“Do you remember telling me about the history of Prince Yanbei’s mansion?” Ren Yaoqi asked in return.

That was several years ago, during one of their meetings, when Xiao Jingxi had mentioned to her the messy accounts between the court and Prince Yanbei’s mansion.

Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi, his eyes containing a smile.

“I don’t know whether Prince Yanbei’s mansion is a sinner in the court’s eyes, but for ordinary people, the significance of Prince Yanbei’s mansion’s existence was already proven in that war decades ago. For Prince Yanbei’s mansion, it’s not a question of whether to retreat, but whether it’s possible to retreat.”

The court and the people of Jiangnan had never experienced it, and perhaps could never imagine what kind of living hell it would be to open their doors and let Liao cavalry trample through, but the people of Yanbei remembered clearly and hadn’t forgotten even after decades. It was precisely because of this painful memory that the people of Yanbei only knew of Prince Yanbei’s mansion and not the court—the Xiao family’s prestige in Yanbei was far beyond what the Li family could match.

The people of Yanbei all understood clearly that if another calamity like the Liao invasion of decades ago occurred, they would once again be abandoned by the court. Only Prince Yanbei’s mansion could protect their lives and property. The common people’s thoughts were simple—they didn’t care who was in charge, they only cared about who could keep them safe and well-fed.

“So are you afraid or not?” Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingxi still looked at Ren Yaoqi and asked slowly with his characteristic gentle, low, husky voice.

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but look at Xiao Jingxi somewhat helplessly, wondering if she imagined that today’s Second Young Master Xiao was particularly “unreasonable”!

Ren Yaoqi ultimately lacked experience. If her sister Ren Yaohua had been present, she might have understood that Second Young Master Xiao’s outrageous behavior today resembled Lei Pan’er’s coquettish moments by seven or eight parts, except that, due to his personality, Second Young Master Xiao expressed it very subtly.

Although Ren Yaoqi didn’t understand, she was still an intelligent woman, so she replied: “If you’re not afraid, then naturally I’m not afraid either.”

Just this one sentence made Second Young Master Xiao extremely pleased. Because he was in such a good mood, when the two continued their conversation, Second Young Master Xiao was much more normal.

Ren Yaoqi agreed to Zhu Ruomei’s request to advance his wedding date. As long as Xueli was willing, she naturally had nothing more to say.

Seeing that it was getting late, Ren Yaoqi rose to take her leave.

Even at this point, Ren Yaoqi still hadn’t realized why what should have been her being angry about Xiao Jingxi’s private meeting with Yan Ningshuang had instead ended up with her comforting Xiao Jingxi.

The two rose together, and when their gazes met, silent understanding flowed between them.

“Yaoyao…” Xiao Jingxi suddenly called out in a low voice.

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiao Jingxi, her face slightly flushed. This was the first time Xiao Jingxi had called her by her pet name. Xiao Jingxi’s voice was gentle and tender, and hearing it seemed to carry special meaning to Ren Yaoqi’s ears.

“Mm.” She lowered her head and responded vaguely.

Xiao Jingxi curved the corners of his mouth, stepped forward to take Ren Yaoqi’s hand, and escorted her out. This time, until Ren Yaoqi left the tea house, Xiao Jingxi didn’t say anything more, but even after boarding her carriage, Ren Yaoqi could still feel the warm touch Xiao Jingxi had left in her palm.

After Ren Yaoqi left the tea house, Xiao Jingxi didn’t hurry to leave. About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after Ren Yaoqi’s departure, Xiao Hua arrived.

When Xiao Hua entered, Xiao Jingxi, who had been standing alone by the window, lost in thought, had already returned to his usual appearance—black robes and dark hair, unparalleled in handsomeness, with an incomparable grace and bearing in every gesture.

However, when subordinates stood before him, they often overlooked his appearance and only felt the authority emanating from a superior. This side of Xiao Jingxi was something Ren Yaoqi had never seen.

“How is it?” Xiao Jingxi turned to glance at Xiao Hua and asked lightly.

Although Xiao Jingxi’s face still revealed no emotion, Xiao Hua, who had followed him since childhood, keenly sensed that his master seemed to be in quite a good mood, which relaxed Xiao Hua’s previously tense state somewhat. However, he couldn’t help but mutter inwardly that they say women’s hearts change like children’s faces, so how had his master developed this habit too? This wasn’t good!

But Xiao Hua had one good quality—no matter how far his thoughts wandered, he always maintained an expressionless, deep, and steady appearance that made people feel he was very reliable.

“Reporting to Young Master, this subordinate just investigated and found that Miss Ren’s carriage stopped for so long earlier, probably because of Pei Zhiyan, Master Pei.”

Xiao Jingxi was silent for a moment, then raised his eyebrows: “Pei Zhiyan? Are you certain?”

“It was indeed Master Pei Zhiyan! Master Pei arrived in Yunyang City yesterday evening. He didn’t alert his colleagues from the capital but instead stayed at the White Cloud Inn in the city. Master Pei also walked around Yunyang City last night and this morning. He only went to the separate residence to meet with the others just recently.”

Xiao Jingxi frowned and didn’t speak for a moment.

Xiao Hua secretly glanced at Xiao Jingxi, waiting for his next instructions.

He thought that, according to his master’s temperament, he would be sent to investigate the relationship between Miss Ren and Master Pei. His master might even have suspicions about Miss Ren’s identity, since logically, Miss Ren had grown up in Yanbei and never left Yanzhou, so she couldn’t possibly know Pei Zhiyan. There was a saying that unusual events indicate something supernatural.

Taking a wife was a major matter that couldn’t be taken carelessly. There weren’t many people in this world stupid enough like Mu Hu who could mistake even their beloved. Xiao Hua thought he might be sent to the capital. But if he went to the capital, the round trip would take at least a month, and his plan to ask Nanny Xin, besides the Princess Consort, to find a gentle and lovely wife for Xiao Shun would have to be postponed. But would this delay his master’s wedding?

Just as Xiao Hua’s thoughts were running wild, he suddenly heard Xiao Jingxi say: “If it’s Pei Zhiyan, then it’s fine…”

But Xiao Hua’s reaction was a bit slow, so as soon as Xiao Jingxi spoke, he instinctively lowered his head respectfully and said: “This subordinate accepts the order!”

Xiao Jingxi looked at Xiao Hua: “…”

After Xiao Hua came to his senses, his expression stiffened.

His master hadn’t said anything yet—what order was he accepting? Xiao Hua silently gave himself ten mental slaps.

“You have nothing to do here. Go down,” Xiao Jingxi was quite tolerant of his subordinates and didn’t blame him for this small matter.

This time, Xiao Hua didn’t dare to be distracted or talk nonsense. He quickly lowered his head and responded.

But just as Xiao Hua was about to leave, Xiao Jingxi called him back and said lightly: “I had you arrange people to secretly protect her, not to monitor her. You’d better remember this point to avoid making mistakes in the future.”

Hearing this, Xiao Hua’s heart trembled. This time, he very solemnly performed a kneeling bow to Xiao Jingxi: “This subordinate understands.”

When Xiao Jingxi had caught up to Ren Yaoqi earlier, he had seen from afar that her carriage had stopped for no apparent reason. He had originally thought Ren Yaoqi was waiting for him, but later discovered this wasn’t the case.

When Xiao Jingxi reached Ren Yaoqi’s carriage and knocked on the carriage wall, Ren Yaoqi hadn’t even remembered their previous signal of knocking on the carriage wall. At that moment, Xiao Jingxi truly felt aggrieved.

However, when he heard some indefinable emotion in Ren Yaoqi’s voice, Xiao Jingxi’s grievance was tinged with unease. In that moment, Xiao Jingxi suddenly realized that there seemed to be something about Ren Yaoqi that he couldn’t control.

This point was difficult to adapt to for someone accustomed to being in a position of authority, especially for someone like Xiao Jingxi.

So he had Xiao Hua investigate what had happened during the time Ren Yaoqi left Prince Yanbei’s mansion and whom she had encountered. Fortunately, there had always been people Xiao Jingxi sent to protect Ren Yaoqi around her, so it wouldn’t be difficult to investigate.

Xiao Jingxi was also worried that Ren Yaoqi had encountered some difficulty that she couldn’t tell him or Xiao Jinglin about.

But regardless of which point it was, Xiao Jingxi still cared somewhat in his heart.

So today, when Xiao Jingxi met Ren Yaoqi, he had shown some childish behavior, as if he couldn’t help wanting to confirm something, wanting the person he cared about to care about him as much as he cared about her.

Xiao Jingxi naturally had some unavoidable flaws of those in positions of authority and intelligent people. Meeting Ren Yaoqi was his first time putting someone in his heart, and he still needed to slowly explore and understand how to interact intimately with someone.

Fortunately, Xiao Jingxi truly kept Ren Yaoqi in his heart. When Ren Yaoqi docilely let him embrace her, Xiao Jingxi’s mood also gradually settled.

Second Young Master Xiao was someone who would earnestly correct himself once he realized his mistakes.

So, although he still felt somewhat puzzled about Ren Yaoqi’s unusual behavior today, he also knew he must give Ren Yaoqi his trust.

Some things she didn’t say, he wouldn’t ask.

There would be a day when she would be willing to tell him.