At this moment, another beautiful woman in a lavender dress slowly emerged from behind the screen. Her eyebrows were as curved as willow leaves, her eyes were as gentle as lake water, her nose was high, and her lips were red without any makeup. She was even more beautiful than the Second Prince Ling Shuzhou, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Chisha.

The woman's skin was whiter than snow, and every gesture exuded a noble and elegant aura. She saw Lakshmi before her and smiled faintly, "General Zhongyong, you may not know that it's precisely because you don't know how to play chess that the Queen Mother wants to play with you. If your chess skills were as superb as the eldest sister's, you would be kicked out of the Imperial Study like her."

Lakshmi was initially captivated by the woman's appearance, but then her gaze fell on her delicate hands. Her fingers were incredibly white and slender, like translucent white jade. If it weren't for the missing finger on each hand, these would be a pair of perfect jade hands.

After confirming that the woman indeed had only four fingers on both hands, she clasped her fists and saluted, "Your humble servant greets Her Highness the Third Princess."

The Third Princess, Ling Xicheng, quickly helped Lakshmi up with both hands. "General Zhongyong, you are truly too honest. Even the Queen Mother said that you don't need to bow, so I can't bear it any more. You are really embarrassing me."

While the few of them were talking, Shi Qi had already cleaned up the chess table.

Ling Xihe stood up from her seat across from Ling Shumo and gestured to Lakshmi. "Her Royal Highness has already invited me so much. If Lakshmi refuses, it would be truly ungrateful." With that in mind, she abandoned her politeness and sat down in front of the candlelit chess table.

Before the official game of chess begins, the first step is to guess the go-ahead. Lakshmi pulled two chess pieces from the nearby chess pot and was about to place them on the table when she heard the wooden door behind her suddenly slam open with a creaking sound. Although she didn't know who it was, she knew that someone who barged in without announcing anything must be someone close to the emperor.

Ling Shumo looked at the young man in a lotus-colored gauze shirt standing by the door and said with a smile, "On ordinary days, you don't come to see me for ten days or half a month. Today, someone returned to the capital with a great victory and just arrived at the imperial study, and you followed him eagerly. Tell me, what do you want to give her today through my hand?"

Lakshmi also turned around to look at the handsome young man, who was the second prince Ling Shuzhou whom she had just met in the box on the second floor of Yunqi Winery.

Ling Shuzhou's face immediately flushed red, and he stamped his foot in anger. "Mother, why are you so blunt? I'm not here to give gifts to anyone else. I simply miss you, so I came to pay my respects to you."

Ling Xihe had a faint smile on his face. "Really? So, Second Prince, you're here to pay your respects to the Queen Mother? Then the brocade box held by the attendant behind you must be your gift to the Queen Mother."

Ling Shumo looked at the brocade box that Ling Xihe mentioned. It was a small hollow incense box carved from silver-white ivory. Twelve crystal clear purple glass beads were inlaid around the box. Regardless of what was in the box, this empty box alone was worth a fortune.

Ling Shumo looked very interested in the box. "Oh? It's not a festival, but I didn't expect Shuzhou to carefully prepare a gift for me. No matter how much this gift is worth, I am already very touched by your thoughtfulness. Quick, bring this box over. I want to open your gift now."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, the attendant was about to offer the brocade box, but Ling Shuzhou suddenly snatched the box away and held it in his arms. "No, anything else can be given to the Queen Mother, but not the contents of this box. This is what I prepared for General Lakshmi."

Ling Shuzhou had initially assumed that Ling Shumo and Lakshmi were the only two people in the room, so he mustered up the courage to enter. However, he hadn't anticipated the presence of his eldest and third sisters, and he felt a sudden surge of embarrassment. He had been about to hesitate before giving the brocade box to Lakshmi, but in a moment of desperation, he had actually called out his beloved's name. This had turned his already rosy cheeks even crimson.

Seeing her son like this, Ling Shumo burst into laughter. "Alright, I've seen all kinds of good things. I won't fight with a kid like you for anything. You don't have to act like you're facing an enemy."

Ling Xihe said curiously, "It's already this late, don't keep us in suspense. Everyone knows that this gift is for General Zhongyong, so just open it."

Hearing the urging of his mother and eldest sister, Ling Shuzhou shyly glanced at Lakshmi. Then, with delicate fingers, he lifted the lid of the box, revealing a red-gold heart-protecting amulet lying quietly inside. His voice was gentle and graceful, "On the battlefield, swords and guns are merciless, so I went to the now-retired Taoist priest at Lingyin Taoist Temple and asked for this amulet, hoping it will protect the general's eternal safety."

Ling Shuzhou's entire attention was focused on Lakshmi. However, Lakshmi had been observing Ling Xicheng's expression with a quiet composure. Ever since Ling Shuzhou entered this room, His Majesty and the Crown Princess had been smiling graciously. Only the Third Princess, despite a faint smile, had eyes that were icy cold, as if she deeply disliked Ling Shuzhou.

Ling Xicheng was a very clever person. Even though Lakshmi was observing her very carefully, with his eyes barely on her, she was still very aware that he was looking at her. She smiled politely and distantly, "General Zhongyong, my Second Brother has a gift for you. Won't you take it and have a look?"

Lakshmi was reminded of this and finally looked up at Ling Shuzhou, who was standing directly across from her. She had never noticed him before, but after what happened today, she suddenly realized that he liked her.

But Lakshmi had no desire to accept such a lover. While the emperor's son was certainly a noble and distinguished person, marrying him meant she had to respect and cherish him. If he felt wronged and went to the palace to complain to the emperor, she, the wife, would be in dire straits.

With his current prestigious position as the Loyal and Brave General, if he were to marry a young man from an ordinary family and take in a few beautiful concubines, he wouldn't know how carefree and happy his life would be.

Lakshmi then said apologetically, "I appreciate the Second Prince's kindness, but it is inconvenient for me to accept something as personal as the Heart Amulet."