The princess feigned profundity, thought for a moment, and then said, "Perhaps your friend doesn't even know that he likes me?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Huan quickly waved her hand: "Forget it, it's not our business, it's not important."
She shook off her anxious thoughts and said seriously, "Please don't tell anyone, my friend doesn't like people talking about it."
The princess nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, I definitely won't tell anyone."
She had just made that promise when Xu Zijing came to find her and started rattling off a string of words like beans.
Then, with a mischievous grin, he asked, "Who is Huanhuan's friend?"
Xu Zijin frowned and asked, "Does she have other friends in the household?"
The princess laughed heartily: "Her only friend is me. She has no friends in the manor. That fool thinks I don't know anything about her."
She immediately became serious again: "But what's going on with Su Xiucai? Why are there rumors that he's going to marry your sister?"
Xu Zijin said very seriously, "It's fake. Brother Su has always had Liu Huan in his heart. He has been looking for her all these years. How could he marry someone else?"
The princess was relieved. "That's good. Then go back and tell him that Huanhuan had dark circles under her eyes last night, it scared me to death."
That's what reached Su Yi's ears.
Liu Huan was so upset by the rumors that she hadn't spoken well that she lost her appetite and couldn't sleep.
He curled the corners of his lips into a smile. "Let's go to the Prince's Mansion as guests tomorrow. I like the food there."
Xu Zijin clicked her tongue, "You don't just like the food at the Prince's Mansion, you like the people at the Prince's Mansion, don't you?"
Su Yi did not deny it, took out the hairpin she had made and looked at it, and was very satisfied with it.
During their break, Su Yi and Xu Zijin took some things to visit someone, but they didn't mention Liu Huan at all.
After chatting with Prince Kai Kai, Su Yi had lunch in the afternoon and then said naturally, "Brother Xu, please wait a moment. I need to go and deliver something to my fiancée."
The young master was taken aback, then called over a maid, "Send Lord Su to the Princess's courtyard."
Su Yi bowed and said, "Your Highness, farewell."
After walking a few steps, he noticed Xu Zijing was also there and asked, "Why are you following me?"
Xu Zijing patted her fan, "I'll also go and see the princess while I'm at it."
The two shared the same goal, attracting a lot of attention as they walked down the street.
"That must be Young Master Xu."
"Yes, that's Scholar Su next to me."
The two went to the princess's courtyard. A group of maids went in, looked around, and found Liu Huan in the courtyard.
"Sister Guyu, someone is looking for you outside."
Liu Huan put down what she was holding. "Who is it?"
The maidservant kept everyone in suspense, saying, "You'll find out when you go out."
Liu Huan went out with doubts, and her eyes lit up when she saw the person under the tree. The person had a sharp, chiseled profile, wore a black robe, and smiled when he turned to look at her.
Liu Huan felt her face getting a little hot, but she decided to just call it heat for now.
She skipped over happily, asking, "Stone, what brings you here?"
Su Yi smoothed her disheveled hair and smiled indulgently at her: "I came to the Prince's mansion for dinner and also stopped by to see you."
As she spoke, she placed the hairpin in her hair, saying, "I bought a hairpin that suits you very well, it looks beautiful."
Liu Huan touched it with her hand, but couldn't discern its shape. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Stone."
Su Yi patted her hair. "Be good and don't overthink things."
This tone is just like what Su Yi said when Liu Huan admitted her mistake as a child.
"Oh~" She nodded obediently, and seeing that more and more people were gathering around, Liu Huan felt a little embarrassed.
"You go back first, I'll come to see you when I have time off."
They have two days of leave a month to visit their families, but she doesn't remember using them before, so she's never used them. Now she's starting to look forward to the holidays.
"Okay, I'm leaving."
Liu Huan watched him leave, then happily went inside, touching the hairpin in her hair. The princess came out with a mischievous grin, "Who gave you this?"
Liu Huan's hand paused on the hairpin again, as if she wanted to pull it out: "Shi Tou gave it to me, saying it suits me. Does it look good?"
The princess gave a thumbs up, "Not bad."
However, she has a slightly wicked sense of humor and doesn't want to talk about the meaning behind giving a hairpin for the time being.
"By the way, get some rest early tonight, and I'll take you to see the flowers tomorrow."
"Yes, Princess, please get some rest."
Princess never asked Liu Huan to watch over her while she slept, because she felt sorry for her not being able to sleep well. So it's not unreasonable that the other maids in the courtyard targeted her.
The next day, after dinner, the princess took her in a carriage to enjoy the flowers, and Liu Huan finally had a chance to ask, "Princess, where are we going?"
"Go to Miss Shen's house. She has very beautiful peonies. It's the peak blooming season, and she's hosting a flower-viewing banquet. Many young ladies are going. If I don't go, I'm afraid they'll talk badly about me behind my back."
The princess is straightforward. She fell ill five years ago and hasn't left the house since. Later, she met Liu Huan and spent every day with her. She has no friendship with the other young ladies, or rather, they don't get along at all.
The carriage moved slowly forward and stopped next to a grand mansion.
Liu Huan got off the carriage first, lifted the curtain, and led the princess out.
Miss Shen, the hostess, was already waiting outside the door. "Greetings, Princess. This way, please."
Liu Huan followed behind them. Inside, the house was already surrounded by young ladies and maids, all of whom stopped to look at them.
Regardless of their thoughts, they could only kneel and bow, saying, "Greetings, Princess."
"Get up."
Although the princess and Liu Huan were inseparable at home, she exuded royal dignity when they went out.
The princess is of the first rank, with a title and a fief, and her rank is even higher than that of the young ladies' fathers. For her to condescend to attend their banquet is a great honor for them.
The princess sat in the seat of honor, with Liu Huan standing beside her.
The princess glanced at everyone and said, "What were you all talking about just now? Why did you all stop talking as soon as I arrived?"
While the others remained silent, Miss Shen, as the host, stepped forward and said, "We were just discussing how well the flowers are blooming this year, and it just so happens that you've arrived."
"Yes, yes, the peonies are blooming exceptionally brightly this year."
"Then why are we all sitting here? Let's go take a look together."
The princess stood up, and the group quickly followed behind her.
The princess casually glanced at the flowers; they were beautiful, but dazzling.
Miss Shen stood beside her and said, "If the princess has something she likes, I'll give you one later."
The princess casually replied, "No need, we have some at home."
When she says this, others will find it reasonable and won't think she's showing off her wealth.
The princess was momentarily drawn to a yellow peony when a reprimand rang out beside her.
"What are you doing? Don't you have eyes?"
The princess turned around and saw that Liu Huan had been pushed to the ground.
The princess stepped forward and pushed the person away, saying, "What are you doing?"
He quickly helped Liu Huan up, asking, "Are you alright?"
Liu Huan shook her head. "It's nothing." Although her leg hurt a little, she didn't want to talk about it at this time.
Only after seeing that she was alright did the princess look at the crowd and ask, "Who pushed her?"
A young woman in a pale yellow gauze dress looked at her and said calmly, "It's me."
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