Chapter 316 His Highness has truly never acted like this towards a girl before!

"Your Highness, the Second Princess... is about to depart for the Jin Kingdom."

Xie Yunchuan replied to her, "Mm."

"Actually, the Second Princess, she..." Li Manyan felt awkward not saying anything, so she kept thinking about what topic to bring up. Subconsciously, she wanted to mention that Shengsheng had asked her to keep an eye on Xie Yunchuan.

Fortunately, Li Manyan stopped herself in time, realizing that Sheng Sheng probably didn't want Xie Yunchuan to know about this, and shut up.

"Uh, I mean, the Second Princess is still very young. It must be very worrying for His Highness to go to such a far place as Jin Kingdom at such a young age, right?"

Xie Yunchuan smiled calmly, neither nodding nor shaking his head: "Everyone has to grow up eventually."

Despite saying that, the emotions in Xie Yunchuan's eyes did not lie.

Li Manyan smiled and said knowingly, "Yes, everyone has to grow up eventually."

Flowers bloom and fade, spring comes and autumn goes. Xie Yunchuan was prepared to protect Shengsheng for a lifetime, but he would not force her to be a hothouse flower. Since Shengsheng wanted to grow on her own, then so be it.

Time passed quickly, and the banquet began.

In the afternoon, in order to make room for Xie Yunchuan and Li Manyan, Sheng Sheng chased Yan Hu around all afternoon and was almost starving.

Just a quarter of an hour before the banquet, Sheng Sheng finally led Yan Hu leisurely back to the corner where the crabapple blossoms were in full bloom.

Yan Hu walked proudly beside Sheng Sheng, except that Sheng Sheng had clipped crabapple blossoms to his ears and tail with small clips. The pink petals bloomed in Yan Hu's golden fur, making Yan Hu look a bit more delicate.

Sheng Sheng liked him more and more as she looked at him, and praised him with a giggle: "Yan Hu, you are so cute."

Yan Hu calmly replied, "Oh, I've always been handsome."

"Not handsome, just adorable!" Sheng Sheng corrected him. "I really want to bring a mirror for you to see. You have no idea how well these crabapple blossoms suit you. You're just too beautiful! Hehe, crabapple blossom puppy!"

"oh."

Yan Hu remained calm, but his increasingly rapid tail wagging betrayed his happiness.

She smiled but remained silent, not exposing his true intentions.

"Yan Hu, what do you think my brother and sister Yan Yan are doing right now?"

"I don't know, he might be chatting with Ms. Li."

"Um……"

Sheng Sheng nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Yan Hu, has your brother never been like this before? What Sheng Sheng means is, well, being so nice and close to a girl."

“Yes,” Yan Hu said.

"Huh?" Sheng Sheng was startled and stopped to ask him, "Who else has your brother been so nice to?"

Hearing this seemingly random statement, Zhui Feng became agitated and began to defend his former master: "Princess, please don't misunderstand. His Highness the Second has never treated anyone like that. Not to mention a girl, even a man has never been treated like that by His Highness. Miss Li is definitely the first!"

Zhui Feng was a little anxious and spoke very quickly. Zi Juan looked at him with some curiosity: "Lord Zhui Feng, this is the first time I've heard you speak so much so quickly. You were always so aloof before."

Zhui Feng was somewhat embarrassed: "After all, she is the Second Prince's person, so naturally we have to protect her. Besides, what I said is true; it is indeed the first time His Highness has fallen for a girl."

"Ha!" Sheng Sheng seized on the key point, "So you guys could also tell that brother likes sister Yan Yan?"

Zhui Feng nodded: "Having followed His Highness the Second Prince for nearly ten years, I naturally understand him."

“That’s true.” Sheng Sheng nodded, then asked Yan Hu, “Yan Hu, what are you talking about? Who else has my brother been so nice to?”

"Yan Hu, His Highness is so good to you, so don't say anything out of line!" Zhui Feng wasn't sure if Yan Hu could understand him, but he still said a warning to Yan Hu.

Yan Hu glanced at him indifferently and slowly said, "Of course it's—the Imperial Concubine and you, Sheng Sheng."

After saying that, Yan Hu ran off like a mischievous child who had just finished a prank.

Sheng Sheng was stunned, realizing that she had been tricked by Yan Hu. She chased after him angrily: "You, Yan Hu, you stinky Yan Hu, you've actually learned to play tricks on people!"

When the group returned to their original spot, they saw Xie Yunchuan and Li Manyan sitting on a long stone bench, one on each side, with enough space between them for three people to sit.

Neither of them spoke; they simply sat together quietly, watching the crabapple blossoms across from them being gently swayed by the breeze.

Sheng Sheng slowed her pace, somewhat reluctant to break the silence between the two.

Although they were quite a distance apart and no one was speaking, Sheng Sheng felt that the scene was too harmonious, as if no one could squeeze into their little world.

Fortunately, the corner that Sheng Sheng chose was far away from most of the game areas, and most of the other people were busy playing games, so no one bothered them for the past half hour.

"Cough cough."

Li Manyan turned her head and smiled, "Shengsheng is back?"

"Hmm." Sheng Sheng cleared her throat and walked over casually, even pretending to catch her breath a few times, saying, "Hey, Yan Hu has recently entered his rebellious phase. He ran around for ages, and Sheng Sheng was exhausted from chasing him."

Yan Hu sat upright at Sheng Sheng's feet, wagging its tail as it watched the two people on the stone bench.

Xie Yunchuan raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and took the lead in walking towards the banquet area. "Let's go, we've come so far, don't go hungry."

Sheng Sheng replied with a smile, "Oh, okay."

Although neither Li Manyan nor Xie Yunchuan said a word, Sheng Sheng could sense that both of them were in good spirits.

Neither of them mentioned a word about what happened when they were alone together.

Li Manyan smiled and extended her hand to Shengsheng, "Let's go."

"Um!"

When the group arrived at the banquet venue, the male guests and female guests were separated on both sides by a row of screens.

Xie Yunchuan went to the men's section, while Shengsheng followed Li Manyan to the women's section.

Just as Sheng Sheng stepped onto the stairs, Xie Yunjia came over, yawning.

"Wait for me."

Seeing her sleepy face, Sheng Sheng asked, "Why are you so sleepy, Your Highness?"

Xie Yunjia replied lazily, "Those two little rascals, Xie Yunqi and Lu Chi, have been playing pitch-pot the whole time. I was tired of watching them even though they weren't. Before I knew it, I fell asleep in the pavilion and took a short nap."

"Oh, no wonder she looks like she hasn't woken up yet. My elder sister must not have had enough sleep, but it's time for the banquet, so she was forcibly woken up by Sister Xiaotao, right?"

Xiao Tao smiled and said, "Second Princess is really amazing, she guessed it right away! The Spring Banquet usually involves enjoying some music before dinner, so it's earlier than usual. The First Princess hasn't had enough sleep yet, so she looks sleepy like this."

Xie Yunjia crossed her arms and said expressionlessly, "What's so good about the song? This princess has decided to cancel this segment from now on."

Li Manyan was amused by her and smiled as she soothed her morning grumpiness: "Princess, don't be angry. Today's tune is no ordinary tune. Maybe it will cheer you up after you hear it."