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Shuiyao’s smile froze on her face as soon as it had appeared. She looked toward the low table, all too aware of the poison within the little black insects and even more so of their predilection for burrowing into the skin— the deeper they went, the more excruciating the pain.

And to think of so many insects, how agonizing must that be?

Desperate, Shuiyao begged for mercy, "Your Highness, of all things, I’m most terrified of insects. I beg you to spare my life!"

Xiao Jinyan didn’t bother with Shuiyao and, as others entered, he continued to instruct, "Drag her outside, don’t scare the babies."

"As you command," Qin Xiao said with a wave of his hand, and two guards carried Shuiyao away.

Qin Xiao then picked up the glass jar from the table, the poisonous insects having obediently crawled inside. He regarded his master as the most admirable person, the Crown Princess being the second, for managing to make the toxic insects line up and crawl into the jar one by one.

In the courtyard of Hehuan Hall, the guards held Shuiyao down.

The sound of Shuiyao’s crying and shouting annoyed Qin Xiao; it was wrong to disturb the little masters.

Just then, Chun Xi returned from outside. Qin Xiao called out to her, "Chun Xi, bring a quick cloth here."

"Right away!" Chun Xi walked briskly to the kitchen and returned with a filthy cloth, handing it over to Qin Xiao.

"This cloth was going to be thrown away, but now we’ve found a use for it—can’t let it go to waste."

"You make a good point," Qin Xiao chuckled, amused.

Guard: "..." Qin Xiao can actually laugh?

Weichi, seeing his comrade crack a smile, shook his head helplessly. Indeed, love makes a man mature. One no longer just glares at a woman—

Seeing Qin Xiao approaching with the dirty cloth, Shuiyao desperately shook her head. Although she was a maid, she was high-ranking and had never suffered while serving the Princess.

The thought of those poisonous insects and the filthy cloth was too much for her to bear; she broke down and started crying uncontrollably.

"I confess, the insects are poisonous. Please let me go, can’t you? Isn’t my confession enough?" she pleaded.

"Too late," Qin Xiao said and, taking advantage of Shuiyao opening her mouth to cry, stuffed the cloth into her mouth, silencing her wails.

He then proceeded to pour the black insects from the glass jar all over Shuiyao.

Shuiyao’s eyes bulged, almost bloodshot, but that did nothing to stop Qin Xiao’s actions.

"Dare to harm the Crown Princess and the little masters and you’ll meet a fate beyond your worst imaginations. Do you think releasing insects is the end of it? If you want to live, name the mastermind behind this. Not only will it save your life, but you can also escape punishment."

Shuiyao desperately wanted to speak, to avoid suffering, but Qin Xiao ignored her, not yet satisfied that she had endured enough.

Standing aside, Chun Xi felt a sense of justice served. With a huff, she said, "Look at you, about my age but wicked at heart. Taotao and Susu are so adorable and lovable, yet you had the heart to hurt them? You brought this on yourself."

Qin Xiao advised, "Chun Xi, you better not watch. You might have nightmares later."

Chun Xi indignantly replied, "She must taste the suffering our masters and little masters have endured."

Qin Xiao smirked, "I know my limits."

Only then did Chun Xi turn and go into the small kitchen to prepare some delicious food for her master.

In the Bedchamber

Xiao Jinyan had already ordered all the flowers to be thrown out; even the loveliest flowers in Qimeng Hall didn’t deserve a place in Hehuan Hall.

Shen Chuwei watched the two little ones sitting on the couch, with Xuetuan showing an expression of absolute resignation to its fate.

Xuetuan had been the ruler of the palace for so long that it probably never imagined a day when it would be so fervently doted on by two little masters—and it couldn’t reject or resist them, most importantly.

Later on, Xuetuan watched the two little masters grow up. Just when it started to think it might get some peace as they learned to hug instead of yank its tail, whiskers and legs, another little master was born—

Yuan Gungun never expected that Xuetuan, once chased every day for its majestic presence, would be reduced to a state of being bullied without daring to retaliate!

Seeing Xuetuan being used as a pillow by Susu, who was also playing with its tail, Xiao Jinyan remarked, "I’ve noticed that Xuetuan only gets close to our family of four."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chuwei nodded in agreement, "I’ve noticed too, Xuetuan is actually very cute and smart."

Xiao Jinyan looked at Xuetuan, always having felt that it was sentient, and it communicated easily, as if it had recognized Xiao Jiu as its owner—aside from him, only Xiao Jiu could get close to it.

Even though he was always curious why that was, it seemed less important now.

Xiao Jinyan sat beside Xiao Jiu, his gaze drifting to the wound on her arm. If not for Xiao Jiu’s medical skills, the outcome would have been unthinkable.