"Dad," Ye Qianning said, snuggling up to him with a pout.

"Heh heh," Xiang Minghou chuckled. He looked down, his eyes turning serious. "I’m not just saying that. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time."

"Really?"

"Yes, and it’s not because I’m angry right now." Xiang Minghou used to have no one to worry about. On the merciless battlefield, he considered every day he survived a blessing.

But after learning he had a daughter, and especially after meeting the little one, a plan had already taken root in his mind.

The Emperor’s marriage decree only strengthened his resolve.

If he couldn’t even ensure his own daughter’s happiness, what was the point of all his achievements?

Ye Qianning lowered her gaze. ’I have an idea, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to accept it.’

"What is it?" he asked, sensing her silence as he reached out to stroke her hair.

"Dad, if you resign in the future, can we buy a mountain and become its rulers?"

"Er... HAHAHAHA!" Xiang Minghou froze for a second before bursting into laughter. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I’m serious! Dad, don’t you dare laugh." In Ye Qianning’s mind, the plan was to find a place to live that didn’t belong to any of the four major powers.

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say," Xiang Minghou replied with a smile.

Ye Qianning could tell he was just humoring her, but she was serious. She truly wanted to build a place beyond the reach of imperial authority—a free land where no one had to sell their lives for the throne.

There were countless capable people across the four powers, but just as many were exiled or destroyed for overstepping the bounds of imperial authority.

Honest advice is often hard to swallow, and emperors, by their nature, despise anything that goes against their will.

The streets were bustling. Even though it was afternoon, the surrounding shops were still packed, forcing the carriage to move slowly.

Ye Qianning lifted the curtain. The carriages of the Gu, Zhan, and Qian families hadn’t returned to their own manors yet. ’Her father’s resignation must have been quite a shock to them.’

’Given her current status, even if her father resigned and took her back to the countryside, those three families wouldn’t necessarily agree.’

"Pig-head."

A voice drifted over from a distance.

Ye Qianning looked up toward the third story of a nearby restaurant. Two small figures were seated opposite each other by the window: on one side was the young prince of Nanyuan, Helian Chen, and on the other, the Crown Prince of Xi Yan, Xiliu Yuan.

From her vantage point, she could only see two small heads.

Xiliu Yuan looked down, and their eyes met.

Ye Qianning glanced at him for only a moment before looking away. Her gaze landed on Helian Chen, and her lips parted, silently mouthing a single word.

"Did she just say something to us?" Helian Chen asked, slightly taken aback.

But before he could give it much thought, Ye Qianning had already dropped the curtain. ’What an idiot,’ she thought. ’And he has the nerve to insult other people.’

Xiliu Yuan was certain it wasn’t a coincidence. ’For a six-year-old child’s hearing to be so sharp... and her powers of observation surpass even those of elite Hidden Guards.’

Helian Chen replayed the movement of her mouth in his mind over and over. Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

"She... She actually cursed me!"

"Chenchen, mind your manners." Prince Yu, who was beside him, pushed him back into his seat and couldn’t resist craning his neck to look down.

By then, Ye Qianning had already lowered the curtain, and all he could see was the Xiang family’s carriage.

"That wretched pig-head!" Helian Chen fumed.

"What did you see, Chenchen?" Prince Yu asked, pulling his head back in, completely baffled.

"Beili’s future Crown Princess Consort! She’s as ugly as a pig and she still dared to curse me!"

"You must be seeing things. There are so many people down there, how could she have possibly noticed you? Besides, you don’t even know each other. Why would she curse you?" Prince Yu said with a laugh.

"Uncle, she was definitely cursing me!"

"And how do you know that?"

"Because..." Helian Chen’s train of thought was interrupted by a new one. ’Could she have heard me curse her? Is that why she...?’

’No, that’s impossible. How could she have heard me from so far away? It must be a coincidence. A total coincidence.’