Chapter 222 The Crown Prince's Heart is Broken, He's Been Terribly Deceived!

Xiao Ce's body swayed uncontrollably, and the sadness and shock in his eyes were impossible to conceal.

Even though Xiao Ce had tried his best, this instinctive reaction led him to betray him.

But Xiao Ce quickly regained his composure and just stared at Meng Yanzhi.

"Have you ever loved me?"

"Never."

Meng Yanzhi felt no guilt whatsoever, and simply met Xiao Ce's gaze, looking directly at him.

At this moment, when Meng Yanzhi looked at Xiao Ce, her eyes were as clear as could be. It was obvious that she really didn't care about this person. All the previous things were just Xiao Ce's wishful thinking.

"This humble woman truly does not know what she has done wrong to give Your Highness such a misconception, but this humble woman has never had such improper thoughts. I beg Your Highness to restrain yourself."

Meng Yanzhi silently took a step back, completely distancing herself from Xiao Ce.

She never liked Xiao Ce. She did have designs on him at the beginning, but it was all for revenge.

Now that the Meng family has fallen apart and Meng Anxian is living a life worse than death, Meng Yanzhi will naturally not continue to exploit her.

As for the genuine feelings mixed in with this exploitation, that's just human nature.

Both of them were intelligent people. Even if Meng Yanzhi didn't say it outright, Xiao Ce understood that all the goodwill Meng Yanzhi had shown him in the past was just to take advantage of him!

He was the smartest of all the princes from a young age; otherwise, he would never have been adopted and chosen to be the crown prince.

But he never expected that after so many years of smooth sailing in life, he would be outmaneuvered by a mere woman. Ironically, even now that he knows he has been used all along, he is not angry, but rather grateful that he has some use to him.

He's gone mad, he must be insane.

For the first time, Xiao Ce began to doubt his own life.

However, Meng Yanzhi did not stay there to accompany him in questioning his life. She simply bowed respectfully, then turned around and strode towards Zhaoyang Palace.

Upon returning to Zhaoyang Palace, Consort Liu looked at Meng Yanzhi with some concern, only to discover that she had returned alone.

"Where is the Crown Prince?"

Consort Liu frowned slightly, looking at Meng Yanzhi with some curiosity.

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that the Imperial Garden is picturesque and he wanted to stay a little longer, but I was thinking of Bailu, so I returned first."

Meng Yanzhi remained unfazed, speaking with unwavering conviction.

But everyone present was smart enough to see that something was amiss.

"Really?"

"Has something new been added to the Imperial Garden?"

"Rouge, shall we go take a look too?"

Zhao Bailu was completely oblivious to the situation. She thought there was something extraordinary in the Imperial Garden and just stared at Meng Yanzhi with a face full of curiosity.

Gu Hanyue almost burst out laughing when she heard this.

Looking at Zhao Bailu's silly and oblivious appearance, his eyes unconsciously became full of affection.

However, Zhao Bailu clearly didn't sense the change in this person's emotions. She just looked at him with displeasure and said irritably, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt like laughing."

"Let's go to the Imperial Garden too! Haha!"

Gu Hanyue was asking Meng Yanzhi this question.

Sometimes Meng Yanzhi really envied Zhao Bailu, who could live such an easy life. She nodded and pulled Zhao Bailu out with her.

However, instead of going to the Imperial Garden, they went to the small kitchen next to the Imperial Kitchen.

This is Meng Yanzhi's own little space, so she brought them here to sit for a while.

"These snacks were all made by my own hands, I hope you like them."

"By the way, I've been researching tea lately, could you guys try some for me?"

Meng Yanzhi brought out a lot of delicious food and placed it on the table.

Zhao Bailu was definitely the first to reach for it, and Gu Hanyue couldn't help but smile at her anxious look.

"Zhao Bailu, you're supposed to be the daughter of a great general, how can you be so greedy?"

Zhao Bailu frowned and looked at Gu Hanyue with some dissatisfaction. She said irritably, "We're only engaged now, not really married. Why are you interfering so much? Even if we get married, what I like to eat is my business and has nothing to do with you, right?"

Gu Hanyue never expected that Zhao Bailu would be so angry just because he made a joke. He looked towards Meng Yanzhi for help.

Meng Yanzhi had been in contact with these two people for a while and could basically confirm that Gu Hanyue liked Zhao Bailu, but Zhao Bailu really hated him!

Seeing Zhao Bailu's impatient look, Meng Yanzhi could only shrug to show that she was really powerless to help.

Now, Gu Hanyue, who was already somewhat isolated and helpless, felt even more aggrieved.

He picked up a piece of pastry, popped it into his mouth, and raised an eyebrow in surprise: "How can this pastry be so delicious? What is this? I've never had it before!"

"This is something I recently came up with. It's made by steaming a mixture of milk, eggs, and flour. I haven't named it yet," Meng Yanzhi said honestly. "You're all educated, so why don't you name it? Sir, could you help me come up with a good name?"

Meng Yanzhi handed a piece to Zhang Xuanyun and smiled at him.

Zhang Xuanyun took the pastry from Meng Yanzhi, sniffed it lightly, and took a bite. It was indeed soft and fluffy, unlike ordinary snacks in taste and texture. It was quite interesting.

He thought for a moment and said calmly, "Then let's call it Cloud Cake. Eating it will feel like eating a cloud."

this……

Meng Yanzhi frowned, clearly displeased as she looked at Zhang Xuanyun. She had seen people try to fool people before, but this was no way she could fool them like this.

"Sir, you didn't even think about it, did you?"

"This name is awful."

Meng Yanzhi made no attempt to hide her disdain.

But Zhang Xuanyun couldn't help but laugh.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Bailu seemed to have discovered something incredible. She immediately stood up, pointed at Zhang Xuanyun, and said incredulously, "You, you, you can laugh?"

"Why wouldn't I smile?" Zhang Xuanyun asked, a rare moment of good mood, his smile still lingering on his face.

Zhao Bailu immediately stood up and looked at Zhang Xuanyun carefully: "I've known you for so long, and I've never seen you smile like this before. I always thought you couldn't smile!"

"It's not that she can't laugh, it's just that she can't laugh when she sees you. Didn't you see that she's smiling at Miss Meng?" Gu Hanyue snorted and gave Zhang Xuanyun a disdainful look.