Jiang Shuwan simply chuckled twice.

"Although my rank is not as high as Your Highness's, I am still on the royal register. I am giving Your Highness face, so why are you being so aggressive? I'll make my point here today: if I leave, I will take my maid with me."

"What if I don't let go?" he said calmly.

With a raised chin, Jiang Shuwan sneered, "Then you can kill me, or we can have a court audience tomorrow and see how you explain yourself to His Majesty."

"To address the Emperor in court? You're going to accuse me before His Majesty?"

“Why not?” Jiang Shuwan retorted directly.

"The old Marquis now commands the Imperial Guards, and my husband is the Vice Minister of Revenue. If word gets out that you are meeting with me in private, not only His Majesty, but even His Highness the Crown Prince will have to think twice."

"How do you know that our meeting today was not at the behest of the Crown Prince?"

Jiang Shuwan was taken aback. She really hadn't expected it, because her meeting with Li Chengyun today was purely accidental.

If it weren't for the memory of the tire tracks, one wouldn't have realized that Song Huaizhang was Li Chengyun's man.

Recently, the Crown Prince has been trying to win over Pei Yanzhi, but Pei Yanzhi has ignored him. Li Chengyun is now very close to the Crown Prince, and it is indeed possible that the Crown Prince sent him to deliberately get close to him.

Even if the Crown Prince didn't give the order, as long as he said it was for the Crown Prince's sake, the Crown Prince might believe him.

After all, Li Chengyun never revealed any ambition to vie for the throne.

Morning love or not...

The palace banquet was canceled without notice...

No prince in the entire Great Jing Dynasty was more willful than him.

Moreover, he also carries the bloodline of the Prince of Zhennan's mansion...

Unless she has irrefutable evidence, it would be hard to believe that he had ulterior motives.

"See, you're speechless now. I've blocked all your escape routes."

Looking at Jiang Shuwan, Li Chengyun said with a smile.

"Besides, if this were to actually be reported to the Emperor, wouldn't you be the one who should be afraid?"

He looked at Jiang Shuwan and spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone calm but the threat was strong.

As he spoke, he placed the lid of the teacup he was holding back in the middle of the low table.

The white porcelain lid and the black tabletop created a stark contrast, and Jiang Shuwan's heart sank to the bottom.

She was indeed bluffing; she didn't dare to report it to the Emperor.

Pei Yanzhi weakened the First Prince's influence in the Ministry of Revenue, and the old emperor immediately bestowed Guo Yaqin upon the First Prince to compensate for it. This shows that the old emperor does not want to break the balance of power between the First Prince and the Crown Prince.

The Marquis's family is too powerful. Li Chengyun is now representing the Crown Prince's side. Given the old emperor's suspicious nature, he might suspect that the Marquis's family and the Crown Prince are colluding.

She will bring utter destruction to the Marquis's mansion and the Jiang family...

"Your Highness is joking. We're all family. What's with the talk of taking this to the Emperor? It's just a joke."

She waved her hand, laughed it off, and refilled Li Chengyun's water bottle, but her words were sharp.

"Your Highness is far more astute, and I admire you greatly. However, the human heart is prone to sowing seeds of suspicion. Even brothers can turn against each other, let alone you and the Crown Prince, who are not blood brothers. You are still young and insecure, and I'm afraid you wouldn't want the Crown Prince and the First Prince to focus their attention on you, would you?"

As she spoke, she personally presented the teacup in her hand to the man.

Li Chengyun's pupils contracted, and his expression changed slightly.

With a slight smile, Jiang Shuwan glanced at Song Huaizhang behind her. Although he tried to remain calm, the emotion in his eyes told her that she had hit the nail on the head.

Li Chengyun is now always hanging out with the Crown Prince, playing the brotherly card, simply because he doesn't have enough power and has to lie low.

The Marquis's family feared the old emperor's suspicion, and he also did not want to expose his ambitions.

We're evenly matched; if you dare threaten me, I'm ready to fight you to the death...

We'll see who dies first then!

"If Your Highness does not believe me, we can try?"

Holding the teacup in both hands, the girl smiled and spoke, her nonchalant manner not like a threat, but more like casual conversation.

Li Chengyun: "..."

He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the girl's bright and pretty oval face, and then he reached out to take the teacup.

He said, "I'm really growing to like you more and more..."

Jiang Shuwan: "..."

She thought she had misheard and was about to pick her ears when she saw the old nanny push open the door and walk in.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived."

Jiang Shuwan was stunned: "..."

Li Chengyun's eyes flashed for a second, and the next second, he grabbed Jiang Shuwan's left hand, which was on the low table, and walked out.

Jiang Shuwan was caught off guard and caught red-handed. He held her wrist with great strength, and she struggled several times but could not break free.

Moreover, he was fast on his feet, and Jiang Shuwan stumbled along as he led her outside.

Upon reaching the gate of the mansion, he suddenly stopped again, catching Jiang Shuwan off guard. She bumped her nose into his arm, and tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.

The entrance to the Fourth Prince's residence.

Darkness had fallen without anyone noticing, and a bright moon shone down on Pei Yanzhi.

Standing on the steps, Li Chengyun looked at Pei Yanzhi, who was standing in the snow, with a cold smile.

He and Pei Yanzhi had met in public several times, but this was the first time they had met in a setting without outsiders present.

Is the young powerful minister here?

Rubbing her nose, Jiang Shuwan looked up in surprise and saw Pei Yanzhi standing on the snow in plain clothes under the silvery moonlight.

Snowflakes were falling from the sky. Yesterday's snow hadn't melted yet, and today there was new snow. The air was so cold it could freeze your nose off, so there wasn't a single pedestrian on the street. Only Pei Yanzhi, Yin Quan, and Xiao Wu were standing on the street.

Yin Quan held a white horse by the hand and stood behind Pei Yanzhi. The horse was panting heavily and swaying its hooves unruly.

As soon as Xiao Wu saw Jiang Shuwan while driving the carriage, he quickly lifted the curtain. Qingxing was sleeping soundly inside, just like a dead pig. Nai Ge was the same; it was unclear whether they had been knocked down or drugged, but they were both sleeping very well.

Seeing that they were alright, Jiang Shuwan breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at Pei Yanzhi again, she noticed that the white casual clothes he was wearing were the ones he usually wore, with worn-out marks on the wide sleeves and collar.

Jiang Shuwan had seen him wear this outfit many times, so she figured he liked it very much and often wore it while reading.

She came out without even changing her clothes...

Her hair was only half-tied up and half-down with a white ribbon on her head. She was carrying a palace lantern in her hand and looked calm and composed. She didn't seem to be here to ask for someone, but rather like someone who was just passing by on a stroll.

"Greetings, Fourth Prince."

His tone of voice when he spoke to Li Chengyun was also normal.

Li Chengyun also gave him a very nice look, and he looked at Pei Yanzhi with a big smile.

"The young master and Wanwan are truly a loving couple. They came to pick me up in such a hurry after only half an hour apart. Anyone who didn't know better would think this place was some kind of den of dragons and tigers."

As he spoke, he pulled hard with his right hand, and Jiang Shuwan stumbled forward.

There were steps below, but luckily she reacted quickly and grabbed Li Chengyun's arm, otherwise she would have fallen.

"Your Highness, please be careful, I can't take a fall."