I was spotted by the heroines while doing the quick-travel mission.

Yang Zhao left the table and walked quickly towards Yang Liu's yard. What happened at the banquet today was simply an unexpected disaster for Yang Liu. He should not have been ridiculed. The older Yang Zhao got and the more he witnessed life and death, the more he was afraid that Yang Liu would be sad because of his own defects.

"Brother..."

Yang Zhao knocked on the door to signal. Yang Liu looked up from a pile of books. She still held a brush in her hand. Thick ink dripped from the tip of the brush, and a black spot immediately spread out on the account book. Yang Zhao pushed the door open and saw Yang Liu looking outside in a daze. Seeing that it was Yang Zhao, she pulled the corners of her mouth into a forced smile.

"Why are you here? You got up early today and entertained guests. Why don't you go back to your room and rest?"

"Come in to see you." Yang Zhao stepped into the room, turned around and closed the door. He walked to Yang Liu and gently took out the pen from her hand. Yang Liu let go of the pen and rubbed the ink on her hands awkwardly. She lowered her head and remained silent, looking a little lonely.

"I'm fine." Yang Liu bit her lip and spoke in a dull and listless voice.

Yang Zhao squatted down beside Yang Liu, placed his palm lightly on Yang Liu's leg and leaned over to look at her.

"Are you sad about what happened at the banquet today?" Yang Zhao asked as Yang Liu expected.

Huangfu Ling just arrived at the door and was about to raise his hand to knock when he heard these words. Yang Liu caught a glimpse of the figure outside the door, secretly raised her eyebrows, restrained her expression and sighed softly, and opened her thin lips to speak but stopped. Yang Zhao knew Yang Liu's identity and knew that the way he used to deal with the banquet would not work, so he thought about it and made his words vague.

"It's okay. After all, I came from the same battlefield as you. I just returned to the market, and I still have blood in my veins. It's normal for you to have doubts about my disability."

Huangfu Ling had met many careless men on the battlefield, and after seeing Yang Liu's delicate mind, gentleness and politeness, he felt that Lin Fan was a little reckless and thoughtless, and his favorable impression of Lin Fan decreased a little.

"But you clearly..."

Yang Zhao wanted to say that it was for himself and she was just living for his name, but she felt guilty about being framed by others because of her deceased family members. Unfortunately, Yang Liu had reminded him that there were all kinds of people in the mansion today, and he was afraid that someone might hear her, so he stopped talking in time.

Yang Liu saw that Yang Zhao was in a bad mood, and was afraid that he would let something slip at the critical moment, so she raised her palm and gently patted the back of Yang Zhao's hand, then took his hand and held it, patiently coaxing Yang Zhao in a gentle voice.

"What's the matter? I don't care."

Huangfu Ling felt extremely guilty and could not bear to listen to Yang Liu's pretending to be strong words, so he pushed the door open. When Yang Liu saw that it was Huangfu Ling, he suppressed his sadness and smiled at him. In Huangfu Ling's opinion, he did it on purpose because he didn't want him to worry about the guilt, which made people feel extremely distressed.

With tears in her eyes, Huangfu Ling closed the door and quickly walked to Yang Liu's side. She squatted down and lay on her legs, crying uncontrollably. She felt sorry for her recklessness today and for hurting Yang Liu.

In her knowledge, Yang Liu had never shown such an expression. She was afraid that Yang Liu was really hurt today. Seeing her lonely, her heart felt like it was being pricked by thorns and it hurt a lot. Yang Liu saw Huangfu Ling crying sadly, reached out to hold her cheek, gently wiped away Huangfu Ling's tears with her fingertips, and then smoothed her messy hair.

"Why are you crying? Who made our Xiao Ling'er unhappy?"

Yang Liu helped Huangfu Ling up with a look of heartache. Yang Zhao was a little angry that Huangfu Ling brought Lin Fan here uninvited today and made Yang Liu sad. He snorted coldly and stood aside with his arms folded, ignoring Huangfu Ling and not bothering to sit down and serve tea. Huangfu Ling wiped away tears and choked up a little, and apologized to Yang Liu intermittently. "Brother Yuzhou, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him..."

After hearing this, Yang Liu was stunned for a moment and then pretended to suddenly realize something. Then she pretended to be nonchalant and waved her hand and touched Huangfu Ling's head.

"It's okay, it's okay. They are all Ling'er's friends. It's normal to bring them here to see each other and get to know each other. He doesn't know the inside story, so he doesn't need to mind it."

Then he lowered his head with a look of regret, and the loneliness that had just dissipated once again enveloped the willows.

"If there is no disaster or illness, I would also like to go to the battlefield with Xiao Ling'er and fight side by side."

Huangfu Ling felt even sadder when he heard this. He quickly held Yang Liu's face with both hands, looked at her and shook his head with a serious look in his eyes.

"Brother Yuzhou is no worse than anyone else. You are the best brother I have ever met!"

Yang Liu and Huangfu Ling looked at each other. After a moment of stunned silence, they smiled and rubbed Huangfu Ling's face with their fingertips, looking doting.

"Our Xiao Ling'er is also the best Xiao Ling'er."

Huangfu Ling's face inevitably turned red when he heard Yang Liu's praise. The doting in Yang Liu's eyes was a bit intoxicating, which made Huangfu Ling's heart flutter. Huangfu Ling looked at Yang Liu and couldn't help but think of Lin Fan, who was indeed a little dull compared to Yang Liu.

"Brother Yuzhou...you are the best!!"

Huangfu Ling happily hugged Yang Liu's neck and rubbed her cheek. Yang Liu was unable to resist and looked at Yang Zhao for help. Yang Zhao reached out and grabbed Huangfu Ling's collar and pulled her aside. He raised his arm to block her and said indifferently, regardless of Huangfu Ling's face full of resentment and blaming eyes.

"Men and women should not touch each other. Ling'er is not a child anymore, so don't stick to him all the time."

Yang Liu acted as a peacemaker behind Yang Zhao, waving her hands and saying it was okay. Huangfu Ling regarded this as favoritism, and held his head high and was extremely proud of himself.

"Brother Yuzhou has already said it!"

Yang Zhao turned his head away, Yang Liu raised her palm and gently pressed down Yang Zhao's arm, smiling. "Okay, it's getting late, Ling'er, do you want to rest here or go back?"

Huangfu Ling then remembered that there were people waiting at home. He hadn't even had dinner with his parents when he got home, so he shook his head. "No, I have to go back. I've already made an appointment with my parents today. It's already late, and I'm afraid I can only talk when I go back. I won't accompany Brother Yuzhou today. Brother Yuzhou, don't worry about what happened today. I'll go and teach Lin Fan a lesson later."

Huangfu Ling waved at Yang Liu as if he was going to avenge him, then waved again and left. After Huangfu Ling left, Yang Zhao turned his head to look at Yang Liu. Yang Liu had stopped smiling, and was holding his head up with a tired look on his face. Yang Zhao stood behind Yang Liu and reached out to rub Yang Liu's forehead.

"Brother seems to care about Xiao Ling'er very much."

"I watched her grow up, how can I not care about her? I don't think Lin Fan is a caring person, and I'm afraid Xiao Ling'er will get wronged."

Yang Zhao knew that Huangfu Ling and Lin Fan had feelings for each other, but he had never seriously understood them. Now that they were in formal contact, after hearing what Yang Liu said, Yang Zhao felt that they did not seem to be a good match, and nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, if it were in the court, I would pay more attention to it."

Before Yang Liu could say anything, Yang Zhao suggested surveillance. Yang Liu looked up and smiled at Yang Zhao. They understood each other without words. Although they were not related by blood, they were like family, with a tacit understanding that came naturally.

"How long do you want to see it?"

Yang Zhao pulled a chair and sat aside, watching Yang Liu pick up the ink stick and grind ink. Yang Liu looked up and down at the pile of notebooks and felt a stabbing pain in his head.

"I don't want to write anymore. Come on."

Yang Liu pulled the chair aside and reluctantly pushed the things toward Yang Zhao, then slumped over in a daze.

"When did you become so lazy?"

Yang Zhao looked at Yang Liu, who was full of energy one second and leaning lazily the next, and lamented that her expression changed so quickly.

"You really are... Never mind. I'll let you have a good rest today."

Yang Zhao resigned himself to his fate and picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and counted the accounts one by one. Yang Liu drank tea and ate snacks beside him while watching Yang Zhao write. She did not forget to add tea to his hand as if to show her courtesy and took a look from time to time, which made Yang Zhao a little annoyed, so he pushed Yang Liu aside by the head.

"Don't cause trouble."

Yang Liu was despised and sat aside obediently. She poked at the snack in her hand out of boredom. After a while, Lingzhi came in with medicine. Yang Liu looked up and smelled the bitter smell and couldn't help frowning.

"Master, take medicine."

Yang Liu wanted to escape, but Yang Zhao reached out and held Yang Liu's shoulder, and pinned Yang Zhao to the chair with one hand like a pair of pliers. He could only watch Lingzhi bring the medicine and put it in front of him.

"Oh..." Yang Liu sighed heavily, picked up the medicine and gulped it down. Bitterness spread in her mouth. Yang Liu couldn't help frowning and wanted to get some tea to rinse her mouth. Lingzhi reached out and pressed Yang Liu's hand, then took out the candied fruit and stuffed it into Yang Liu's mouth. The sweet taste slid across Yang Liu's face and he relaxed his brows. Yang Zhao saw that Yang Liu's expression changed very quickly and rarely made a joke.

"Are you afraid of hardship? I thought you were fearless."

Yang Zhao had laughed at Yang Liu, but he silently noted down the time when Yang Liu took the medicine and the appearance of the candied fruit that Lingzhi had just fed Yang Liu. He also went back to prepare some for her so that it would be easier to take care of her. He completely forgot that Yang Liu was already old and did not need his care. She had a large group of maids and servants at her disposal. It was just that Yang Zhao had developed a habit in his early years and felt that without him by Yang Liu's side, no one else could serve her well.

Yang Liu didn't know what Yang Zhao was thinking. She just nodded her head and thought about the plan, humming an unknown tune and talking to Lingzhi from time to time. Yang Zhao was usually straightforward on the battlefield, but now with Yang Liu around and speaking from time to time, she felt like she was not alone again. That inexplicable feeling of being alone finally had a home.

"His Majesty is planning to hold an autumn hunt in a few days. You can bring your family members along. You must go with me to take a look. His Majesty has set up a lot of good luck." Yang Zhao talked to Yang Liu while writing.

Yang Liu thought about it for a moment and became curious. She leaned over with her arms propped up. "Can I go? Will it embarrass you?"

"How could that be? You are my elder brother. If it weren't for your careful teaching, I wouldn't be where I am today." Yang Zhao said without even looking up. He turned the last page, blew on it to dry the ink, and then closed it. "Okay, shall I take you back to your room to rest?"

"Wait a minute, someone's coming."

Yang Zhao sat down again, not knowing what was going on. After a while, he saw someone sneaking around the door. Mo Lanzhi poked her head out to look at Yang Liu and saw Yang Zhao standing beside her, and she was about to say something.

"Lanzhi, why haven't you gone home yet?"

Molanzhi staggered out from behind the door, and Liu Ruying also poked her head out soon after. Seeing that Yang Liu looked normal, she didn't know for a moment whether she should bring it up again for fear of rubbing salt into her wounds. Yang Liu saw the two little girls pushing and urging each other, so she took the initiative to speak.

"What are you two doing?"