Chapter 393 His daily plans revolved around how to make her disappear completely.

The Crown Prince and Yan Fengxi were talking under the peach tree. Peach blossoms were falling everywhere. The Crown Prince nodded and listened, while Yan Fengxi smiled and replied. She looked extremely beautiful.

There have been rumors recently that the Crown Prince intends to marry Yan Fengxi as a concubine, and now that the two are chatting so enthusiastically, the discussion about them has become even more heated.

Cheng Yilin subtly searched around, then spotted a pink figure peeking out from behind the artificial hill by the lake in the distance. Who else could it be but Pu Mingyue? She smiled and chatted with the girl beside her for a bit, then excused herself and "casually" walked to the artificial hill by the lake. Then, she asked with a surprised smile, "What a coincidence, I ran into you here, sister."

Pu Mingyue was glaring at Yan Fengxi and the Crown Prince through gritted teeth when Cheng Yilin's voice startled her, and her gaze turned somewhat unfriendly. However, she knew that the Duke of Chu's mansion was standing behind Cheng Yilin, so she could only quickly change her expression and say, "Sister, you startled me."

Cheng Yilin said with a grin, "Sister, are you also watching the Crown Prince and Miss Yan? Don't they look like a good match?"

Pu Mingyue's expression froze for a moment. "Why are you alone?"

Cheng Yilin didn't miss the momentary stiffness on her face, and sighed, "They're all talking about His Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Yan. I find it rather boring, so I'm just taking a walk by myself. Do you also find it boring, sister?"

Pu Mingyue glanced over there again but didn't respond. Cheng Yilin walked to her side, looked at the Crown Prince and Yan Fengxi, and whispered, "Although Miss Yan is pretty, she lacks a dignified demeanor. She looks more like a spoiled young lady. In terms of the demeanor of a queen, she is still lacking."

But my elder sister, not only is she strikingly beautiful, but her every gesture exudes the poise and grace of a well-bred lady. It is precisely this kind of demeanor that befits her position.

Pu Mingyue liked hearing this and gave her an appreciative look. Then she looked at the Crown Prince and Yan Fengxi, who seemed to be chatting and laughing, and almost tore the silk handkerchief in her hand to shreds. "She just has a good grandfather, otherwise..."

Realizing she shouldn't have said that, Pu Mingyue swallowed the rest of her words. Cheng Yilin, seemingly oblivious to anything amiss, said carelessly, "My sister's father is the Minister of Personnel, no less important than her."

These words pleased Pu Mingyue greatly, and coupled with her inner jealousy and resentment, she replied without much thought, "You certainly know how to talk."

Cheng Yilin laughed heartlessly again, pointing to the two people admiring the flowers side by side and said, "It's strange, I've never heard of the Crown Prince showing such favor to Miss Yan before!"

She leaned closer to Pu Mingyue on the right and lowered her voice, saying, "A few days ago, I went to the Duke's mansion and happened to overhear my cousin talking to my father. She said that the Crown Princess would most likely be chosen from the families of the Six Ministers. At the time, I thought that in terms of family background and appearance, you, sister, would be the most suitable. Alas, why did Miss Yan get the first choice?"

Looking at Pu Mingyue's somewhat distorted face, Cheng Yilin sighed again and said, "Will it be soon that we'll have to bow deeply to Miss Yan every time we see her? Sigh, thankfully we won't see her every day, otherwise we'd have to bow to her every single day..."

"What do you know?" The words "perform a grand ceremony" stung Pu Mingyue like needles. She glared at Cheng Yilin with fiery eyes: "If the Crown Prince hadn't wanted to rely on Grand Tutor Yan, how would Yan Fengxi have had this opportunity? The Crown Prince clearly promised my father..."

Realizing her words were inappropriate as soon as they left her mouth, Pu Mingyue abruptly stopped and hurriedly changed her words, saying, "How can we possibly comment on royal matters? There's no point in talking about these things."

"Yes, it's rather boring. Miss Mo and the others are playing chess, let's go take a look," Cheng Yilin said with a smile.

"Sister, you go ahead. I'll go say a few words to Mother. You can go find them to play by yourself." Pu Mingyue forced a smile, her tone revealing a hurried eagerness to get away.

"Okay, then I'll go first." Cheng Yilin smiled and agreed, then turned and walked away quickly. Her skirt swept across the bluestone pavement with a light arc, and she walked with a bit of a bouncy gait, just like a child who hadn't grown up.

Pu Mingyue watched Cheng Yilin's retreating figure, and seeing her completely unconcerned expression, she breathed a slight sigh of relief at her earlier slip of the tongue. She turned her head to look in the direction of the Crown Prince and Yan Fengxi, only to see that the Crown Prince had already left, while Yan Fengxi was surrounded by a group of young ladies chatting and laughing, truly the center of attention.

Just then, Yan Fengxi looked in her direction with a smile. Their eyes met; Yan Fengxi was all smiles, while Pu Mingyue's face was filled with anger. Their gazes locked for a moment before they looked away simultaneously. Pu Mingyue walked behind the artificial hill and kicked it hard. A sharp pain shot through her, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"What is my sister doing?"

A laughing voice came from behind her. Pu Mingyue immediately wiped away the pain on her face, wiped away her tears, turned her head, and looked at Yan Fengxi, saying, "Didn't you say that His Highness the Crown Prince is interested in your half-sister? Why are Miss Yan and His Highness talking so enthusiastically? Is Miss Yan shamelessly trying to steal her half-sister's marriage?"

These words were quite harsh, but Yan Fengxi's smile remained unchanged. "It pains me to see my younger sister so angry. After all, who would willingly be overshadowed by someone born out of wedlock?"

She walked slowly to Pu Mingyue, the pearl hairpin in her hair swaying gently with her movements. "Just now, His Highness the Crown Prince only asked about Fengju's recent situation and wanted to find an excuse to send a congratulatory gift. Sister, you are so eager to speculate, it seems that you have lost your composure first."

"Speaking of which, Yan Fengju works at the Tiangong Division, dealing with ingenious mechanisms and novel techniques all day long. Her focused and serious attitude is quite different from those of us who are immersed in poetry, literature, etiquette, and learning domestic affairs. It's no wonder that such a unique personality makes people look at her differently. I'm afraid neither of us can match her."

"I just wonder what it feels like for my sister to be suppressed like this," Yan Fengxi suddenly took a half step closer, her voice extremely low, her smile icy, "I'm being trampled on by this illegitimate daughter. Every night when I close my eyes, all I see is her smug face. All I think about every day is how to make her disappear completely. If she disappears, she won't be able to take things from me anymore, right?"

After saying that, she took a step back, smiled at Pu Mingyue, and said, "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

She took a step to leave, and Pu Mingyue clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her flesh with a painful ache, but she seemed oblivious, her eyes fixed on Yan Fengxi as she asked, "Why should I believe you?"

Yan Fengxi turned around, her face filled with malice and jealousy, and said, "Why would I lie to you? Is it glorious for me to be overshadowed by a concubine's daughter? Besides, we both came from the Grand Tutor's mansion. Her current status is more useful to His Highness the Crown Prince, isn't it? To my grandfather, Yan Fengju's current status is more suitable than me being the Crown Princess, isn't it?"

After saying that, she turned and left decisively. She had done everything she could; now it was just a matter of whether Pu Mingyue would fall for it.