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Lan Xiaobao rode alongside Xiao Liu, and the soldiers in formation looked at the seemingly frail boy. Some of the veterans who had spent their lives guarding the Border Defense had red eyes; this was the orphan of the Lan Family, the last bloodline of the Lan Family.
A white-haired old woman suddenly rushed out from the crowd, trembling as she called out.
"Xiaobao, Xiaobao..."
Lan Xiaobao jumped off his horse and threw himself into the old woman's arms, choking back tears. "Nursemaid! Nursemaid!"
His mother had died during childbirth, and his father, heartbroken and depressed, was not very affectionate. Lan Xiaobao was almost raised by the Nursemaid until he could walk. He was just over a year old when he left her care and had little memory of that time, but the bond they shared felt innate and he had never forgotten it.
The Nursemaid cupped Lan Xiaobao's face, examining him closely. "You've grown handsome, but you're still too thin..."
The old woman rambled on, while Xiao Liu stood quietly by, his deep eyes betraying no emotion, though there was a hint of sorrow in their depths.
Lan Xiaobao animatedly gestured to cheer her up. "Nursemaid, I've grown up! Just like Father, I can fight Barbarians now!"
As he spoke with enthusiasm, the Nursemaid finally noticed his boyish attire; such a small figure clad in heavy armor bore the weight of the Lan Family's legacy. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
After chatting for a while longer, the old woman was helped away. Before leaving, she whispered softly.
"How cruel they are; they are still so cruel to you."
Her voice was barely audible, yet Lan Xiaobao heard her. He followed Xiao Liu into the tent, where he first received a scolding for running out despite how dangerous Border Defense was. Xiao Liu insisted he should have stayed safely at Liu Yun Palace; what would happen if something went wrong?
Lan Xiaobao rested his chin on his hand, quickly admitting his mistakes but stubbornly refusing to change.
Xiao Liu couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Looking into Lan Xiaobao's bright eyes that reflected his own frustration, he smiled helplessly and opened his arms. "Come here, let me hug you."
Holding him felt like filling a void in his heart. Xiao Liu buried his head in Lan Xiaobao's shoulder and murmured, "Xiao Bao, I miss you."
His voice was consistently gentle, filled with tender affection. He had cherished him since childhood, treating him like a precious treasure.
Lan Xiaobao leaned against him, listening to the gradually calming heartbeat and explained, "I heard you were hurt."
"It's nothing, just a small injury."
Xiao Liu rolled up his sleeve and pointed to a knife wound on his arm that was already beginning to heal. Lan Xiaobao held his arm and examined it closely, then lowered his head to plant a kiss on it. This intimacy defied etiquette, but he didn't care. After a moment of silence, he asked, " Brother Seven, why am I not a girl?"
Xiao Liu was taken aback. "Why would you think that?"
Lan Xiaobao fell silent again, snuggling deeper into his embrace while staring at the wound. He instinctively bit down on it. Xiao Liu remained quiet, allowing him to do so.
A shallow bite mark appeared as Lan Xiaobao continued for a moment before stopping. Tears began to fall one by one onto Xiao Liu's arm. "I'm really pathetic; you all are so cruel to me, yet I can't bear to be cruel to you..."
Xiao Liu said nothing but held him tightly. The pain radiated from his arm straight to his heart, an indescribable ache that felt like the more good he did for Lan Xiaobao, the more it became a deadly poison.
After crying enough, Lan Xiaobao lifted his head again, wearing that familiar smile.
"Alright, I'm not a little girl who can cry. I still have to guard the kingdom for you."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu's heart shattered; there was a story behind it.
That year, the Emperor suddenly passed away without appointing an heir. Although the Imperial Physician conveyed the late Emperor's decree for Seventh Prince Xiao Liu to ascend the throne, various factions and princes would not easily let go, all their hostility directed at Xiao Liu.
In a single night, the Imperial Physician met an untimely death, and Xiao Liu was imprisoned.
It was Lan Xiaobao who brandished the token, rallying the Tiger Gate Shadow Guards to carve a bloody path. The instigator at that time was none other than the Second Prince's birth mother, Empress De. She stood in their way, fierce and imposing: "Lan Xiaobao, this is a royal matter; it is not for an outsider like you to meddle. You bring troops into the palace—are you planning a rebellion?"
"Rebellion?" Lan Xiaobao sneered, countering, "Then let me ask the Empress: Is poisoning the Imperial Physician considered rebellion? Is imprisoning the Crown Prince considered rebellion? Is interfering in court affairs considered rebellion? As the head of the Six Palaces, you should embody virtue and loyalty. Yet you are disloyal, unvirtuous, and unjust—your crimes are unforgivable; you should be deposed, executed, and punished!"
The Empress's face turned pale with anger as Lan Xiaobao raised the token high: "By decree of the Founding Emperor, I bear the Dragon-Tiger Order of the Tiger Gate from the Lan Family. It can depose tyrants above and punish treacherous ministers below. Today, I will take down this disloyal and unvirtuous Empress to cleanse the court!"
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