Yun Chu walked into the flower hall with Tingyu.

Looking at the pastries on the table, she said, “I remember the mung bean cakes you make are softer than usual. When you have time, make some and send them to me.”

Tingyu beamed with joy. “Yes, Madam. This servant will go make them right now.”

As long as Madam was willing to employ her, sooner or later she would return to Madam’s side. Like before, she would regain her dignity, and who in the residence would dare give her cold looks again?

Yun Chu nodded. Just as Tingyu was about to withdraw, a matron rushed in anxiously. “Madam, Prince Pingxi has brought many people and says he wants to search the Xie residence.”

Yun Chu’s fingers gripping the teacup suddenly froze.

People from Prince Pingxi’s residence had arrived so quickly—this was somewhat beyond her expectations. Fortunately, Qiutong and Tingshuang had already left with the two children.

Tingyu said in shock, “Although Prince Pingxi holds high rank and great power, he doesn’t have the authority to search private residences, does he? Could it be that some thief has escaped, so Prince Pingxi…”

“It’s the Young Lord and Young Princess from Prince Pingxi’s residence who have gone missing,” the matron said hurriedly. “The Master has already gone to the residence gate to respectfully receive Prince Pingxi. He specifically sent this old servant to report to Madam and have the concubines and young ladies in the residence avoid the situation.”

Yun Chu nodded and immediately had someone notify the female family members.

Just as she finished giving instructions, she heard many voices—people from Prince Pingxi’s residence had already searched their way to the rear courtyard.

In all of the capital, only Prince Pingxi would dare to act this way.

The First Prince was the Crown Prince and needed popular support—he would never casually search private residences and invite impeachment from all the officials.

The other princes lacked the capability to back themselves up—how would they dare do such a thing?

Seeing Xie Jingyu accompanying Prince Pingxi as they drew closer, Yun Chu, as the mistress of the household, naturally couldn’t hide away like the concubines.

She stood up and went forward. “This one greets Your Highness.”

Chu Yi’s gaze fell upon Yun Chu.

For some reason, he thought of that night when she held Changsheng in her arms.

Under the moonlight, her skin was like white porcelain. That night, in his dazed state, he had felt that her beautiful eyes resembled Changsheng’s very much.

Now, with daylight to see by, he could see even more clearly—not only did the eyes look alike, even the shape of the lips seemed as if carved from the same mold.

He paused before speaking. “Lady Xie, pardon the intrusion.”

At that moment, the four guards who had been searching Sheng Residence emerged and shook their heads at Prince Pingxi.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Two hours ago, just as he was about to depart for Jizhou, the Crown Prince had suddenly fallen ill. The Emperor had urgently issued edicts summoning him back. After he returned to his residence and was just preparing to take his eldest son, Brother Yu, to the Eastern Palace to visit the sick, he learned that Brother Yu had gone missing, and Changsheng had also disappeared with him.

He immediately assembled personnel to search the entire city.

The first residence he went to was the Eldest Princess’s residence, because Brother Yu was close to the Eldest Princess.

The second place he came to was the Xie residence. Perhaps because of how Changsheng had been so reluctant to part from this Lady Xie that night, he vaguely felt that the two children might have come here.

But the search had found nothing.

“Lord Xie, Lady Xie, pardon the disturbance.”

Chu Yi turned to leave.

Just then, a child’s voice rang out. “There’s a shoe over there!”

Yun Chu turned her head to see Xie Shiyun, who had been held by Tingyu’s hand all along, suddenly rush over and point into the flower bushes while calling out.

Following Xie Shiyun’s pointing finger, her breathing stopped for a moment—it was Brother Yu’s brocade boot.

Chu Yi’s footsteps also stopped. Looking at that shoe, though his daily official duties kept him busy and naturally he didn’t personally put shoes on his children, he felt this shoe looked somewhat familiar.

“That’s not my shoe,” Xie Shiyun’s childish voice rang out. “Whose shoe fell here?”

Tingyu immediately noticed that Yun Chu’s expression had changed. She quickly pulled back her own son.

Xie Shiyun pressed his lips tightly together.

He had said long ago that there were other children in Mother’s courtyard, which was why Mother no longer liked him, but his concubine mother didn’t believe him.

Now he had finally found evidence. Since Prince Pingxi was also here, he would borrow Prince Pingxi’s people to find the children in Mother’s courtyard.

Tingyu covered her son’s mouth, her peripheral vision sweeping toward that shoe.

It indeed wasn’t Brother Yun’s shoe, but one could tell at a glance it was the shoe size for a three or four-year-old child. In the residence, there was only one boy of that age—Brother Yun.

This proved that in Madam’s courtyard, there truly were other children.

Was Madam really going to adopt other children?

Tingyu’s emotions became extremely complicated.

Yun Chu’s expression only changed slightly before returning to normal. She quickly walked over and picked up the small shoe from the flower bushes. “Yesterday I had the maids in the courtyard searching everywhere for a shoe. So it fell here. This is for my maternal nephew’s upcoming birthday—I specifically had someone make it in the capital’s most fashionable style.”

Chu Yi nodded. “Much obliged. This prince takes his leave.”

He quickly departed with the guards.

Just then, Yun Chu saw Qiutong and Tingshuang walking in from outside. The two nodded at her, and only then did her anxiously suspended heart finally settle back into her stomach.

Chu Yi walked to the gate and was about to search the next location when a servant came to report. “Your Highness, the Young Lord and Young Princess have been found. They sneaked out of the residence to stroll on the streets, with Guard Mao accompanying them.”

As the words fell, two nannies carrying the two young masters walked before Chu Yi.

Both little ones knew they had done wrong. They hugged the nannies’ necks tightly, buried their heads, and didn’t make a sound.

Chu Yi looked at Chu Hongyu, his gaze involuntarily moving downward to land on his feet. Then his eyes narrowed. “Where are your shoes?”

Chu Hongyu’s two little feet rubbed together. “Don’t… don’t know where I dropped them.”

“Oh?” A cold smile floated to the corners of Chu Yi’s lips. “Why don’t you tell me how your shoe ran to the Xie residence?”

Chu Hongyu’s little face turned pale in an instant. His instinct was to deny it. “No, I didn’t go to the Xie family…”

Chu Yi’s voice grew colder. “When did I say you went to the Xie family? You’ve simply confessed without being pressed. You…”

Before he could finish speaking, the little girl lying in the nanny’s arms suddenly came to her senses. Opening her large, dewy eyes, she reached out two short arms toward him.

In that moment, Chu Yi’s heart softened at once.

Before Changsheng turned two, she spent most of her time in unconscious sleep. After she passed two years old, she finally improved somewhat, but she needed regular acupuncture. Each acupuncture session made her cry loudly, and she grew increasingly resistant to him, this father who forced her to undergo treatment.

By the time she reached three years old, Changsheng’s illness had finally greatly improved, but her eyes had lost their light.

She wouldn’t actively look at him, this father. She wouldn’t let him hold her even once. She was unwilling to stay with him for even a quarter-hour…

This was the very first time in history that she had actively reached out her hands, wanting him to hold her.

Chu Yi let Chu Hongyu off and embraced his daughter.

Chu Hongyu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He was somewhat surprised.

In the past, even when Father was scolding him until his head dripped blood, even if his sister heard it, she had no reaction whatsoever.

But now, his sister would actually take the initiative to help him out of trouble.

After staying with Mother for a while, his sister seemed somewhat different.