Xiao Shu'er was surprised and delighted to hear that the Emperor was going to behead Chang Lili.

If she weren't afraid of giving herself away, she would have loved to throw a big celebration banquet.

But that was enough. Her eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of revenge. She sat in the hall, leisurely sipping tea with great interest. The scenery that she used to be tired of looking at now looked fascinating to her, and a smile played on her lips.

Bai Mei and the palace maids in the hall all felt that it was good that Chang Lili had suffered such a misfortune. Xiao Shu'er was happy, and they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But something even happier for Xiao Shu'er was about to happen.

"What did you say? Brother Meng... he wants to see me?" Xiao Shu'er stood up in surprise, looked at Bai Mei, and asked expectantly.

Bai Mei smiled obsequiously and nodded vigorously.

Xiao Shu'er blushed and hesitated, saying nervously, "Brother Meng... has Brother Meng changed his mind? As expected, without that little bitch Chang Lili, he will come back to my side."

"Quickly, go and get my set of autumn-colored soft silk gauze!" Xiao Shu'er said excitedly.

In an instant, the entire Feiyan Palace became lively, with palace maids running in and out, preparing the best ornaments and the most beautiful clothes for Xiao Shuer, and styling her hair with the most beautiful hair ornaments.

Xiao Shu'er, her face flushed, looked at herself in the bronze mirror with bright eyes.

Yesterday she was gritting her teeth when she mentioned Meng Yuxiu, but today she's overjoyed, which is truly astonishing. However, no one in this hall dares to say a word against it.

"Brother Meng invited me to meet you in the Imperial Garden?" Xiao Shu'er asked while inserting a gold hairpin into her hair.

Bai Mei then smiled even more brightly. After she finished dressing up, Xiao Shu'er was indeed beautiful and charming, but her outfit was a bit too flashy, as if she wanted to stick her head full of hair ornaments.

She couldn't wait to go to the Imperial Garden. In the Imperial Garden, she saw Meng Yuxiu's figure in the distance. Overjoyed, she sent Bai Mei away and went to see Meng Yuxiu alone.

Artificial hills, stone bridges, flowing water, pavilions, and a gentle breeze create a beautiful scene.

Xiao Shuer jogged across the stone bridge and arrived at the pavilion, where she saw Meng Yuxiu turn around.

But she froze, her smile turning to a halt. She had expected to turn around and see Meng Yuxiu's gentle, affectionate smile.

Looking at Meng Yuxiu's icy face, Xiao Shu'er felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, a truly enlightening experience.

"Brother Meng...you're here." Xiao Shu'er entered the house somewhat shyly.

Meng Yuxiu suddenly moved closer, and in the instant her face flushed and her heart pounded, she felt a piercing pain in her wrist. She screamed as one of her hands was twisted behind her back in an exaggerated arc.

"Meng... Meng Yuxiu! What are you doing!" Xiao Shuer was pressed down on the stone table, her rosy face pressed against the cold stone.

Just a moment ago her heart was pounding like a rabbit's, but now her face was contorted with rage and hatred.

She cursed her own naivety and foolish laughter in her heart, while verbally berating Meng Yuxiu.

"You heartless bastard! Traitor! I am the eldest princess, and you treat me like this, my royal brother will surely kill you!" she said through gritted teeth.

But she didn't receive a response from Meng Yuxiu. She smiled bitterly and said, "I must be crazy to believe you!"

"What will it take to get Chang Lili to go?" Meng Yuxiu's deep voice fell into Xiao Shu'er's ears from above.

Xiao Shu'er revealed a disdainful and contemptuous smile: "So it's all for that little bitch! You want to save her? Then I'll make sure she dies!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but scream, and Meng Yuxiu twisted her hand even more violently.

Her tone softened involuntarily: "Let me go first, let me go."

Meng Yuxiu then released his grip and looked into Xiao Shuer's eyes, which were as dark as a deep pool, sending chills down one's spine.

Xiao Shu'er looked at Meng Yuxiu with hatred, her bright and beautiful appearance when she stepped into the pavilion completely gone.

She rubbed her wrist and said sarcastically, "You want to save Chang Lili?"

"I'm just here to ask you to let her go. But if you let her go, you name your terms." Meng Yuxiu spoke decisively, as if there was nothing in this world that he, Meng Yuxiu, couldn't do.

Xiao Shu'er suddenly laughed, pointed at herself, and asked, "Do you think I, the princess, lack anything?"

Meng Yuxiu's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Then don't bully others and treat human life like dirt."

“You…” Xiao Shu’er felt her blood rush to her head. Just now her face was flushed with shyness, but now it was because of her uncontrollable anger.

After a while, she calmed down a bit, and instead of being angry, she smiled: "Do you really want to save Chang Lili?"

Meng Yuxiu gave her a cold look, as if to tell her that she had said something meaningless.

"You'd do anything to save her?" Xiao Shu'er's voice was no longer filled with anger, only sadness and sorrow.

Meng Yuxiu said with a stern face and no expression, "Release her, and name your terms."

Xiao Shuer's smile was somewhat weak: "It's truly pathetic and lamentable. I can let her go."

She saw a few cracks appear on Meng Yuxiu's frosty face, and an expectant look appeared in his deep, pool-like eyes.

Her laughter grew even more sorrowful, yet tinged with malice: "I'll let her go, and you'll marry me."

Meng Yuxiu's face immediately turned as cold as iron. He frowned and gave Xiao Shuer a strange look.

That one glance chilled Xiao Shu'er to the bone; she saw disgust in his eyes.

"Anything but this is fine," Meng Yuxiu said coldly.

"Meng Yuxiu!" Xiao Shu'er said hysterically, "You need to understand that you're here to beg me, not to negotiate!"

Meng Yuxiu's eyes flashed with a cold light: "I'm here to negotiate with you."

"What right do you have to negotiate with me!" Xiao Shu'er retorted angrily.

Meng Yuxiu suddenly made a move and grabbed Xiao Shuer's wrist again. Xiao Shuer felt a sharp pain and broke out in a cold sweat, but she couldn't make a sound.

Just a moment ago, she felt a tap on her neck, which caused her to stop bleeding.

She struggled, but felt a deep sense of powerlessness and despair, as well as an anger that almost consumed her.

"I remember Chang Lili gave you fake poison."

Xiao Shu'er saw that Meng Yuxiu was holding a small red pill in his hand. It looked bright and eye-catching, like fresh blood, but it gave people an ominous feeling.

Meng Yuxiu continued, "I'm different from her. She just wanted to scare you, but I would never scare anyone."

Xiao Shu'er stared in horror at the bright red pill getting closer and closer to her. An indescribable fear rose from the soles of her feet, along with a sense of dread she hadn't felt in a long time.

Years ago, she was a naive and innocent girl, and she once spent time alone with the person she was infatuated with in this little pavilion.

Looking back now, she was so silly that it was both funny and a little pitiful. The man was always cold in the face of her enthusiasm.

Until one day, he suddenly seemed like a different person. He pinned her, who knew nothing about love between men and women, against a pillar in the pavilion, speaking frivolously, his brows revealing an unprecedented coldness and malevolence.