Chen Xiao knew that her actions were too sudden, but when she looked at Xiang Xiang's Yuan Yin and remembered that she was Chen Xiao herself and had not taken over anyone else's body, she unconsciously made such a move.
Thinking back to what I had confidently told Yuan Yin a few days ago, "I'm not lying to you, I'm not the same person I used to be," I felt embarrassed.
She hadn't expected the moment of truth to come so quickly. She lowered her head and whispered, "No, but I know I am who I am..."
Although Chen Xiao's words were extremely confusing, Yuan Yin understood what he meant; he was referring to his previous remarks.
She didn't know why Chen Xiao had changed her mind again, but seeing Chen Xiao's expression, Yuan Yin chuckled softly and teased, "Didn't Xiao Xiao deny it?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao lowered his head even further, almost shrinking into Yuan Yin's arms, and stopped saying a word.
Yuan Yin also leaned close to Chen Xiao as usual, and brought up the storybook that Chen Xiao had mentioned: "The autographed book you told me about before, I showed it to Shi Yu when I met her, and she was so envious. She's been busy looking for that book these past few days."
Chen Xiao's awkwardness subsided. Thinking of how Song Shiyu had gone everywhere to find this storybook, which was actually helping her promote the matter for free, he couldn't help but laugh. "So fast. I feel so bad for letting Miss Song, a simple military officer's daughter, go to such lengths to find the storybook I wrote. I wonder what her family thinks about it."
When Yuan Yin heard Chen Xiao say this, she realized that the two of them had never met, and that she had only briefly mentioned it last time without fully telling Chen Xiao about Song Shiyu's family situation.
She briefly told Chen Xiao what everyone knew: "Shiyu's family is not strict. Although she is General Wei's granddaughter, General Wei did not force her to learn martial arts. Her preferences and behavior are all based on her mood. Not only her, but General Wei's whole family is like this."
She also told Chen Xiao things that were unknown to the public: "General Wei's husband loves to write poetry and is a poet of some renown. Shi Yu's mother likes to farm, and her parents met while farming. Coincidentally, her father was originally a martial artist, and later joined General Wei in battle, where he made quite a name for himself."
Shiyu's simple personality stems from this; her family is extremely simple. Her maternal grandparents were childhood sweethearts, and her parents only had eyes for each other. It's just a pity that her paternal grandparents died bravely in battle in their early years, without having the chance to watch their child grow up.
After hearing this, Chen Xiao understood why Song Shiyu lived such a carefree life; it turned out that her whole family was so unrestrained and did whatever they wanted.
General Wei loved martial arts, but her husband loved poetry. It was a perfect match of literary and martial arts skills!
It's quite unusual that General Wei's daughter, despite being influenced by both literary and martial arts, chose to farm. She also encountered someone who practiced martial arts like her mother. Is this the bond that comes with a military family?
I wonder how it is to get along with someone as carefree and innocent as Song Shiyu.
Just as Chen Xiao was about to continue talking about Song Shiyu, the butler arrived.
The steward hurriedly approached the group, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness, Lord Qi. Reporting to His Majesty, the Prime Minister and the two young masters are on their way..."
Before he finished speaking, all three of them arrived.
The first thing the three of them saw was this scene: Chen Xiao and Yuan Yin were leaning close together, while Qi Yanyun was chatting with the little girl from the Dark Pavilion.
Xu Qian found it strange. How could His Majesty and the Princess suddenly be so close after such a short time apart? Although they had a good relationship before, it was nowhere near this close.
Just as Xu Qian was feeling puzzled, Xu Ruyu and Xu Ruyan were also wondering the same thing. However, they were not puzzled by this, but rather by whether His Majesty had regained his previous memories.
Xu Qian didn't hesitate for long. He quickly walked towards them and greeted them as usual, "Your Majesty, Princess." He also greeted Xi Xi and Qi Yanshang, who were standing to the side, as "My lord, Young Master Qi."
This shocked the steward standing nearby. Although the Prime Minister held a high position and wielded great power, he could not treat the royal family so perfunctorily!
And what's with him bowing to the little girl beside him? And calling her 'Your Excellency'?! Am I crazy, or is the Prime Minister crazy?
Before he could recover from his shock, Xu Ruyu and Xu Ruyan also stepped forward and stood to Xu Qian's side, bowing respectfully to them using the etiquette for meeting royalty.
The steward felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this. Although the Prime Minister had gone mad, the two young masters hadn't, which was good.
Then he saw the two young masters turn around. The butler had a bad feeling, but before it could fully rise, he saw the two young masters also bow to the little girl.
Although the two young masters did not address her as 'Sir', the butler's heart was broken.
Who exactly is this little girl?!
He had just thought the child was someone His Majesty had picked up from somewhere and was just playing with, so he hadn't paid any attention to it and hadn't even bowed.
Now things have turned out differently. His powerful and influential family members, along with two promising young masters, are now addressing this little girl as "Master" and bowing to her, treating her with more respect than royalty.
The others didn't notice his inner thoughts; they were all busy bowing to each other. Except for Xixi, she only accepted the bows from a few people and didn't move at all.
Logically speaking, Qi Yanyun's official rank was lower than both of theirs, so he should be the one to bow to them. However, the others didn't stand on ceremony; the bows were merely formalities, as they were quite close to each other.
Therefore, the following situation occurred:
Xu Qian casually and calmly bowed to the group, saying, "Your Majesty, Princess, Your Excellency, Young Master Qi."
Xu Ruyu first subtly observed Chen Xiao for a long time before smiling and bowing to the two women, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty, Princess." Finally, she also bowed to Qi Yanyun and Xixi.
Xu Ruyan stared at Yuan Yin for a long time before reluctantly turning her gaze to Chen Xiao and bowing respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Highness Yuan Yin." After accidentally making a slip of the tongue, she quickly looked at Xi Xi and Qi Yanyun and, imitating her brother, also gave a cupped-hand salute.
Yuan Yin looked at the group and first addressed Xu Qian as "Prime Minister," before turning to the two Xu brothers. Xu Ruyu had too many titles, and she felt that no matter how she addressed him, it would be inappropriate. So she simply used his official rank first and returned the greeting, saying, "...You two gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities."
Chen Xiao's hand was almost numb from waving, feeling like he had said "No need for formalities" so many times that he had even accidentally misspoke and said "Consort Yu." He could only quickly tease Xu Ruyan. "Prime Minister, there's no need for formalities. Yu... My dear minister, too. Hey, Young Master Yan, no need for formalities."
Qi Yanyun didn't have a real title, only a seventh-rank official position, so he bowed to everyone first. However, he was very good at cutting corners, so he bowed to the three people in front of him and said, "Greetings, Lord Xu."
Xi Xi nodded while eating her snacks, and said perfunctorily to the others, "Hello, everyone."
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