After all the princes had arrived, Xie Qi began the lesson.

Halfway through the class, a noise came from outside the study.

The princes looked out the window and saw that it was none other than Princess Dekang.

The once quiet classroom was suddenly filled with laughter from all the princes.

Xie Qi frowned slightly, tapped the table, and signaled to continue the lesson.

Dekang patiently waited outside until Xie Qi finished teaching before leading the palace servants to Xie Qi.

"Young Master Xie, I personally had a batch of hibiscus cake made. It tastes quite good. Would you like to try some?"

Several princes teased, "Sister Dekang, how come only Mr. Xie has one, while we older brothers can only watch?"

Dekang glared at the princes and said, "You guys are so annoying. I'm not here to feed you."

Xie Qi declined, saying, "Your Highness, I do not like hibiscus cake. Please do not send it to me in the future."

"Then, Young Master Xie, what do you like to eat? I'll learn it when I get back."

Xie Qi suppressed his impatience and said, "I still have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After Xie Qi finished speaking, he took the book and left.

Dekang watched Xie Qi's departing figure and stomped his foot angrily.

Dekang turned around and slapped the palace servant next to him across the face.

"Didn't you say that you saw Xie Qi use hibiscus cake at the palace banquet before?"

The palace maid who had been beaten immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, "Your Highness, I did see Young Master Xie use hibiscus cake earlier."

Dekang said with a gloomy face, "Then why won't Xie Qi eat the pastries that this princess sent?"

The palace maid shook her head. "This servant doesn't know either. Perhaps Young Master Xie is too tired today and doesn't have much of an appetite."

"Hmph, useless thing, drag her away and rip out her tongue."

Seeing this, the Third Prince said, "Dekang, why vent your anger on the palace servants?"

"Mr. Xie has always disliked you coming to his study, yet you always do..."

Dekang flicked his sleeves and said, "Third Brother, you're not the Crown Prince yet. I'm disciplining the people in my palace; it's not your place to tell me what to do."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince couldn't help but frown. "Third Brother, Dekang is still young, please don't worry about him."

"Third Brother's favorite food is hibiscus cake. Consider this cake as Dekang's apology to Third Brother."

The Third Prince was publicly humiliated by Dekang, but he couldn't vent his anger on his sister.

He took a piece of hibiscus cake, forced a smile, and left the study.

Pei Yuance watched from the side, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

Compared to the troublemaker Dekang, his sister is much better; she's well-behaved and intelligent.

The Third Prince left the study and headed to Changqiu Palace.

As I passed by the palace, I was bumped into by a palace maid who was walking hurriedly.

Before the Third Prince could speak, the eunuch who served him immediately came out and angrily rebuked the palace maid.

The Third Prince looked at the trembling palace maid kneeling on the ground, pleading for forgiveness, and spoke up to defuse the situation, "The Empress Dowager is still waiting, don't delay her."

After the Third Prince left, Chunhua, her face pale, ran back to the palace.

"Princess, I have already delivered the handkerchief you embroidered to Her Majesty the Empress."

Pei Zhi put down her brush and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

Pei Zhi looked Chunhua up and down. "What happened? Why is your face so pale?"

Chunhua couldn't hold back and confessed everything.

"On the way back, I accidentally bumped into the Third Prince. I was terrified. I thought I would never see the princess again."

Pei Zhi frowned slightly and said, "Did you bump into Third Brother?"

Pei Zhi was relieved to see that the sachet she had given to Chunhua was still hanging properly at her waist.

"His Highness is magnanimous and did not hold it against this servant."

Pei Zhi had calculated the time perfectly; Chunhua should see the Third Prince on her way back.

Unexpectedly, Chunhua ran into the Third Prince.

"Chunhua, the sachet I gave you is a bit worn out. Let me replace it with a new one."

Chunhua quickly declined, "I am already extremely honored that the princess has given me a sachet, how could I dare to accept a second one?"

Pei Zhi said gently, "It's alright. I have nothing better to do than embroider more sachets, and no one will give them to me."

Pei Zhi insisted, so Chunhua could only take off her sachet and hand it to Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi took out a pink sachet embroidered with lotus flowers from the cabinet and handed it to Chunhua.

Chunhua took it and immediately smelled a faint fragrance.

"The scent of this sachet is different from the one the princess gave me before."

Pei Zhi nodded slightly, "Since we ran out of the previous spices, I switched to a different kind."

Chunhua praised, "The princess is really amazing; she can even blend spices."

After Chunhua went to get food for Peizhi, Peizhi used scissors to cut up the sachet she had taken from Chunhua.

As for the spices, they were all buried underground.

The sachet that Chunhua is wearing today contains spices specially made by Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi had visited Changqiu Palace before, where there were many mimosa flowers.

The Third Prince has been tainted with Pei Zhi's special perfume and has also smelled the fragrance of mimosa flowers. Tonight, a good show is sure to unfold.

Pei Zhi's original plan was simply for Chunhua to meet the Third Prince.

As a result, Chunhua bumped into the Third Prince, which must have made the effect even more exciting.

What Pei Zhi needs to do now is to get a good night's sleep and wait for the palace to change tomorrow.

The Third Prince was a legitimate son of the emperor. In public, he was always humble and polite, and he was also very kind to the palace servants around him.

However, Pei Zhi did not believe that any member of the royal family could be a good person.

After the Third Prince entered Changqiu Palace, he angrily smashed a room full of utensils in front of the Empress.

The Empress, however, was already used to it and continued drinking her tea.

After the Third Prince had vented his anger, the Empress asked, "Who upset you again?"

"It's all because of that Dekang! She actually dared to point her finger at me and curse me today! She deserves to die!"

"Alright." The Empress frowned. "Why are you arguing with her? In a while, I'll find her a good family and marry her off, so she won't be an eyesore in your eyes anymore."

The Third Prince's words were rather blunt: "Mother, you make it sound so easy. Do you think the people you're referring to, like Dekang and her daughter, will listen to you?"

The Empress also lost face, even though she was the head of the harem.

If Consort Gao and her daughter truly feared the Empress, Dekang would not have acted so recklessly.

The Empress could only sigh and say, "In the end, it's all because of your father, the Emperor, who spoiled Dekang too much."

"You should be more discreet in front of outsiders, lest the people in Mingyue Palace find something to use against you."

“Isn’t Prince Thoreau here to ask for the princess’s hand in marriage? I think it would be a good opportunity to send Dekang away.”

The Empress looked helpless. "Dekang is favored by your father, the Emperor. With so many princesses in the harem, there's no way he would be sent to marry a foreign ruler."

The Third Prince mentioned it casually; he knew it was impossible.

The Empress ordered the Changqiu Palace to be thoroughly cleaned inside and out, and the palace maids went to the storeroom to fetch new vases and filled them with freshly picked lilies.

Beside the Third Prince was a large vase of lilies in full bloom.

The Third Prince was answering the Empress's question when he suddenly stopped.