After calming down a bit, Wei Shuwan began to think again about how she should thank Li Qingchen if he really helped her solve this mystery.

He has everything she has, and he also has things she doesn't have. So what else can she use to express her feelings?

As she pondered, Wei Shuwan's gaze fell upon Miaoxiang: "Miaoxiang, when the young prince came to the manor last time, did he really like the fruit you made?"

Miaoxiang thought for a moment and then said, "The young prince was injured at the time and couldn't eat anything. He did eat a few bites of the golden silk plums that I made."

"Then hurry up and make one."

"Yes, this servant will go right away!"

Miao Xiang accepted the order to go to the small kitchen to make fruit, while Zi Qiao continued to dry Wei Shuwan's hair. In the end, both sides finished at about the same time. Wei Shuwan only dried her hair to about 70% dryness, simply tied it into a small bun on top of her head, and left the rest loose, hoping it would continue to dry on the way. She then hurriedly left the house.

*

Inside the Tianxiang Tea House, Li Qingchen had already arranged for a private room in advance. Now that he had arrived, he went straight to the second floor.

Upon entering the private room, Li Qingchen saw a woman wearing a veil sitting upright in a chair. At first glance, he thought that Wei Shuwan had arrived before him. However, he was surprised to find that the woman was not Wei Shuwan.

Assuming it was due to his subordinates' incompetence and the reserved private room being taken by someone else, Li Qingchen turned to leave, but then heard a woman behind him call out, "Young Prince, please wait!"

Li Qingchen stopped, his brows furrowing slightly. He hadn't made a fuss on his way to the teahouse; he was dressed casually, and his carriage didn't display any family crest. No one in the marketplace should have recognized his identity.

As he turned around, the woman chuckled softly as she removed her veil, revealing a bright face. "What, does the young prince really not want to see this princess?"

Upon recognizing the woman as Princess Yun'an, Li Qingchen couldn't help but let out a soft "heh," and said sarcastically, "Princess Yun'an, are you going to tell me this was just a coincidence?"

"Of course not!" Princess Yun'an didn't hide anything. She casually put her veil on the side of the table and poured herself some tea without any hesitation.

She first pushed the full cup to the empty seat opposite her, making a gesture of 'please sit down', and then said, "I sent people to keep watch outside the Prince's mansion early this morning, so when the servants came to the teahouse to reserve a private room, I received the news immediately and guessed that the young prince was coming."

"Thank you for your trouble, Princess." Li Qingchen's tone was indifferent, revealing disdain and sarcasm. He remained unmoved by Princess Yun'an's invitation to sit down. He continued, "However, since the Princess knew I was coming here, she should have known there were other guests. Isn't it rather impolite of the Princess to come uninvited?"

"Wasn't it a bit impolite of you, Prince, to rescue me from the lake without asking?" Yun An winked playfully, conveying a sense of "I'm determined to stick with you."

When she entered the palace that day, she was determined to win Li Qingchen's favor. Who knew that he would save her by his own hand? It was a match made in heaven. Even if her father could give up in front of the emperor, she would never give up. That's why she decided to swallow her pride and come to see Li Qingchen.

Li Qingchen was so angry that he laughed: "If the princess thinks that my saving you that day was a bit unnecessary, there are many lakes in Shengjing. The princess can do as she pleases. I will never make a second move."

"Your Highness is already angry? He was just joking with you~"

"Now that the princess has finished her teasing, may we part ways?"

Seeing that Li Qingchen was about to dismiss her, Yun An stood up from her chair in annoyance. "I've gone to such lengths to see the young prince, and he hasn't even asked me what brings me here?"

What was the matter? Li Qingchen knew perfectly well. It was a pity that he had finally shown some kindness by rescuing her, and now he had to deal with the old and the young.

However, since they were now entangled, there had to be a resolution. Li Qingchen nodded in agreement: "Alright, then please speak frankly, Princess."

Hearing a softening in his tone, Princess Yun'an finally felt she had won a round and pointed to the empty seat opposite her: "Then let's sit down and talk~ It'll only take an incense stick's time!"

"I'll give you at most the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

Seeing that Li Qingchen had no room for further compromise, Yun An could only nod and say, "Okay."

After saying that, she sat back down in her original seat, and Li Qingchen finally sat down in the empty seat opposite her.

...

After Wei Shuwan alighted from the carriage, Zi Qiao led the way to the private room on the second floor.

Tianxiang Tea House is very close to the Wei family mansion. She had been here countless times before, so she was very familiar with the place. She didn't need the waiter to lead the way and knew that the "Wenxiang Pavilion" mentioned in Li Qingchen's letter was the second room on the left.

Just as she turned the corner of the stairs, Wei Shuwan heard voices coming from the "Fragrance Pavilion." They were very low, but she could vaguely make out that they were a man and a woman.

The man is undoubtedly Li Qingchen, no doubt about it. The woman…

She thought about it for a moment, and found that the clever and clear voice sounded somewhat like Princess Yun'an.

Zi Qiao clearly understood as well, and turned to look at Wei Shuwan with utter confusion. Just as she was about to say something, Wei Shuwan held up her index finger and said, "Shh~"

Then he pointed to the room closest to the stairwell, and the two tiptoed inside.

This is the private room next to "Fragrance Pavilion".

Unlike inns, teahouses don't have high requirements for soundproofing in their private rooms. So you can hear some of the sounds from the next room, and if you put your ear close to the wall separating the rooms, you can hear them even more clearly.

At first, Wei Shuwan felt that eavesdropping on conversations was not a gentlemanly act, so she pretended to restrain herself and refused to listen. Zi Qiao, however, understood her master's thoughts, so she took the place of the scoundrel, listening closely and occasionally secretly relaying the fragmented information she could hear back to Wei Shuwan.

Wei Shuwan was able to sit still at first, but when Zi Qiao relayed the message, "Princess Yun'an said that if the Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion could form a marriage alliance with the Jing Prince's Mansion, it would be a powerful alliance!" she couldn't sit still any longer and simply pressed her ear against the wall to listen.

Li Qingchen's voice was as deep as ever: "Is Princess Yun'an truly willing to marry me? And truly willing to suffer some grievances for me?"

"Of course I'm willing!" Princess Yun'an paused, then asked, "But what is the grievance that the young prince is referring to?"

“Oh, since Princess Yun’an knows that I saved you three women in the plum garden that day, then if I were to marry you, I should marry all three of you together. If the princess doesn’t mind that the three women share one husband, I would gladly accept it.”

"Li Qingchen, you!" Yun An stood up angrily, pointing at the person opposite her with uncontrollable rage: "You actually allowed this princess to share a husband with a woman from a merchant family and a palace maid?!"

"What, you can't even stand being wronged by just two princesses? Do you know that my father's wives and concubines in Qiaochuan are no less numerous than the Emperor's?"

These words were indeed effective. After much persuasion, Princess Yun'an finally realized that the man before her was not the ideal match for her. She grabbed the veiled hat from the table and stormed out.