After the wrong flirtation, I became the villain's favorite

Xiao Yuanlin gritted his teeth and said without hesitation: "Because of the villain's wolfish ambitions, he plotted to murder me!"

Song Nihuan smiled and asked, "Who told you this?"

Xiao Yuanlin didn't understand, "Everyone around me says so."

"Who is with you?" she demanded.

Naturally, it was his wet nurse and the maids and eunuchs in the An Ning Marquis's Mansion.

"Servants." Xiao Yuanlin replied, feeling inexplicably shocked.

The maids and eunuchs always told him how cruel and despicable the emperor was, and how the people were trapped in the war. But in the few days since he escaped, he saw that Yunjing had merchants lined up one after another, and the army was in good order. It was not as starving as he had imagined.

The nurse always complained to him about his mother's tragic death and his father's weakness...

Before the country was destroyed, Xiao Yuanlin was the eldest grandson of the emperor. He had been taught by the late emperor since he was a child. He was diligent and studious, and had a natural keen sense in politics. He vaguely felt that the words of the servants were pointing to something.

In the many sleepless nights, those words were like a loud bell in his ears, awakening him. He wanted to kill the emperor for revenge, but he was still young and could not leave the An Ning Marquis's mansion.

Later he became increasingly impatient and violent, doing all the bad things he could think of, speaking rebellious words, hoping to lure that man over so he could kill him, or to displease that man so he would simply order his death.

In this way, the man's true hypocrisy can be exposed and his reputation as a tyrant can be further solidified.

But the new emperor seemed to be extremely patient with him. He did not punish him, but allowed him to do whatever he wanted and also protected him closely.

As the breeze blew by, he suddenly had an epiphany. He, Xiao Yuanlin, was a prince and grandson of the emperor with dragon blood and phoenix marrow. Why did he take the words of his servants as if they were true?

"Then do you know why the bad guys want to harm your parents?" Song Nihuan continued to ask.

"For...power, wealth, and status." Xiao Yuanlin answered simply.

Song Nihuan smiled slightly, "Do you know the value of iron ore in Dazhao? If you own iron ore, you will have a huge fortune, and you will get the power, wealth and status that the bad guys pursue. So your parents are gone, why do you think that such a fortune can be kept by you and me alone?"

"Is that why those people chased you during the day?"

Xiao Yuanlin answered blankly: "Yes, no... They don't know I have this. They want to take me back."

"If we capture you and take you back, will the map be exposed? You have nothing on you. If they search you, where will you hide?" she asked.

Xiao Yuanlin was even more confused. He escaped this time with the determination not to go back, so he brought out the mineral vein map that he had hidden well.

"I'm telling you, even if you and I find this vein by following the map, we can't own it." Song Nihuan said mercilessly, "Mining requires money and manpower, how can we mine it? And I see that this map has turned yellow, which shows that it has been discovered for some years. No one has mined it for so many years, how do you know that it won't be occupied by others?"

"What if it is taken by someone with higher status and power than the one pursuing you? How can you... just a child like you, stop them?"

Xiao Yuanlin pursed his lips and said nothing. He always thought that what his mother gave him was his...

"Let me ask you again, what are you going to do after you go to the iron mine and mine it?" Song Nihuan continued to ask.

"Revenge!" The child's eyes flashed with hatred.

"I'm afraid that you and I won't be able to reach that place, and will starve to death on the road. Wouldn't that make our relatives sad and our enemies happy? Let me ask you, can you take revenge only if you keep your life? If you lose your life, what revenge can you take?"

"We've only known each other for a few hours, and you've revealed such family secrets to me. You're too gullible. What if I'm a bad guy? Bad guys don't write the word bad on their faces." Song Nihuan sneered, and then pointed her slender finger at the location of the mine. "There are high mountains and steep cliffs, and you have to avoid pursuers and ambushes. I'm afraid you'll be kidnapped by the real bad guys before you get there."

Xiao Yuanlin was sweating profusely. Ever since his mother passed away and his father went on a long journey, no one had ever talked to him about such profound truths.

He naively thought that once he found this vein, he could mine the iron ore to forge weapons and then defeat the man on the emperor's throne.

Seeing that his face had turned pale, Song Nihuan softened her tone and said, "Tell me, who are you?"

Xiao Yuanlin was originally sitting on a tree stump, but now he stood up and said, "I am the eldest grandson of the former emperor, and now the Marquis of An Ning, Xiao Yuanlin."

"Yuan Lin was naive. Thank you for your guidance." He bowed and said ashamedly.

Song Nihuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, helped him up, and said softly, "No need, young marquis, you are too kind."

This child is quite smart, he just needs someone to explain things to him.

"The person you want to take revenge on is the current emperor?" She asked the most crucial question.

Xiao Yuanlin nodded and no longer hid anything from her. "If he hadn't destroyed my country, killed the king and usurped the throne, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

Song Nihuan pondered for a moment and said, "As far as I know, the previous dynasty fell after the Crown Princess passed away. Think about it carefully. Family hatred should not be linked to the current emperor. As for national hatred, the former Crown Prince is still alive, and your uncles are also here. It seems that it is not your turn as a child to worry about it."

"If you want revenge, you have to grow up first!"

She looked at his legs. The last sentence was a stern rebuke, like the collision of metal and stone, which made Xiao Yuanlin realize something.

The child lowered his eyes, as if he had let go of all the strength, and sat on the tree stump, wiping away his tears.

Song Nihuan sat down and touched his head.

"Sister, then tell me, what should I do? What should I do with this map?" Xiao Yuanlin said, his eyes regaining the brightness that only a child could have.

There was trust in her in those bright eyes.

Song Nihuan looked at him for a while and asked, "Do you still want to take revenge on the emperor?"

Xiao Yuanlin was silent for a moment, then said solemnly, "He usurped the throne and murdered the emperor, which was his fault. After becoming emperor, he did not kill all of my Xiao family, which was not his fault. I originally thought that he destroyed our country and abused the people, but after I came out, all I saw and heard was that the new emperor was virtuous and benevolent. If that is true, he has made a contribution."

"Now the border is peaceful. He has expanded the territory and made it more extensive than during my grandfather's time. This is a great achievement. The congratulations from all nations are a grand occasion that never happened during my grandfather's time."

Song Nihuan looked at him without saying anything, but her heart softened.

Xiao Yuanlin admitted: "I don't know if this can be considered as offsetting his merits and demerits."

After a long time, he finally heard her say: "In this case, you can wait and see, survive, grow up slowly, and see if your Xiao family's country can become better under his governance."

"If you can't, take it back."

Xiao Yuanlin wiped his eyes and nodded heavily.

"Let's go, I'll take you back to the Marquis' Mansion." Song Nihuan said as she turned and walked towards Yunjing City.

"Wait a minute." said the boy.