"Wh... what?" The steward could not contain his surprise, his expression frozen in bewilderment.
He had served at the residence for over a decade. Although he had only recently been promoted to head steward, he believed he understood every minute shift in his prince's expression and could discern his truest thoughts from them-
This was hardly a matter of the prince merely "not disliking" them. He clearly liked those two little ones in the courtyard very much!
But...
The prince wished he could rid himself of even his own brothers as quickly as possible, so how... how could he like his brothers' children?!
Jiang Yi'an turned to look at the steward.
Sometimes, the attitude of those above directly affected how their subordinates went about their duties.
Even though he had forbidden anyone from neglecting the two little dumplings, some would still fancy themselves clever and try to read his mind.
Deep down, he did not want the two little ones to suffer here. Telling Cui Yue outright was the quickest way he could think of to prevent that.
"Uncle Cui," Jiang Yi'an said, setting aside his usual indifference as warmth gradually entered his eyes. "A full hour passed between Jiang Yingcheng running out of the Imperial Study and leaving the palace."
"Do you know what she did during that time?"
"What?" Cui Yue looked dazed, feeling as though nothing around him was quite real.
Jiang Yi'an's habitually cool voice drifted through the quiet air. "Carrying a little bundle, she evaded one checkpoint after another and visited the halls of the siblings she was close to, leaving farewell gifts she had prepared in advance."
His men had happened to intercept one of them. Upon opening it, they found nothing but medicinal herbs beneficial to the body and several ingenious prescriptions tailored