"This tea is what's left over from yesterday..."

Li Chang'an finally couldn't hold back any longer and had no choice but to speak his mind, his lips twitching.

Originally, Li Chang'an wasn't thirsty, but he was afraid that not drinking the tea would offend the other person. But who knew that this person would keep going on and on? He realized that if he didn't tell her that the tea was no longer drinkable, he would probably have to drink the whole pot of overnight cold tea today.

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and Suzaku felt like he really needed to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Then...then I'll go brew another pot."

After a long silence, Suzaku finally spoke up.

The constant furrowing of his brows perfectly conveyed the unhappiness in his heart.

"No, thank you, I don't want any."

Seeing that Li Chang'an had already said so, Zhuque had no choice but to put down the teapot in her hand again, and then said, "Then what would you like to eat? Or what would you like to cook? Just tell me, and I'll go and prepare it."

Seeing the woman's still stiff tone and serious expression, Li Chang'an couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.

Feng Beichuan really put the wrong person by his side. He didn't need any personal maid to serve him at all, and Zhuque was not supposed to be doing that job either.

"You can sit down and rest. I don't need anything."

Seeing Zhuque standing there, Li Chang'an felt really annoyed, so he tried to soften his tone and avoid making the atmosphere between the two of them too awkward.

Zhuque remained unmoved, which finally angered Li Chang'an. She stood up and forcefully pressed Zhuque's shoulder to make her sit down in a chair. Then she said helplessly, "I know you didn't come here voluntarily. If you really don't want to, go back to the Regent's Palace. I will explain to Feng Beichuan that this is due to my personal reasons."

Her words were indeed heartfelt, but Zhuque was unmoved. She pursed her thin lips and said indifferently, "Since I am going to follow Your Highness, I will continue to follow. I know that as your personal maid, there are many things I am not good at, but I will learn and try my best to satisfy you."

Li Chang'an didn't know that Zhuque was an extremely competitive person. Not only was she a secret guard in the Regent's Palace, but even now, if she were to be the personal maid of someone she didn't like or even knew well, she would still be dutiful and conscientious.

After saying that, Zhuque stood up again and walked to Li Chang'an's side to stand guard, his face still showing a serious and rigid expression.

Now Li Chang'an was quite interested in this person. He hadn't expected that with such an eccentric master as Feng Beichuan and a clownish companion like Cang Yun, this person could still maintain such a unique personality.

That's truly rare!

Thinking of this, Li Chang'an raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. Then he turned to look at Zhuque with a burning gaze: "Since that's the case, you don't need to be too reserved. Anyway, I've never liked these master-servant rules. Why don't we all just do as we please? I've never treated you like a maid."

Li Chang'an's words were sincere, and Zhuque's heart stirred. The tense expression on her face eased considerably. She thought to herself that this Princess Yong'an was quite different from the one she had met before. Perhaps she had been generalizing from a single instance all along.

Although Li Chang'an didn't care about those superficial things, Zhuque was still very clear about her current identity, so she simply nodded slightly: "Then thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."

Li Chang'an couldn't help but chuckle, then pressed the man back into the chair: "You should just sit down! I know you're a reliable person, and you'll definitely be of great help to me when I need you in the future, so I'm already grateful enough, why bother with any talk of taking responsibility?"

This time, Suzaku finally gave up and sat down properly.

Before things had settled down for even a moment, a servant came in to announce that Lady Qin Xia had arrived.

Li Chang'an raised an eyebrow, then stood up and went out the door. Zhuque followed closely behind. As soon as they stepped out the door, they saw Qin Xiashi and Xing'er coming into the courtyard.

Upon seeing Li Chang'an, Qin Xia forced a smile onto her already unattractive face. She then quickly walked forward and saw a completely unfamiliar face.

"I don't think I've seen this young lady before. Is she a friend of the madam?"

Qin Xia looked Zhuque up and down, and her intuition told her that this woman was not someone to be trifled with, so she spoke to her in an exceptionally polite manner.

Zhuque felt uncomfortable under this person's gaze, so she spoke coldly before Li Chang'an could, saying, "I am His Highness's personal maid. Aunt Xia is too kind."

After saying that, she glanced at Li Chang'an, who was slightly stunned, and nodded slightly before saying nothing more.

Li Chang'an originally intended to nod and tell Qin Xia that Zhuque was his friend, but the words he was about to say were abruptly cut off.

Qin Xia was also taken aback, wondering why Li Chang'an had never had a personal maid before. Then she frowned slightly, thinking that if this was the case, wouldn't there be one more person opposing her in the future?

Well, we can only deal with things as they come.

Qin Xia composed herself and was about to exchange pleasantries with Zhuque when Li Chang'an didn't give her the chance, asking directly, "What brings you here, Aunt?"

This sudden question caught Qin Xia off guard. For a moment, she didn't know how to phrase it, and after hesitating for a while, she finally gritted her teeth and said, "I...I came about the brocade workshop. Although the original person in charge made a mistake, it didn't warrant being fired directly, did it? And now they've replaced him with someone whose background I don't know. It's really not appropriate. Madam, could you...give me a chance? This, this is also for the sake of the shop..."

After hearing these illegitimate and dubious words, Li Chang'an couldn't help but sneer inwardly—what was bound to happen had finally arrived.

"Auntie, what you're saying is truly laughable. Is it for the good of the shop or for the good of your own family? Your younger brother must have made quite a bit of money from the brocade workshop over the years. If Auntie thinks dismissing him is inappropriate, then why don't we go directly to the government office?"

Li Chang'an's words were incisive and merciless, leaving Qin Xia speechless.

She was secretly alarmed that Li Chang'an had actually learned about her relationship with the old manager of the brocade workshop.

She had originally wanted to take a gamble, but now that the matter was out in the open, she certainly couldn't send her younger brother to jail.

"Your teachings are correct; I did not think things through properly."

Madam Qin gritted her teeth and left Li Chang'an's courtyard with Xing'er, thus temporarily bringing the matter to a close.