The villain prince is three and a half years old

He thought, isn't Sun Jingzhu pretending not to know Ning Shouxu? That's perfect.

"Young master!" Yi Qiu suddenly called Xia Jing in a low voice.

Xia Jing was thinking about the key part and ignored her.

"Young master!" Yi Qiu's voice became more urgent.

Xia Jing raised his head and tried to look behind him, but before he could turn his neck, it froze.

He saw someone who shouldn't be there.

"Brother Jing!" Ning Xuenian ran to Xia Jing happily, grabbed his hand, and jumped up and down.

Xia Jing looked around, confirming that this was a pleasure boat, not a harem or some other place. He opened the 3D map, which he had closed because it was in the way, and sure enough, it was Ning Xuenian's icon.

Why are you, a princess, on a pleasure boat? Are you looking for another woman behind my back? No, the one asking this question should be the woman.

Ning Xuenian was overjoyed and looked towards the room Xia Jing had left. "Who did Brother Jing order?"

Her tone was calm and there was a smile on her face, but Xia Jing felt that the calmness was not real calmness and the smile was not a real smile.

"It was ordered by my third brother. He asked me to come and take a look!" Xia Jing was sweating profusely and immediately put the blame on Ning Shouxu.

"Three Emperors—what did brother choose?" Ning Xue Nian almost let it slip.

She looked around anxiously, and when she saw no one else around, she felt relieved. "It's definitely more fun here than outside. I ordered one too. They say it's from the eastern islands. She can juggle on a stick. So amazing!"

Xia Jing frowned. Juggling on a wooden stick?

He looked behind Ning Xuenian as a young man and a young woman came up to him, quietly bowed to him, and then pulled him aside, begging him not to tell Ning Xuenian the truth. They were members of the Qin family, Ning Xuenian's maternal clan.

"What's going on? Why is Sister Nian'er coming to this place?" Xia Jing asked curiously.

The girl blushed. "The princess caught us and forced us to bring her here to play."

Why does this operation sound familiar?

"It's all Xue Renli's fault!" the young man gritted his teeth. "I wonder where he met the princess and actually told her this was a fun place!"

"When I get the chance, I'll make him pay!" The girl clenched her fists.

Xia Jing shrank his neck: "Brother Li may not have done it on purpose, maybe he was drunk."

"The Ninth Prince is kind, but there is no need to excuse him." The young man's attitude was firm.

"Why is the Ninth Prince here?" the girl asked.

Xia Jing was surprised that Ning Xuenian appeared in the pleasure boat, and they were even more surprised that the Ninth Prince appeared there.

Xia Jing rolled his eyes and felt that these two people came at the right time.

He waved to the two of them mysteriously.

The two followed him to a secluded corner and listened curiously.

"I'm telling you, you can't tell anyone." Xia Jing instructed carefully.

The two men patted their chests and promised not to tell.

Xia Jing then told a story about how pure and loving childhood sweethearts were, how they secretly decided to spend their lives together, and how fate was cold and ruthless, how it took away the girl's identity and the boy's feet, leaving the two people in the shadows looking at each other across the sea.

The girl's eyes welled up with tears when she heard this, and the boy's eyes also turned red. They asked Xia Jing who his childhood sweethearts were.

Xia Jing shook his head, indicating that he couldn't say anything.

The less he spoke, the more curious the young men and women became. It wasn't difficult to find out about this matter; I was sure this touching story would soon spread among the small circle of the powerful.

Ning Shouxu wanted to downplay his relationship with Sun Jingzhu, but Xia Jing refused to let him succeed.

Now he thought that before coming here, Ning Shouxu's words in Yanghexuan, in addition to the true feelings, might have also implied that if Xia Jing saw through it but didn't say it out loud, he could take their friendship and interests into consideration.

"Hurry up, we haven't gone to see the lanterns yet!" Ning Xuenian urged.

Today is not a festival, and there are no lanterns at all. This was made up by the Qin brothers and sisters in order to discourage Ning Xu from coming to the pleasure boat. Unexpectedly, the girl actually wanted them all.

Fortunately, lanterns are not complicated to make, so just let the mansion prepare them.

The girl pulled Xia Jing to follow her. Xia Jing hesitated, thinking that if he went to Qin's house, he would definitely run into Concubine Yun, and with Concubine Yun's keen eyesight, it would be difficult to deceive her about the pleasure boat.

Xia Jing turned around and asked the Xue family's housekeeper who was traveling with him, "Maybe the Xue family is preparing lanterns?"

How could the butler dare to say no? Concubine Xian had specifically instructed that the Ninth Prince must not be neglected.

"Some simple ones are no problem. There's a pond in the mansion, and a pavilion on it. Watching the lanterns from the pavilion is truly beautiful." The housekeeper said, glancing at the two members of the Qin family. "If the Qin family wants to display lanterns, they'll probably have to go to the river outside the alley."

"Let's go to the Xue family." Xia Jing finalized it, took Ning Xuenian with him, and invited the Qin brothers and sisters.

The steward was startled, about to speak but stopped. He thought the Ninth Prince was being competitive, but he didn't expect that the Ninth Prince wanted to take the person to the Xue family.

The Xue family and the Qin family are not on good terms!

That's why the Qin brothers and sisters were so rude to Xue Renli and threatened to teach him a lesson. That's why the housekeeper just secretly criticized the Qin Mansion, implying that the Qin Mansion was just a big lump of dirt and didn't have the elegance of the Xue family at all.

If he took his enemy's siblings back to his own home...

The butler felt a chill on his back, but fortunately the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess were there to block him.

He agreed and asked the servant to run back and make preparations.

"Call my study partner as well." Xia Jing ordered.

The Ninth Prince, the secret agent of the Imperial Palace, was busy investigating a case and had no time to see his little study partner.

Chapter 107 Xue Zhixi

Lanterns are decorations and playthings, and their purpose is novelty and fun. Naturally, they lack practicality and safety, so the fire rate is extremely high.

Emperors of all dynasties required that lanterns could only be decorated by the river.

The night was dark, the lights pierced through the darkness, the water surface lit up with dots of light, cutting out a reflection of the lakeside, swaying with the waves.

Xia Jing leaned on the railing of the pavilion, looking at the light and shadow on the water, and felt that something was missing.

He looked at Ning Xuenian, the girl holding a rabbit lantern, running back and forth by the river, the lantern swaying, reflecting the girl's smiling face. The Qin siblings chased after her, their faces grimace, worried that she would fall or burn her clothes.

There was only the girls' laughter around, it was too quiet.

Xia Jing asked the butler beside him: "Where are the others?"

This is a question I should ask my reading partner.

The steward's face was even more bitter than the Qin brothers and sisters'. He knelt on the ground with a plop and said, "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, Young Master Yuan has gone to bed."

This was undoubtedly a lie. Even if he had really fallen asleep, he should have woken up.

Xia Jing thought that Empress Xian's feelings for him were beyond doubt, and when she chose a study partner for him, she must have chosen the best one. But this was a problem, and the other party had objections.

"What's his name?" Xia Jing asked again, "Which family's child is he from?"

The butler didn't answer and changed the subject: "Ninth Prince, there are several extremely exquisite lanterns in the mansion, and there is a carp that is taller than the small ones. Would you like to see it?"

Xia Jing glanced at him and looked across the lake. The rabbit lantern had already run half a circle around the lake.

The butler knelt, not daring to rise. He secretly groaned, having thought that mentioning the large carp lantern would distract the little prince, but he had not expected the boy to be unmoved and respond in such a sophisticated way.

The pavilion was by the lake. The night wind was cool, the lake water was cool, and the ground was naturally cool as well. The housekeeper's knees ached slightly.

He couldn't hold on any longer and looked at Yi Qiu pleadingly.

This is the wrong person to ask for help. Yi Qiu chuckled and turned away.

"I'll push the carp lantern for you."

The housekeeper was about to get up, and just as he raised his foot, Yi Qiu's voice rang out.

"The housekeeper is so thoughtful. When I return to the palace, I will definitely commend you to Empress Xian."

The butler immediately knelt back down.

He looked at Xia Jing. The little prince's expression was as silent as the water below.

He thought to himself, Madam might have made a wrong move, this Ninth Prince is no simple person.

Not daring to hide it any longer, he kowtowed and replied, "Young Master Yuan's name is Huaiyuan, and he is Madam Zhao's youngest son."

Madam Zhao was the principal wife of the second branch of the family, and Empress Xian had chosen the legitimate son of the second branch of the Xue family for Xia Jing, a sign of her respect for him. You know, some of the tasks a tutor performs are reserved for lower-ranking personnel.

Mrs. Zhao was unhappy that her child was going to be Xia Jing's servant, so she suppressed the idea of ​​the meeting.

Xia Jing thought that in ancient times, there was no such thing as equality for all. If the other person thought he was equal to you, it meant that he thought you were nothing special.

This is a good time to say "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west", but Xia Jing is no longer at such a passionate age, and the Xue family is not an enemy.

Without asking any more questions, Xia Jing raised his head. In the shadows in the distance, several little heads were poking out, looking over here.

Even children in previous lives found it difficult to resist the temptation of lanterns, let alone these children?

He said to the housekeeper, "Call all the children in the house, regardless of whether they are masters or servants, to come and play with us."

The butler breathed a sigh of relief and immediately agreed to deliver the message.

The Xue family was neither large nor small. The two masters had nearly ten children, four of whom were young and had all come to the lakeside. As for the children of the servants, there were even more, more than ten.

The lakeside suddenly became lively.

Ning Xuenian was shy and acted fiercely, as if she was keeping strangers away. She walked through the crowd of children and came to Xia Jing.

The housekeeper pushed a two-meter-high carp lantern over, and Ning Xuenian turned around it curiously.

The children also knew how to read people's expressions and knew that there was an important person in the pavilion, so they didn't dare to go near and just walked around somewhere else.

Xia Jing observed for a moment, pointed at one of the boys, about seven or eight years old, and asked the housekeeper, "What's his name?"

The butler opened his mouth, but it was not right to say anything, nor was it right to not say anything.

That was Xia Jing's study partner who had 'already gone to bed', Xue Huaiyuan.

Xia Jing chuckled and put his hand down.

The butler wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and felt that the Ninth Prince was even more unfathomable.

He quickly changed the subject: "Ninth Prince, do you want to go to the lake?"

"Yes!" Ning Xuenian rushed over from behind and hugged Xia Jing's neck.

A two-meter-wide boat approached the pavilion. Railings were installed on the boat, so children could play safely.

There was only a small pond in the harem, good for raising carp but not for boating. Ning Xuenian leaned against the railing, gazing at the lake in a trance, curious and apprehensive.

This is what a normal child looks like, the butler thought. He turned to look at Xia Jing. The Ninth Prince was sitting by the boat, looking at the water, but he didn't seem to be interested.

What is this prince thinking?

Thinking about his share of 'Sun Jingzhu'.

Studying companions didn’t matter. What attracted him most to the Xue family was one of the characters in the game’s love line—Xue Zhixi.

Compared to other characters with more distinctive personalities, Xue Zhixi is relatively ordinary and lacks any memorable points. In the game, although Xia Jing didn't ignore her, he didn't pay much attention to her either.

Until Xia Jing accidentally led to his destruction, the coalition forces of the six countries invaded the Ning Dynasty and approached the imperial city.

The other concubines, no matter how strong and resilient they had been in the past, were terrified and lost their will, becoming like puppets.

Only Xue Zhixi remained calm, staying by the player's side and helping the player deal with the aftermath. They raised a glass of poisoned wine in the Yangxin Palace, clinked glasses, and drank it together.

To be honest, the love part in "The Prince Development Plan" is really not that good. The characters that can be pursued are far less attractive than those that cannot be pursued.

The only exception was Xue Zhixi. Before Xia Jing traveled through time, there was even a "Xixue" (a term for "Xixue") on the game forums, dedicated to analyzing Xue Zhixi's thoughts and emotions in the plot.

As his eyes swept across one figure after another, Xia Jing finally found the girl.

It’s no wonder he was slow in finding. The girl’s clothes were too similar to those of the servants. Xia Jing had to observe her situation before he was sure it was her.

That Xue Huaiyuan was leading three little followers and surrounding her.

Like Xue Huaiyuan, Xue Zhixi is the child of the second wife of the Xue family. Unlike Xue Huaiyuan, her biological mother is just a concubine, and an unfavored one at that.

The so-called aunt is a concubine.

Therefore, her status in the Xue family was extremely low. Fortunately, her mother was in good health and she had two older brothers, so she did not have to worry about being bullied by the servants.

But facing Xue Huaiyuan, she had no way to deal with it.

The reason why Xue Huaiyuan was looking for trouble with her was simple. Her brother Xue Zhaoju often surpassed the "family genius" Master Yuan in the family school, which made Xue Huaiyuan, who was extremely ambitious, very angry.

He pushed Xue Zhixi away and didn't allow her to come and see the lanterns.