Lu Qianning put away the two blank imperial edicts. They might come in handy at a critical moment.
As for the one Xi Qingyue had already filled out, she was not worried that it would cause trouble for the two of them. Once they left the capital, they would be far from the emperor’s reach, and the edict would be useful enough for bluffing people. More importantly, with Xi Qingyue’s strength, no one could do anything to her.
Xi Qingyue took the imperial edict and pulled Xi Weilan along with her. Just before leaving, she reminded Lu Qianning, “Oh, right, Big Sister Lu, there are quite a few suspicious people lurking outside your residence. They’re probably here to watch you.”
Lu Qianning nodded to show that she knew. She had already noticed them yesterday. They had been sent by her imperial father.
After leaving the room, Xi Qingyue looked down at Xi Weilan. “Lan’er, is there anywhere else you want to go?”
Xi Weilan shook her head. “Big Sis, I don’t want to go out and play anymore. I want to ride the car.”
Xi Qingyue smiled and patted her head. “All right. Let’s go back to the room, and Big Sis will take you riding in a little while.”
The two of them left hand in hand, leaving Luo Ling standing by the door in a daze.
When she came to her senses, Luo Ling pushed open the door and hurried over to Lu Qianning. Excitedly, she said, “Princess, you heard that too, didn’t you? They said they were going to ride a car—and they’re even going back to their room to do it! They aren’t hiding anything from us at all anymore!”
She had no idea what kind of car they meant, but she knew there was nothing in the room that anyone could ride. It had to be some strange object she had never seen before. As for where they had hidden it, she had no way of knowing.
Lu Qianning merely let out a soft laugh. “They never went out of their way to hide their abilities back in the mountains. But if you go around spreading this everywhere, your head might end up hanging from the palace gates.”
At that, Luo Ling hurriedly touched her neck and shook her head. “Princess, I definitely won’t say anything.”
“All right, I was only teasing you. They simply don’t care about it. They don’t deliberately show off, but they don’t deliberately hide things either. That’s just their way of doing things. Let everything take its natural course.”
After saying that, Lu Qianning also began wondering what Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan meant by “riding a car.” What kind of vehicle could a three-year-old child ride for fun?
Inside the space, Xi Weilan happily rode a children’s electric car back and forth across the grass. Xi Qingyue also rode a little car alongside her, and the two of them were having a wonderful time.
“Big Sis, can we ride this on the streets later?” Xi Weilan tilted her head toward her.
Xi Qingyue thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “Of course. If you want to ride it, we can go to the streets right now. Big Sis is invincible now anyway. You can do whatever you want.”
Xi Weilan was delighted. “Big Sis, let’s ride the car to buy something to eat!”
Xi Qingyue nodded in agreement. “All right. Let’s take Big Sis’s car. You ride in front, and I’ll sit behind you and keep an eye on you.”
The two of them acted immediately. Xi Weilan climbed down from her little car and cheerfully ran over to the front of Xi Qingyue’s tricycle.
This was not the electric vehicle they usually used when traveling. It was the pink little electric car Xi Qingyue had ridden at the beginning. It also had three wheels and two rows of seats. The body was elongated, with the rear seat a little wider than the front one. There was a certain amount of space between the two seats, so sitting in it was not cramped.
Xi Qingyue got out of the car and let Xi Weilan sit in front while she took the rear seat. In the next instant, the two of them and the vehicle appeared inside the room.
Xi Weilan pressed her feet against the pedals and drove toward the door, while Xi Qingyue used her wind-based ability to open it.
The moment the door opened, the maids outside heard the noise and turned to look.
When they saw Xi Weilan riding a strange-looking vehicle out of the room, every one of them opened her mouth wide, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“My heavens! What is that thing? It can actually move on its own!” Xia Ran could not help exclaiming. She had never seen anything so amazing.
Xi Weilan waved at her. “Sister Xia Ran, Big Sis and I are going out to play. Please tell Big Sister Lu for us.”
With that, she stepped on the pedal again and started the vehicle. To make matters worse, she pressed the music button, and the car’s built-in music began playing. The strange melody left every maid in the courtyard dumbfounded.
Xia Ran froze for a moment before quickly recovering. She immediately told one of the maids to report to Lu Qianning. “Go and inform the princess at once. Hurry!”
After saying that, she ran after the little electric car.
What would happen if such a novel contraption appeared on the streets? She had to ask the princess whether she wanted to stop them.
Outside the courtyard, Luo Ling had grown curious about what sort of car the sisters were riding, so she wandered over without even realizing it. But when she saw Xi Weilan ride the little vehicle out, she staggered in shock and nearly fell.
Especially when she heard the bizarre tune—“Little Apple”—she broke out in goosebumps all over.
Heavens! These two children had completely stopped pretending. This was terrible!
Luo Ling was so frightened that she stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move. Even after Xi Weilan stopped the vehicle in front of her, she remained in a daze.
“Sister Luo Ling, what’s wrong? Isn’t our car pretty?” Xi Weilan asked happily, clearly looking forward to her answer.
Hearing the question, Luo Ling nodded stiffly. “P-Pretty…”
Xi Qingyue even considerately asked, “Sister Luo Ling, would you like to come out and play with us?”
Luo Ling waved her hands repeatedly. “N-No… It’s fine. I have things to do and can’t leave the residence.”
At that moment, she was shocked, delighted, and terrified all at once.
She was shocked that the sisters had stopped pretending. She was delighted to have witnessed one of their hidden secrets—a car that could appear out of thin air and move on its own without being pulled by horses or oxen. But she was terrified by the question of what these two truly intended to do.
Surely they weren’t doing all this just to play?
Xi Qingyue gave her an apologetic shake of the head. “In that case, never mind. Lan’er, let’s go.”
She had no idea that Luo Ling was so afraid of them. She had not done anything particularly outrageous.
Just then, Mu Jin flew over from somewhere and landed in front of them. Smiling warmly, she said, “I’ll go with you. The princess said that whatever you want to eat while you’re out can be charged to her account. I can follow along and help carry anything you buy.”
“All right. Thank you, Sister Mujin,” Xi Qingyue said with an equally bright smile.
Xi Weilan then stepped on the pedal and drove toward the residence gate. Mu Jin and several guards followed behind them, looking like a group of bodyguards.
After they left, Luo Ling immediately went to Lu Qianning’s courtyard.
When she saw Lu Qianning sitting beneath the covered walkway, she walked over with her head hanging low. “Princess, am I completely useless?”
As the princess’s personal maid, she had been frightened by the two children again and again. She really did seem rather useless. Mu Jin was not afraid of them, yet she was.
Lu Qianning smiled and shook her head. “Luo Ling, this isn’t your fault. You were frightened by them in the mountains, and then you were repeatedly startled along the way. You’ve developed a psychological shadow because of it. Mu Jin is different from you—she hasn’t experienced many of those things, so naturally she isn’t afraid. There’s no need to blame yourself. You’ll be fine after some time.”
What she did not say was that she herself had once been afraid of them too. But after spending more time with the sisters, she had realized that they were simply two children who loved eating and playing. As long as no one attacked them first and bore them no ill will, they would not hurt anyone.
Afterward, Luo Ling voiced her doubts: “Princess, their car can move on its own—without any oxen or horses pulling it. And where did they make that car appear from? Now that they’ve revealed it to everyone, does that mean they no longer intend to keep it hidden?”
