The Prince abhorred even the slightest speck of dust or dirt on his clothes!
But now, the Prince seemed not to notice!
He was even holding that child!
This was too abnormal.
He hadn't looked closely just now, but now that he did, the child's back resembled the young heir somewhat.
Still, children's figures generally looked alike.
Yun Xiao Jing struggled.
Why was his deadbeat dad hugging him, and so tightly that he couldn't break free?
Yun Xiao Jing was somewhat annoyed.
He didn't need his deadbeat dad's embrace!
His mother's embrace was enough!
Not far away, the human trafficker's eyes widened upon hearing Zhan Tian Ye's order.
His legs went weak.
He stiffly knelt on the ground.
He was already covered in injuries, appearing quite miserable, but he had never imagined that his current situation would be even more miserable!
Prince Ye himself had personally ordered him to be sent to prison!
And to be beaten fifty strokes!
He trembled with fear and pleaded, "This commoner dares not, this commoner dares not, this commoner truly dares not! This commoner will never do such a thing again! This commoner was simply too short of money and harbored wicked intentions! This commoner already regrets it immensely!"
His luck these past two days had been exceptionally bad!
Was this child a devil?
And he hadn't even seen clearly just now; this was Prince Ye's residence, not some ordinary alley. He had actually dared to stir up trouble in front of the mighty! Thinking about it now made him tremble with fear!
Wuwuwu...
He was truly down on his luck!
Zhan Tian Ye did not wish to hear the human trafficker's grating voice and coldly commanded, "Take him away."
Immediately, two men stepped towards the human trafficker, lifted him up, and removed him from the alley. This scene astonished the onlookers.
They had never expected such an outcome!
That child was too fortunate to have encountered Prince Ye.
That human trafficker had a silver tongue; they had all been deceived by him just now.
"Where is your home?" Zhan Tian Ye asked Yun Xiao Jing, his voice softening.
Yun Xiao Jing, finding that Zhan Tian Ye had put him down, quickly retreated a few steps.
Then, he looked at Zhan Tian Ye with a hint of disdain.
"I can go home by myself," Yun Xiao Jing said coldly.
Without sparing Zhan Tian Ye another glance, his short legs quickly carried him away in another direction.
This scene once again astonished the people standing in front of Prince Ye's residence.
Especially Qiu Lu.
That little fellow had been clinging to the Prince just moments ago, crying about being scared, saying he missed his father, and even comparing the Prince to his deceased father. How could he be so indifferent to the Prince in the blink of an eye? And just run off? As if the Prince were a frightening monster.
Let alone him, even the Prince's face now showed a trace of confusion.
"What is going on with this little fellow?" Qiu Lu asked, bewildered.
The way the little fellow ran off didn't seem like he was afraid of the human trafficker.
Zhan Tian Ye narrowed his eyes, recalling the expression on the child's face, a hint of disgust, as he stepped back earlier.
Disgust?
"How does his back resemble the young heir so much?" Qiu Lu murmured softly.
Zhan Tian Ye couldn't help but glance over.
Indeed, there was a slight resemblance.
Seeing the child's back reminded him of Zhan Xiao Li.
He said to Qiu Lu, "Have the steward take good care of Xiao Li."
"Yes!"
"Wait, have Yu Xue go take care of Xiao Li. If Xiao Li likes her, prepare the ceremony for a secondary consort," Zhan Tian Ye instructed.
"Yes."