Zong Zheng Xiaoting slept like this until noon the next day. When the strong sunlight refracted into the window, the room was already warm.

With a satisfied smile and sleepy eyes wide open, Zong Zheng Xiaoting blinked her beautiful eyes, looked around, and then sat up suddenly.

Where is this? Her beautiful eyes widened and she looked around carefully. She saw that everything around her was cold. It seemed to be meticulously clean, yet deserted. This must be the man's room, and it seemed to be the room of the indifferent and cold man in her memory.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting touched his chin and nodded repeatedly, confirming the judgment he had made in his heart.

That's right, after coming out of the palace, she seemed to be too tired and fell asleep in his arms, which means that he sent herself here.

"Qingqing, Qingqing!" Zong Zheng Xiaoting cleared his throat and called out.

Qingqing, who was waiting at the door, hurried in when she heard her master's call.

"Princess, you're finally awake." Qingqing's voice was faintly happy but also revealed a little worry.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting naturally heard it, and she frowned and raised her eyes slightly. "What happened? What are you worried about?"

Qingqing helped Zongzheng Xiaoting get out of bed while she said carefully, "Princess, you don't know, the palace is going crazy."

"Is it a crazy rumor?" Zong Zheng Xiaoting raised his eyebrows in confusion and sat in front of the dressing mirror.

Qingqing nodded quickly and combed her hair while whispering softly in her ear. "Princess, when the prince brought you back yesterday, his men blocked Qingqing and wouldn't let Qingqing rescue the princess. Now it's good, the palace is buzzing with rumors that the prince treats you very well and treats you like a treasure. Many people even exaggerated, saying how considerate, doting, and careful the prince was when he held the princess, as if all the good men in the world are not even one hundred thousandth as good as the prince!"

"Although it is indeed unreasonable for him to carry me back home like this, it doesn't have to be so exaggerated!" Zong Zheng Xiaoting's face was wrinkled.

"The most important reason is that the prince actually gave his own Yunxiao Courtyard to you, Princess." Qingqing replied.

"Is it that serious? Is there any difference between this Yunxiao Courtyard?"

"Qingqing heard that no outsiders are allowed to stay in Yunxiao Courtyard. Even Princess Yunluo and Princess Yunfei can only live in other courtyards, or meet in other courtyards. For the prince, Yunxiao Courtyard is his private forbidden area. And princess, I heard that the prince never allows anyone to touch his bed, but now you are sleeping in the prince's bed!" Qingqing hurriedly told his master the news he had heard.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished her words, Zong Zheng Xiaoting's beautiful face wrinkled again. Could Situ Xunxiao have noticed something?

Just when she was about to think about something, a pair of steady footsteps gradually approached.

Situ Xunxiao's figure appeared at the gate, the sunlight fell on him, and there was golden light all around him, like a god descending from heaven. He just stood at the gate, looking at Zong Zheng Xiaoting who was dressing up, standing quietly at the gate without moving.

The bronze mirror naturally reflected the figure at the door. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Zong Zheng Xiaoting didn't speak either. He let Qingqing comb her hair. The corner of her mouth was filled with a smile as always, but it was not easy for people to tell whether it was a real smile or a fake one.

After hesitating for a long time, Situ Xunxiao took steady steps and walked towards Zong Zheng Xiaoting who was standing in front of the bronze mirror.

"Awake?" It was still a cold voice, no emotion could be heard in the tone.

"Well, the prince has arrived just in time!" Zong Zheng Xiaoting smiled and nodded, without turning his head, he just stared at the figure reflected in the bronze mirror and asked: "I guess the prince is here to tell us how to perform the next play?"

Yes, no matter what the rumors spread, she knew very well in her heart that as long as she angered him and did not break the balance between the two of them, she, Zong Zheng Xiaoting, would have a way to make everything proceed in her own way. That was why she deliberately said words that made people want to be angry.

But this time, she didn't know what decision Situ Xunxiao, who had already seen through her intention, had made in his heart after staying up all night in the study.

This time, Situ Xunxiao's reaction was very calm.

Just when Zongzheng Xiaoting was slightly surprised, Situ Xunxiao said in a cold voice: "Now that things have developed to this point, I feel it is necessary to speak openly with you, Princess!"

Zong Zheng Xiaoting glanced at Situ Xunxiao suspiciously, not seeing any expression on his face that could be of use to him. Then he shrugged helplessly and turned to look at Situ Xunxiao.

Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and her beautiful eyes looked straight at Situ Xunxiao, "I wonder what the prince wants to say to me?"

Meeting Zong Zheng Xiaoting's gaze, both of them had calm expressions in their eyes, unable to see each other's feelings at all.

Silence spread between the two again, and the atmosphere in the air became more and more solemn. After such silence, Situ Xunxiao slowly spoke again, "I already know your father's secret letter clearly, but I want to know more about your thoughts, Princess? Is it for the country or for personal feelings?"

Zong Zheng Xiaoting, who had never expected that he would be so frank, could not help but be slightly stunned and did not know how to answer.

After a long while, she came back to her senses. The deal that had already been agreed upon was actually mentioned by him at this moment, and he frankly admitted that he had known about Zong Zheng Weimo's plan. Could it be that something unexpected would happen? After thinking for a while, Zong Zheng Xiaoting shook his head in his heart.

No, what he just asked was, was it for the country or for personal reasons? Zong Zheng Xiaoting reminded himself mentally not to show any urgency, and calmly analyzed the intention of his words.

"What about for the country? What about for personal feelings?" When she couldn't guess what Situ Xunxiao wanted to do, she could only ask instead of answering.

Very good! Situ Xunxiao smiled secretly in his heart. He knew that when she didn't know his intention, Zong Zheng Xiaoting would definitely answer carefully and cautiously, and this was exactly what he wanted.

His cool and handsome face still had a calm and indifferent expression. Only his cold voice could be heard, "If it is for the sake of the country, I would not dare to make any deal with the princess. I am not stupid enough to do such a thing as plotting against a tiger. If it is for personal reasons, then I have to make a good agreement with you. Of course, whether I believe the princess's answer or not is up to me."

It was as good as saying nothing. Zong Zheng Xiaoting gnashed his teeth in hatred in his heart, but when he looked at Situ Xunxiao, there was still that indescribable smile on his face.