In Chapter 31, he began to speak up for Shen Wantang.

Xiao Qingyuan was stunned: "Yanluo, didn't you say that bird's nest soup was just something you mentioned casually? Why do you insist on drinking bird's nest soup now?"

"You don't even care about what I mentioned casually? It's just a bowl of bird's nest soup. If you can't even fulfill such a small request, then I'm leaving!"

As Chu Yanluo spoke, she sat up, making a move to leave.

Xiao Qingyuan hurriedly stopped her: "Yanluo, don't go! It's all my fault, I can't even make bird's nest soup. Don't be angry, and don't move around. Just lie down."

Chu Yanlu was just making a fuss on purpose. She could already smell the aroma of the pigeon soup, and its delicious smell made her mouth water: "You can't make bird's nest soup, so how can you make pigeon soup? Did you ask the kitchen to make it just for me?"

"this……"

Xiao Qingyuan hesitated, unsure whether he should tell her the truth.

"What's all this and that? Is there something you're not comfortable saying, Your Highness? Or are you annoyed that I'm causing you trouble here, which is why you're being so hesitant? If that's the case, then I'll leave!"

As Chu Yanluo spoke, she was about to get up again.

Xiao Qingyuan quickly pressed her down: "No, how could I mind that you're causing me trouble? I'm happy to have you living here! I'm just afraid you'll be upset if I tell you."

"How could I be unhappy? You know me well, Your Highness. I'm a very generous person, not the petty kind of person. Just tell me what's on your mind."

Relieved, Xiao Qingyuan opened the food box and showed her the pigeon soup: "Actually, I got this from Shen Wantang. She only served herself one bowl, and I took the rest. I thought this could help you recover. Drink it first, and the imperial physician will come to give it to you in a little while..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Yanluo stood up, picked up the food box, and threw it out the window.

With a "crack," the clay pot shattered, releasing a rich aroma of pigeon soup.

Xiao Qingyuan was incredulous. He rushed to the window and saw that the pot of soup and pigeon had all fallen to the ground and were no longer drinkable or edible.

He couldn't help but raise his voice: "Yanluo, what are you doing?!"

Chu Yanluo's face was filled with anger: "Xiao Qingyuan, you let me live in the Prince's mansion, so you expect me to drink other people's leftovers? Do you think I, Chu Yanluo, am so worthless that you want me to pick up what Shen Wantang doesn't want to nourish my body?"

"This isn't what she left over! Didn't you hear what I just said? She only ladled out a bowl of soup, picked up a little bit of meat, and didn't touch anything else!"

"What do you mean 'nothing else was touched'? How else does she need to move it? Does it have to be just bones to be considered 'leftovers'? You're trying to fob me off like a beggar!"

Xiao Qingyuan was both angry and heartbroken. He hadn't even drunk a drop of the wine himself in order to bring it back to nourish her body, but she had thrown it all away, saying it was to appease a beggar!

Who exactly is the beggar? Is it Xiao Qingyuan?

He was starving, yet he kept running around trying to make her the bird's nest soup she wanted, but she didn't appreciate it at all.

A sense of disappointment crept into his heart.

Previously, he only thought of Chu Yanluo as a fairy from heaven, untouched by worldly affairs, aloof and proud like a pure white snow lotus, which made him yearn for her.

But now that they've spent time together, they realize that Chu Yanluo isn't some kind of fairy; she's just an ordinary mortal with a lot of worldly thoughts in her head.

He turned and walked out, his voice much calmer: "Since you still have the energy to smash the food box and the inclination to complain about the pigeon soup, it seems you're not hungry. I'm hungry, so I'm going out to find something to eat. Help yourself!"

Chu Yanluo never expected him to abandon her. She suddenly burst into tears: "Xiao Qingyuan, how dare you yell at me? You begged me to come to your palace, it wasn't my choice! I, Chu Yanluo, would rather starve to death than eat someone else's leftovers. I haven't fallen so low as to beg for food!"

Seeing her cry, Xiao Qingyuan couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, but he was still angry, so he stood there without moving.

Chu Yanluo continued to cry: "Xiao Qingyuan, if you don't like me anymore and like your princess consort, you can just tell me directly. Why humiliate me like this? I always thought you were different from all the men in the world, but now it seems you're no different from them. You're all fickle and irresponsible. All those vows of eternal love were just lies to me! If even you treat me like this, then I have no reason to live."

After she finished speaking, she slammed her head against the corner of the table.

Xiao Qingyuan was immediately startled. He quickly stepped forward and hugged Chu Yanluo tightly: "Yanluo, don't do anything foolish!"

"Let me go. You've already fallen for someone else anyway. What does it matter to you whether I live or die?"

Xiao Qingyuan panicked slightly: "How could I like Shen Wantang? The person I've always loved is you, and it will always be you in this lifetime. I will never fall for someone else. I'm not lying to you, nor am I trying to humiliate you. How could I bear to do that?"

"Don't cry. I apologize. It was my fault this time. I won't do it again. I promise I'll have the kitchen prepare a special meal for you, okay?"

Chu Yanluo leaned against his chest, crying, "Your Highness, will you really love me forever?"

"Really, I could never like anyone but you. You are the most special, the one who makes my heart flutter the most."

Hearing this, Chu Yanluo was finally satisfied. She cried for a while and then tried to sow discord between Shen Wantang and others: "Your Highness, you are too naive. You actually dared to bring back Shen Wantang's things for me to eat. Aren't you afraid that she will poison me? You can't be too careful!"

Xiao Qingyuan subconsciously said, "She wouldn't, she's not that kind of person."

Chu Yanluo angrily hit him: "You're still siding with her?!"

"No, no, Yanluo, I saw Shen Wantang drink that soup with my own eyes. If she poisoned it, wouldn't she have poisoned herself too? Besides, she didn't expect me to go to her place, let alone expect me to take the pigeon soup. Unless she could predict the future, why would she poison the soup?"

Seeing Chu Yanluo's rare closeness to him, Xiao Qingyuan's anger and disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by a joyful delight.

He hugged her tightly and comforted her, saying, "Yanluo, don't think too much. Overthinking is bad for your health. Shen Wantang isn't a bad person. She's just a pitiful person who can't control her own destiny."

Chu Yanluo felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. Why was Xiao Qingyuan's attitude towards Shen Wantang different? He clearly disliked her before, but now he was actually speaking up for her!

Did this happen in your previous life?

Chu Yanlu thought about it carefully and rejected the answer in her heart.

In his previous life, it was Shen Mingxuan who married into the family, and Xiao Qingyuan never said a good word for her from beginning to end. He always expressed his disgust when Shen Mingxuan was mentioned!

In this life, Xiao Qingyuan should have always disliked Shen Wantang, so why did he change?