The Little Crybaby

After returning home, I kept thinking about the Third Prince.

His meaning was clear.

We had met long ago.

My head hurt.

It felt like growing a brain.

Forget it.

Sleep first.

The next morning, Cherry woke me early and insisted I go see Gu Yuzhi’s execution.

This girl…

Well done.

The street was surprisingly crowded.

I squeezed to the front.

On the execution platform, Gu Yuzhi saw me in the crowd.

He suddenly went mad and broke free, lunging toward me.

Fortunately, everything was controlled.

He was dragged back and executed.

I no longer wished to stay.

As I left, there was a disturbance in the crowd.

For a moment, I thought I heard the Third Prince.

When I turned, I saw nothing.

Spring rain came soft as cream, driving away the last winter chill.

The air smelled of wet earth.

After everything, Father and I chose to settle in Northwood.

With my family’s business instincts, I opened a large tea house there.

Northwood had mountains and rivers.

The tea house was built against the hills.

Because rain was frequent and tea cooled quickly, I placed small warmers in each tea room.

In the main hall, I arranged tea art performances.

The rooms changed with the seasons.

We used fresh mountain tea.

Cherry also suggested letting guests pick tea leaves, experience tea-making, and drink their own tea.

Compared with Jiang City’s noisy prosperity, the Northwood tea house felt elegant and new.

Travelers came endlessly.

The Third Prince’s arrival did not surprise me.

When he saw me, he looked visibly wronged.

This time, his words matched his heart.

“Miss Su, we have been apart for a long time, yet you never sent word asking me to support your business.”

I smiled.

“Your Highness left without saying goodbye last time. I thought I had offended you. How would I dare invite Your Highness to lower yourself to my little shop?”

He looked at me.

His eyes shone.

Then he suddenly said,

“Nannan, do you truly not remember me?”

“Fifteen years ago. Also in Northwood.”

“The child who fell from a horse and got lost.”

Fragments returned.

Fifteen years ago, Father brought me to Northwood for business.

I chased butterflies into the forest.

Then heard crying.

I ran over and found a little boy fallen on the ground, covered in mud.

His face was red and pretty.

I laughed and helped him up.

He kept crying.

So I gave him crab roe pastry.

After he ate, we played together for a long time.

When servants finally came to take him away, he told me he would definitely come back to find me.

For many days after, I went to that same place.

With sugar paintings.

With red bean cakes.

But the boy never appeared again.

I looked at the Third Prince.

“Little crybaby?”

Memory overlapped with the man before me.

His eyes lit instantly.

“You finally remembered me!”

After that meeting, he began a new wave of pursuit.

On the surface, he smiled lightly and looked toward the distant mountains.

In his heart, he never stopped muttering.

Why hasn’t Nannan praised me yet? Didn’t Xiaoliu say today’s outfit makes me look extremely handsome? I’ll punish him to copy Nannan’s preference manual a hundred times when I return!

A while later:

No way. Nannan still isn’t looking at me. Wuwuwu. Shutting down.

“Your Highness,” I said, staring at him, “do you not need to return to Jiang City?”

“No rush,” he replied. “I will temporarily reside in Northwood.”

Is Nannan concerned about me? She must be! Happy happy! I need to perform even better. Work hard, Xie Lan. Win Nannan!

I coughed twice, trying to ease the sweetness crawling up my spine.

It seemed my peaceful days were over.

But perhaps that was not a bad thing.

“Your Highness,” I said softly, “from now on, please take care of me.”

His face remained calm.

His ears reddened.

His heart screamed so loudly I almost laughed aloud.