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Lao Fan pretended to have forgotten, but Princess Anle had not. Gazing at the old man before her with his hair and beard turned white, who no longer even stepped foot in the Capital city, her heart ached.

"Back then, if you hadn’t promised Zhengzheng’s grandfather to protect the mother and son of Consort Shu, I think you wouldn’t be hiding in this tiny Zhuma Town, unable to return to the Capital."

Princess Anle reminisced about the past, inevitably feeling a bit sentimental.

In those days, Lao Fan, along with Xia Yuan’s father and her own father, had all been friends.

Little did she expect that, so many years later, her father would pass away early trying to save the Emperor, and Xia Yuan’s father would also depart prematurely due to certain events.

Now, only Lao Fan remained, bitterly protecting them all by himself.

Lao Fan, too, clearly recalled the times he shared with his dear friends, and felt a pang in his heart. For so many years he had played at life, acting like an old child, all because he didn’t want to let himself continue to sink. Little did he know, this was indeed the deepest form of sinking.

"Sir, on this visit, Consort Shu specifically asked me to express her gratitude. She is thankful for the protection you provided back then, allowing her to give birth to Hong De safely. Consort Shu said that she and her son are in your debt. If it hadn’t been for your protection, you wouldn’t have. .."

Before Princess Anle could finish, Lao Fan waved his hand, cutting her off, "You little girl, you’ve really become old!

More and more verbose! And that Xia Yi, that little girl, only a few years have passed, and she’s turned into an old woman, always dwelling on the past. This old man has long forgotten, long forgotten! "

Seeing him like this, Princess Anle smiled in relief. Indeed, what should be forgotten had long been forgotten.

Su Qiuyu, supported by Yaner, barely made it back to her room. As soon as her body touched the bed, she collapsed onto it completely.

"Miss!"

Yaner was terrified. She hurried to check Su Qiuyu’s forehead and elbows, and only when she saw there were no injuries did she breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

This outing had scared her witless, not only causing her mistress to fall ill but also to have a fall.

Fortunately, nothing serious had occurred, otherwise, upon their return to the house, the master would surely flay her alive!

Seeing Su Qiuyu slumped on the pillow, motionless, Yaner felt heartbroken and advised, "Miss, please be more open-minded. Young Master Xia simply isn’t a match for you. Why should you..."

Slap!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed, and Yaner immediately covered her cheek, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

She slapped her own cheeks with both hands, suppressing her sobs as she admitted her fault, "Yaner has spoken out of turn.

I should not have spouted such nonsense.

Please, Miss, calm your anger and forgive me.

Yaner has spoken out of turn, spoken out of turn. "

Su Qiuyu had used almost all her strength in that slap. If it weren’t for Yaner’s words voicing the fears at the bottom of her heart, she would likely not have unleashed such rage.

Yes, she was frightened, especially upon hearing Princess Anle and that little wretch laughing and talking together.

Since she was ten years old and first laid eyes on Xia Zheng, she had decided that he would be her husband, even dreaming at night of marrying him.

And her second brother had always teased her with this, to the point where she took it for granted that she would definitely become Xia Zheng’s wife.

But just now, she had been full of anticipation that Princess Anle’s arrival would put that little hussy in her place, even if there was no public reprimand for thinking a toad could eat swan meat, she should still have been driven away from Xia Zheng without a second thought.

Who would have thought, who would have thought, that when she struggled to get out of bed to enjoy the spectacle, she would discover that she was actually the most superfluous clown.

"Why, why?"