"When you left, you still managed to squeeze out. Now look, how come your belly's gotten rounder."
After teasing him, Gu Lan squatted beside the young prince, poking his round belly with a finger. It was soft and bouncy.
Rong Yunhao gasped for breath as he got up from the ground, patting the dust off his hands, his face mournful: "If I'd known, I wouldn't have eaten that candied hawthorn…"
"Then you'd also have to give up osmanthus cakes, crescent pastries, soup dumplings, stinky tofu, and grilled corn."
All of these were things Gu Lan got along the way to keep Rong Yunhao from crying.
Rong Yunhao was on the verge of tears, silently squatting in a corner drawing circles, utterly despondent.
"Let's go." Gu Lan glanced at Zipei, who was on lookout in the distance, then, as before, grabbed Rong Yunhao by the collar, and tossed him onto his back.
"Go, go where?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the young prince suddenly felt the world spinning around him.
"Shh—" Gu Lan's voice drifted into his ears, and the young prince shut his eyes tight, swallowing his shout.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Lan had carried him, agilely climbing up the tall walls of the Prince Mansion.
When the young prince reopened his eyes upon landing, he was already in the familiar back courtyard of the Prince Mansion.
"Wow! Gu Lan, you're amazing! Is this Qinggong? Can you teach me? Gu Lan, if you teach me, you can be my brother from now on!"
Rong Yunhao said excitedly, only to find that the youth who had landed wasn't as comfortable as before, wearing a slightly embarrassed smile, looking over his shoulder.
A bad premonition arose in Rong Yunhao's heart. Slowly turning his head, he saw his sister standing by the dog hole, glaring intently at Gu Lan.
Apparently, his sister had been waiting there for a while.
She hadn't expected to catch not only her brother sneaking out but also a... possible kidnapper.
"S-sister... this is Gu Lan, from the Dingyuan Marquis family. He's the one who brought me back..." Rong Yunhao stammered his explanation, like a mouse caught by a cat.
Gu Lan hadn't expected that returning a child would get him caught by the family adults.
The young girl glaring at him was around his age, wearing a fiery red dress, her black hair flowing, showing a slightly shy yet courageous demeanor uncommon in ordinary girls.
The girl looked Gu Lan up and down, then questioned: "Gu Lan, the heir of the Dingyuan Marquis? Why did you kidnap my brother!"
Gu Lan cupped his fists and said, "It's a misunderstanding. I'm returning him, not kidnapping him."
The girl pulled Rong Yunhao over, her eyebrows raising in admonition: "Rong Yunhao, you have quite the nerve. Do you know what day it is today? How dare you sneak out alone? What if... people find out!"
"Of course, I know. Today's the day dad returns victorious. The whole Capital City can go see him, so why can't we? Why not!" Rong Yunhao retorted angrily.
The girl's eyes dimmed, biting her lower lip, not wanting to show her emotions in front of outsiders.
"Yunhao sneaked out of the Prince Mansion out of playfulness. I hope Young Master Gu will consider his young age and keep this matter private. Baoyi is deeply grateful." The girl spoke with dignity, only a hint of resignation flashing in her eyes.
Baoyi, Rong Baoyi?
Upon hearing the girl's self-introduction, Gu Lan immediately recalled the identity and background of Rong Baoyi from the book.
She remembered that Rong Baoyi, as Rong Heng's eldest niece, joined the army in place of her younger brother after Prince Rui died in battle, becoming a subordinate of Dingyuan Marquis. Later on, she seemingly died in war.
Indeed, she didn't make it past a dozen chapters.
The women in this book don't live long.
If they weren't inexplicably killed off after being rejected by Rong Heng, they'd be taken out without hesitation after offending him. And Jing beauties like Rong Baoyi, who didn't do anything wrong, ended up fated to die.
The male lead—a literal name for a "Killer of Maidens."
Rong Baoyi, a girl with the courage to join the army for her brother, Gu Lan smiled faintly and said, "Since it was my doing returning him, naturally, I won't spread it around."
At that moment, a maid hurriedly approached, not noticing Gu Lan, excitedly exclaiming, "Miss, news has come that Prince has returned from morning court. The Princess Consort sent me to fetch you and the young prince to wait in the front hall!"
Rong Baoyi widened her eyes in surprise. The siblings exchanged a glance, unable to suppress their excitement.
Ultimately, the sister was more composed. She bowed slightly to Gu Lan, "Thank you, Young Master Gu, for bringing my brother back—"
"Until we meet again."
Gu Lan didn't want to intrude on their family reunion, so he waved and skillfully leapt over the wall, disappearing from the siblings' view.
Rong Baoyi gazed at the towering walls of the Prince Mansion and the setting sun outside, a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes, and then she took her brother's hand and left the back courtyard.
The evening glow already covered the treetops of the century-old locust tree at the back gate of the Prince Mansion, casting a soft light over the dark courtyard.
Gu Lan pressed his five fingers against his brow and looked towards Xuanwu Gate, as if he could see the Prince hurrying back to the Prince Mansion after court.
It seemed the Prince and the Princess Consort had a good relationship. Unfortunately, they couldn't reunite right away.
Zipei was searching everywhere, panicked that the Young Master had disappeared as soon as he blinked.
"Let's go home."
Gu Lan suddenly appeared behind Zipei, patting his shoulder, signaling him to follow.
Zipei was startled but immediately praised, "Young Master, you're truly unpredictable! Also, I didn't expect your hidden skills just now! Looks like the Madam invested wisely in martial masters for you."
Seeing Zipei attributing his clumsy Qinggong to the martial master's training, Gu Lan didn't correct him, deciding to bring Zipei along next time too.
Simple, wealthy, and easily deceived.
They hadn't yet passed through the alley behind the Prince Mansion when Gu Lan glanced back and frowned, coming to a stop. "See that street ahead?"
Zipei: "I see it, Young Master, what do you want to do?"
"Go to the innermost shop and buy me two—"
"Those cloud cakes you love so much, right? Okay!"
"...Yes." You really know how to extrapolate.
Watching Zipei leave, Gu Lan lazily leaned against the alley wall.
Looking up, the sky was like a large brush spreading ink, the brilliant evening glow casting on the boy's long eyelashes, coloring his cheeks with a layer of golden specks, enhancing his already handsome features.
"You've been following me all the way, aren't you coming out, or should I drag you out myself?"
Gu Lan spoke leisurely, continuing to lean against the wall idly.
After a moment, two figures emerged from the shadows behind him, walking one after the other.
Gu Lan squinted his eyes, considering the identity of the people.
Ever since rescuing the young prince, she'd felt something was off behind her. If someone dared to follow her, they'd better be prepared to be beaten.
And the youth walking out from the shadows, wearing a jade belt and a blue robe, the evening breeze slightly lifting his clothes, outlining a refined and leisurely figure.
When Gu Lan clearly saw the youth's face, she hesitated slightly, giving up on the idea of beating him up.
He stood against the glow of the sunset, his brows covered with a layer of icy coldness, his eyes deep, like a bright starry night, lips lightly pursed, exuding a calm sharpness in his gaze.
Having lived two lives, Gu Lan had seen countless handsome men and women, but the only one who stunned her like this was this youth.
"How did you know we were following you?"
The question came from a round-faced attendant behind the youth.
Gu Lan: "I just guessed, didn't expect to actually draw you out."
The two people: ...
"I see you, young master, with a distinguished and elegant appearance. I didn't expect you to do something so shady as stalking others. Could it be you're also a human trafficker?"
Gu Lan raised an eyebrow, asking leisurely.
Their faces visibly stiffened. The leading youth lowered his gaze, his expression unchanged. He turned to leave, "We were just passing by, Jiu, let's go."
His voice was low and melodious, making one catch their breath.
Gu Lan's eyes trembled slightly, confirming the youth's identity.
The male lead, Rong Heng.