Ning Kun’s carriage emerged from the small alley onto the main street.
Today the street had few vehicles and people, so the driver let loose and sped along. But when passing through an intersection, a child about ten years old suddenly ran out.
The driver was caught off guard and reined in the horse, but the child had already rolled under the carriage.
“What happened!” Ning Kun jumped directly out of the carriage, his first instinct to scan the surroundings.
If the Prince’s people caused trouble here, they might not escape unscathed!
Was someone deliberately framing them?
Who was making a move? The Crown Prince? The Third Prince? Or the Emperor?
Countless thoughts flashed through Ning Kun’s mind in an instant. The guards hidden in front, behind, left, and right also converged toward this spot. But at that same moment, the child under the carriage whooshed out again and dashed toward the opposite side—
Agile as a rabbit.
Clearly completely unharmed.
Ning Kun stood there dumbfounded while the driver came to his senses.
“Whose child is this!” He raised his whip and shouted, “How can you run wild in the street!”
No one answered him. The child even turned back to make a face at him before disappearing into an alley.
Ning Kun looked around. The guards who had converged shook their heads at him, indicating nothing unusual in the surroundings.
It was just an accident.
All this happened very quickly. Few people around noticed, and those who did hadn’t had time to be alarmed before being startled by the child running away. They now joined the driver in complaining.
“Whose child is this!” “Outrageous!” “Don’t the adults at home supervise him!”
Ning Kun breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head: “Good that no one was hurt.”
With that, he got back in the carriage and signaled the driver to continue. However, he couldn’t help glancing back at that alley.
That child moved way too nimbly, didn’t he?
He had definitely felt the carriage strike something with a thud, yet the child was completely unharmed.
The carriage creaked away. The child in the alley also poked his head out, sticking his tongue out toward the street: “Consider yourself lucky, otherwise this young master—”
Before he could finish, someone behind him reached out and grabbed his ear: “Little Rabbit, why are you running around?”
The boy called Little Rabbit turned around and smiled ingratiatingly: “Sister Xiao Man, I wasn’t running around. I was helping everyone scout the terrain and familiarize ourselves with the environment.”
The girl behind him wore beautiful clothes and jewelry, just like the young ladies of wealthy families in the capital. But when she spoke, her tone was fierce: “There are soldiers everywhere here. If you sneak around causing trouble for everyone, I won’t forgive you.”
Little Rabbit was somewhat unconvinced: “I’m very capable. That carriage couldn’t even hit me.”
Better not to have mentioned it. Xiao Man raised her hand and tapped his forehead again: “What normal child wouldn’t get hit?!”
Would they? Little Rabbit blinked: “Even A’Bao at home who just learned to walk wouldn’t get hit, right?”
Xiao Man couldn’t be bothered arguing with him. She dragged him into the alley: “No need to scout. We only need to watch one person. The house has already been rented, right across from the Chu residence. We don’t need to go anywhere else.”
Little Rabbit’s expression grew excited again: “Sister Xiao Man, has Chu Zhao already gone to that garden place to fight? Can we go watch?”
Xiao Man rolled her eyes: “No. There are even more soldiers there, surrounded so tightly not even water can leak through. Stop causing trouble.”
Little Rabbit was very disappointed: “I wonder when we’ll get to see Chu Zhao fight.”
……
……
Ning Kun put aside the small street incident and returned to the post station to see Xiao Xun.
Xiao Xun was reading various manuscripts from the望Spring Garden literary gathering that Tie Ying had handed him. Of course, he only looked at those related to Chu Zhao.
Unfortunately, there were very few about that girl—almost none.
“The Prince should have gone to see in person,” Tie Ying said, then sneered coldly. “See how Miss Chu at望Spring Garden was like a completely different person—gentle and obedient like a little lamb. You wouldn’t recognize her, Prince.”
Xiao Xun smiled: “I would. As soon as she sees me, she becomes fierce. I didn’t go to the venue precisely to avoid conflict with her—not that I’m afraid of her, but to prevent being exploited by others.”
Like the Third Prince, or Xie Yanfang.
Especially Xie Yanfang, who had deliberately gone to Chu Garden and was waiting for him too.
Ning Kun entered and nodded upon hearing this: “The Prince is right. If Xie Yanfang clashed with the Prince, it would confirm that the Prince is allied with the Third Prince.”
He frowned as he spoke.
“I wonder if Xie Yanfang told the Crown Prince that you were the one who spread that rumor about the Xie family?”
“He won’t,” Xiao Xun said. “He knows that even if he told the Crown Prince, I have an explanation.”
A slight smile crossed his face.
“I’ll just say that when I rescued her from drowning, I fell for Miss Chu at first sight, couldn’t forget her after seeing her again, and hatred was born from jealousy—”
“What? Only the Xie family can care about that girl, but I can’t have emotions and desires?”
Romantic entanglements that blew up never looked good, and moreover, matters between men and women spread extremely easily. The Xie family was intent on secretly growing stronger under Yang’s illustrious shadow and definitely wouldn’t want public attention.
Ning Kun praised: “The Prince’s actions put people at ease.”