Madam Lu murmured in the carriage, "No wonder...no wonder the princess stood up for me yesterday."

Prime Minister Lu asked, "What?"

Madam Lu recounted the events of yesterday in detail: "blablabla... No wonder the princess stood up for me; it turns out it was because of A-Chuan."

She believed that Qiao Zhen said yesterday that it was for the sake of both Lu Yuanchuan and Lu Yuanliu, and that Lu Yuanliu was just covering for Lu Yuanchuan, so she consciously omitted Lu Yuanliu.

That was a godsend!

Standing on the carriage shaft, Lu Yuanchuan listened to the sounds coming from the gap in the carriage curtain, and the string of reason in his mind snapped instantly.

He turned and strode back to the princess's living room, only to see Qiao Zhen pouting in annoyance. He gave a very unpleasant smile. "Zhenzhen, do you dare to defy my imperial decree?"

Qiao Zhen watched Lu Yuanchuan return, and a smile bloomed on her lips. But for some reason, as she smiled, a wet streak of water ran down her face. "Lu Yuanchuan, I thought I would never see you take a step toward me in this lifetime, and that's enough."

She raised her hand to wipe the wetness from her cheek, then brushed past Lu Yuanchuan.

Lu Yuanchuan tried to reach out and grab Qiao Zhen's arm, but for the first time, he grabbed nothing.

It turns out that she had been deliberately letting him hold on all along, waiting for him to take the first step, but he was like a blind man, never appreciating her.

If the two could part ways peacefully and each find their own happiness, that would probably be the most poignant ending.

But that's impossible, because it's not poignant enough.

Two weeks later.

At Qiao Zhen and Xu Ruan Kuang's wedding, layers upon layers of assassins in black suddenly appeared, surrounding Qiao Zhen's sedan chair.

Xu Ruankuang, Lu Yuanchuan, and Lu Yuanliu all fought their way in to rescue Qiao Zhen.