As if grasping at a straw, Gao Ping used one hand to support herself as she climbed to the door, her fingers reaching through the wooden bars to grab his sleeve, her nose panting like a bellows.

"Save me! Save me! I don't want to die!"

The jailer pulled a water pouch from his waist and handed it to her, saying hurriedly, "The Crown Prince says that the people of Chenliu have written a petition, asking the Emperor to punish you by making you go to the Empress's grave to reflect on your mistakes. This is the only chance to save your life. The Crown Prince asks if you will go?"

"Go! I'll go!" At that moment, all she wanted was to live; she didn't want to die!

She schemed and worked so hard, not to take the blame for Yuwen Wuji and die!

"Your Highness, please wait a little longer. The Crown Prince will make plans for you!"

The day the petition from Chenliu arrived in the capital was the same day the list of successful applicants was released. Cui Yan went to see the list with his entourage and, unsurprisingly, he was on it. The only drawback was that his ranking was lower than he had expected.

He thought he could be in the top 100, but perhaps when he entered the examination hall, he was thinking too much about Yongle's affairs, which affected his performance.

It's alright, he'll keep a low profile during the palace examination and shine brightly. That way, he won't have to worry about King Xuan looking down on him.

Thinking of this, he suddenly looked up at the teahouse not far away. He saw a woman dressed in a sky-blue dress sitting in the teahouse. She held a fan in her hand, which covered half of her face, but she was peeking out of the window, as if she thought that this would allow her to see the list in the distance.

Cui Yan recognized Yongle and immediately smiled. See, she must have come to see her ranking.

Who else but herself could make her worry about her like this?

Thinking of this, he walked towards the teahouse. Seeing her here today would be a good opportunity to tell her the good news of his high school entrance exam. Perhaps then she would have a good talk with Princess Xuan when she got back.

Although the emperor's decree of marriage is a foregone conclusion, if she threatens suicide, can the emperor just stand by and watch his niece die?

Cui Yan's clothes were disheveled from being jostled by the crowd. After entering the teahouse, he straightened his clothes and headed upstairs. The teahouse was packed with people today, and the waiter was extremely busy.

Cui Yan immediately recognized Yongle's private room. The servants of the Prince Xuan's residence were easy to spot; they stood guard at the door like door gods.

"I am Cui Yan. Please announce my presence. I would like to speak with your princess for a few minutes."

The gatekeeper's eyes blazed with fury upon hearing the name "Cui Yan." So this was the guy who had been keeping their princess awake and unable to eat or sleep properly!

The servant snorted and turned his head away, pretending not to hear what he said.

Seeing their attitude, Cui Yan couldn't help but get a little angry. After all, he had just passed the imperial examination and was at a time when everyone was trying to curry favor with him; how could he tolerate the arrogance of these lackeys!

But his purpose today was to see Yongle, so he raised his voice and said to the person inside, "Yongle, it's me. I have something to say to you!"

Yongle, who was inside the house, was completely bewildered when he heard the voice.

Who is it? That voice is quite unpleasant. Does she know anyone with such an unpleasant voice?

The maid whispered in her ear, "It's Cui Yan."

Upon hearing his name, Yongle immediately became displeased.

That scoundrel almost really got the better of her. When her mother told her to ask the Emperor to grant her a marriage, she was so scared that she couldn't eat or sleep!

“Go tell him that this princess doesn’t know any Cui Yan or Gou Yan, and he shouldn’t bark at my door.”

The maidservant left as instructed, finding Cui Yan's behavior distasteful. If he truly loved their princess, he should have formally proposed marriage, making his stance clear, instead of secretly instigating conflict between their princess and the prince and princess.

"Who's making such a racket here?" The maid glared at Cui Yan, and when she left, she closed the door tightly so that Cui Yan wouldn't get a second glance at their princess!

"Go and tell your princess that I am Cui Yan." Cui Yan didn't want to waste his breath on these servants. Did they even deserve to speak to him?

The maid scoffed, "Our princess said that if you don't know any Cui Yan or Gou Yan, don't bark at our princess's door!"

"You lowly servant girl, how dare you spread rumors? Aren't you afraid your mistress will find out and beat you to death! I am the object of your princess's affections!"

The maid spat, "You scoundrel, how dare you ruin our princess's reputation! Our princess has been betrothed by the Emperor, and our future consort is a young master from the Shen family. He doesn't know anyone surnamed Cui!"

Cui Yan was furious; these little devils were really troublesome! He believed that once he met Yongle, their marriage would soon be settled. But these servants were blocking his way; they must have been instructed by the Princess Consort of Xuan to treat him like this!

"I want to see your princess!"

"Do you think you can just see the princess whenever you want, you scoundrel!" the maid cursed, directing the two guards at the gate to try and throw the person down.

"What are you doing?" A clear, pleasant male voice, filled with confusion and bewilderment, interrupted their argument.

The maidservant quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Young Master Shen. I don't know where this scoundrel came from, causing trouble here. I'll have someone send him away right away!"

The maid felt a little guilty. Was this a reunion between an old flame and a new love?

Cui Yan straightened her clothes, which had been wrinkled by the servants, and looked at Shen Qingque with the air of an empress.

Shen Qingque has feminine features and is indeed handsome, but as a man, he is overly delicate and lacks masculinity. To put it bluntly, he is effeminate.

Cui Yan felt that he was much more masculine than him, and Yongle would never fall for this pretty boy!

"Brother Shen." He stepped up to Shen Qingque and realized that Shen Qingque was younger than him, but taller. He had to slightly raise his chin to meet Shen Qingque's gaze.

“Yongle and I are truly in love, and Yongle is determined to marry no one but me. Why must you ruin someone’s marriage, Brother Shen?”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingque frowned. He remained silent, simply watching Cui Yan and waiting to hear what he would say next.

"I know that your marriage was arranged by the Emperor, and I'm sure you don't want to marry the Princess. I beg you to plead with the Emperor so that we two lovers can finally be together!"

Cui Yan felt that his words were very sincere, but he heard the other party let out a sneer from the bottom of his throat.

The laughter was filled with disdain and contempt, making Cui Yan's heart skip a beat and his scalp tingle slightly. He met Shen Qingque's gaze; although the other was younger than him, his aura was not weak.

"Truly in love?" Shen Qingque questioned. "Her last love was the Prince of Xiaoyao. She must be out of her mind to even consider you."

The relentless slander ignited Cui Yan's fury. "What's wrong with us truly loving each other! Love has nothing to do with social status!"

Shen Qingque frowned her beautiful, delicate eyebrows and said, "What makes you comparable to the Carefree Prince, that would make her look at you differently?"

"And what about you? What do you have that could make her fall for you?"

That blond kid, he might not even be fully grown yet!

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Shen Qingque said something that almost made Cui Yan vomit blood: "I am better looking than the Prince of Xiaoyao."

......