Qiao Zhen took a deep breath. Lu Yuanchuan had already made such a confident gesture. If she asked any more questions, it would seem pretentious. She looked at Lu Yuanchuan with a calm gaze and said, "Alright, it's not difficult for the Qiao family to apologize to Miss Lin."

Lu Yuanchuan realized that she had only said half of what she meant, but he couldn't guess the rest of what she was hiding. He frowned slightly, but didn't take it to heart.

As Lin Yuyun got up with a soft moan, Qiao Zhen walked in under everyone's gaze. The humiliation etched into her bones made her completely give up on Lu Yuanchuan.

“Miss Lin, the Qiao family has wronged you today; they shouldn’t have coveted your things.”

Lin Yuyun was somewhat flattered and overjoyed, "No, this humble woman dares not accept such praise."

Qiao Zhen looked at the hidden joy in Lin Yuyun's eyes, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips. "Just tell me, will you accept Qiao's apology or not?"

Lin Yuyun stammered, "This humble woman cannot accept it."

Qiao Zhen twirled around, pulling at her wide sleeves. She went out and looked at Emperor Qi, Lord Lin, and Lu Yuanchuan. "Just now, I only agreed to express my slightest apology to Miss Lin, but I did not agree to make her accept it. Furthermore, it is understandable that she cannot accept my apology."

Emperor Qi felt that if Lu Yuanchuan and Lord Lin dared to grumble any further, he would inevitably lose his temper. Fortunately, the two of them were perceptive. "The pearl and jade have also fallen into the lake today, so you should go back and rest."

Qiao Zhen bowed and said, "Zhuyu, I take my leave."

Xu Ruan was guarding the door.

"Ah Kuang, let's leave the palace." Qiao Zhen's gaze towards Xu Ruan Kuang was gentle, so gentle that it gradually became misty.

Xu Ruankuang looked at Qiao Zhen helplessly, scratching his head and racking his brains for a solution. Finally, he casually plucked a handful of delicate pink flowers from the garden and placed them in front of Qiao Zhen. "Princess, these flowers are for you. Could you... smile?"

Qiao Zhen looked at the large bald patch in the flowerbed of the Imperial Garden, and she laughed through her tears, "These are flowers in the Imperial Garden, you can't just pick them, or you'll get a beating."

Xu Ruankuang grinned and said, "As long as the princess is happy, I'm tough and resilient. It's worth taking a beating."

Qiao Zhen took the bunch of flowers from Xu Ruankuang's hand. She looked around and, when no one was around, hid the flowers in her wide sleeve. "It's good to hide them. We'll take them out when we leave the palace."

Three days later.

After thinking it over for three days and three nights, Qiao Zhen decided to ask Emperor Qi for her hand in marriage with Xu Ruan Kuang.

Therefore, she came to the Imperial Study once again.

"Zhuyu greets Father Emperor, and has something to ask of you." Qiao Zhen knelt before the desk, her back straight, her eyes radiating a determined light.

Emperor Qi lifted his old face, which had been buried in the memorials, and asked, "What is it?"

Qiao Zhen clasped his hands and kowtowed on the ground, "Please, Father, issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage. Zhu Yu shall marry Xu Ruan Kuang."

Emperor Qi couldn't understand what Qiao Zhen was thinking. "Have you thought this through?"

"Yes, Zhuyu has pondered this for three days and will certainly not regret it later."

So Qiao Zhen returned to the princess's residence refreshed, carrying the bright yellow cloth. Once back, she stuffed the imperial edict into Xu Ruan's hands, asking, "Let's see what's inside?"

Xu Ruankuang unfolded the imperial edict, and its contents filled him with disbelief, surprise, ecstasy, and finally, a silly grin.

Qiao Zhen looked at Xu Ruankuang, who was grinning foolishly, and began to paint a rosy picture for him, "I know you like me very much, and I'm afraid no one in this world likes me more than you, so I want to marry you. But I still have Lu Yuanchuan in my heart. Will you wait for me and slowly fall in love with you?"

Xu Ruankuang, whose IQ had plummeted to negative numbers, grinned and laughed heartily, "Actually, even if the princess doesn't marry me, I will still be happy with her."

Qiao Zhen looked at his happy expression and was also influenced by the atmosphere he was radiating. "Remember to arrange the wedding. We will get married in a month. It doesn't need to be too grand. Just do your best."

"The princess's wedding must be a grand affair!" This was the first time Xu Ruan Kuang had gone against Qiao Zhen's wishes. "I have saved up a lot of money over the years, and my father taught me how to make money, so I have enough to give the princess a grand wedding."

Qiao Zhen had clearly gone off-topic. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "You have plenty of money? How much?"

Xu Ruankuang said shyly, "Half, half of Qingfeng Pavilion. Back in Li Kingdom, my father and the Grand Preceptor were very close. The Grand Preceptor saw through the secrets of heaven and then made another way to make a living with my father. The two of them each got half of Qingfeng Pavilion. Later, my father passed away, and the half of Qingfeng Pavilion that belonged to my father came into my hands."

Qiao Zhen recalled the original owner's memories, "The Imperial Advisor doesn't seem to have any brothers or sisters, nor a wife or children."

Xu Ruan lowered her head shyly, "From now on, the entire Qingfeng Pavilion will belong to the princess."

Qingfeng Pavilion is a chain of rouge shops in several countries, and it also has a side business. Although it cannot rank on the income list of several countries, it is still a considerable source of income.

Within a few days, news of Princess Zhuyu's impending marriage to General Xu spread throughout Qijing.

Xu Ruan Kuang also visited all the shops in Qijing and brought back many things to the princess's residence for Qiao Zhen to choose from when they got married.

People kept coming to the princess's residence to offer their congratulations, and the threshold was almost worn down by the officials.

Lu Yuanchuan arrived late, and Qiao Zhen dismissed everyone, even Xu Ruankuang, leaving only the two of them in the guest hall, speechless. Qiao Zhen smiled first, "Young Master Lu, have you come today to congratulate this princess on her marriage?"

With a calm expression, Lu Yuanchuan remained expressionless throughout. "Princess, marriage is not a game. Don't let your anger from the past few days cause you to hold a grudge."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!