"What evidence do I need? I'm his father, what more do I need!"
Seeing Gu Lan alone, the middle-aged man faced her without the submissiveness he had shown earlier to the imperial guard.
Gu Lan rubbed her ear and asked, "Who are you to him?"
"Father!" The man shouted with great vigor.
"Oh! But a father shouldn't have a son as big as you." Gu Lan responded.
"You're messing with me?!" The man finally realized he was being tricked and roared in fury.
Zipei finally squeezed out from the crowd, ran to stand behind Gu Lan, and arrogantly yelled, "Speak if you must, but don't point your finger at our Young Master."
The middle-aged man's expression stiffened as he realized Gu Lan might have a noble status, gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm Zhang Dahu, and he is my youngest son Zhang Xiaohu. Isn't that enough evidence?"
Gu Lan: "Then what's your eldest son's name?"
The father's called Zhang Dahu, and the youngest is Zhang Xiaohu. Could it be that his eldest son is named Zhang Zhonghu?
The middle-aged man: "..."
"He's not my father, I don't even know who he is!" The boy finally broke free from the man's grasp and shouted loudly.
"You claim this boy is your youngest son but can't name your eldest. You just fawned over the imperial guard, clearly having a modest background, yet your youngest son is clad in a golden silk and silver thread robe, with a piece of white jade hanging from his waist."
Gu Lan's voice was cool, each word a sharp weapon calming the commotion, making the surrounding townsfolk realize something was amiss.
The crowd scrutinized seeing the chubby boy, fair and adorable like a lucky doll, while the middle-aged man was of average looks and demeanor, with a hint of sliminess about him, having no resemblance whatsoever.
"Hey, I bet you're a human trafficker!" Zipei turned his eyes, cleverly shouted.
Gu Lan stepped forward a few paces, appearing light and elegant as a youth, yet his aura carried a chilling threat, causing the middle-aged man to instinctively step back.
Before the man could react, Gu Lan had already lifted the boy like a chick, placing him behind herself, "Actually, what I said earlier was to trick you, this is my brother."
"Isn't that right, brother?"
The youth leaned slightly, flashing a gentle smile at the boy.
Her eyes were round, with slightly raised corners, now they narrowed into crescent moons, resembling a harmless little fox, her smile possessed a unique charm.
The boy inexplicably blushed and hesitated.
Admitting to being the brother was quite the dilemma.
This elder brother was really beautiful, speaking slowly and deliberately, seeming not like a bad person.
But his mother had told him that beautiful women aren't necessarily good people.
However, this isn't a woman, but a handsome brother.
"Yes, he's my brother, I'm his brother!" The boy quickly convinced himself, cheerfully calling him brother.
The middle-aged man flew into a rage: "You two little beasts dare to deceive me!"
Gu Lan: "Good, you've admitted you're a human trafficker, folks, isn't it time to take him to the authorities?"
Human traffickers are despised by all, and soon some righteous hero would show up.
Gu Lan, holding the boy, took advantage of the chaos, slowly walked out of the crowd.
"Master, do I still need to rescue the young prince?"
Inside the attic, Rong Heng watched Gu Lan and the boy holding hands, one big and one small silhouette disappearing, his gaze deep, shaking his head: "No need."
"Follow them."
——
"Are you that little tyrant from the Dingyuan Marquis house, Gu Lan?" The boy's face wrinkled like a bitter melon.
"You're the Princely Heir of Prince Rui... what's your name again?" Gu Lan rubbed her ears, distancing herself from the noisy boy.
As the matters concerning Prince Rui's arrival in the capital concluded, the Capital City returned to its former bustling glory.
Gu Lan and the boy exchanged identities, then stared at each other, one with a calm face, the other looking utterly shocked.
"Listen up, my family name is Rong, I'm Yunhao!"
Gu Lan acknowledged with an "Oh," ruffles Rong Yunhao's thick, dark hair into a bird's nest, "So you're a chubby white mouse."
"It's the gallant 'hao' not the rodent 'hao'!" The young prince blushed.
"It's all the same," Gu Lan casually replied, sending Zipei off to buy sugar-coated haws at the other end of the market, "Come on, I'll take you home."
"It's not the same at all—wait, do you know the way to Prince Rui Mansion?"
Rong Yunhao stared with bright black eyes expressing skepticism, realizing his mother was right, yet omitted one point, that handsome men can also be bad people, and this elder brother in front seems even more like a trafficker than that guy.
Gu Lan: "Nope, but you're here."
"This princely heir refuses to go back, I'm leaving, don't bother me!"
After saying that, Rong Yunhao turned around to leave.
Gu Lan effortlessly grabbed Rong Yunhao's collar, letting him struggle in vain without budging an inch.
Even though her body was still the original owner's body, it was more than enough to handle an eight-year-old child.
"You really know martial arts, don't you!" After failing to escape, Rong Yunhao suddenly became excited, turned around and grabbed Gu Lan's hand, eyes sparkling, "Just now, that's how you pulled me out from that man's hands, isn't this the famous grappling technique from the world?"
"You guess."
This young prince is quite observant.
Gu Lan took the candied hawthorn Zipei bought and handed one to Rong Yunhao, taking a bite herself.
Sour and sweet, but not tasty.
Sigh, she used to long for this but couldn't get it, now she had it and it was just so-so, Mrs. Wang's pickled plum would taste better.
"South or north?" At the fork in the road, Gu Lan asked Rong Yunhao.
Rong Yunhao straightened his neck, deciding to ignore Gu Lan: "South!"
"Alright, north it is." Gu Lan combed through Rong Yunhao's hair, calmly nodding.
Rong Yunhao: "..."
After all, he was just an eight-year-old child, and soon the young prince couldn't hold back his chatter beside Gu Lan:
"Why don't you ask me why I left the mansion?"
"Mother said you didn't want to be my companion reader before, is it true?"
"Honestly, I don't really want to join the Imperial Family school either, the palace isn't fun at all... but I have to go."
"I heard you fell into the water? Despite knowing martial arts, it seems the palace is really dangerous."
Annoyed by his chatter, Gu Lan pinched the young prince's chubby round face.
Smooth and tender, like a peeled egg, the feel was similar to soft dough.
She roughly understood why Old Madam Gu loved pinching her face so much.
Rong Yunhao was furious, couldn't fight back, and didn't get a response, biting into the candied hawthorn and cried from the sourness.
"Boo hoo hoo — Mother won't let me see father, the servants say I'm just a tool for the Emperor to threaten father... Gu Lan, am I really nothing?"
Gu Lan gently patted the heir's little head, wiping his tears:
"You're right, you are indeed nothing, be good, brother will take you home."
Rong Yunhao cried till his tears dried, letting out a couple of dry wails, unable to cry anymore.
Under the young prince's misdirection, soon, a majestic and solemn residence appeared in the distance, and Gu Lan saw the three characters "Prince Rui Mansion" from afar.
The young prince was adorable, but Gu Lan was most afraid of crying children, so along the way, she had Zipei buy candy, snacks, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and stuffed them into the young prince's arms, finally winning him over.
Almost reaching Prince Rui Mansion's gate, Rong Yunhao tugged at Gu Lan's sleeve, whispering: "I snuck out, if I go back openly, Mother would be angry."
She suspected as much, if the Emperor hadn't let Princess Rui's family reunite, how would he allow the young prince to see Prince Rui? She recalled Prince Rui's decisive look as he rode away, pondering.
Gu Lan raised her head, watching the sunset, the evening haze lingered around in pink clouds, it was getting late and she should head back too.
"Then how did you get out?"
Rong Yunhao stammered.
After a stick of incense, Gu Lan stared at the dog hole in the corner of Prince Rui Mansion's side wall, then examined Rong Yunhao's chubby body: "Through this?"
Rong Yunhao blushed, solemnly bidding farewell to Gu Lan: "Young Master Gu, thanks for today, if you really don't want to be my companion reader, I'll tell Mother when I go back—"
Gu Lan held Rong Yunhao's little hand, looked him in the eye and said clearly: "No, I want to be!"
"Alright, alright then..."
Rong Yunhao didn't understand why adults' world was so complicated but still made a perfunctory fist salute towards Gu Lan.
He silently turned around, lifted his robe, knelt down and started crawling into the hole.
Gu Lan sent Zipei to keep watch, she herself watched the young prince crawl through the dog hole with interest.
Half a stick of incense passed,
A stick of incense passed,
Two sticks of incense passed,
Rong Yunhao still hadn't crawled through.
He had grown too plump.