"ah--"

I saw that the dragonfly kite in the sky had its string broken. When the wind blew, the kite flew higher and higher, and farther and farther.

“Ah! Ah!”

Qi Niang's screams became louder and louder, as if she had seen something horrifying.

Then, she pushed Chu Qianhuang away and ran away without looking back.

Chu Qianhuang was stunned for a moment, and hurried to chase after Qi Niang, saying, "Quick, Baoqin, take a few maids to guard the lakeside, and don't let Qi Niang get close to the lake."

She held up her skirt and hurriedly chased after them. Baoqin and others hurried to guard the lake and the pond, while some people followed Chu Qianhuang to chase Qiniang.

Qinniang's legs and feet were extremely flexible. There were many flowers and trees, rockeries, pavilions, water pavilions, flower corridors, etc. in this small garden. In the blink of an eye, Chu Qianhuang could no longer see Qinniang.

"Search separately!" Chu Qianhuang frowned and ordered, "Qiniang is just a child and can't walk far."

Qiniang didn’t go far.

She was still in the small garden, running and screaming on a cobblestone path among the rugged rockery. The tall rockery on both sides looked to her like ferocious beasts with bared fangs and claws, looking at her coldly.

She became even more panicked. She squatted down, hugged herself with her hands, and huddled up, trembling.

“It’s you.”

At this moment, a figure in a violet dress knelt in front of her. The shadow of the girl fell on her, making Qiniang feel a little dark in front of her eyes.

Qi Niang subconsciously shrank back and hugged herself tighter, her little face turning pale.

A breeze blew along the path between the rockery, blowing through the hair and clothes of the two people.

The violet silk flowers on the girl's temples trembled slightly, emitting bursts of fragrance.

A scent like snow-covered plum blossoms entered Qinnan's nose. Her nose twitched, and she felt that the scent was very familiar, so she slowly raised her head.

A bright and charming face with a faint smile caught Qinnan's eyes.

Qi Niang stared at the pair of smiling eyes in front of her without blinking, her small shoulders tensed and her face full of vigilance.

"Why are you here? Are you alone? Where is your mother?" Chu Qianchen asked softly, knowing that she would not answer and not caring.

Thinking of what the gatekeeper had just said, that Princess Jingjun had come to the mansion, Chu Qianchen could more or less guess the identity of the little girl.

She should be the only daughter of Prince Jing and his wife, Gu Zhiyan, whose nickname is Qiniang.

Princess Jing is the younger sister of her biological mother, Shen, so Gu Zhiyan is actually her cousin in name.

Chu Qianchen had heard some things about Gu Zhiyan. Gu Zhiyan was kidnapped by a kidnapper when she was a child, and became a little stupid and foolish after she came back.

Later, Chu Qianchen also heard that because the royal family disliked her for being stupid, after Prince Jing died, they locked her up in a manor outside the capital on the pretext of something, and there was no news of her since then.

At this time in her previous life, Chu Qianchen could hardly protect herself. She didn’t know much about the outside world and had never met Gu Zhiyan.

Unexpectedly, she just took a casual checkup and saw the disease in her stepmother's niece.

"Don't be afraid." Chu Qianchen raised his hand and wanted to touch the little girl's soft head.

Gu Zhiyan shrank back like a frightened little animal, and Chu Qianchen touched nothing.

"Do you remember me?" Chu Qianchen smiled and gently covered the area under his eyes with his palms, looking at her tenderly.

Gu Zhiyan opened his eyes slightly, and there was a hint of spirit in his black and white eyes.

That look seemed to be saying, it’s you!

"You recognized me, right?" Chu Qianchen smiled.

This time, Gu Zhiyan did not shrink back, and Chu Qianchen successfully touched her head.

Three days ago, when Chu Qianchen first met Gu Zhiyan, he noticed that something was wrong with her.

In Chu Qianchen's opinion, Gu Zhiyan did not look stupid, but rather as if she had been frightened of something and was wary of everyone and everything around her.

Her behavior at this moment further confirmed Chu Qianchen's guess.

She thought for a moment, then took out a crescent-shaped sachet from her pouch and said, "Smell it."

The spices in this sachet were specially blended by her, and they have a calming effect. In the first few days after her rebirth, she would occasionally have nightmares about her past life, so she made a sachet and carried it with her.

The scent emanating from the sachet is as elegant as the fragrance of plum blossoms falling in the snow.

Gu Zhiyan put her little face close to it and sniffed like a puppy, the corners of her lips curved slightly, her eyes gradually calmed down, and her body was not so tense anymore.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"I'll give this to you. Put it under your pillow when you go to sleep at night."

Chu Qianchen tied the sachet around Gu Zhiyan's waist with her own hands. Just as she was about to say something else, she heard hurried footsteps behind her, followed by Chu Qianhuang's voice: "Seventh Sister, Second Sister."

Chu Qianhuang came hurriedly, panting, with a red blush on her little face, as beautiful as if she had put on rouge.

Seeing Gu Zhiyan, Chu Qianhuang breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Fortunately, my second sister found Qi Niang."

Chu Qianchen stood up, helped Gu Zhiyan up as well, and asked, "Big sister, what happened to her?"

"I don't know either." Chu Qianhuang frowned slightly and shook her head. "The kite's string broke just now. When Qi Niang saw it, she got very excited and suddenly ran away... Fortunately, nothing happened."

Kite? Chu Qianchen thought about it, handed Gu Zhiyan's little hand to Chu Qianhuang, and then said goodbye.

"Second sister."

Chu Qianhuang called her, and Chu Qianchen turned around and met her eyes.

Chu Qianhuang's face looked a little complicated, and she hesitated and said, "Don't blame mother for Aunt Jiang's matter."

Chu Qianchen was stunned. She wanted to respond casually, but when the words came to her lips, she suddenly sighed and said, "Big sister, hey... I know that mother punished aunt, it must be that aunt was wrong first..."

"But when I think of my aunt being beaten, my heart is..."

"I don't know what to do. I'm in a great dilemma."

Chu Qianchen frowned slightly, biting his lower lip with his jade teeth, which made the plump lip turn slightly white. He looked worried and about to cry.

"Second sister," Chu Qianhuang sighed again with a look of reluctance, "You are also in a dilemma."

"It's still big sister who understands me." Chu Qianchen's long and curled eyelashes moved, his jade-like face drooped slightly, and his expression became even gloomier.

The sunlight shone obliquely from the rockery next to her, making her face half bright and half dark. Half of her face was as white as jade in the sunlight, and the other half was as fragile as a delicate flower in the shadow of the rockery. There was a pitiful, soft and beautiful look between her eyes and eyebrows, which made people feel pity for her just by looking at her.

Chu Qianhuang stared at Chu Qianchen's little face and comforted her, "Second sister, why don't you go and ask mother for mercy? Mother always praises you for being obedient and filial. I have lived in the palace these days, and it is also thanks to you that I am by my mother's side. Mother likes you very much."

"If you ask for mercy, mother will definitely agree."

(End of this chapter)