Gradual Rise of Conflict

Chu Liuyue directly moved the curtain away, got off the carriage, and went home with Chu Ning after she finished her sentence.

Rong Xiu was actually taken aback; his lips slightly curved up later as he laughed with a deep voice.

She was the first one to call him petty.

Yan Qing was waiting outside the horse carriage solemnly and could not help but be shocked upon hearing his master's infrequent laughter.

What kind of situation was this? Even though his master looked gentle normally, in actual fact, he did not show his expressions on his face and would rarely laugh. What did that person do just now?

Did his master really fall for that girl from the Chu family?

"Return back to our mansion." Rong Xiu's voice had a tinge of rarely-seen happiness.

"Yes!" Yan Qing immediately led the way.

Prince Li Mansion was not too far away from the Chu family estate. They took less than an hour to return to their residence.

Rong Xiu returned to his bedroom. After a while, another one of his personal bodyguards—Yu Mo—came up and said respectfully, "Prince, I have settled the issue."

Rong Xiu nodded, walked to the side of the table, and placed something down.

Yu Mo took a look at it and was shocked. It was a teacup!

The design of the teacup was very intricate. It was painted golden at the hems, which made it look very elegant. This was clearly something used in the palace.

The next moment, Yu Mo saw the teacup shatter silently.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into dust.

Yu Mo's heart skipped a beat, and he did not dare ask further. He glanced at Yan Qing to ask for help. It's very rare for Master to get angry. What… happened? However, it seems like Master is not angry; it even seems like he's… in a good mood.

Yan Qing lowered his head and did not say a word. What should I say? Say that it was because of that lady from the Chu family?

Rong Xiu put down his coat.

Yu Mo then noticed that Rong Xiu's hand had bloodstains and immediately gasped in shock. "Prince, you're injured?" Didn't the Prince just attend the Crown Prince's birthday party? How did he get injured?

Rong Xiu lowered his head and took a look at his hand, and indeed found some bloodstains. This is… from her hand. It seems like she did not wipe the blood off cleanly.

That was true. How could a small handkerchief wipe off all the blood on her face?

Rong Xiu's eyes turned slightly cold. "What has Rong Zhen been up to lately?"

Yu Mo did not expect him to ask this so suddenly and replied after thinking for a while. "Fourth Princess seems to want to change her vowed fiend and likes to go to the hunting ground lately."

What a meaningful interest.

After keeping silent for some time, Rong Xiu's long fingers lightly knocked on the table twice, and he said calmly, "Let her play all she wants."

His tone was calm, but Yu Mo heard the murderous intent behind it. "Yes!" Yu Mo could not help but sigh in his heart.

I heard that the Fourth Princess was very unreasonable and never cared about anyone when doing tasks. However, Master rarely cares about this type of person. She must have done something to incur Master's murderous intent.

"Prince, do you want to take a bath and rest?"

Rong Xiu's fingers brushed past each other as if it had a tinge of warmth and gentleness. "Mm, tell the rest that I caught the flu and that I'll rest in bed. I'm not going to see anyone."

"Yes." Yan Qing answered and left immediately.

Upon reaching the door, Rong Xiu added, "If she comes, you must tell me immediately."

Even though Yan Qing was already prepared mentally, he was still taken aback and tried his best to control his expression. "Yes, Master."

Yu Mo left sensibly and quickly chased after Yan Qing. When he got out of the door, he asked, "What exactly is going on? Who is Master referring to?"

Yan Qing kept quiet. After being questioned for some time, he finally said, "You'll know when she comes."

Yu Mo was very confused. What exactly happened that night?

…

That was not all that happened that night.

That night was when even the wind tasted sweet to some people. However, it was not so nice for others.

After the banquet ended, First Elder and the rest hurriedly returned to the Chu family estate.

It was already very late at night, but Chu Xianmin could not return to her house and rest. Instead, she was interrogated by First Elder and the others.

The doors and windows were tightly shut. First Elder sat at the main seat. Chu Yan and Lu Yao sat on the seats at the side while Chu Xianmin was standing in the middle.

Everyone's gaze swept across Chu Xianmin's body like a sharp knife.

"Was what Chu Liuyue said today true or false?" asked First Elder solemnly.

Chu Xianmin was furious and humiliated. "Of course, it's fake! Why would I-I do such a thing? That b*tch was smearing my name!"

Chu Yan kept a straight face the entire way. He finally could not contain it at this point, and he slammed the table. "How dare you continue lying? If you didn't say it, how would Chu Liuyue know that the Crown Prince must light incense before he sleeps?"

People who were not close to him would definitely not know about this.

Chu Xianmin was frightened until she started shivering, instantly feeling guilty. "I-I… I didn't! I really didn't! I-I… just smelled the incense when I went to find the Crown Prince when he was coincidentally resting."

All the people here were experienced, and all of them could tell from her expression. Even if the two of them did not finish the final step, they must have done something they were not supposed to.

Chu Yan closed his eyes. "Do you know that this incident will spread throughout the Imperial City tomorrow? Your reputation will be ruined completely. Also, you actually dared to curse in front of the Emperor like a crazy woman. How would the Crown Prince still choose you as his Crown Princess?"

Chu Xianmin immediately could not say anything else.

Lu Yao suddenly spoke up at the side. "Since we can't contain the incident, then we shall not."

All the others looked at her in shock.

Lu Yao's eyes flashed. "She can never absolve herself from this incident now, so we should just take advantage of the situation. If everyone knows that you're the Crown Prince's woman, he would definitely not leave you in the lurch."

Chu Xianmin felt a little wronged. "B-but if we do so, I'll probably lose the proper status of his wife…"

"When you enter the Crown Prince Mansion, that proper status will be yours sooner or later. What else is important?" Lu Yao was nonchalant. "Your only chance is to become as strong as possible. As long as you are capable enough, you can make everyone else shut up. The academy's assessment is coming up. You must rank first, do you understand?"

Chu Xianmin bit her lips. This was the only way now. "Yes, I understand."

…

Chu Liuyue only felt comfortable after she returned home, took a hot bath, and changed into a set of clean clothes.

When she was arranging her clothes, that handkerchief suddenly dropped down.

She picked it up.

The original snow-white, pure handkerchief was already stained all over with blood. She could not bear to look at it.

Remembering Rong Xiu's words, she grunted lightly and used water to wash the handkerchief.

I'll return it to him tomorrow; we'll owe each other nothing.