Moreover, her original intention was not to steal the limelight, but simply to tell Princess Chunhui that such a tactic to embarrass her was too low-class.

After the song, those who wanted to see Li Shiyue make a fool of herself were disappointed, since if they had actually gone up there, they might not have been much better than her.

When Li Shiyue stood up, she looked at Princess Chunhui, then at the others, and smiled slightly: "It's Yichang who's making a fool of himself."

Princess Chunhui wasn't surprised that there was nothing wrong with her; she was just in a bad mood. With a soft snort, she turned and prepared to leave with her maid, but before she even stepped out of the courtyard, she unexpectedly spotted a figure in the long corridor ahead.

Princess Chunhui's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly chased after him, lifting her skirt. Even the gold ornaments and hairpins on her body made a slight clinking sound. This was the first time she had disregarded the rules.

"Xu...Xu Lizhe!"

The figure in front of her finally stopped. Princess Chunhui's chest heaved. She lowered her hand that was holding up her skirt and walked up to Xu Yunci. She stared at the doubt and aloofness in his eyes. It was undeniable that even so, the unchanging aloofness in his eyes had already stung her eyes.

"Your subject greets the princess. May I ask what brings you here?" Xu Yunci's eyes revealed an undisguised aloofness, devoid of even the initial friendliness.

Seeing that Princess Chunhui wanted to walk forward, Xu Yunci took two steps back even faster, widening the distance between them.

Princess Chunhui's face showed a hurt expression, her eyes seemed to be filled with tears as she looked at Xu Yunci's face, and her tightly pursed lips seemed to be stubbornly refusing to let her tears fall.

She inherited all the best features of Consort Fu. Her eyes were bright and sparkling, with slightly upturned corners. Her small, straight nose led down to her thin lips.

If it were anyone else, they would surely feel sorry for her. Unfortunately, the person standing in front of her was Xu Yunci, whose heart was only a matter of a single thought when it came to being soft-hearted or hard-hearted.

Even if nothing happened, I can't even look for you now?

Xu Yunci looked puzzled, not feeling that he could say anything to her while they were interacting like this, lest someone see them and cause another misunderstanding.

He didn't speak, but Princess Chunhui understood that he was tacitly agreeing.

"Xu Lize, you held Li Shiyue's birthday banquet here. Is it because you really like her? I would rather it was someone else. Why did it have to be her?"

"A girl who caused the death of her own mother and was unloved by her father, if it weren't for this princess, she wouldn't be able to become some kind of county princess. In the end, she should thank this princess."

Xu Yunci's expression turned unpleasant when she mentioned Li Shiyue. Recalling that polo match, Xu Yunci almost gritted her teeth and said, "Should I thank the princess and the Prince of Yan for deliberately finding something to call me away, so that the princess would have the opportunity to try to harm Yan Yan?"

"How could you know..." Princess Chunhui asked subconsciously, then quickly covered her lips with her hand, looking at Xu Yunci in disbelief.

Xu Yunci's gaze lingered on Princess Chunhui's face, a gaze that revealed no emotion, yet made one feel a chill run down their spine.

"Your Highness is right to thank me. I will naturally avenge everything that Yan Yan has suffered in the past."

“She’s just a cousin living in the Duke’s mansion. Xu Lizhe, we’ve known each other for over ten years, and she’s not as good as someone who’s only been here for half a year? We’re childhood sweethearts.” Princess Chunhui said through gritted teeth.

She believed that in the past ten years or so, after Xu Yunci was chosen as the Crown Prince's companion, they had met quite a few times, but she just lost out in this less than one year.

"Childhood sweethearts?"

Xu Yunci's lips visibly curled upwards, but it was a mocking arc. He calmly stared at Princess Chunhui's face, his gaze carrying a hint of warning, and even his words were merciless.

"When the princess speaks of affection, does she mean that for more than a decade, I have never taken the initiative to have any contact with her, or does she mean that I have been dutifully serving as Your Highness's companion for more than a decade, and that the extent to which I have spoken with her is even less than that of the guards at the palace gates?"

"Rather than talking about that unfounded childhood friendship, let's talk about what the princess has done to my Xu family. The princess doesn't need to understand too much. The Xu family I'm referring to is Yan Yan."

"Whether it is Yan Yan, me, or the Xu family, I will make it clear today that none of it is the princess's business."

“Last year at the Imperial Garden, I made it very clear that if the princess harmed the Xu family, don’t blame me for being ruthless. This was true before, and it will be even more so in the future.”

"Men and women should be treated differently, so I will not delay the princess from enjoying the scenery."

Having said that, Xu Yunci didn't care about Princess Chunhui's expression. He turned around and left decisively without any hesitation. He also spoke bluntly, leaving no room for Princess Chunhui to speculate.

Watching his departing figure, Chunhui almost gritted her teeth, her lips trembling slightly, and threw the hand warmer in her hand away fiercely, the hot water inside instantly spreading across the gray stone steps.

The palace maid behind her immediately knelt down: "Princess..."

Princess Chunhui glanced at the palace maid, seemingly displeased: "Where's Bai Shao? Why is it you?"

The palace maid was young, and hearing her unpleasant tone, she quickly replied, "Sister Bai Shao said that the princess's hand warmer was getting cold, and she was worried that the princess's hands would get cold, so she went to refill it with fresh water."

Out of the corner of her eye, the palace maid saw that the person walking behind her was none other than Bai Shao, who was carrying a novice's stove, her eyes filled with expectation.

Bai Shao, dressed in a blue maid's palace dress, glanced at the palace maid kneeling on the ground, handed the hand warmer in her hand to Princess Chunhui, and then saw a water stain on the stone steps in front of her, and a hand warmer lying obediently by the wall.

"Silly girl, the princess was frightened and even dropped the hand warmer. Hurry up and clean it up."

As she spoke, she helped Princess Chunhui up and coaxed her. She was a bit older, and it was Fu Yunning who helped the Consort choose her. She was more favored by Princess Chunhui than the previous maids.

"What's wrong with our princess? Who's bullying her?"

Princess Chunhui pouted as if she was about to cry, and even her eyes seemed to be spitting fire: "It's all because of that Li Shiyue, a jinx who dares to steal the person I like."

Bai Shao understood perfectly and smiled, "The princess is the only daughter of the emperor. To be the princess's husband is an honor for all men in the world, a blessing earned over hundreds of years."

"Since that Princess Yichang is so ungrateful, the princess can simply leave her. Why get so angry? Can a subject's daughter be more noble than the princess? She should be thanking our princess for her title of Princess Yichang."