Evan Xiao Is Right Outside the Door

"I'll give the orders! Go quickly!" Minister Zhuo never believed in that nonsense about Phoenix God's blessing, his tone was a bit dismissive. "I'm going now!"

Grace, thoroughly disliked by her father and stuffed full of dog food, wisely made her exit.

Standing in front of Jade Hall, she couldn't help but look back.

In her memory, her parents had always been this loving.

No matter the family, concubines, misunderstandings, or illness... nothing could pull them apart.

In the end, Grace Wan couldn't do anything about them, so she... destroyed them!

This lifetime, she was determined to protect her parents and never let Grace Wan hurt them again!

Grace returned to her room, packed her things, and with her usual crew, left the estate again for Moonwater Abbey.

The carriage rolled smoothly to the foot of Crane Hill.

With nothing to do, Grace lifted the curtain and glanced at the house she'd bought.

Suddenly, she yanked the curtain down.

"What's wrong, Miss?" Hope asked, puzzled.

"Quick, change clothes!" Grace hurriedly pulled out peasant outfits from under the seat and tossed them to Hope, Claire, and the nursemaid.

"What happened? What's going on?" The three of them all asked, confused.

"Evan Xiao is right outside our door."

"Huh?" The three were all shocked. "What should we do?"

"Don't panic, keep moving forward. When we reach that small grove up ahead, we'll get off." Grace instructed. "No idea how long he's been here, so we'll just say we went to Auntie's house on the other side of the mountain for a drink..."

So, in a flurry, they removed all their jewelry, changed into peasant clothes right in the carriage, and with a little help from the nursemaid's hands, the brand-new Bai family of four made their dazzling debut.

After a brief stop behind the grove, the four of them got off the carriage.

Then, Grace and Hope helped the nursemaid along, Claire followed, and together they slowly made their way toward "home."

......

"Mom, are you tired?" Grace asked.

"I'm fine," the nursemaid replied. "These past few days, I've felt much better."

"Let's get inside and let Mom rest," Grace said, then looked up and saw Evan Xiao.

He led his horse, dressed in general's armor with a thin cloak draped over him, looking like he'd come straight from court without even changing into his regular clothes.

"General?" Grace walked over, surprised. "Why are you here?"

Evan Xiao replied, "Just passing by."

Passing by?

"So... are you here to see me?"

Evan Xiao: "You should go back to the estate."

Grace: "Oh... Please wait a moment, let me help my mom inside first."

Evan Xiao nodded.

They made a show of helping the nursemaid inside, then whispered among themselves for a while before Grace was about to leave.

The nursemaid grabbed Grace: "Miss."

"What's wrong, nursemaid?"

"Why did the General come looking for you?" the nursemaid asked suspiciously. "You and the General... could it be...?"

"No way," Grace denied immediately. "It's not what you think. He must have something important to discuss, that's why he came to see me!"

"Ever since your grandfather passed away, the Zhu Family and him have been at odds!" the nursemaid warned. "And you're about to enter the palace! My dear Miss, you mustn't get involved with him!"

"Don't worry, nursemaid," Grace said. "I absolutely won't."

"Good." Only then did the nursemaid let her go.

Grace walked out and immediately saw Evan Xiao standing under the sycamore tree at the door.