With a wave of his hand, the Prince's Mansion's fortune exploded throughout the entire cap

He was completely unaware of Xiao Jingjing's unusual behavior, nor did he know that the jade pendant at his waist concealed a fatal hidden danger; he was simply worried that Xiao Jingjing would fall.

[Almost there, almost there! Just a little closer, and I'll find my chance! Little Imperial Uncle, I'm so sorry. Once I destroy this broken jade pendant, you won't be sick anymore, and you'll be healthy again.]

As Xiao Jingjing walked forward, she silently recited to herself, her face still bearing an innocent smile. Every now and then, she swung her short legs, pretending to be completely guileless, and gradually approached Gao Jin.

As she drew closer, she could smell the cold, foul odor emanating from the jade pendant more clearly, and feel the bone-chilling aura of malevolence more intensely, which strengthened her resolve.

Just two steps away from Gao Jin, Xiao Jingjing's eyes darted around, and she finally found the right opportunity—she deliberately slipped, leaned forward abruptly, pretending to fall, and showed just the right amount of panic on her face, her little hands instinctively reaching for the nearest thing.

Without missing a beat, he grabbed the jade pendant hanging from Gao Jin's waist. With such force, and using the momentum of the fall, he ripped the jade pendant off Gao Jin's waist.

【Now! Success! As long as we smash it, the young prince will be safe! We must make it look convincing; no one can tell I did it on purpose. They'll all think I really fell.】

Seeing this, Gao Jin was so frightened that she quickly reached out to help her, her voice urgent: "Jingjing! Be careful!"

He instinctively bent down, wanting to catch Xiao Jingjing, completely ignoring the jade pendant that had been torn off, his mind filled with worry that Xiao Jingjing would fall and get hurt.

Using the force of her fall, Xiao Jingjing slightly crouched down, then slammed her small hand, clutching the jade pendant, down hard—

With a crisp "crack," the jade pendant fell to the ground and broke in two. A faint black mist emerged from within, instantly dissipating into the air. The gloomy, foul odor also intensified before quickly dissipating again.

Little Jingjing then sat down on the ground, dusted herself off, and looked up at Gao Jin with an innocent yet slightly flustered expression. She whispered, "Uncle, I'm sorry, Jingjing accidentally fell and tore your jade pendant off and broke it..."

She apologized verbally, but a hint of barely perceptible smugness lurked in her eyes; she secretly rejoiced inwardly.

[It's shattered! Finally shattered! Great, no one can hurt the young prince anymore! That damned jade pendant deserved to be smashed!]

This scene instantly shocked everyone present!

The laughter and chatter in the banquet hall abruptly ceased. Everyone stopped talking, their gazes falling on the shattered jade pendant on the floor, then on Xiao Jingjing, their faces showing disbelief.

No one expected that a little girl of only a few years old would accidentally fall down and happen to tear off and break the Fifth Prince's jade pendant.

Everyone was surprised, after all, Princess Jianing had the backing of Prince Jing's Mansion, and there was no need for her to use such methods to attract the Fifth Prince's attention.

Although everyone in Prince Jing's mansion already knew what Xiao Jingjing was thinking, they all pretended to be shocked and showed just the right amount of surprise.

Lu Wenshu immediately stood up, quickly walked to Xiao Jingjing's side, bent down to help her up, and looked at Gao Jin with a worried and slightly apologetic expression, saying gently:

"Fifth Prince, I am so sorry. Jia Ning is young and too naughty. She accidentally fell and broke your jade pendant. I will have the Prince's Mansion replace it with a better one for you later."

She apologized in a natural tone, pretending that it was really an accident on Xiao Jingjing's part, but secretly gave Xiao Jingjing a reassuring look in her eyes.

She felt sorry for Xiao Jingjing's "fall" just now, but was also relieved that she had successfully destroyed the jade pendant. However, she maintained a pretense of not knowing anything.

The Prince Jing opposite him also said in a deep voice, "My daughter is still young. The Prince Jing's mansion will definitely compensate double for the damaged jade pendant. Please forgive me, Fifth Prince."

Xiao Mingzhu quickly followed, smiling as she gently patted Xiao Jingjing's head, her tone tender:

"Jingjing, did you hurt yourself? Be careful next time!"

She pretended to be simply worried about Xiao Jingjing, without mentioning anything about the jade pendant's abnormality, nor revealing the slightest awareness of its malevolent aura.

The three older brothers also got up and gathered around.

Zhou Rui said gently, "Little sister, are you alright? Walk slower next time, don't rush like that."

Gu Feng nodded, his tone calm: "It's good that you didn't get hurt. It's good that you didn't get hurt."

He practiced martial arts with his younger sister every day and knew exactly how tough Jingjing was.

Xiao Yu held Xiao Jingjing's little hand, looking anxious: "Little sister, you scared me to death! I thought you had fallen and hurt yourself."

The three of them pretended to be only worried about Xiao Jingjing's safety, glossing over the matter of the jade pendant without revealing anything unusual. It was as if they really just thought that Xiao Jingjing had accidentally broken the jade pendant, completely unaware of the evil energy hidden in the jade pendant, and unaware that Xiao Jingjing had done it on purpose.

Gao Jin quickly and gently supported Lu Wenshu's hand, smiling as he said:

"It's alright, it's just a jade pendant, it's nothing. As long as Jingjing is alright, please don't blame her. Children are playful and it's common for them to fall down accidentally."

As he spoke, he bent down to look at the shattered jade pendant on the ground, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes—he suddenly felt a little lighter when the jade pendant was torn off, and the faint feeling of fatigue that had been lingering around him also dissipated.

But he didn't think much of it, assuming it was just his imagination. He continued to look at Jingjing with doting eyes and asked softly, "Jingjing, did you hurt yourself anywhere? Let your little uncle take a look."

Little Jingjing shook her head, revealing a sweet smile, and nestled in Lu Wenshu's arms, pretending to still be a little scared, her voice neither too loud nor too soft:

"Little Imperial Uncle, I'm fine. I'm just sorry I broke your jade pendant. But Little Imperial Uncle, when I touched that jade pendant just now, I felt it was so cold, so icy, and not pretty at all. I'll get you a warm jade pendant later; it'll definitely be much more comfortable than this!"

[I can't directly say it has malevolent energy; I'll just say it's icy or strange. That way, it won't arouse suspicion, and I can subtly remind my young uncle that it's not a good thing. My mother and brothers definitely understand what I mean; they'll help me cover it up.]

Just then, a sharp and angry voice came from the other side of the banquet hall, breaking the brief tranquility of the hall: "Insolence! Princess Jianing, how dare you smash the jade pendant I gave to the Fifth Prince! How dare you!"