To get back to Chonghua Hall from Pixiang Hall, you have to pass through the Imperial Garden. Not to mention the scenery, the precious flowers carefully cultivated in the greenhouse are enough to make people admire them.

Qing Suo deliberately walked slowly, since it was still early, and simply started with the most recent introduction: "The peonies here are in the best bloom, all carefully cultivated by the gardeners every day, especially 'Wei Zi' and 'Yao Huang' which are the Crown Princess's favorites."

Her gaze fell on Li Shiyue, and she raised her hand to guide Li Shiyue to look to her right, where there was a large expanse of white magnolias.

This is the imperial garden in the palace. The flowers here were carefully selected and meticulously cultivated by the gardeners. Li Shiyue sighed inwardly, but then she heard hurried footsteps behind her, seemingly heading straight for her.

Qing Suo had sharp eyes, but before she could speak, just as she was about to kneel down, the man had already strode up to Li Shiyue and unexpectedly pushed her with both hands.

The man seemed to hate her intensely, his hands were incredibly strong. Li Shiyue could only turn around and see a corner of the brocade on the man's body before she fell to the ground without seeing anything else.

His palms instinctively braced themselves against the ground, turning bright red from the irregular pebbles.

"Princess Chunhui!" Qing Suo immediately shielded Li Shiyue, kneeling on the cobblestones, her expression serious but showing no fear.

"Ye Qingsuo, a second-rank Shangyi of Chonghua Palace, pays respects to Your Highness the Princess."

She couldn't help but sigh. This princess had never liked learning manners since childhood, but as the only daughter of the emperor, she was spoiled rotten, and now she had developed such a pampered nature. She straightened up and quickly helped Li Shiyue up.

Princess Chunhui was dressed in elaborate palace attire today. After hearing Qing Suo's words, she flicked her wide sleeves and glanced at Li Shiyue: "So you are someone from the Crown Princess's side. However, I have some matters to attend to today, so please do not make things difficult for me."

Qing Suo subtly shielded Li Shiyue from view and met Princess Chunhui's angry face: "It is the princess's business to deal with whomever she wishes, but Miss Biao was invited into the palace by the Crown Princess. If she has done anything wrong here, she should speak to the Crown Princess."

Princess Chunhui was furious and acted arrogantly: "Of course I'll talk to my sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, and say that a cousin who lives under someone else's roof dares to try and get the position of the wife of the heir of the Rongguo Duke's mansion! It's a pity that Father Emperor praised you as a sensible girl and took pity on you, which is why he wanted to take you in as his goddaughter. You? You're not worthy!"

"A wild chicken from a poor, remote village, unloved by its father and mother, dares to fly up to the top and become a phoenix. Today, I will teach you a lesson, you disrespectful woman!"

Li Shiyue's eyes were red, and she clenched her hands tightly, not afraid that Princess Chunhui's hand would fall on her cheek.

He raised his hand and grasped Princess Chunhui's wrist, preventing her from breaking free: "You can say whatever you want, but why does the princess have the right to speak ill of my mother?"

So what if she's a princess? She's the emperor's daughter—does that mean she can bully people at will?

"It is true that I am living in the Xu family, but I am not dependent on others. As for the princess's claim that I am trying to climb the social ladder to become the crown prince's wife, that is completely unfounded. I urge the princess to be careful with her words and not tarnish my and my cousin's reputation."

“Yunzhong County is indeed far from the capital, but for thousands of years, whether it is the bustling capital or the remote frontier, it is all part of the Great Yong territory. Many more people come from the poor and remote places the princess mentioned, but they all have one thing in common: whether they are ‘pheasants’ or ‘phoenixes’, they are all subjects of the Emperor.”

Li Shiyue stood up straight, and apart from the redness at the corners of her eyes, nothing else could be seen.

Princess Chunhui couldn't break free. Hearing Li Shiyue's words, her face turned bright red, whether from shame or anger, she couldn't tell. After a long silence, she could only say, "Sharp-tongued!"

Li Shiyue smiled sarcastically, released her hand, and let Princess Chunhui stare at her hatefully.

Suddenly, Princess Chunhui stared at the direction behind her, her eyes shining, and she bumped past Li Shiyue's shoulder and walked straight over.

But then she choked up, as if complaining: "Brother Lizhe, look, your cousin clearly has ulterior motives towards you. I only said a few words, and she actually started lecturing me. She has no manners at all and is simply lowering the reputation of the Xu family!"

"The death of Lady Yunyang must also be related to her. The Marquis of Yunyang didn't care for her, so she must be a scourge! A nemesis!"

She babbled on and on, but Xu Yunci acted as if he hadn't heard her at all, not even glancing at her, and strode over to Li Shiyue, who was bowing her head.

Xu Yunci suddenly raised his hands and covered Li Shiyue's ears with them. His face remained cold and indifferent. When his gaze fell on the reddened corners of Li Shiyue's eyes, a layer of gloom suddenly appeared in his eyes.

With her ears exposed, Xu Yunci's palms weren't particularly warm, but they covered a few strands of hair, causing a slight itch at her earlobes. Even though no one spoke, Li Shiyue felt her eyes welling up and her nose stinging; suddenly, two streams of tears slid down her cheeks.

Mingming was angry and wanted to cry when she heard Princess Chunhui mention her mother, but she knew that crying would be useless.

Now, I can clearly hold back.

Xu Yunci remained silent, covering Li Shiyue's ears with both hands, refusing to move an inch. The little cousin hung her head, wishing she could bury it under her cloak.

From initially shedding silent tears, to later sobbing softly.

The grievances in Li Shiyue's heart surged up like the rising tide, wave after wave. She tried to hold back, but her nose stung, and the grievances that welled up were even stronger than before.

"Xu Lizhe!"

Princess Chunhui's shrill scream stopped Li Shiyue's sobbing instantly, but she lowered her head even further.

Xu Yunci pulled the hood of Li Shiyue's cloak back up for her, then stood in front of her, completely concealing her petite figure. His eyes were devoid of any warmth, even more chilling than the cold wind in the imperial garden.

Princess Chunhui's eyes welled with tears, and she took a half-step back as if in lingering fear: "Xu...Xu Lizhe..."

"It seems that there are some things that the princess has not yet understood what I mean."

"Now that Yan Yan is living in the Duke's mansion, she is a member of the Xu family. She is not just a guest in someone else's house, but a mistress of the Xu family. I urge the princess to keep her mouth shut and not to point fingers at the Xu family in the future."

"Brother Lize, don't you understand my feelings?" Princess Chunhui looked angrily at Li Shiyue behind him, but unfortunately she could only see the hem of his clothes.

Xu Yunci lowered his eyes and cupped his hands: "Your Highness is Your Highness. I dare not, nor do I have any intention of coveting such a thing. I beg Your Highness not to disturb my life with my family any further."

Princess Chunhui was shocked to see him draw a clear line between them. Her tear-streaked face was full of shock. Her lips moved but she couldn't say anything. Then, following the direction she had come from, a young woman walked over.