Xie Pan’Er patted her small head and forced a laugh. Her smile was so strained it looked worse than crying.
Xiaosuisui blinked and whispered, "Seventh Uncle is very good at solving cases. When he comes back from the Palace, we can investigate with him, and we will definitely find the truth!"
Hearing this, Xie Pan’Er felt a warmth spread through her heart. Xiaosuisui hadn’t let her down during this period of careful guidance. She had come to understand her own special nature, so she always considered her words carefully, and she also understood the importance of truth.
"Thank you! Suisui!" Xie Pan’Er said sincerely to her.
Xiaosuisui shook her head gently. "No need to thank me. I like it when Pretty Sister calls me by my name! From now on, Pretty Sister, just call me by my name, not Princess, okay?"
Xie Pan’Er laughed lightly and nodded, "Okay!"
Suddenly, a puzzled male voice came from above them, "Eh! What are you two doing sitting at the entrance of my Courtyard? Did you guess I would be coming back and deliberately waited here for me?" Xiaosuisui and Xie Pan’Er looked up, and both couldn’t help their lips twitching.
"Sixth Uncle! Why are you pretending to be a beggar again? Why didn’t you take Suisui with you? Suisui likes to pretend to be a beggar too!"
On the Courtyard wall, Ji Youlin, dressed as a beggar, was midway through climbing over. Hearing Xiaosuisui’s words, he was so startled his foot slipped, and he tumbled off the wall with a THUD!
Xie Pan’Er stepped forward to help Ji Youlin up. "Sixth Uncle... you... are you alright?" she asked, then added, "How are you feeling, Young Master Ji? Should we call a Doctor?"
Ji Youlin waved his hand. "No need, it was just a tumble. No need for a Doctor!" He rubbed his aching lower back, quickly refusing.
When she heard him say there was no need, Xie Pan’Er didn’t insist.
"Sixth Uncle, are you sure you don’t need to see a Doctor? Do you want me to take your pulse?"
Ji Youlin hastily waved his hand, "No need, no need, it’s just my bottom that hurts from the fall!"
After he finished waving his hands, Xiaosuisui asked quizzically, "Hmm, Sixth Uncle, if your bottom hurts, why are you clutching your waist?"
Ji Youlin: "..."
"COUGH, COUGH! Uncle is just rubbing it!"
"By the way, Suisui, were you waiting for Sixth Uncle here for something?" Ji Youlin awkwardly and rather stiffly changed the subject.
Xiaosuisui presented the two scimitars she was holding to Ji Youlin with a giggle. "Sixth Uncle, I have two blades here. Can you make two new sheaths for them, modeled after the ones Fourth Uncle wears on his back? The kind that also hang on the back!"
Ji Youlin took the two scimitars Xiaosuisui handed him. He drew one out to inspect it, his eyes lighting up. "Excellent blades! These two are a good deal better than the pair your Fourth Uncle uses!"
Xiaosuisui nodded, as if it were a matter of course. "Yes, much better!"
If they weren’t better than Fourth Uncle’s, she wouldn’t have wanted them in the first place! She wouldn’t even have given them a second glance.
"These sheaths are quite good too," Ji Youlin remarked. "However, they’re designed to be worn separately at the waist, which doesn’t match your Fourth Uncle’s style of carrying them on his back. Otherwise, these sheaths would be excellent too."
Xiaosuisui nodded again, still as if it were a matter of course. "Exactly!"
Only after examining the two scimitars did Ji Youlin set them aside. Then, he took a box out of the bundle he carried with him.
"Oh, right, Sixth Uncle has a gift for you too! Here, hold out your little hand!"