Pei Qingfeng was currently staring blankly into space while seated in his Second Prince's residence. He looked in the direction of the Desolate Region and spaced out. He didn’t even react when Ling Xian’er came to visit him.

"It has been such a long time and he is still behaving like this?" Ling Xian'er looked towards Pei Qingfeng and pouted her lips before asking Pei Qingfeng's personal guard.

The personal guard let out a long sigh after hearing the question. He replied to Ling Xian’er, "Young Lady Xian'er, His Second Highness has been like this since Young Lady Luo Chu departed. Whenever he has nothing to do, he will stare into space. There are times when he will lose focus when eating and he won’t react even if I speak to him.”

Ling Xian'er shook her head in response and lamented, "He is truly a fool." She then walked up and waved her hand in front of Pei Qingfeng's face. Seeing that Pei Qingfeng started to notice her, she teased, "Aiyo, this is truly interesting. Our Second Prince who doesn’t get close to women is spacing out because of one. What is going on? Big Brother Qingfeng, why won’t you tell me about it?”

Pei Qingfeng felt a little embarrassed after hearing Ling Xian’er. He immediately retorted, "What are you talking about? You’re a playful little brat. You sure know a lot of things at such a young age. In my opinion, you have been reading too many of your folk stories. One day, I will get Honored Tian Yun to burn all your books."

Ling Xian'er became hopping mad and said, "Big Brother Qingfeng, why are you so unreasonable? I merely teased you a little! How dare you threaten me with my favorite books?"

Pei Qingfeng saw Ling Xian'er's fuming expression and felt it was rather hilarious. He then criticized Ling Xian'er, "How dare you bring up those books of yours?! Look at the sisters that live with you, are any of them like you? You are constantly hugging onto those books and god-knows what your little mind is thinking of. Right now, you are even teasing me. What else do you want to do next time? Are you preparing to leave the sect and be a folk story writer?!"

"That is also possible..." Ling Xian'er muttered. When Pei Qingfeng heard the statement, he nearly exploded from rage, "What did you say?! Ling Xian'er, repeat that one more time!"

Ling Xian'er instantly changed her tone and let out a flattering smile. She hugged Pei Qingfeng while acting coquettishly, "Aiyo, Big Brother Qingfeng dotes on Xian'er so much! Even if I don’t behave properly and get reprimanded by Father, you will surely stand on my side, right?" Ling Xian'er even shook Pei Qingfeng's arm in a cute manner while speaking.

Pei Qingfeng tapped Ling Xian’er’s head lightly with his fan before turning serious. “Alright, speak. Why are you here?”

Ling Xian'er let go of Pei Qingfeng's arm in response and she sat down in front of him. She started to speak in an absentminded manner, "Big Brother Qingfeng, if I say I am here to freeload a meal at your Second Prince's residence, will you believe me?" While Ling Xian'er was talking, she started to play with her hair unhurriedly.

Pei Qingfeng snorted. It was clear he didn’t believe this mischievous imp, "Enough, you can stop your nonsense. The person preparing your meals is an imperial chef appointed by my Emperor Father. Even though the chef at my place isn’t too bad, they prepare the meals according to my taste. How can such bland dishes appeal to a gluttonous kitten like you? Did Honored Tian Yun ask you to call for me?”

When Ling Xian'er noticed that Pei Qingfeng already guessed the purpose of her visit, she felt rather embarrassed. She subtly rubbed her nose and exposed her thoughts, "Actually, you can’t say that. Honored Tian Yun knows that Big Brother Qingfeng hasn't been doing much recently but you haven’t been visiting the residence either. He felt that things are rather strange and he asked me to look for you. He is inviting you for a meal at our residence tomorrow.”

Pei Qingfeng listened and knew that Honored Tian Yun was up to no good. He sneered and said, "Heh, the capital city isn't his territory and he is already trying to manage it. What else does he want? Since your group entered the capital city, he has been using various reasons to order me around. It was fine at the start as your group just arrived at the capital city. Right now, he is even thinking of monitoring my actions. Does he think that I am his dog? Does he know that working excessively hard is detrimental to the body?" Pei Qingfeng was obviously dissatisfied with Honored Tian Yun as the usually even-tempered Pei Qingfeng wouldn’t rage unnecessarily.

Ling Xian'er knew that Honored Tian Yun was indeed at fault. After all, whenever Pei Qingfeng could accompany them, he would be filled with smiles. Now that he was feeling a little concerned because his beloved person was out for a campaign, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with Honored Tian Yun and the others.

"Big Brother Qingfeng, I too feel that Honored Tian Yun is meddling too much but you cannot reject him without reason. You still have to find a proper reason, otherwise, he might grow suspicious. Even if you can’t be bothered with him, you need to take care of Young Lady Luo Chu’s well-being, right?”

Pei Qingfeng lapsed into silence as Ling Xian’er was right. Honored Tian Yun couldn’t do a thing to him but it was different for Bai Luochu. Nothing would happen if he was to act impudently in front of Honored Tian Yun. He had been complying with Honored Tian Yun recently because he didn't want Honored Tian Yun to notice Bai Luochu's existence.

After a very long time, Pei Qingfeng felt he had suddenly lost all his energy as he lamented, "You are right. I will reconsider the dinner appointment tomorrow but don’t get your hopes up. I have no idea why, but I am feeling ill at ease lately. Something is definitely up and if I decide to head to the Desolate Region, I will write a letter to you in advance. Since you are here, why not eat lunch before going back?”

Ling Xian'er nodded. The chefs of the Second Prince's Residence might cook bland food but the ingredients they used were of superior grade. It was a waste not to eat them.

Pei Qingfeng never expected to be hit by a truck when the information from the Desolate Region reached him. The reason he was feeling ill at ease was because of Bai Luochu...