hen ignored the expression on Ye Wenhua's face and took Lady Xu’s hand to enter the courtyard together. Xú Qīngfēng followed behind with a curious look at Wang Shi, saying, "Uncle, this co-wife of you...1. Little Treasure's Growth Story: The Darkening

1. Little Treasure's Growth Story: The Darkening

Moxiao Bao, whose full name is Mo Yuchen, is the Crown Prince of the Ding王府 (Ding王府 can be translated as "Ding Estate" or left untranslated as it refers to a specific title). If one asks who in this world has the strongest background, everyone's answer would be consistent: Mo Yuchen. His father, Duke Mo Xiuyao of Ding, is an overlord ruling the entire realm; his mother, Consort Ye Li of Ding, is renowned for holding the most elite force known as Qilin (麒麟). His grandfather is Qingyun Scholar, the top scholar in the land; his great-uncles are Hongyu Scholar and Hongyan Scholar from the Xu family. Most importantly, he holds a unique position of favor within the Xu household, a status that remained unshaken even after the addition of siblings later on. However, if one asks who is the most unfortunate person in this world Young Lord Mo would say— it's still him, Mo Yuchen. And young Lord Mo believes his misfortune stems entirely from having a father who can be extremely detrimental to his well-being. This has driven him to dream of becoming someone capable of outsmarting his father.

Moxiao Bao’s unfortunate life began the moment he was born. Upon birth, it seemed that even before he arrived, his father blamed him for being too greedy with food, causing his beloved mother to suffer and become thin. At birth, his father also believed he caused his mother undue hardship due to his troublesome nature. Even after his birth, his father thought his mother paid too much attention to him and out of jealousy gave him a nickname that would forever hinder his reputation.

His mother once comforted him by saying the name "Little Treasure" was cute and endearing. Moxiao Bao agreed; he found it so until he turned ten years old when he started realizing the truth behind such words. As his nickname spread throughout the Mo family army, then gradually extended outward, he finally understood his father's sinister intentions.

Although filled with clever wit and battles of wits against his father in his early years, life was generally carefree for Moxiao Bao before his younger siblings' first birthday celebrations. The day after their birthday, however, marked the end of his good days as he received a three-month sentence of confinement in his own courtyard. Upon finally emerging from isolation after months of solitude, expecting possible signs of autism, he was thrust into his father’s study office and given an insane schedule that heralded a life of early rising, late sleeping, hard laboring, and poor diet.

Moxiao Bao, however, is a man with great aspirations. He understands the saying: "Only those who endure hardship become leaders among people," and believes in receiving heavy responsibilities from heaven. Thus, after a year of painstaking self-improvement, at just twelve years old, Moxiao Bao along with Qin Lie, fifteen at the time, were sent to undergo Qilin training.

The Qilin is the most elite and prestigious unit of the Mohist Army, so in theory, someone as young as Xiaobao wouldn’t be accepted. Qin Lie was initially rejected due to his age being too small. However, when Mo Xiaobao successfully crossed through the swamps and jungles of the Qilin training test alone, and managed to defeat seven active members of the Qilin using every trick in the book, he finally gained entry into the unit. At that time, Qin Feng, who was then the Commander-in-Chief of Qilin, described it as "mediocre methods, second-rate strength, but first-rate results." Mo Xiaobao thus became the youngest member in the history of Qilin.

From an outsider's perspective, Qilin is mysterious, noble, and cold. However, to those who truly become members of this unit, they are actually warm and friendly like a family. After all, one doesn't want to maintain a cold demeanor towards everyone every day. Thus, Mo Xiaobao encountered his first problem after joining the Qilin—his code name.

Every formal member of Qilin must have a code name that they like and their comrades acknowledge.

Mos Xiaobao and Qin Lie were assigned to the same team, which consists of eight members. As for the code names, they are varied and unique, with some being called Snow Wolf or Tiger, others Eagle or Crow, and even Hammer or Iron Hammer. At that moment, Mo Xiaobao decided to give himself an elegant and high-end code name because he was destined to become a renowned figure in the future.

While Mo Xiaobao racked his brains over what code name to choose, Qin Lie, who had been waiting impatiently beside him, frowned and said, "Do you still need another code name Isn’t your good fortune already well-known around the world No matter how hard you think about it, your code name won't surpass your original reputation."

Mo Xiaobao blinked. "I have a good reputation Should I be called Young Master then That doesn't sound right; it feels like showing off my father’s influence, right"

Qin Lie rolled his eyes and said indifferently, "Xiaobao."

Moxiaobao's smile froze instantly, wishing he could immediately pounce and bite Qin Lie, "Qin Lie, you traitor!" Qin Lie snorted and said, "Do you think they don't know How do I not know that the Young Master of the Ding Prince王府 suddenly developed the habit of sticking his head in the sand Or did someone forget how he loudly proclaimed his name before the entire Black Manor army"

In those days, when the young master of Black Manor called out "I am Moxiaobao" to a thousand troops and horses, it became famous throughout the three armies. Since the prince's son was so fond of this nickname, the soldiers naturally accepted this cute name, which was even said to have been given by the prince himself. Although occasionally someone felt guilty thinking that this name didn't match the young master's glorious image as a dignified and impressive figure, after seeing his delicate smile and soft expressions, they finally had no choice but to agree that the Prince Ding was truly wise and sagacious. As a result, Moxiaobao deeply regretted the mischief he caused in his childhood by relying on his cuteness to fool people with this nickname.

Moxiaobao looked at his teammates with despair; their amused nods confirmed what Qin Lie had said. Originally, the Qilin army might have been more closed off than others, but its information was certainly not isolated. More importantly, a significant portion of the current Qilin army joined in the past two years, including many who witnessed the young master's heroic feat firsthand.

"Little Treasure is perfect for his image; let's call him Little Treasure!" The team leader made the decision first. Although this might be the reason he would be enslaved by someone for the rest of his life, he must take advantage of this rare opportunity to play a trick on the prince's son.

Thus, Moxiaobao was forced to accept the nickname "Little Treasure" again with an absolute minority vote in a seven-to-one ratio. Temporarily serving in Qilin, people within the unit jokingly referred to him as "Qilin Little Treasure" or "Qilin Baby"...

The blow from being called by this name almost shattered Moxiaobao's spirit; he no longer had any ambition like when he first joined Qilin. It wasn't that Moxiaobao didn't want to achieve great things, but the thought of hearing countless people loudly calling him "Little Treasure" after his success made him want to hide in a remote wilderness for the rest of his life. Therefore, after reflecting deeply, Moxiaobao finally reaffirmed his life's ambition as Prince Ding. He wanted to be dark and mysterious! Being openly famous and powerful was clearly not his style; he wanted to hide and plot against others, blacken their names, and scheme against them. He wanted no one in the江湖to know him by name but for there to definitely be legends about him! He would wipe out this unglamorous nickname with his own methods. One blow after another finally turned Moxiaobao's soft and adorable exterior completely dark.

"Little Treasure!"

""...

"Little Treasure"

""...

"Qilin Baby"

"Swoosh—" An arrow shot through the air and landed steadily between the legs of a certain squad leader who was lazily sitting on the ground, just one inch away from a sensitive spot. A young noble with a gloomy expression walked over calmly, pulled out the arrow, and said apologetically to the squad leader, "Sorry, Squad Leader. My hand moved slightly, causing me to miss the target. I will practice shooting twenty more times!"

The squad leader secretly retracted his legs and couldn't help but tremble with tears streaming down his face: What the hell If he had hit the mark instead of missing by just one inch, where exactly did he want to shoot!

"Brother Little Treasure!"

"..."

"Little Brother Bao, Heartling agreed to marry me when I grow up!" A certain cute and adorable little fluff rushed into the study in joy, so overjoyed that he used a childhood nickname.

"..." The young man behind the desk gave him a cold glance without saying anything.

"Hahaha, Heartling finally agreed to marry me! I'm going to tell my parents and prepare the betrothal gifts!" Cold Xiaodai was so happy that he couldn't stop dancing around.

"Give it up. Even if you sell your whole family, you still can't afford to marry my sister." The young man mercilessly crushed his hopes.

"Not at all! Princess Ding will definitely agree! Hmph!" Despite being discouraged, Cold Xiaodai's happiness didn't lessen, "Ink Little Bao, it's not nice to be jealous of your future brother-in-law."

Watching Cold Xiaodai run away in a frenzy, the young man looked ferocious. He said, "Someone, go tell Xu Zhirui that I don't discriminate against marriages between relatives; I believe that the Xu family's excellence can make up for this minor flaw. Also... go tell Little Princess that it's very embarrassing to take an idiot out with you."

The next day, the young master of the Leng family, aged thirteen, experienced his first heartbreak. Four-year-old Princess Xin'er declared that she preferred marrying her cousin Zhirui.

"Xiaobao, would you do me a favor" The third Prince Feng smiled and tugged at the Crown Prince of Ding王府, giving off an air of camaraderie and mild embarrassment if he didn't comply.

Mos Xiaobao's calm eyes flickered with a hint of darkness. "What is it"

The third Prince Feng carefully produced a delicate box and handed it to him. "Could you deliver this to... the one you know about"

"Why don't you give it to her yourself" Mos Xiaobao opened the box to find a beautifully crafted phoenix-head hairpin inside.

The third Prince Feng sighed in resignation, "She doesn't want to see me. Your father says I don't do proper work and forbids me from leaving the city this month. Xiaobao, would you help You're going out of the city today to visit Mr. Qingyun, right How about... how about giving her these instead" The third Prince Feng pained himself by offering a pair of dazzling pearls to Mos Xiaobao.

After a long moment, Mos Xiaobao finally nodded in agreement with composure.rim.Yelü Ye sighed and said: "Alright then, what suggestions do General Helian and Uncle have"Helian Zhen thought for a moment and said: "Tomorrow is the New Year in Great Chu. At such time, the entir...