"Be careful, Your Highness!" the palace attendant shouted again.

An Ning lifted her eyes.

A roof tile fell from the eaves.

An Ning hadn’t reacted yet.

She was suddenly embraced by someone.

At the same time, the tile fell directly onto the man in front of her.

The pain made him let out a low "hmm".

Yet he didn’t show too much distress.

All the palace attendants gathered around at that moment.

Fu Xingyi also strode over, pulling An Ning from Lin Zichan’s arms and holding her tightly.

What just happened almost scared him to death.

If that large tile had really smashed onto her head...

Fu Xingyi held her even tighter.

An Ning was still quite shaken. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

In Fu Xingyi’s warm embrace, she took a while before she could gather herself.

Lin Zichan seemed to give them a glance.

Slowly turning his head towards Xiao Luming, he respectfully asked, "Did Your Highness get hurt?"

Xiao Luming also came back to his senses at that moment.

He didn’t expect that his momentary carelessness almost caused his own downfall and nearly injured his mother.

Guilt surged within him.

"Luming, how are you?" An Ning asked urgently.

She stepped out from Fu Xingyi’s embrace, crouched down quickly, and carefully examined Xiao Luming’s body.

"I’m sorry, Mother, I..." Xiao Luming apologized.

An Ning’s eyes tightened.

Seeing the scratches on Xiao Luming’s hand, with beads of blood seeping at the moment.

She naturally felt heartache.

She further checked Luming’s bones, and only after confirming there was no bone injury did she slightly relax.

A strange anger welled up inside her.

She stood up, turned her gaze toward Lin Zichan.

Seeing him stand there respectfully, she loudly reprimanded, "On your first day by the Crown Prince’s side, you let him get injured!"

Lin Zichan pursed his lips.

The next moment, he knelt down, "It was my negligence. Please, Your Highness, punish me."

"Mother, it’s not related to Guard Lin." Xiao Luming quickly pleaded, "It was my own overestimation that led to me falling from the eaves..."

An Ning gave Xiao Luming a look.

Xiao Luming bit his lower lip and bowed his head.

An Ning said coldly, "Guard Lin failed to protect the Crown Prince and nearly caused a grave mistake! Take him away, and give him twenty lashes!"

"Mother..." Xiao Luming, upon hearing Lin Zichan’s punishment, couldn’t help but speak up, "I too was at fault first; I am willing to accept the same punishment. Please lighten the punishment on Guard Lin."

With that, Xiao Luming directly knelt on the ground.

An Ning frowned.

Xiao Luming was overly protective of Lin Zichan.

It was only Lin Zichan’s first day accompanying Luming.

Today, she wanted to punish Lin Zichan, partly because it was indeed perilous just now, causing her agitation. On the other hand, she wanted to teach Lin Zichan a lesson; since Lin Zichan is the personal guard to protect Luming, his duty is to protect Luming at all costs, not allow him to be in danger.

"It was my fault, I am willing to accept punishment!" Lin Zichan suddenly spoke, his voice firm.

Even while kneeling, he seemed to exude a strong presence.

The impression given was not haughty nor humble.

An Ning furrowed her brows even more tightly.

Feeling that Lin Zichan... made her very uncomfortable.

Just now, to shield her from the tile, Lin Zichan actually embraced her; though it was an emergency, from the perspective of protocol, it was a grave disrespect, punishable by death, yet Lin Zichan had no reaction, remaining calm and composed.

An Ning looked coldly at Lin Zichan, obviously just a small guard, yet seemingly unable to ignore his presence.

"Mother," Xiao Luming continued to plead, "I promise to practice martial arts within my means in the future, ensuring I’ll never put myself in such danger again. Please, Mother, lessen Lin Zichan’s punishment. Besides, Mother, Lin Zichan is my personal guard. If Lin Zichan suffers the twenty lash punishment, he won’t be able to properly protect me, and Guard Wu is on leave, with no one else to replace him. Please have mercy, Mother!"

Xiao Luming looked deeply at An Ning.

He knew well that his mother rarely gets angry, and even less would she easily punish others unless they truly crossed her bound.

But he truly didn’t think Lin Zichan’s mistake today warranted twenty lashes.

Feeling that his mother harbored some personal feelings in this.

An Ning turned her gaze.

At that moment, she came back to her senses.

One must admit, Xiao Luming had indeed inherited Xiao Jinxing’s wit and shrewdness, quickly finding reasons to achieve his wishes!

An Ning had yet to speak.

"Luming speaks sensibly; since no real harm was done, let’s lessen the punishment," Fu Xingyi said, naturally speaking on Xiao Luming’s behalf.

Also offering An Ning a way to de-escalate the situation.

An Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "In honor of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, I will forgo the twenty lashes, but today’s incident cannot simply be forgotten. I will deduct two months’ wages from you, let this not be repeated!"

Lin Zichan respectfully said, "Thank Your Highness for the mercy."

An Ning frowned.

Was Lin Zichan too composed?!

An Ning did not wish to deduce too much about someone insignificant.

She said to Luming, "Follow me to Fengqi Palace; I will treat the wounds on your hand."

"Thank you, Mother," Xiao Luming kowtowed before rising.

At this moment, An Ning couldn’t help but glance again at Lin Zichan.

Even the Crown Prince had to bow in gratitude to her, yet this Lin Zichan didn’t even bend a bit.

"Your Majesty, I will take Luming back to Fengqi Palace now; I won’t accompany you to Qiankun Hall," An Ning said to Fu Xingyi.

Fu Xingyi understood An Ning’s intention.

She meant for him to go handle the official documents himself.

Sometimes, he even felt that An Ning wanted him to quickly take on the burdens of Daxuan Kingdom more than he did.

And An Ning’s intentions seemed to be out of fear that he would let down Xiao Jinxing’s legacy!

"Alright," Fu Xingyi nodded.

An Ning offered a small bow, took Luming’s hand, and left first.

The other palace attendants followed behind.

Lin Zichan was also among them.

Arriving at Fengqi Palace.

An Ning asked for the medicine chest, then began attending to Xiao Luming’s hand injuries.

At that moment, cleaning the wound still stung a bit.

Though Xiao Luming bit his lower lip, stopping himself from making a sound, his face contorted with pain.

"So you know it hurts?" An Ning reproached.

Her actions, however, became noticeably gentler.

"Don’t do that again; always remember, you are the only prince of Daxuan Kingdom. You bear the future of Daxuan, your body must not suffer any harm," An Ning advised.

"Yes," Xiao Luming replied respectfully, "I have never shirked the responsibility for the nation. But Mother, I still hope you and Father could have more siblings. Youyou and Anqi are also eager for it."

An Ning’s hand paused slightly while she helped Xiao Luming wipe his wounds.

Lin Zichan stood by Xiao Luming’s side, being his personal guard, he naturally stayed close.

Currently, his hand hanging beside him clenched into a fist unconsciously.

"Does Mother still hold a grudge against Father?" Luming asked cautiously.

"No, your father and I are very close. It’s just that having children... it’s not as simple as having them on demand. Children depend on fate."

"We are not in a hurry," Xiao Luming smiled, "As long as Mother agrees to have siblings, that’s fine."

An Ning slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

Her lowered eyes hid the emotions in her heart.