Qiao Zhen followed the young eunuch to the palace gate, looking utterly dejected. Xu Ruankuang, who was guarding the gate, immediately went to greet her when he saw her come out, "Princess?"
"Ah Kuang, let's go back." Qiao Zhen raised the corners of her mouth, but her smile was somewhat awkward.
Xiao Ling: [Green hills beyond green mountains, buildings beyond buildings, your pretentiousness makes your dad worry.JPG]
When Qiao Zhen saw the panda emoji that Xiao Ling sent, she almost lost her composure! She lowered her head to hide her expression.
Xu Ruankuang hesitated, looking towards the palace, but seeing Qiao Zhen's listless expression, he could only obey Qiao Zhen's orders.
Qiao Zhen: [Hey, did your tutoring center give you this panda emoji?]
Xiao Ling: [So, shall we be each other's dogs?]
Qiao Zhen: [Aren't you just a system dog?]
Xiao Ling: [The higher you climb, the colder it gets.JPG]
Qiao Zhen: [I can hold down a forty-meter-long sword, and you're saying you're lonely at the top? You're probably just bragging.]
Xiao Ling: [Immortal System.JPG]
Qiao Zhen: [Sorry, our little fairy doesn't acknowledge you uncertified fairies.]
Xiao Ling sent several more emojis to banter with Qiao Zhen, but lost every time. [You wait, when I return after completing my studies, I'll unleash my overwhelming aura to crush you!]
Qiao Zhen: [Which tutoring class did you sign up for?]
Xiao Ling: [Zhide Institution.]
Qiao Zhen: [Don't report that. Zhide is the largest vocational training institution in your system. It's powerful and its superiors are influential. Can you at least do some research on it before you do anything?]
Xiao Ling: [Nonsense! Zhide is the leading institution in our system's vocational education.]
Qiao Zhen copied the search results and sent the link to Xiao Ling. [Zhide Institution provides a series of explanations and sends you materials, but the materials are rigid and vague. When you actually argue with someone, you'll seem like you've run out of ideas. Go study on your own and take the self-study exam; it's more valuable and much better than any other institution.]
Xiao Ling: 【(；｀ヘ′) Oh. 】
After Qiao Zhen tricked Xiao Ling away, she looked up at Xu Ruan Kuang with teary eyes, "Ah Kuang, just now Emperor Qi's blood and my blood actually fused together."
Her voice was still trembling slightly, showing how bewildered she was at that moment.
Xu Ruankuang was shocked. He looked at Qiao Zhen, whose eyes were wet with tears. He clenched his fist on his lap, then loosened it, then clenched it again. He awkwardly comforted her, "Princess... actually, that's quite good. You can have someone to rely on in the future, and you won't have to live a life of having to be subservient to others."
Qiao Zhen raised her hand to cover her cheek. "But I like Lu Yuanchuan, and Emperor Qi is very reluctant to marry me to him. Lu Yuanchuan's wedding to Miss Lin is approaching. What should I do?"
Xu Ruankuang was deeply saddened when he heard Qiao Zhen bluntly admit that she liked Lu Yuanchuan. However, when he heard Qiao Zhen trying to suppress her sobs and saw her trembling shoulders, he felt that his previous distress was insignificant compared to his current one. "Princess, if you like Young Master Lu, why don't you go and find him?"
Qiao Zhen sniffled, wiped away her tears hastily, and said firmly, "Yes, I should go find him. So what if Emperor Qi and Madam Lu disagree?"
Looking at the determination in Qiao Zhen's eyes, Xu Ruankuang felt as if his breath had stopped, and he nodded with difficulty.
Qiao Zhen leaned forward and lifted the curtain of the carriage. "Stop."
"Whoa!" The coachman stopped the horse by the roadside.
Qiao Zhen jumped off the carriage in a few quick steps and ran towards the Lu residence. She removed the heavy gold and silver hairpins from her hair, and even the wind against her direction couldn't stop her. She arrived at the Lu residence, panting, and showed the servants the pearl and jade princess gold pendant hanging from her waist. She then barged into Lu Yuanchuan's courtyard without any hindrance.
Lu Yuanchuan and Miss Lin were sitting opposite each other at a round stone table in the courtyard.
Qiao Zhen clenched her fists tightly around the gold medal, her knuckles turning white. She strode aggressively to Lu Yuanchuan's side. "Lu Yuanchuan, this princess likes you. If you had even the slightest bit of affection for me, I wouldn't have given up on you. I ask you, have you ever, even for a moment, felt any love for me?"
Lu Yuanchuan looked up at Qiao Zhen, who was a head taller than him. He blinked and then lowered his head again. "Your subject is honored by Princess Zhuyu's favor."
After hearing Lu Yuanchuan's reply, Miss Lin breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiao Zhen, however, looked at Lu Yuanchuan with a smile in a very good mood. "You're lying, Lu Yuanchuan. You blinked just now. You never blinked when you were talking to me earlier." She looked at Lu Yuanchuan, who seemed hesitant to speak, and quickly said, "Don't say things like you're not familiar with me. If I, Qiao Zhen, want to stick to something, no one can make me give up halfway."
Miss Lin looked at Lu Yuanchuan, who remained indifferent and did not refute her. She immediately gritted her teeth and lowered her head, concealing the aggrieved and resentful expression on her face.
Qiao Zhen looked at Miss Lin with disdain and said meaningfully, "She's just the sickly daughter of a sixth-rank minister. Does she really think she can rise to prominence and become a phoenix?"
Lu Yuanchuan's eyes were somewhat cold. He disliked Qiao Zhen's disdainful and contemptuous behavior.
Qiao Zhen seemed oblivious to Lu Yuanchuan's displeasure, and she intensified her words, saying, "I advise you to be sensible and have your father cancel the marriage as soon as possible, so as not to make things awkward for everyone later."
Unable to bear the humiliation, Miss Lin took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her eyes, and then broke into sobs. However, she was very weak, and before she could cry for long, she began to cough, coughing until her face turned pale and she could barely breathe.
Lu Yuanchuan supported Miss Lin's shoulder.
Qiao Zhen looked at Miss Lin's pale face, then at the shoulder that Lu Yuanchuan was supporting. She pulled at Lu Yuanchuan's hand and said disdainfully, "Now you're playing the victim and acting pitiful. What I'm saying now is nothing compared to your filthy thoughts!"
Seeing Miss Lin close her eyes and faint, Lu Yuanchuan brushed Qiao Zhen's hand away and turned his head to avoid Qiao Zhen's gaze. "If the princess comes here to cause trouble, I'm afraid I will not be able to face her with pleasure."
Qiao Zhen glared angrily at Lu Yuanchuan, who was avoiding her gaze, and bombarded him with questions, "Do you really like Miss Lin that much? Or do you feel sorry for her because you think she's more pitiful than me?!"
Every word she uttered was like a needle, a sharp, poisoned needle that could pierce the heart.
Lu Yuanchuan said succinctly, "Send Princess Zhuyu away."
No servant dared to step forward; they simply stood in front of Qiao Zhen. Qiao Zhen watched as Lu Yuanchuan carried Miss Lin into his bedroom, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Lu Yuanchuan! You've gone too far!"
Qiao Zhen left the Lu residence in a huff, sobbing and shedding tears. It was easy to imagine how pathetic she looked, like a defeated rooster.
Xu Ruankuang followed silently behind Qiao Zhen, cursing Lu Yuanchuan in his heart over and over again, thinking that he was truly ungrateful for his good fortune.
Faced with the pointing and whispering of passersby, Qiao Zhen sniffed hard, looked up at the sky, and forced back her tears.
Her eyes were already red and swollen, and the red light of the sunset was so bright that she could hardly open them. She subconsciously raised her arm to shield her eyes from the light, but was accidentally knocked to the ground by a cart pushed by a passerby.
Passersby, seeing Qiao Zhen's dress, knew she was either rich or noble. Instead of apologizing, they quickened their pace and pushed the cart away.
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