Zuan was speechless, thinking to himself, "Empress, you can be a little bit bitchy too, I like that too."

Unfortunately, I absolutely dared not say such things to her, otherwise her life might really be in danger.

Coming to his senses, his gaze towards Bi Linglong became somewhat amused; this woman was rather interesting.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?" Bi Linglong felt his gaze and subconsciously touched her face.

Zuan laughed and said, "That's right, the flowers on your face are more beautiful than all these peach blossoms."

Bi Linglong never expected him to praise her so directly and enthusiastically, and for a moment she was flustered: "You're too bold. I emphasized to you before that you shouldn't think that just because that happened, you can have any improper thoughts about me..."

As she spoke, she realized that this was too abrupt. The other person had great value that made her worth investing in, so she quickly explained, "The main problem is that if this gets out to a third party, it won't just be you, it will be a lot of trouble for me too, so don't blame me for getting angry."

Zuan chuckled: "You misunderstood. I was just sincerely praising your beauty, and I didn't have any other intentions."

This woman is quite the hypocrite; she says she's angry, but I haven't received a single bit of anger from her in the system.

Bi Linglong's cheeks flushed slightly: "That's good."

Then the two fell silent again, but her heart couldn't calm down. Why didn't this guy even call her Crown Princess anymore, but instead addressed her as "you" and "me"? Should I be a little colder and distance myself from him?

However, his performance in the back mountain of the academy just now shows that he is no ordinary person. If we cannot win him over and befriend him now when he is at a low point, the effect in the future will probably be minimal.

But you can't expect me to use my beauty to seduce you, can you?

Bi Linglong had never been so conflicted before. In fact, she was a born politician. Although she was young, she had become extremely skilled at suppressing and winning over her subordinates over the years. However, she always felt that these methods were somewhat inadequate when dealing with Zu'an.

Ultimately, it was that incident that prevented her from facing him with a completely normal attitude.

The two walked side by side on the tree-lined path, their shoulders brushing against each other a few times. Bi Linglong couldn't help but think of the time when Zu An had held her naked body, her skin almost blushing with the color of peach blossoms.

"Crown Princess~" At this moment, the voice of the maid Rong Mo came from not far away. Bi Linglong breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, the shyness on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by the solemn elegance of the Crown Princess.

"Eh, Lord Zu?" Upon seeing Zu An standing to the side, Rong Mao couldn't help but look surprised.

Bi Linglong said, "I just ran into Lord Zu by chance in the back mountain, so we can go back together."

Rong Mo didn't dare to ask again: "Yes!" At the same time, he lifted the carriage curtain for Bi Linglong.

Bi Linglong bent down and entered the carriage. She originally wanted to call Zu An in as well to show her favor, but she immediately realized that this would easily cause gossip. So she changed her mind and said, "Lord Zu is injured, so please sit in front of the carriage. He can drive for me."

The surrounding eunuchs and guards all turned to look at him, casting envious glances at Zu An.

Zuan could only smile wryly. In this era, those in power often used personal tasks such as driving or guarding the toilet to show their closeness and win over others. But in his view, this was nothing more than being a driver, and it was hard to be grateful.

Of course, he understood Bi Linglong's good intentions and wouldn't misunderstand that she was humiliating him.

Driving is fine, it's better than walking. Hmm, one day I'll sit openly with her in a carriage.

He leaped onto the front of the carriage, grabbed a small leather whip, and lashed it across the horse's rump. The horse, in pain, neighed and galloped away.

Seeing this, the other guards and eunuchs hurriedly chased after him, shouting, "Lord Zu, slow down, slow down!"

Bi Linglong, who was in the carriage, also stumbled. The carriages she usually rode in were always very stable, and she had never tried such a wild way of playing before.

Rong Mo, who was standing to the side, gripped the window frame tightly and complained, "Your Highness, look at this guy, he's driving like this!"

Bi Linglong brushed her messy hair aside, a faint smile appearing on her lips: "I actually find sitting in the car on ordinary days a bit boring, this is quite interesting."

Rong Mo stared at his mistress with his mouth agape in shock, feeling that she had changed a lot.

Feeling that she had left the guards behind her behind, Bi Linglong lifted the carriage curtain, and the strong wind blowing in her face made her black hair dance: "Lord Zu, you are injured, let us take you home to rest first."

Rong Mo was shocked and hurriedly tried to dissuade her, saying, "Please think it over, Your Highness. How can you personally escort a subject home? If word gets out, there will be all sorts of rumors, especially since you two have just..."

She didn't dare to continue, but the meaning she was expressing was quite clear.

Bi Linglong frowned slightly, knowing that what she said made sense. The two had just been involved in such a scandal. Although the storm had passed, she could explain her efforts to win over Zu An as a matter of conscience. However, if she was too enthusiastic, it might backfire.

Just as she was in a dilemma, Zu An said with a smile, "If the Crown Princess were to personally escort me home, she would be flattering me to death. In a few days, I would be torn to pieces by a group of jealous people. I should escort the Crown Princess back to the palace myself."

Bi Linglong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This guy was indeed very considerate: "Well, that's good. It's a good opportunity to go to the Imperial Hospital again to bring back some medicine for Lord Zu to recuperate."

Zu An originally intended to refuse, but then he suddenly changed his mind. He needed a large quantity of medicinal herbs for alchemy, many of which were not easy to obtain. It would be good if he could find some at the Imperial Hospital.

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