still approached respectfully to pay his respects."Minister Liu, you are excused from formalities," Mo Xiuyao said calmly as he smiled and gestured towards an empty seat beside him. "Please take a sea...5. Cloudy Song (4)

5. Shu Quèwǔ Shēn's Cloudy Song (4)

The Western Princess rushed to the trio and was surprised to see Xu Qingchen there as well, exclaiming, "Sir Qingchen, why are you here too" Although this Xu residence isn’t large, it’s certainly not small either. It's obvious that the Western Princess got lost in the garden, which allowed Sir Qingchen to catch up with Yun Ge ahead of her.

Xu Qingchen smiled without speaking.

Yun Ge looked bewildered instead, "Uh... Your Highness, why are you challenging me What does this have to do with Xu Qingchen" She didn’t have particularly strong feelings about winning or losing. If the Western Princess really wanted to win so badly, she would concede defeat then. But what did it mean that if she won, Xu Qingchen would belong to her Although Yun Ge was confused by this statement, looking at Sir Qingchen's amiable expression made her instinctively believe that she couldn’t casually agree or give up.

The Western Princess felt frustrated and thought Yun Ge was deliberately pretending not to understand the challenge. With a pout, she said, "Aren't you Sir Qingchen’s fiancée I like Sir Qingchen, so I’m challenging you! If you lose, you must give Sir Qingchen to me!"

"What!" Mister Mei was shocked. Miss Shen turned out to be Sir Qingchen's fiancée; why didn’t he know about such a significant matter He... He actually wanted to court the fiancée of Sir Qingchen! Looking at the smiling Sir Qingchen beside him and then back at himself, tears welled up in Mister Mei’s heart.

"What..." Yun Ge blinked, looking clueless. When did she become Xu Qingchen's fiancée No way! She didn’t want to be Xu Qingchen’s fiancée! Being managed by him already felt pitiful enough; if they were engaged, wouldn't she have to bury herself in a mountain of books for life Yun Ge shook her head repeatedly with a sad face, truly disliking reading.

"I…" Just as Yun Ge was about to say she would concede defeat, a gentle hand landed on her shoulder from behind. "Yun Ge..."

When Yun Ge turned around, she met the smiling eyes of Mr. Qingchen. However, she clearly saw a threatening message in his eyes: "Do you want to copy books again"

Of course, Yun Ge did not want to copy books, so she could only submit to Mr. Qingchen's silent pressure. Feeling somewhat wronged, she looked at the Western Princess and asked, "What do you want to compete in" As it was getting dark, the Western Princess couldn't see Yun Ge's expression clearly. After some thought, she said, “Let’s compete in martial arts!” The Western people崇尚武術，但中原的女子似乎除了定王妃外，並冇有人會武功。The Western Princess looked at Mr. Qingchen standing behind Yun Ge, who was handsome and charming as an immortal, and felt confident.

"Yun Ge, don't lose," said Mr. Qingchen with a low laugh.

Shaking slightly, Yun Ge nodded sadly to the Western Princess.

The Western Princess wasn't Yun Ge's match; although Yun Ge was young, her martial arts skills were among the best in Li City. However, because she was beautiful and lively, and with Shen Yang and the Xu family taking care of her, she rarely had a chance to use her skills. Therefore, even in Li City, there weren’t many people who knew about her martial arts abilities.

Before Plum公子的目光中，西域公主僅僅用了三五招就被雲歌拍飛了。見到雲歌如此武功身手，梅公子更是滿臉羞愧，他剛剛還大言不慚的說要保護沈姑娘呢。

這西域公主也是個性情豪爽的女子，她心慕徐清塵就直接向雲歌提出挑戰，輸了也不生氣，站起來拍拍身上的灰塵，朝雲歌揮揮手便回去了，連一眼都冇多看徐清塵。

花園裡又安靜了下來，梅公子看看站在跟前也不說話的徐清塵和雲歌，有些尷尬的摸了摸鼻子也悄悄地走了。

雲歌傻愣愣地看著徐清塵，她原本就不善於隨機應變，突然冒出來一個未婚妻的事情讓她很尷尬無措，“那個…徐清塵，我先去看無憂姐姐和天香姐姐。還有、你不要亂說，我纔不是你的未婚妻呢。”說完也不管徐清塵反應如何，直接施展輕功從花園中的花樹假山上掠過，朝著華天香新房的方向匆匆而去，那模樣彷彿生怕後麵有人追她一般。

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Plum公子's astonished gaze, within just three to five moves, the Western Princess was sent flying by Yun Ge. Seeing Yun Ge’s superb martial arts skills, Plum公子felt even more ashamed because he had boldly claimed that he would protect Miss Shen just moments ago.

The Western Princess was a straightforward and bold woman; she directly challenged Yun Ge due to her admiration for Xu Qingchen. After losing the challenge, she didn’t get angry, got up, brushed off the dust from her clothes, waved at Yun Ge, and left without even glancing once more at Xu Qingchen.

The garden fell quiet again. Plum公子awkwardly touched his nose as he looked at Xu Qingchen and Yun Ge standing silently in front of him before discreetly leaving.

Yun Ge stared blankly at Xu Qingchen. She wasn't good at improvising, and the sudden emergence of an engagement proposal left her feeling awkward and at a loss for words. "Um... Xu Qingchen, I'll go see無憂and 天香姐姐first. And you shouldn’t say such nonsense; I’m not your fiancée." With that said, she didn't care about Xu Qingchen's reaction and immediately used her light-footed skills to leap over the flower trees and artificial hills in the garden, rushing towards Hu Tianxiang’s new room as if fearing someone would chase after her.

The Noble Young Master Qingchen sighed helplessly as he watched the figure disappear into the distance and then turned around to leave. Suddenly, a dull chuckle came from the rooftop behind him. Upon turning around, The Noble Young Master saw Ding Wang lounging lazily on the roof with his wife, looking down at them with amusement. From the look in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes, he had obviously watched everything that happened.

"When did Ding Wang start to spy on others" Xu Qingchen asked with a bad mood.

Mo Xiuyao laughed heartily and held Ye Li's waist as he floated down from the roof. Looking at Qingchen, Mo Xiuyao said, "I have always enjoyed watching others’ misfortunes; didn’t Noble Young Master Qingchen know that already"

Ye Li smiled apologetically to Xu Qingchen and whispered softly, "Brother, did you scare Yun Ge" Ye Li had tried a few times to test Yun Ge’s reaction privately. The little girl was raised in the mountains by her father with minimal contact with other people, which made her more immature than most girls of her age. She never even thought about romantic love. Initially, she found Xu Qingchen attractive and wanted someone to keep her company, so she took a risk to save him. Later on, when she realized that Xu Qingchen was always telling her what to do and she was not very smart, it became like the student fearing the teacher. If Xu Qingchen were to suddenly propose now, Ye Li would bet that Yun Ge’s first thought would be about how they’d have to stay together forever once married, meaning that she’d have to follow his orders for life. Therefore, The Noble Young Master’s chance of proposing successfully might actually be lower than the previous Mei Shengzi.

Mo Xiuyao lazily mocked, "Do you want a wife or a student I’ve never seen anyone treat their future wife like a student and even worse, a strict teacher. Didn’t you see how that little girl wanted to run away when she saw you" Mo Xiuyao could clearly tell from Yun Ge’s expression of helplessness and unwillingness to argue back. Fortunately for her parents were no longer around; if any man dared to treat his precious heart the way Xu Qingchen did… He would kill them! The Prince Ding Wang thought viciously.

Xu Qingchen pondered this while Ye Li smiled lightly, saying, "Brother, Yun Ge has learned a lot. Even Zeng Er and the matriarch praised her highly. She’s not interested in music or poetry either. Don’t force her anymore."

Mo Xiuyao held Ye Li tightly and laughed triumphantly, "Be careful; if you push the little girl too far, she might beat you up."

"Thank you for your advice, Your Highness," Noble Young Master Qingchen said calmly as he waved to Ye Li before turning around to leave. As he walked away, a faint smile gradually faded from his lips. Did he not like it Then perhaps he should tell her that he wouldn’t force her to study anymore… Actually, the little girl’s expression of wanting to learn yet being unwilling and unable to speak up was very cute.

Xu Qingchen never got a chance to inform Yun Ge of his decision because early the next morning, everyone in Xu family found out that Yun Ge had disappeared. She didn’t go missing or get kidnapped; instead she left behind a letter saying that she wanted to leave home and help people in need. After staring at her beautiful handwriting for a while, Noble Young Master Qingchen came to a realization: the little girl he raised for half a year—ran away from home.

"Qingchen, look at this..." Xu Dafu Ren held the letter left by Yun Ge with some difficulty and looked worriedly at her son. She was really concerned about Qingchen's expression; it made Xu Dafu Ren a little anxious. She had never seen her son's face so sad in her life, making her both happy and worried. Happy that she could finally confirm that her son truly felt differently toward Yun Ge, but also worried because if anything happened to Yun Ge while alone outside, what would they do Moreover, judging by his current expression, he was likely to severely scold Yun Ge once he found her, wouldn't Yun Ge be even more afraid of him then When could she possibly marry off her eldest son then

After thinking about it, Xu Dafu Ren decided to try and soothe her son first. "Qingchen, don’t worry. I’ve already sent a message to Li Er; we’ll definitely find Yun Ge soon. However, when Yun Ge returns, you mustn’t scare her again. She’s just a little girl who is also very pitiful."

Prince Qingchen was stunned and looked at his mother with a question in his eyes: "Mother, do you think I’m being bad to Yun Ge"

Xu Dafu Ren couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she sighed. "What misdeed did I commit that I could give birth to such an idiotic son A young girl of only twelve or thirteen years old, and you don’t even speak gently to comfort her, instead arranging a pile of assignments for her daily and constantly pointing out all sorts of faults about her. If this were someone else, they wouldn’t be able to take it either, let alone a young girl like Yun Ge. Even Qingyan is afraid of you, isn’t that right Fortunately, Yun Ge has a good temper; otherwise, she would have turned against you long ago." At this point, Xu Dafu Ren felt incredibly heartbroken. Everyone said she was blessed to have several fine sons, but who could understand the frustration of still not being able to marry off her eldest son at thirty-something years old The women they rejected from their family were naturally unattractive in their eyes, but with a son like him who was so stupid and clumsy, he wouldn’t be able to marry any woman who didn’t come forward herself. Look! After much effort, there was finally a promising young lady, only for her to be scared off right away.

Prince Qingchen naturally had no idea that his mother was cursing him in her heart at this moment. He sat in the hall and pondered deeply.

"Auntie, Brother, what’s going on" Outside, Ye Li hurriedly arrived with Mo Xiuyao, the Prince of Ding Kingdom, who looked displeased following behind her. Today was Xu Qingfeng and Xu Qingbo's wedding, everyone had been celebrating late into the night, so at this time, only Xu Dafu Ren and Prince Qingchen were in Xu Manor. After hearing the message sent by Xu Dafu Ren’s people, Ye Li directly brought Mo Xiuyao over. Having their time together with his beloved wife interrupted so early in the morning, it was understandable that the prince was displeased.

Seeing Xu Qingchen sitting in the hall, Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Isn’t this Prince Qingchen What’s happened Could he really have scared off a little girl Just now, I seemed to see Shen Yang heading over here as well. If someone loses their daughter so carelessly like that, it’s truly…"

"Xiuyao!" Ye Li glared at Mo Xiuyao with displeasure and said to Xu Qingchen: "Brother, don’t worry, I’ve already sent people to look for her, we’ll have news soon."

Mo Xiuyao didn’t mind. He was pleased to see that Xu Qingchen wasn’t in a good mood. Especially since the usually extremely intelligent Prince Qingchen had scared off the girl he liked; perhaps Xu Qingchen couldn’t get married after so many years because he simply didn’t know how to pursue his beloved Mo Xiuyao thought disparagingly within himself.

Xu Qingchen nodded and smiled at Ye Li with a light laugh, saying,

"Thank you."

Ye Li shook her head and said, "Elder brother, why are you talking like that We’re family; there’s no need for thanks. Yun Ge just left, so she can’t have gone far."

"That may not be the case," Mo Xiuyao leaned over Ye Li's shoulder with a smug smile and said, "That little girl has pretty good martial arts skills, and she also excels in medical knowledge. If she doesn’t want to come back, even a Qilin might have trouble bringing her back without hurting her. By the way… Shen Yang’s mansion lost one of their prized horses from the Western Regions."

Hearing his words, Xu Qingchen couldn’t help but frown. The horse from the Western Regions could travel a thousand miles in a day; Yun Ge rode it all night long, and by now, she might have already gone far away no one knows where.

The First Lady of the Xu family was also visibly anxious, "What are we going to do Li’er, you must tell them to be very careful and not hurt Yun Ge. If she doesn’t want to come back, don’t force her. Hurting her would be bad."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Auntie, please rest assured. They’ll know how to handle it."

"Lady, First Young Master, Mr. Shen is here," a servant reported from outside the door. Before Xu Dafu could say anything, Shen Yang had already barged in and glared at Xu Qingchen, saying, "Young Master Qingchen, where did Yun Ge go"

Qingchen shook his head and said, "I don’t know."

Shen Yang was furious, pointing at Xu Qingchen and saying, "What did you say to Yun Ge How could she run away from home all of a sudden" Although they had only known each other for a short time, Shen Yang already knew Yun Ge very well. She wouldn't leave Li City on her own unless there was something truly serious happening. After losing her parents, Yun Ge had been living alone for three years and cherished the new family she had recently gained.

Moxiu Yao smiled mischievously, "Master Qingchen told people that Miss Shen is his fiancée. Perhaps Miss Shen was just shy."

A fiancée!

Why didn't anyone know about Master Qingchen’s fiancée

Xu Dafu and Shen Yang were both surprised by Moxiu Yao's statement—Xu Dafu with joy, and Shen Yang with anger.

Xu Qingchen stood up to stop Xu Dafu and Shen Yang from speaking. He smiled faintly, "The most important thing now is to find Yun Ge. Prince Dingwang, the official duties of the Dingwang Manor will be left in your capable hands for a while."

Uh Moxiu Yao sat up straight, wary and staring at Xu Qingchen with confusion, "What do you intend to do" For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling.

Xu Qingchen looked at him calmly, saying, "Didn't Prince Dingwang say that Yun Ge ran away because I scared her Shouldn’t I go and bring her back then"

"…" Could you just pretend you didn’t say anything The Prince Dingwang regretted his words deeply—like the proverbial thief who tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing rice.be within the palace. His heart sank as he looked down at the ropes that tightly bound him to the chair and struggled futilely, shouting, "Someone! Quickly, someone! Who dares to kidnap me Show yourse...