The latter half of the sentence carried a somewhat affectionate tone.

In just a few days, she had received a great deal of care from Wei Yu and had come to regard him as a true family member.

Wei Yu looked at the little girl’s endearing expression for a while before asking, “You still want to handle it yourself, don’t you?”

Zan Ying was slightly taken aback, her eyes quickly becoming serious as she nodded in agreement.

Wei Yu responded with a neutral “Hmm,” and said, “If I don’t live next to the Wang or Xie families, then it’s fine. A Nu can go on his way, and I’ll leave a group of guards for you.”

Zan Ying was stunned for a moment, then realized she had taken things too much for granted.

Her uncle had important duties at the military office in the northern capital; this time, his return to the capital was only temporary.

She had naively thought her little uncle would leisurely follow her from place to place, living together like a family forever.

He would eventually leave the capital and return to his stationed post.

It was only because her little uncle had treated her so well that she had developed such an unrealistic illusion.

She sighed softly, then quickly regained her composure and asked, “Is there any particular issue with not living next to the Wang or Xie families?”

She wasn’t well-versed in the feuds of the powerful families, but if it concerned her uncle, she would need to reconsider her decision to move to Wuyi Alley.

“It’s nothing significant; you don’t need to worry about it,” Wei Yu said as he stood by the door.

His gaze swept over the area, and with a raised eyebrow, he signaled.

A snow-white wolf with a long, fluffy tail trotted over to him.

“Bring this old beast along too; it’ll help alleviate boredom in your spare time.”

The white wolf perked up its ears when Wei Yu spoke, seemingly understanding human language.

It shook its neck fur and turned its gaze toward the hall.

Its cold, fierce eyes, which were white with black pupils, immediately spotted Zan Ying and excitedly bounded over, but Wei Yu held it back with one hand.

Zan Ying was startled by the sudden appearance of the large beast and took a small step back.

Though she had heard stories about hugging it when she was young, seeing its enormous size and those wolfish eyes still made her feel a bit intimidated.

She murmured softly and discussed with Wei Yu, “Since wolves aren’t suited to the Jiangnan region, maybe I should leave it behind.”

She wondered if the wolf would hold a grudge about the sugar syrup she had once stuck to its fur in childhood, even though she had cleaned it off later.

“It doesn’t bite,” Wei Yu said, looking at her retreating with a helpless expression.

He crouched down, patted the wolf’s head, and the white wolf obediently opened its mouth.

The wolf’s teeth were indeed sharp, but the sharpest tooth on its left side had been broken off at an angle.

Wei Yu casually reached into the wolf’s mouth, running his fingers along the broken tooth, and told her, “This old beast has been to the battlefield with me. It has bitten through enemy soldiers’ throats and blocked arrows with its sharp teeth. It has five enemy skulls to its name. At eleven years old, it’s considered quite old for a wolf. Let it stay with you, eat well for a few years, and live a peaceful life.”

The white wolf seemed indifferent to the feeling of the finger rubbing its tooth, raising its snowy neck and making a low, indistinct whine, but it opened its mouth and remained still.

It was hard to imagine how such a docile creature could have been fierce and bloodthirsty on the battlefield.

Zan Ying then understood the significance of this wolf to her little uncle.

She suddenly realized that when her little uncle brought the wolf into the palace, it was likely intended as a birthday gift for her.

He didn’t want her to stay in the palace, but if she insisted on marrying the Crown Prince, then this wolf was meant to be a deterrent to the palace, signaling to everyone that her little uncle Wei Yu from the northern capital was behind her and that she should not be bullied.

She then recalled that at her coming-of-age ceremony in her previous life, she had vaguely heard about the Grand Marshal coming to offer congratulations.

However, at that time, her heart was completely focused on the Crown Prince.

Fearing that she might behave improperly in front of the guests and embarrass the Yu family, she was extremely cautious about every word and action, naturally avoiding introducing high-ranking officials or foreign men.

And then, there was nothing more.

Zan Ying blinked, looked at Wei Yu, and asked, “What’s its name?”

“A wolf doesn’t need a name.”

Hearing this seemingly natural response, Zanying was astonished.

The wolf had been with him for more than ten years, and yet it remained nameless and dull. She asked blankly, “Then, how should I call it?”

Wei Yu’s expression also turned puzzled, as if he had never considered such a problem.

He stood up, looked at her, and placed his fingers to his lips to make a sharp, low whistle.

Immediately, the white wolf straightened its tail and tensed its body.

“Like this,” Wei Yu said.

With the whistle, a group of black-armored soldiers from the Five Camps swiftly assembled outside the pavilion.

From below the window, one could see a dense formation of troops, at least four to five hundred strong.

Zanying gasped in surprise.

Wei Yu’s ears twitched slightly, and he glanced back with a sharp look.

Seeing the scene inside the pavilion, General Lin Rui realized, “He didn’t call us; the General is just amusing Lady Fu. Disperse!”

With a command, the soldiers, who had gathered from all directions, quickly scattered like birds and beasts.

In the blink of an eye, the once-bustling garden was left in silence, with only the banana leaves rustling gently.

Zanying was at a loss for words, unable to express her astonishment.

She remained silent for a while, feeling a vague sense of familiarity as if she had seen something similar before, but couldn’t recall it.

She then tried to make the same whistling gesture with her fingers, hesitated twice, and found it too awkward, so she gave up.

She turned her face away, muttering softly, “Little Uncle is teasing me again.”

Thus, the plan to move to Wuyi Alley was settled.

The details of how Zanying’s group would travel across the Huai River, settle into the new residence, and other such matters were not discussed further.

With the experienced Manager Du and Miss Ren handling everything, Zanying would be comfortably settled as if she were returning home.

By dusk, Prince Hui and his wife did indeed arrive with the elderly Consort Xi in a blue canopy carriage.

A few palace-trained servants carefully carried the elderly lady out of the carriage. Manager Du hurriedly arranged for people to assist and took her to the well-prepared main room.

Zanying, having just arrived at the new house in Wuyi Alley, was not yet familiar with the layout or the number of rooms.

Upon hearing the news, she did not attend to other matters but hurried to visit Lady Xi.

Upon entering the room, she saw the elderly woman with silver hair lying on the couch, looking haggard and pale, half-closed eyes, and weak breathing, a stark contrast to how she appeared during Zanying’s last visit.

This sight made Zanying’s heart ache.

She rolled up her sleeves, knelt by the couch, and took the corn soup that had been prepared in advance in the kitchen, gently feeding it to Lady Xi.

“Your Highness, it’s A’ying. I’m here to serve you your meal. Please open your mouth and taste the soup to see if it’s to your liking.”

Strangely enough, although Lady Xi was in a semi-comatose state, the soft and persistent coaxing from Zanying made her slowly open her white, dry lips and swallow the soup.

Prince Hui and his wife, standing anxiously behind, exhaled deeply and were overwhelmed with joy and tears when they saw this.

The physician also mentioned that as long as Lady Xi could swallow food, there was a good chance she could gradually recover.

Li Rongzhi immediately bowed deeply to Zanying, but the princess, Lady Zhou, quickly stopped him.

“Lady Fu is a distinguished young lady. How could the Prince make such a rough gesture of bowing down? This is a great kindness. The Prince’s words of thanks are enough. The elderly lady still needs rest; we shouldn’t disturb her further. Let us find a quiet place to thank Lady Fu properly later.”

She then, with some embarrassment, gave a deep bow to Zanying, “I apologize for taking too much of your time. Please do not hold it against us.”

Zanying, who had seen Lady Zhou often in the palace, knew she was a person of proper manners.

She responded with some polite words, left people to take care of the elderly lady, and then quietly exited the inner room.

In the main hall, Zanying invited the Prince and Princess to sit and have tea before asking about her concern, “How did the Empress react when you went to the rear palace to fetch the elderly lady?”

On her coming-of-age day, Lady Zhou had been invited to Hua Lin Garden.

She had observed the events around that time and felt a sense of injustice for Lady Fu.

So she responded,

“The Empress was naturally astonished and refused at first, saying that His Majesty governs the country with filial piety, and Consort Xi has made great contributions to the state and holds a superior rank. She should be kept in the palace to be nurtured. If she were to be taken out, it would inevitably provoke public discussion and damage the imperial family’s reputation.

“Young lady, you saw the bruise on grandmother’s lips earlier, didn’t you? That was from trying to feed her ginseng soup through a bamboo tube because they feared she might starve, and they had no other way to get her to open her mouth. Isn’t that already damaging to the imperial family’s reputation? I said this, but the Empress replied that you would be returning to the palace in a few days and asked me to wait a bit longer. I argued that life and death are at stake, and we cannot afford to delay. It would be better to take the Consort Xi out first and then have the Hui County Prince’s residence send her back after you return to the palace. This would be the most ideal solution. In truth, I never thought for a moment that Miss Fu would return.’

When Prince Hui and his wife entered the palace, it was Zhou Shi who went to the inner palace, while Hui County Prince went directly to the Central Hall to seek an audience with His Majesty.

Thus, Prince Hui had not heard these details before.

Clenching his fists, he asked, “What happened next?”

Zhou Shi took a sip of tea and sighed lightly. “Even so, the Empress was still hesitant and unwilling to give in. I used what the prince had taught me and told the Empress that when my family’s prince was sent to the capital by my father, it was originally to bring his mother back to Shu for a family reunion and to fulfill filial duties.

It was the Elderly Consort Xi who, with a deep understanding of the greater good and considering the royal family, voluntarily stayed in the palace. In fact, there have been precedents in our dynasty where a prince took his mother to his fief after being enfeoffed.

If the Empress does not agree, then the prince would have to write a letter to the King of Shu to ask for guidance. As soon as I finished speaking, the Emperor’s personal eunuch came to convey the Emperor’s consent, and only then were we able to take her out.”

Zanying listened with some sympathy and asked, “When the princess left, did you notice anything unusual in the Xianyang Palace, such as movements of inner court officials or any changes in the storage boxes?”

Zhou Shi, who was unaware of Zan Ying’s intentions regarding the palace, thought for a moment and shook her head. “No.”

Zan Ying understood.

It seemed that the Yu family had not yet abandoned their plans to bring her back to the palace and had not yet begun to consolidate accounts.

Her eyes flashed with a glimmer, but she said nothing more.

After leaving the main hall and returning to her courtyard, it was already time for the evening meal.

Zan Ying had nothing to do and watched the maid prepare the dishes.

She suddenly remembered the instructions her uncle had given her before leaving the temporary palace.

“Maintaining good health requires proper methods. From now on, your diet should be moderate and not excessive. Once you have strengthened your body, if you enjoy playing chess, throwing a ball, or pitching, your little uncle will teach you. Your body will naturally become more agile then.”

Because he had seen her vomit that day, he had picked up on her concealed thoughts and guessed correctly.

Zan Ying was suddenly relieved that she had moved out; otherwise, staying under her little uncle’s watchful eye would have exposed her secret of rebirth.

If that day ever came, how would he view her?