After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

On the way back to the Jiang residence, Tu Shan Ruoshui remained silent.

She sat in the carriage with her hands on her knees and her fox ears drooping.

After returning to the Jiang residence, he went straight to the garden, sat on a stone bench, and rested his chin on his hands.

Those bright, fox-like eyes were veiled by a thin layer of mist as they stared blankly at an osmanthus tree in front of them.

This was the first time she had experienced something like this, and it had a significant impact on her.

Jiang Yan sat down next to her without saying a word.

After a long while, she finally uttered a muffled sentence.

"Why did she kneel? I didn't blame her."

"She's afraid you'll blame her."

"But I'm not a bad person." Tu Shan Ruoshui raised her head, her fox ears perked up and then drooped down again. "I only touched her things, I didn't do it on purpose."

Jiang Yan thought for a moment.

"Do you remember the human vendors who set up stalls at the market?"

Tu Shan Ruoshui nodded.

"What do they look like when you look at them?"

Tu Shan Ruoshui thought back for a moment.

"They kept their heads down and didn't say much; they seemed a little afraid of me."

"That's right," Jiang Yan said. "They're not afraid of you as a person, but of your status. They can't tell if you're happy or unhappy today, and they don't know if you'll get angry over something trivial."

"But I won't lose my temper!" Ruoshui exclaimed anxiously.

"You know, I know," Jiang Yan said, "but they don't know."

Tu Shan Ruoshui opened her mouth, then closed it again, her brows furrowed, clearly still trying to digest this truth.

Seeing her listless demeanor, Jiang Yan stood up and went back to her room.

He picked up the broken glass lamp, aligned the broken ends, and conjured a tiny flame from his fingertips.

In terms of official skills, he can now perform basic fire control techniques.

As you slowly walk along the broken edge of the glass, the molten glass re-bonds itself under high temperature, and after cooling, it forms an extremely fine, transparent scar.

Unless you look closely, you can hardly see the crack.

Back in the garden, Jiang Yan handed the glass lamp to Ruoshui.

"for you."

Tu Shan Ruoshui looked up and froze.

The little fox, gazing up at the moon, stood quietly before her, its entire body clear and pure, except for a thin, transparent mark on its neck, finer than a hair. Far from being unsightly, it looked as if it were wearing a necklace.

"You... fixed it?"

"A gift," Jiang Yan said, "for you."

He sat down, looked into her eyes, and said very seriously, "Also, that old woman's fear wasn't your fault, you don't need to blame yourself."

Tu Shan Ruoshui held the lamp in her arms and looked at it for a long time.

Then he raised his head, revealing his first smile of the day, and his fox ears perked up instantly.

She could tell that Jiang Yan's words came from the heart, unlike those who merely said "the princess doesn't blame you."

"Jiang Yan," she suddenly spoke, "why are you different from others?"

"What's different?"

"You're not afraid of me," she said, her tone as serious as if stating a truth. "Everyone else is afraid of me, but you aren't."

Jiang Yan looked at her, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"So you want me to be afraid of you?"

Tu Shan Ruoshui shook her head violently and said loudly, "No!" She lowered her head, wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, held the lamp up to the light and looked at it again, then carefully put it into the storage bag at her waist.

"Then I'll take this, I really like it." She paused, "So we're good friends now, right?"

After she finished speaking, she became embarrassed, and the tips of her ears turned pink.

She quickly stood up, pretending to look at the flowers in the garden, her back to him, but her voice drifted over: "Jiang Yan, will you still come with me tomorrow?"

"accompany."

"Then it's settled." She glanced back at him, her fox tail swaying slightly behind her before quickly turning back.

On the way back to the palace, Tu Shan Ruoshui would occasionally take out the glass lamp and hum a song all the way.

That evening, Tu Shanlie was still annotating documents, with his wife, Tu Shan Yingxue, who was also Ruoshui's mother, sitting beside him.

Tu Shan Ruoshui ran in excitedly, chattering away.

They said the Jiang family has a child named Jiang Yan, who is different from others. They also said that she ate roast chicken and watched a variety show today.

"He also gave me a lamp!" Tu Shan Ruoshui took the glass lamp out of her storage bag and held it up to her parents. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Beautiful." Tu Shanlie scooped his daughter up and placed her on his lap. "Is that kid Jiang Yan mean to you?"

"He's not fierce at all!" Ruoshui exclaimed anxiously, "He's so good to me!"

Tu Shanlie and Tu Shan Yingxue exchanged a glance.

They already knew about what happened today; every detail was reported by their secret guards.

But they didn't mention the glass lamp stall; they just smiled and said, "That's great, Ruoshui has made good friends."

Tu Shan Ruoshui nodded vigorously, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

That night, she slept soundly, clutching the glass lamp.

The little fox looked up at the moon, and the thin mark on its neck was almost invisible in the moonlight.

……

The next morning, Jiang Yan was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

Liu Qingyi leaned against the corridor pillar and watched, occasionally offering a word or two of correction.

Then a crisp voice boomed in from the courtyard gate.

"Jiang Yan! I'm here!"

Tu Shan Ruoshui changed into a light green dress today, and her fox ears peeked out from her hair, looking very energetic.

She jogged all the way to the training ground, stood to the side, and watched with her chin propped up on her hand.

Jiang Yanchong nodded and continued to complete the remaining sword techniques.

Tu Shan Ruoshui watched quietly from the side, her eyes sparkling, her gaze following the tip of his sword with more seriousness than if she were watching a juggling act.

After completing a set of sword techniques, Jiang Yan sheathed his sword.

"Why did you arrive so early?"

"I can't sleep," Tu Shan Ruoshui said matter-of-factly. "Where are we going today?"

"You decide."

"Let's go outside the city!" Tu Shan Ruoshui's eyes lit up. "I've never been to the outskirts of the city before."

The carriage drove out of the west gate of the capital.

Tu Shan Ruoshui lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, as excited as a primary school student on her first spring outing.

She would point out the wildflowers by the roadside to Jiang Yan, and pull him to peek out at the outline of the distant mountains. She would even gather around to examine the cows grazing on the ridges of the fields for a long time.

After walking along the official road for half an hour, we stopped on a wide meadow by the river.

Several guards spread out at a distance to keep watch, while Jiang Wuchen and Liu Qingyi watched from a short distance away.

The guards moved a low table and several chairs onto the grass and laid out a lot of food.

Tu Shan Ruoshui pulled Jiang Yan to sit down and introduced him to each of her favorite pastries.

This is sweet stuffed chicken, it's super delicious, you should try it; this is pine nut candy, I've loved it since I was a child.

She was very close to him, and her fingers would occasionally brush against his wrist.

Jiang Yan moved to the side, but she unconsciously moved closer again.

Jiang Yan had no choice but to remain still.

At this moment, Tu Shan Ruoshui suddenly stopped what she was doing.

She looked into the distance and blinked.

On the other side of the riverbank, three ragged human children stood in the distance, their dirty little faces turned toward them, staring intently at the food on the table.

"Look over there." Tu Shan Ruoshui put down the pastries in her hand and waved to them.

The three children seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slowly walked over.

They walked very slowly, as if they were ready to turn around and run away at any moment.

As you get closer, you can see that they are all very thin, skin and bones, and look to be about the same age as Jiang Yan.

The child at the front was barefoot, his toes covered in mud and old scars.

Tu Shan Ruoshui picked up a plate of pastries from the table and handed it over.

"Would you like some?" Her voice was light and cheerful, with a kind smile on her face. "It's on you."

The guards glanced at the children.

They had seen many such unregistered human children wandering outside the city; it wasn't anything unusual.

His Majesty instructed that the little princess be allowed to have as much fun as she wanted; she was just a few children, so no one stopped her.

Jiang Yan's gaze swept over the three children.

Something seems off. Normal human children would run away as fast as they could when they see demons, yet these demons dare to come closer.

He touched Ruoshui's sleeve under the table, but before he could speak...

Just as the child at the front reached out to take the pastry, a cold glint flashed from under his sleeve.

The spiritual power at the peak of Qi Refining exploded on the blade, piercing straight into Tu Shan Ruoshui's heart.

Jiang Yan has no sword.

He only had time to raise his right arm and shield Tu Shan Ruoshui.

The dagger pierced his forearm, and blood splattered out.

Jiang Yan winced in pain.

With a punch to the child's chest, spiritual energy burst forth, sending the child flying.

The remaining two children, their eyes flashing with the same madness, rushed towards him.

But the opportunity is gone.

Jiang Wuchen and Liu Qingyi arrived in front of them in an instant.

With a grim expression, Jiang Wuchen waved his hand, and the three children fell to the ground.

Several guards arrived late, their faces pale as they looked at the scene before them.

Tu Shan Ruoshui then realized what had happened.

She looked at Jiang Yan's back as he stood in front of her, and at the deep wound on his right arm, blood dripping from his fingers onto the grass.

"Jiang Yan".

Tu Shan Ruoshui's voice trembled, and her eyes reddened. She quickly supported him and frantically rummaged through her storage bag for things.

Various medicine bottles rolled all over the floor with a clatter, so he could only squat down and frantically search for them, tears streaming down his face in his anxiety.

"Healing...which one is healing...I remember there is one..." Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even pull the cork off the bottle.

After subduing the assassin with a grim expression, Jiang Wuchen turned around and his gaze fell on the through wound on his son's right arm, a look of heartache flashing in his eyes.

He turned around, bowed deeply to Tu Shan Ruoshui's attendants, and lowered his voice considerably.

"The Jiang family will thoroughly investigate today's events. The blame lies with the Jiang family for causing the princess distress."

Jiang Yan smiled as she looked at the flustered Tu Shan Ruoshui.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

He gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt, and pulled out the dagger.

He didn't even utter a sound when a small patch of blood splattered on him.

Tu Shan Ruoshui pulled out a clean handkerchief.

With trembling hands, she wrapped it around his neck, several times, until it was crooked and uneven.

His voice was full of self-blame.

"If I hadn't called them over... if I hadn't insisted on coming outside the city..."

Jiang Yan sighed.

He raised his other hand and gently rubbed her head.

"It's really nothing," he said. "This has nothing to do with you. Thanks to your bandaging, you see the bleeding has stopped."

Tu Shan Ruoshui was stunned for a moment when he patted her head.

Then she lowered her head, vigorously wiped her eyes with her sleeve, her fingers still clutching the corner of the handkerchief tightly.