Chapter 25: The Black-Hearted Little Girl

“Wh…what?”

Bai Jinxi stuttered, nervously staring at Xiao Chuyi, her eyes even turning slightly red, a sign of excitement.

Seeing Bai Jinxi so nervous, Xiao Chuyi sighed inwardly. She was still a little girl after all, and her life in the Bai manor wouldn’t be easy. He should take care of her as much as possible.

“Little girl, your future husband… he probably won’t marry you in the future.”

Xiao Chuyi glanced at Bai Jinxi, softening his voice slightly. It sounded surprisingly gentle.

That’s it? Bai Jinxi’s face showed clear disappointment.

She didn’t want to marry him anyway!

However, at this moment, Lu Yian had already gotten close to the Qingyang County Lord? Then…

Thinking back to her previous fabricated story about Yun Moyi having a powerful background, it might not be entirely false!

“Anba found out that Lu Yian and the granddaughter of the Wuwei King, the Qingyang County Lord, are very close, and they even made a promise to get married after you come of age. Sigh, little girl, it’s actually a good thing to know this earlier.”

Seeing her slightly disheartened, Xiao Chuyi made a decision and told her what Anba had told him.

It was actually a coincidence. After he moved into the medical clinic on the summer solstice, Anba went to the Bai manor and overheard their conversation.

Later, when he left the manor, he happened to see Lu Yian getting on a carriage in a huff, so he followed him. He discovered that Lu Yian had gone to the Wuwei Palace.

Anba thought there was a conspiracy and continued to follow, only to see the Qingyang County Lord and Lu Yian pulling and tugging at each other, their words mentioning the little girl from the Bai family.

That night, Anba found Xiao Chuyi in the Tianzi room of Qiao’s Restaurant and told him everything he had seen and heard…

Surprised that Xiao Chuyi could be so gentle and considerate, Bai Jinxi timely showed a touch of sadness.

“It’s okay, I know Brother An doesn’t have me in his heart, he just pretends to care for me because of the engagement…”

Bai Jinxi didn’t want to exploit Xiao Chuyi’s kindness, but she was an orphan, and she had the blood feud of the entire Bai palace to avenge. She could only use some tricks to gain his sympathy.

She thought to herself, “Sorry, Xiao Chuyi, I’m not intentionally deceiving you…”

“You have a black heart, little girl, you even lied to me!” Xiao Chuyi suddenly hit her head with his folding fan.

Bai Jinxi was still feeling sad a moment ago, but the next moment, hearing Xiao Chuyi’s words, she raised her head with a stunned expression, her mouth wide open.

What? Did she say what was in her heart?

“Anba told me, you actually find Lu Yian annoying, you can stop acting like you’re sad for him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room suddenly fell silent, only the sound of the tea water gently swaying in the cup could be heard.

Xiao Chuyi looked at Bai Jinxi with a smile, feeling very satisfied that he had finally gotten one up on her.

Bai Jinxi’s shock only lasted for a moment, then she returned to her expressionless state, picked up her teacup and took a sip.

“Lord Chu really has a strange sense of humor. Since you already knew, why didn’t you tell me at the time, or just pretend with me to the end.”

“You’re not simple, little girl!” Xiao Chuyi didn’t get angry, he just smiled and said.

In his opinion, Bai Jinxi was an orphan, living under the watchful eyes of others. If she didn’t have some cunning, she would have been devoured long ago.

It seems that this trip out of the palace was a good decision after all. The outside world is indeed as exciting as the Third Emperor Brother said. Xiao Chuyi raised his eyebrows slightly, deciding to stay in Liangzhou City for a while longer to see what else this little girl could do.

“Since you know my situation, you should introduce yourself as well, that’s fair.” Bai Jinxi said.

She knew he was the Prince Yi, but this identity was obviously one he didn’t want to reveal. So, she had to listen and figure out what identity he wanted to give himself. They would be interacting frequently in the future, and she had to remember it to avoid any slip-ups.

“My identity? Just remember I’m Chu Yi, from the capital, and I’m very rich. I’m just out traveling, and I’ll stay in Liangzhou City… for half a year at most.”

Xiao Chuyi casually twirled his teacup and took a sip of tea.

“Can you pretend to be a hunter’s son?” Bai Jinxi thought for a moment and suddenly asked.

“When I go out to find you, you can pretend to be… well, prepare some coarse cloth clothes.” She looked up and down at Xiao Chuyi, thought for a moment, and put forward her idea.

Xiao Chuyi saw her gaze and immediately became unhappy, “This lord doesn’t look like a hunter at all?!”

“I’ll bring you delicious food!”

When she first came in, Bai Jinxi had noticed Xiao Chuyi’s fondness for food. The table was filled with dishes that only old customers of Qiao’s Restaurant would order… He had figured out what was delicious in just seven days, he must be someone who loves food.

Hearing the word food, he thought for a moment and finally agreed, reluctantly.

However, Xiao Chuyi thought that this little girl wouldn’t be able to make anything special, after all, the best chefs in Nan Yue were basically in his house.

Forget it, the little girl isn’t easy!

Thus, after agreeing to meet every five days, with Xiao Chuyi covering her to learn medicine at Renxin Hall, Bai Jinxi returned to the manor.

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“Master, are you really going to help her?” Anba quietly appeared and asked in puzzlement.

“You’ve been appearing quite frequently lately; you didn’t make a sound during the landslide.” Xiao Chuyi glared at Anba and said in an annoyed tone.

On the summer solstice, there was no one on the road, so Anba followed from a distance. When the landslide happened, there was chaos everywhere, and he hadn’t seen where anyone was before he saw Zhuifeng carrying a lot of things and running away, so he quickly followed.

When he realized that the master wasn’t on horseback, Zhuifeng had already found a carriage and was driving towards the landslide. He followed and hid nearby, making sure that the people coming were not malicious, and then he let them be.

Now, hearing the master mention that day’s events, Anba immediately knelt down and said in a strong voice, “Anba is guilty, he failed to protect the master that day, and is willing to be punished!”

“Alright, alright, you know my temper, and you still use this trick. Get up!” Xiao Chuyi laughed.

“It’s rare that Father agreed to let me go out and travel, so naturally I have to experience all kinds of life. My Third Emperor Brother always tells me about his experiences in the world when he comes back from his travels, but he’s never done things like this little girl’s everyday life, has he? Next time I see him, I’ll tell him about it too!”

Thinking of the Third Emperor Brother, Xiao Chuyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He was a man who was free and easy, sunny, gentle and jade-like, as perfect as a celestial being.

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Anba no longer persuaded him, bowed and disappeared into the room.

Xiao Chuyi looked out the window at the carriage disappearing into the street…

He casually raised his teacup, the slightly cold tea water flowing over his lips, making him frown involuntarily.

“Sigh… from the incident with Lu Yian, you can see that she, an orphan, must have a hard time. Although she didn’t save me, I would have been fine, maybe even better than now.”

He laughed as he said this, glancing at his leg still wrapped in bandages.

“After all, she owes me a favor, so I should help if I can. Teaching her some self-defense skills might be more useful, after all, I can’t always take care of her. Fortunately, the little girl is resourceful…”

Xiao Chuyi sighed, as if talking to himself, as if casually chatting with Anba, but he hadn’t heard Anba respond for a long time.

He was used to it.

He was always lonely in the palace, and only when the Third Emperor Brother came back could he feel the warmth of family.