Rong Qiu felt a headache. If Rong Heng really came, it would be better if they didn't stay in Feng Yong Rui's house. He didn't want them to see everything ah~! It was a family secret that was not so secret anymore because Feng Yong Rui knew about it!

'That d.a.m.n old fox!' Rong Qiu continued cursing his friend.

Rong Qiu still had his own manor in the capital, but no one really lived there at the moment --- except their loyal servants, of course. The masters rarely stayed in the capital so the servants were the ones who took care of everything and continued to clean the places so that when the masters came back from time to time, it would be ready for them to live in once more.

He looked at Yao Ling and asked, "Why don't we go home for now? To our own residence... It's not good to keep imposing ourselves at Yong Rui's house... After I finish explaining everything to your brother, then we will be able to go. Once we settle down, I can try to search for your mother slowly." He still held onto the belief that Su Wan was still alive.

Yao Ying and Yao Ling looked at each other. Why did they feel like Rong Qiu was afraid of Rong Heng? Was there something that they should be wary about? However, if their father didn't plan to tell them anything, they also didn't know how to ask the question. Well... they guessed they could only meet Rong Heng to know what kind of person he was.

Feng Yong Rui almost couldn't contain his laughter anymore, after all, he knew that Rong Qiu was actually running away from here to cover up his embarra.s.sment if Rong Heng made a fuss. However, he didn't want to prevent him to move back to his house because it was still Rong Qiu's own household matter. It was best if he didn't interfere anymore. No matter what, he was still an outsider here and knew his place really well.

Actually, it wasn't really a coincidence. It was lucky that he relayed the news to Rong Heng in time, or else, that kid would have gone AWOL once again and in the end, Rong Qiu couldn't settle the matter here early. Judging from those kids' appearance, they seemed to be not ordinary people --- at least, they must be the children of officials.

He had sent people to take a look at their real background but the report hadn't come yet. He especially wanted to know Lin Jian's background and characteristics --- to see whether he was suitable for his daughter or not. He knew the big picture but he wanted to know in detail.

Yao Ling looked at Yao Ying and when she saw the latter nod in agreement, she turned back to Rong Qiu. No matter what, she had become Yao Ying's wife and still needed to get his approval beforehand. She answered with a happy smile, "Sure thing, Father!"

She couldn't wait to see his father's residence ah~!

It didn't take long for them to go back to Rong Qiu's manor once the decision had been made. After bidding his goodbye, Rong Qiu didn't feel any hesitation to let Feng Yong Rui take care of their belongings and send it back to their manor --- which made Feng Yong Rui's mouth slightly twitched, feeling that Rong Qiu became even more daring days by days. He even dared to order him around without any restraint!

In a sense, Feng Yong Rui was already a regent ah~! And yet, he still needed to be at the beck and call of this old man! However, he could only relent because he still loved this old friend ah~!

Xiao Fang was feeling quite sad when Yao Ying, Yao Ling, and Lin Jian finally left. She felt a bit lonely all of a sudden.

Lin Jian was being forced to go ah~! Those two had already made a decision to leave this manor without his consent, so how could he be shameless enough to continue to stay here alone? No matter what, he still didn't have a direct relations.h.i.+p with Xiao Fang. Even though he was feeling disappointed, he still needed to swallow his grievance with manly appearance ah~! He followed the others out sullenly which made Yao Ying really want to tease him.

However, the teasing could wait after they went out of the Prime Minister Manoe --- oops! It supposed to be the regent's manor now.

Once they were gone, Feng Yong Rui, Qi Hao, and Xiao Fang somehow felt that their manor became so quiet and empty. However, they knew that they couldn't prevent them from choosing to go home, but they still sighed in disappointment as well.

Xiao Fang looked at them hesitantly before finally trying to brave herself and asked, "Father... Can I ask your permission for something?" She knew that her father might not like what she wanted to say, but she still needed to try anyway.

Feng Yong Rui looked at his daughter and somehow, he knew what she wanted to say... But he still asked carefully as to not make Xiao Fang feel burdened, "What do you want?"

"Can I... Can I follow Yao Ling and friends to the Shu Kingdom?" Xiao Fang asked while fiddling with her fingers nervously. She had been thinking of this all along and it took a long time for her to finally dare to ask for her father's permission.

Even though the Han people enjoyed their freedom and weren't too conservative about the relations.h.i.+p between men and women, as the daughter of an official, she wasn't that free ah~! She still needed to uphold her image. It was unheard for an unmarried woman to go on a journey by herself with a group of people from another kingdom...

What would people think about her?

This was also the reason she was feeling hesitant --- after all, she would travel along with Yao Ling's group to another kingdom that was quite far away from here. Would her father let her stay at a foreign kingdom, leaving the protection of her family?

"What?!" Qi Hao asked in surprise. "Are you crazy? That's out of the questions! You are so silly..." Qi Hao couldn't stop ranting, feeling concerned about his sister's sudden request.

Before he could say anything else, he was cut off by Feng Yong Rui all of a sudden, "Tell me the reasons why you want to do that first!"

Qi Hao was taken aback. His father was usually stricter than him about this matter... Did it mean that he was going to agree to let Xiao Fang go? No... No... No... he wouldn't agree to this! It was too dangerous ah~!

"Father..." Qi Hao was going to refute once again, but Feng Yong Rui raised one of his hands, telling him to stop talking for a moment. Thus, Qi Hao could only swallow his words back. He didn't dare to go against his father's words.

"Tell me..." Feng Yong Rui patiently waited for his daughter to tell him the reasons at her own pace. He didn't urge her, but instead, calmly looked at her and encouraged her.

"Father... I honestly want to see more of the world. Honestly, you and brother have protected me too well back then and when I went to Lin Zhou... I was just like a baby who knew nothing at all! If I didn't meet with Yao Ling's party by accident and received their help at that time, I would have been played by Han Xiang. Even though the misunderstanding was settled but it still became a torn inside my heart. Without them, I don't think that I will be able to grow up... I wish to gain more experiences this time so that when I go home, you will be proud of me," Xiao Fang answered shyly but resolutely.