tingrui's handsome yet annoying face appeared before him.
"Why is Your Highness here all alone? Where is Youyou?"
Zhao Changqing ignored him and said coldly, "I don't know."
Cheng Tingrui was not annoyed when he heard this.
He looked around.
There were no servants or maids coming and going in the courtyard, and there were fewer of the usual items.
There was only one gatekeeper guarding the main gate.
Cheng Tingrui smiled slightly: "It seems that Youyou has moved away. Does Your Highness know where Youyou moved to?"
"I do not know."
“Since Your Highness does not know, let me guess…” Cheng Tingrui smiled and said, “Since Ali has been granted an official position, the court must have bestowed upon him official residence, and he must have taken Youyou to move in there.”
As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Zhao Changqing again: "I will not disturb Your Highness's peace and quiet. I will go find them now."
After speaking, he turned around gracefully, without any hesitation.
Zhao Changqing's hands gripped the armrests of the chair, his knuckles turning white, as if he were about to sink into them.
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