Chapter 145

Zuo Anning continued to stay at the Qiao Mansion for a while.

Qiao Jiaojiao knew Zuo Anning was feeling uncomfortable, so she often kept her company. This caused the Prince Xi’s mentality to become somewhat unstable.

“Master, why hasn’t Jiaojiao come to see Little Xi lately?”

He held the wooden spear specially carved for him by Qiao Zhongguo, his big eyes watery as he looked up at the tall figure of Qiao Zhongguo.

Qiao Zhongguo raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t particularly polite to the Prince Xi these days.

“What’s the matter? Your old man works hard to teach you martial arts, and you’re still thinking about my Jiaojiao?”

The Prince Xi nodded earnestly, “Master, I like your Jiaojiao the most!”

Qiao Zhongguo: “…”

Was there such a sincere child? How was he supposed to respond to that?

It shouldn’t be a problem to just tell the Prince Xi to buzz off, right?

The Prince Xi was adept at reading people’s expressions. Seeing Qiao Zhongguo’s widened eyes, he knew he was about to scold him, so he quickly added, “Master, Little Xi just feels like he has endless energy when Jiaojiao is around. He feels motivated all the time. So he hopes Jiaojiao will continue to supervise him!”

Qiao Zhongguo snorted lightly. “You little rascal, you already know how to block me?”

“Don’t worry, Jiaojiao should come to see me this afternoon!”

Early this morning, Anning was picked up by her father-in-law’s people.

Half a month passed, and the rumors in the capital had almost dissipated. Besides, Anning’s child wanted to go back and spend time with his father-in-law as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, the Prince Xi’s eyes lit up!

“Really? That’s great! Master, teach Little Xi a new spear technique. He’ll perform it for Jiaojiao this afternoon!”

Qiao Zhongguo: “…”

This little brat suddenly got all fired up…

Fine, you’re asking for it, aren’t you?

Scared of a little kid like you being infatuated with Jiaojiao, I’ll scare you to death!

“Stand first! Raise your arms!”

“Don’t stick your butt out!”

“Yes! Maintain that!”

…

Jiaojiao took a nice nap at noon, and in the afternoon, she was accompanied by Aunt Liu as she slowly made her way to the backyard, resting several times along the way due to fatigue.

When she finally reached the corridor, she suddenly heard a shout, “Jiaojiao!”

Jiaojiao looked up and saw the Prince Xi running down from a wooden stake, bypassing the corridor and running towards her.

“Jiaojiao! Little Xi misses you so much!”

The Prince Xi ran to Jiaojiao, squatted down, wrapped his arms around Jiaojiao’s legs, and then picked her up!

“Ah!”

Jiaojiao was startled and screamed.

Aunt Liu was afraid that the Prince Xi would drop Jiaojiao, so she bent down, stretched out her arms, and protected her carefully, urgently saying, “Your Highness, be careful! Be careful!”

The Prince Xi smiled happily, “Aunt Liu, it’s okay! I’m much stronger now. I can lift two Jiaojiaos! Look!”

As he spoke, he even turned around while holding Jiaojiao.

[Hey, slow down a bit!]

Jiaojiao held onto the Prince Xi’s neck tightly, her eyes wide with fear.

After the Prince Xi steadied himself, he even bounced Jiaojiao a bit, adjusting his posture in his hands.

“Jiaojiao, is this more comfortable for you? Did I squeeze you?”

The Prince Xi looked at Jiaojiao earnestly, his face full of joy and a hint of pride!

During the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, Mrs. Qiao mentioned that he would need to be seven years old before he could lift Jiaojiao. Now, after nearly two months of training with Mr. Qiao, his strength has greatly increased!

Look, he’s holding Jiaojiao very steadily!

Jiaojiao tentatively squirmed a bit and, seeing that Prince Xi’s arms were indeed strong, her tense body gradually relaxed.

“Xiao Xi!”

Jiaojiao glared at him angrily.

[You scared me just now! I really thought I was going to be knocked over by you!]

Prince Xi first smiled foolishly, then looked somewhat aggrieved.

“Why hasn’t Jiaojiao come to see me in half a month? I miss Jiaojiao a lot. Jiaojiao, don’t you miss me at all?”

Jiaojiao: “…”

[Can we stop with the questions? Can you put me down first? I still think you can’t handle my weight!]

Unfortunately, she couldn’t say a word, she could only mumble, “Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi!”

“Eh, eh, eh!”

Prince Xi happily responded, holding onto Jiaojiao and walking forward, bypassing the corridor, and then placing Jiaojiao steadily on the small stool she usually sat on.

“Jiaojiao, sit here. I’ve started learning spear dancing recently. I’ll perform for you!”

Prince Xi picked up the wooden spear leaning next to him, raised it, and his expression became serious.

Jiaojiao originally wanted to tease him, but when she saw his determined and focused gaze, she adjusted her expression.

Every hardworking person deserves respect, especially when they show results!

Prince Xi looked serious, lifted the spear, and then performed a series of movements seamlessly.

Jiaojiao was dazzled, she didn’t expect Prince Xi to progress so quickly, even his spear dancing was decent!

Prince Xi caught a glimpse of Jiaojiao’s serious expression and felt like he had endless energy again. He decided to try the move he had just learned this morning.

He stepped forward, turned around, suddenly thrust the spear backward, and then thumped, fell on his butt…

Jiaojiao was too absorbed in watching and couldn’t help but say “Oh” suddenly, causing Prince Xi on the ground to blush.

This horse spear move was too difficult. He regretted being so proud. He would wait until he mastered it before showing it to Jiaojiao!

Jiaojiao stood up unsteadily, walked to Prince Xi, and looked at him curiously. There was a teasing smile on her face.

[Hey, look at your blushing face. Feeling embarrassed?]

Although Prince Xi couldn’t hear Jiaojiao’s thoughts, seeing her smile, he suddenly felt hot on his face and quickly stood up.

He felt shy for a moment, then raised his head and vowed, “Jiaojiao, next time you watch, I will definitely have mastered it!”

“You… forget what happened today! Forget everything!”

Jiaojiao couldn’t help but chuckle at his words.

[I’ll remember it, and when we’re older, I’ll bring it up to tease you!]

Hearing Jiaojiao’s innocent laughter, Prince Xi looked at her cute face and felt his embarrassment gradually dissipate.

He couldn’t help but think, having Jiaojiao around was really nice.

With Jiaojiao here, the hot July afternoon didn’t seem so hot anymore.

He felt a sweet sensation in his heart, wishing time would slow down a bit so he could stay at the Qiao Mansion a little longer, stay with Jiaojiao a little longer…

“Cough, cough!”

Mr. Qiao coughed heavily twice, startling Prince Xi, who quickly picked up his spear and stood up.

“Dad!”

Jiaojiao greeted her father with joy.

Mr. Qiao embraced Jiaojiao affectionately, thinking to himself:

“I just went to get a bowl of water and check on Mrs. Qiao’s progress, but this brat started showing off in front of Jiaojiao! Practice! Let him practice until he drops dead!”

Thinking of this, Mr. Qiao carried Jiaojiao to a shady spot under a tree, giving Prince Xi a stern look.

“Xiao Xi, aren’t you going to practice? Have you mastered the back spear move?”

Remembering his embarrassing moment earlier, Prince Xi’s face turned slightly red, but he raised his voice and replied firmly, “Mr. Qiao, I’ll practice now!”