Chapter 645

Chapter Six

“Niannian, a bad person doesn’t walk around with the words ‘bad person’ written on his face,” Xu Qingshi said through clenched teeth.

Niannian turned to look at Zhu Hanyu.

“Brother, this big brother is handsome,” Niannian said seriously after a moment’s thought.

“Our Niannian certainly has good taste!” the Third Prince said smugly.

“Niannian, don’t let this man’s pretty face fool you. You should know, he once even said you were ugly.” Xu Qingshi picked Niannian up and moved to leave.

“Xu Qingshi, stop spreading lies! When did I ever say Niannian was ugly?” The Third Prince was immediately displeased.

After all, Niannian was so adorable. How could he possibly bear to call her ugly?

“Your Highness, would you like me to refresh your memory and tell you exactly when you said Niannian was ugly?” Xu Qingshi turned to look at the Third Prince behind him, the corners of his lips curling into an inscrutable smile.

“Niannian isn’t ugly!” Little Niannian might not understand much else, but she certainly knew the difference between beauty and ugliness.

She was quite angry now.

“That’s right. Our Niannian isn’t ugly.”

Xu Qingshi left with Niannian in his arms, thoroughly satisfied.

“Damn that Xu Qingshi!” The Third Prince watched Xu Qingshi carry Niannian away and stamped his feet anxiously. But he also knew that Xu Qingshi certainly wouldn’t let him see Niannian again today.

Still, he had returned to the capital now. He would have plenty of chances to see Niannian in the future.

Prince An’s Residence

“Niannian, from now on, if you want to go anywhere, tell your big brother first, all right?” Xu Qingshi looked at his little sister. Although he was displeased that she had sneaked out this time, he ultimately couldn’t bear to raise his voice at her.

All he could do was patiently teach her.

“Big Brother, Niannian missed Mother. Niannian wanted to go find her.” Seeing her brother, Niannian felt somewhat aggrieved.

“Big Brother misses Father and Mother too.” Looking at his tiny little sister, Xu Qingshi thought of their parents, who were far away in Tongcheng. Then he thought of how the Third Prince had now met his little sister.

No, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‍he absolutely could not let the Third Prince steal his sister away.

“Niannian, would you like to go find Father and Mother?” Xu Qingshi looked at his sister, a bold decision taking shape in his heart.

“I want to go find Father and Mother!” Niannian quickly clapped her hands.

“Then Big Brother will take you to find them.” Xu Qingshi patted her head and promised her.

“Wonderful! Niannian is going to find Father and Mother!” Niannian clapped her hands excitedly.

Pingping and An’an, who were hiding nearby, felt rather aggrieved. They wanted to go find their parents too.

However, they both knew very well that their big brother definitely wouldn’t take them.

“Second Brother, why don’t we beg Big Brother?” An’an said cautiously.

“Instead of begging Big Brother, we might as well ask Uncle to take us,” Pingping said, shaking his head. He thought asking Li Tingzhou was more reliable than asking Xu Qingshi.

After all, their uncle doted on them dearly.

“Then after Big Brother takes our sister to find Father and Mother, we’ll go to the Li family and ask Uncle to take us.”

The two brothers reached an agreement.

The Imperial Palace

“You little rascal, Niannian is already five years old, and this is the first time you’ve seen her? What do you think? Isn’t she adorable?” Zhu Jingchen looked at his son with a smug smile.

“Father, why didn’t you tell me Niannian had grown up to look like that?” Zhu Hanyu complained.

“You never went to see her yourself. Why blame Me?” Zhu Jingchen showed not the slightest bit of sympathy for his own son.

“My son, tell Me—would you like Niannian to be your wife?” Zhu Jingchen asked the Third Prince teasingly.

“Father, Niannian is still too young!” Zhu Hanyu no longer thought Niannian was unattractive. He simply felt that she was far too young.

“You’ll regret this one day, you brat!” Seeing how utterly oblivious his son was, Zhu Jingchen shook his head.

He really couldn’t be blamed for failing to help his son. His son had been the one to refuse.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. The five-year-old Niannian of the past had grown into a graceful young woman.

Throughout those ten years, Niannian had traveled from place to place with Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei. She had never returned to the capital.

During that time, the only one from the Xu family who occasionally returned to the capital was Xu Qingshi.

One day, Liu Ming, the old steward of Prince An’s Residence, fell gravely ill. Xu Qingshi and Princess Consort An were temporarily unable to get away, so Niannian, who happened to be free, returned to the residence first to visit Steward Liu.

However, the carriage was traveling too quickly and nearly struck a passerby.

“Who is it? How dare you crash into my master’s carriage?” A Nan, who accompanied the Third Prince, never expected some reckless carriage to nearly collide with his master’s.

“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry and didn’t notice.” Niannian nimbly jumped down from the carriage, cupped her hands toward the Third Prince’s carriage, and offered an apology.

“Which family’s young lady are you? How dare you crash into my master’s carriage?” A Nan had never seen Niannian before, so naturally he did not recognize her as the young commandery princess of Prince An’s household.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. Is your master all right?” Over the years, Niannian had traveled around with Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei. She could hardly be said to put on any airs as a commandery princess.

After all, her parents had taught her to admit and correct her mistakes.

She was the most well-behaved child.

“You…” For a moment, A Nan didn’t know what to say.

The young girl was clearly dressed like someone from a distinguished family, yet he had never seen her before.

Although she had crashed into his master’s carriage, her attitude was quite good.

“Your Highness, are you all right?” Only then did A Nan remember to ask about his master inside the carriage.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” The Third Prince had no idea that the young woman who had collided with his carriage was Niannian, who had been away from the capital for ten years.

“Master, the young lady just said that she is…” A Nan hesitated.

“The young lady in the carriage, I was reckless just now and crashed into your carriage. May I ask which family you are from? I will have someone send a gift of apology to your residence later.” Niannian called toward the Third Prince inside the carriage.

“No need!” The Third Prince assumed she was merely another woman trying to use some excuse to flirt with him, and there was even a hint of disgust in his voice.

Niannian frowned. She thought this man was being extremely rude.

However, she was in a hurry to return to Prince An’s Residence to see Steward Liu, so she did not argue with him. As she left, she merely called toward the man inside the carriage, “I’m the young commandery princess of Prince An’s household. If you were truly injured, you can send someone to Prince An’s Residence to find me.”

After saying this, Niannian did not wait for a reply from the man inside. She drove her carriage toward Prince An’s Residence.

“A Nan, what did that young lady just say? Whose daughter is she?” The Third Prince wondered if he had heard incorrectly. Otherwise, how could he have heard her claim to be the young commandery princess of Prince An’s household?

There was only one young commandery princess in Prince An’s household.

Wasn’t she Niannian?

At that thought, the Third Prince lifted the carriage curtain without a second thought. But by then, Niannian was nowhere to be seen.

“Master, that young lady said she was the young commandery princess of Prince An’s household. But isn’t the young commandery princess away from the residence?” A Nan scratched his head, utterly puzzled by his master’s reaction.