"Your Highness, what are you doing? Xiao Hui is now my wife. Do you want to make an enemy of the Li family and the entire Qiao family?"
If it were only the Xu family, Qiao Ziming would be wary, but not too deeply. However, with the Li family added to the mix, it would be a different story.
He gritted his teeth and stared at Li Chonghua with sharp gray eyes, while Li Chonghua was equally unyielding, his eyes hidden behind white-rimmed glasses filled with icy coldness.
This was the first time Xu Hui had ever been protected by Li Chonghua since they had known each other for so long. She stared blankly at his tall figure blocking her way for a while before quietly slipping her small hand into his and interlocking her fingers with his.
Then she stepped out from behind him and stood beside him, her eyes equally cold: "If this is the king's will, then I will tell my father when I return home. If not, then Your Highness, please leave quickly."
Qiao Ziming is currently only the Crown Prince. Above him is a King who controls the entire royal family. Being enemies with the Xu and Li families is no small matter.
He certainly couldn't have the right to represent the king.
Gritting his teeth, he stared at the unfamiliar yet beautiful Xu Hui for a while, then sneered, "It seems you've changed a lot since leaving me. The royal family doesn't have that intention right now, but I never expected you to become such a disappointing person."
When the hard approach didn't work, Qiao Ziming tried the softer one.
But Xu Hui is no longer the love-obsessed person she used to be, and she wasn't manipulated by his words at all.
"Really? I quite like myself as I am now, and so does my husband. That's enough, isn't it?"
These words shattered Qiao Ziming's mental defenses, making him so angry that his face darkened. He decided not to stay any longer and suffer any more, leaving behind the words, "You're really something else," before turning and leaving.
After he walked away, Li Chonghua's somewhat muffled voice came from above Xu Hui's head: "Xiao Hui, you can let go now, the Crown Prince can no longer see you."
He didn't consider that Xu Hui truly regarded him as her husband when she reached out to pull him; instead, he assumed that she was using him to spite the Crown Prince.
Even so, the fact that she had taken the initiative to hold his hand and called him "husband" still made his heart feel a little sweet.
Xu Hui didn't let go. Instead, she first turned on the quantum brain bracelet on her right hand and told Qiao Mei to wait a little longer. Then she raised her red eyes and looked into Li Chonghua's stunned eyes, asking him, "So what if he's gone? What does it have to do with me holding my husband's hand?"
Back when she severed ties with the Xu family, married into the royal family, and went out with Qiao Ziming.
It wasn't that she hadn't encountered situations where she was verbally belittled, but each time, Qiao Ziming, who was with her, would coldly ignore her and tell her to handle it herself, never once standing firmly by her side to protect her.
So when a similar situation occurred today, her first reaction was to prepare herself to face it.
She never imagined that Li Chonghua would help her, and would protect her so tightly.
Xu Hui is not young anymore, yet her eyes are still a little red because of this. Li Chonghua saw this and was in a state of panic: "Why are you crying all of a sudden? I didn't say I didn't like you touching me, I just..."
"No." Xu Hui interrupted him, snuggling into his arms and lightly kissing his lips, her breath sweet as orchids. "I pulled you earlier not to spite Qiao Ziming, but because I wanted to do it, do you understand?"
Her initiative flattered Li Chonghua. His eyes glazed over, and his hands, at a loss, gradually wrapped around her slender waist. He heard her continue, "Li Chonghua, I want to really try to like you. Are you willing to give me this chance?"
........
When Qiao Mei waited until Xu Hui and Li Chonghua came out, she noticed that Li Chonghua's lips were a little red, as if they had been stained with lipstick before.
Looking at Hsu Hui again, although her makeup wasn't ruined, you could still tell that her lips were a little swollen.
Combining what she had overheard earlier about Li Chonghua standing up for Xu Hui and Xu Hui telling her to wait, Qiao Mei quickly guessed the truth, but she didn't expose it.
Instead, she looked at Xu Hui and asked if she was hungry, as she had brought some extra snacks and wanted to eat together.
Xu Hui hadn't eaten before coming here tonight in order to fit into her fitted evening gown, and she had also spent a lot of time in the room with Li Chonghua, so she was indeed hungry now.
After nodding, they went over to eat, but ate very little.
During this process, Qiao Mei mentioned that she had heard before that Qiao Ziming was going to find a fiancé for Qiao Yingying that night.
"Such a thing is true?"
"Hmm, that explains why there are so many people here for today's birthday party."
During the conversation between the mother and daughter, Li Chonghua called Ao Cang aside, cleared his throat, and said somewhat shyly, "Xiao Cang, I have something I'd like to ask you, I wonder if it's convenient for you?"
Ao Cang nodded: "Uncle Li, what do you say?"
Seeing that Ao Cang was relatively cooperative, Li Chonghua nervously glanced at where Xu Hui was, then lowered his voice and asked, "After you and Xiao Mei became boyfriend and girlfriend, how did you get along with her? Would you mind telling me?"
The middle-aged man seemed a little awkward and embarrassed. Ao Cang immediately understood what was going on and nodded with a smile: "Of course."
While the group was getting along well, Qiao Ziming had already called Qiao Yingying into the house and was giving her a severe scolding.
"Inviting me to your birthday party is one thing, but why did you also invite Qiao Mei and Xu Hui? Are you on good terms with them? Don't you know I'm divorced from Xu Hui? I was almost driven mad by her just now, you know that?!"
Qiao Yingying's gray eyes flickered, not daring to tell Qiao Ziming that she had used his name to trick Qiao Mei and the others into coming over.
She obediently let Qiao Ziming continue cursing, and only after he had satisfied himself did she try to appease him:
"Father, they are just ungrateful. How could you be wrong? Perhaps they are jealous of the grand birthday banquet you held for me today, which was held by the Cangcui Sea. That's why they made you uncomfortable. After all, only the Royal Family and the Federation can afford to rent such a venue, right?"
Qiao Ziming liked these kinds of flattering words, and after hearing what Qiao Yingying said, he finally felt a little better.
He nodded, deeply agreeing: "I knew Xu Hui was acting so strangely. She really regrets it. No matter how capable Li Chonghua is, his family still has to work for the royal family. How dare he talk back to me!"
Hearing this, Qiao Yingying finally guessed what had happened to Qiao Ziming. She secretly rolled her eyes in disdain, saw him off, and then opened her personal brain bracelet to send a message.
How are the preparations going? I can start guiding the guests to the Azure Sea area.
The reply was quick and brief, consisting of only one word: "Hmm".
Seeing this, Qiao Yingying breathed a sigh of relief, her gray eyes shining brightly.
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