Lu Xiaoyun dressed him, covered him with a blanket, stood up, glanced at him, and left. She always felt that there was a resentment in Zhu Yu's eyes when he looked at her, and he looked so wronged that it was creepy.

Lu Xiaoyun had already figured it out from what he said to Qi Shaocheng in the study earlier; Zhu Yu probably had other feelings for her.

But she couldn't.

She doesn't like Zhu Yu.

This person not only had a terrible temper, but also caused the original owner's death, and was far too arrogant.

Everything he is doing now is solely because of what Zhu Yu has done for the people of Great Zhou, and not out of personal feelings.

Moreover, she was not a traditional woman confined to her home, unable to stay at home her whole life, devoted to her husband and children, never venturing beyond the inner quarters.

She could not bring herself to marry one concubine after another for her husband, sharing him with other women.

Zhu Yu was the Prince of An of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and it was impossible for his harem to have only one woman.

That kind of lifelong, monogamous love didn't exist in the families of the powerful and wealthy in ancient times; it only appears in novels by modern authors.

Not to mention that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince have no fewer than ten women in their harems, even the Second Prince, who is supposed to be celibate, has one principal wife, two secondary wives, three concubines, and two maids.

Even the Fifth Prince, whom she had never met, had two concubines prepared for him by his birth mother, Consort Shu. If he hadn't been traveling with the Imperial Preceptor for the past few years, he would have been married long ago and had a whole bunch of wives and concubines.

Born as princes, their marriages are the last thing they can control; they have no say in who they marry. Take Zhu Yu, for example, who was forced to marry the original owner of this body. How could Zhu Yu not know the extent of the old emperor's influence behind this?

At that time, he and Ren Yong'an were deeply in love, and he vowed to marry no one but her.

Most importantly, Lu Xiaoyun dislikes people with bad tempers, and Zhu Yu happens to be right on her toes.

When Lu Xiaoyun arrived at the martial arts training ground, the Imperial Guards and the guards of Prince An's mansion were playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) in a heated match, but Ruoling and Ayan were not there.

"Where is Princess Ruoling?" she asked Xi Yi.

Xi Yi hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, Princess Ruoling said she wanted to walk around the Prince An's residence, so Mr. Lu accompanied her."

Lu Xiaoyun knew that Ayan had explored the entire Prince An's mansion on his first day there, so she didn't need to worry about him getting lost in the vast mansion.

However, a man and a woman alone together would inevitably affect Ruoling's reputation. She believed that Ayan was a gentleman, but she couldn't resist the deep-rooted traditional ideas of the ancients.

Ah Yan, a newcomer, once again displayed the arrogant and reckless demeanor of a spoiled young master.

How long have they been gone?

"It's been half an hour. I saw Mr. Lu take Princess Ruoling to Yunmei Garden. They must be going to see Consort Duan."

Lu Xiaoyun nodded and walked towards Yunmei Garden. Since she ordered Wu Chuan to confine Consort Duan and her entourage to Yunmei Garden a few days ago, she had not stepped into it even once.

So many days have passed, hopefully Consort Duan has come to her senses by now.

When Lu Xiaoyun arrived at Yunmei Garden, she saw Wu Chuan standing guard at the entrance with utmost diligence.

"master."

Lu Xiaoyun asked, "Didn't you just receive thirty lashes? Why aren't you recuperating?"

Wu Chuan scratched his head sheepishly: "Thank you for your concern, Master. The guards who carried out the execution didn't use much force. The medicine Mr. Lu gave me is good; it doesn't hurt."

Seeing that the "Prince" was still staring at him, Wu Chuan immediately stood up straight: "The stables have been cleaned by my subordinates."

Lu Xiaoyun nodded lightly: "Are Ruoling and Ayan inside?"

Wu Chuan shook his head: "Princess Ruoling and Mr. Lu only stayed for a short while before coming out."

Lu Xiaoyun frowned.

Wu Chuan said, "Princess Ruoling requested an audience with Consort Duan, but the Consort refused to see her. Princess Ruoling pleaded for a long time, but the Consort still did not change her mind, so she had no choice but to come out."

It seems that Consort Duan hasn't figured it out yet. Well then, let's keep her feet confined for now.

What Wu Chuan didn't mention was that Consort Duan's words at the time were extremely harsh, even saying that Princess Ruoling came to see her make a fool of herself so that the Emperor and Empress Dowager would dislike her even more after she returned to the palace.

Seeing Wu Chuan's complicated expression, Lu Xiaoyun knew that Consort Duan probably hadn't said anything nice.

Where have they gone now?

Wu Chuan pointed to the right: "Look, Princess Ruoling and Mr. Lu are warming wine and cooking crabapple blossoms in the Yuhua Pavilion."

Lu Xiaoyun looked up and saw a man and a woman sitting in the Yuhua Pavilion, with two palace maids following beside them.

As Ayan poured the wine, he seemed to be quietly comforting Princess Ruoling.

The man had handsome features and wore a coral-red silk robe with flowing cloud patterns. The wide belt around his waist made him look even more elegant and dashing.

The woman wore a scarlet floral-patterned fairy dress, and two jade hairpins were inserted into her black hair, with white jade beaded flowers carved at the ends of the hairpins.

Ruoling's eyes were a little red.

Lu Xiaoyun stepped over, and Ruoling, upon seeing her, quickly turned to the side and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief: "Fourth Brother." Her voice was clearly trembling with tears.

Why aren't you watching Cuju anymore?

Ruoling shook her head, her mood no longer as cheerful as when she first arrived: "I often watch them play Cuju (ancient Chinese football), but it's not very interesting. I'd rather have Mr. Lu accompany me for a walk around the Prince An's residence."

Lu Xiaoyun poured a glass of wine and handed it to Ruoling: "This is fruit wine, have a taste."

Princess Ruoling picked up the cup of wine, took a small sip, and felt a sweet taste slide down her throat, accompanied by a hint of wine aroma. Ruoling narrowed her eyes slightly, smacked her lips, and took another sip: "Fourth Brother, this wine is really delicious. What kind of wine is this?"

After saying that, she drank the wine in her glass in small sips, and found it tasted better and better. She had completely forgotten her unpleasantness from earlier.

This was brought from Lu Yuyan's dilapidated thatched hut; he brewed it himself.

Lu Yuyan picked up another pot of warm wine and poured a cup for Ruoling: "Princess, try this one too."

Ruoling took another sip; it was sweet and sour with a hint of wine, even better than the previous one. "This is delicious too! I've never tasted such good wine before. Fourth Brother, did you brew it?"

Lu Xiaoyun smiled and said, "It was brewed by Ayan. There are still a few jars in the manor. If you like, you can take a few jars back with you later."

"Really?" Ruoling looked at Lu Yuyan with bright, expectant eyes.

Lu Yuyan smiled and said, "It is my honor that the princess likes it. The prince just poured lychee wine for the princess, while I just poured plum wine. Fruit wine is delicious, but the princess must not overindulge, as it has a strong aftereffect."

Ruoling immediately nodded: "Yes, thank you, Mr. Lu."

Lu Yuyan smiled faintly: "Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor if Your Highness likes it."

"Mr. Lu, there's no need for such formality. Please don't refer to yourself as 'I' anymore; it makes Ruoling feel uncomfortable."

Lu Yuyan smiled slightly as he looked at Lu Xiaoyun.

Lu Xiaoyun said, "I'll listen to Ruoling."

Lu Yuyan smiled and said, "Then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

Ruoling then asked Lu Xiaoyun, "Fourth Brother, is Fourth Sister-in-law's injury any better? I brought some ointment from the palace and wanted to go see her."

Lu Xiaoyun's eyes flickered slightly.