Xu Yunci didn't say anything. As usual, he walked to Li Shiyue's side and was relieved to see that she was alright.
After bowing, Xu Yunci looked coldly at Consort Fu at the head of the table: "When I entered the palace, I did not see Yan Yan in Chonghua Hall, so I have come to look for her."
"The bond between brother and sister is very deep. If Prince Xu had paid more attention, my Chunhui would not have ended up like this." Consort Fu's makeup at the corners of her eyes was heavy, and the upturned corners of her eyes added a touch of fierceness.
It's unclear which word in those words offended Xu Yunci, but his face visibly darkened, as if he should be the one in charge of the capital's administration.
"Your Highness, please be careful with your words. The princess's fate is her own doing, and has nothing to do with me. If Your Highness has any objections to His Majesty's decree, you should speak with His Majesty directly."
His lips twitched slightly, and he looked directly at Consort Fu with undisguised sarcasm, practically saying "You brought this on yourself."
After all, he never gave any response, and even actively avoided her. He tried everything he could, but in the end, he was about to harm someone because of a momentary lapse in judgment. Can he really just let a simple "I like you" make up for it?
He had never heard of the Jingzhao Prefecture before. Now, like Li Shiyue, he realized that Princess Chunhui's intentions were impure, probably due to the teachings of Consort Fu, and that she was somewhat inseparable from this relationship.
"Xu Lizhe! How dare you say that! Chunhui has been following you around since she was little. You know what she's thinking, yet you still keep getting involved with other people."
"She's just the eldest daughter of a fallen noble family. What's so great about her that you would be so heartless as to abandon my Chunhui and be with a county princess who has no real title?"
"Now that Chunhui has married far away and become someone else's wife, you have no room for regret!" Consort Fu seemed to be furious. She didn't care about her noble demeanor anymore. She slapped the side of the chair and stood up abruptly.
Her slender, pale fingers pointed at Xu Yunci, their movement accompanied by a lingering tremor from the rise and fall of her chest.
As soon as she finished speaking, the palace maids in the hall held their breath in unison, afraid of being implicated.
The silence in the hall was broken by a soft, mocking laugh from Xu Yunci.
“From beginning to end, I have never had any feelings for the princess. Even if there were no other people around, I would not marry the princess. The princess is indeed worthy of being the daughter of the Consort, even their thoughts are surprisingly consistent.”
"I have never offended the princess. Haven't I avoided her enough all these years? Do you think I or the Xu family should disappear from the capital just because of the princess?"
"Whether it's the so-called fate or the fact that the Consort was ruthless towards me, I have never had any relationship with the Princess from beginning to end. It was all the Princess's own wishful thinking, and she brought it upon herself."
"Now that Yan Yan has entered the Duke's mansion, she is naturally a member of the Xu family. Whether it is the princess or you, the Noble Consort, if you bully the Xu family, I will certainly not condone it. I hope that what I have said today will make it clear to the Noble Consort who can be dealt with and who cannot be dealt with."
"You—" Consort Fu was utterly humiliated and was furious. Before she could finish speaking, she saw a figure walking in from outside the door.
Xu Lingyu, dressed in elaborate palace attire, led her entourage into the main hall, ignoring the palace maids who approached her, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere inside.
Her bright yellow, magnificent attire was a color reserved for the Crown Princess, except for the Empress and the Empress Dowager. Just as the Emperor's bright yellow attire could only be worn by the Crown Prince.
He walked to Li Shiyue's side, took her hand, and although he said he was scolding her, he looked at her with a comforting look in his eyes: "Didn't you go to congratulate Consort An on my behalf? Why did you come here by yourself? Erlang said that Grandmother had something to pass on to you, but she couldn't find you. If Consort An hadn't sent someone to deliver something, I wouldn't have known that you came to pay your respects to the Consort yourself."
Before Li Shiyue could answer, Xu Lingyu turned to the side, shielding Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci behind her, and nodded slightly to the Imperial Concubine at the head of the table: "Imperial Concubine."
Consort Fu's stiff neck seemed to freeze, but when she saw Xu Lingyu, her rationality returned.
After all, she was the Crown Princess, the future Empress. In truth, although she was a First-Rank Imperial Concubine, she was still one rank lower than the Crown Princess. She suppressed her anger, and the smile she showed was not very natural. She took two steps down and returned the bow to Xu Lingyu.
"The Crown Princess has arrived at just the right time."
Xu Lingyu seemed not to have noticed the sarcasm in Consort Fu's words. She turned her head to look at Xu Yunci and said, "Take Yan Yan back first and don't cause any more trouble. Otherwise, I will go to the Emperor and charge you with disrespecting palace rules."
"So that you won't have nothing to do in the palace and end up causing trouble in the harem."
After saying that, Xu Lingyu smiled slightly and looked at Consort Fu, as if she did not see that Consort Fu's face was pale: "Second Master is young and easily impulsive. Yan Yan is still young and has been spoiled by his grandmother and mother at home. If he offends Consort Fu, please do not take it to heart."
After following Xu Yunci out of the Pixiang Palace, they could no longer hear what Xu Lingyu said.
Li Shiyue wasn't oblivious to the fact that what Xu Lingyu said in the palace, seemingly about her or Xu Yunci, was actually a sarcastic remark directed at Consort Fu for making trouble out of nothing.
However, judging from Consort Fu's pale face just now, she probably understood.
"Don't overthink it, your elder sister wasn't talking about you."
Xu Yunci watched her remain silent the whole way back to Chonghua Palace, and the first thing he said to her was to comfort her.
Li Shiyue shook her head: "I know. My cousin just said that Grandmother had something to say to me, but I don't know what she wanted my cousin to convey."
Seeing that she didn't take it to heart, Xu Yunci felt relieved as well: "I was just worried that you weren't used to Chonghua Palace yet. I'll take you out of the palace tomorrow so you can go back and pack up."
"After some time, the Emperor intends to stay at the temporary palace. In addition to the nobles in the palace, the Emperor also intends for some court officials and their families to accompany him. The Rongguo Duke's Mansion is among them."
"Guo Xun will take Wu Niang with him. Mother's intention is to take you with him as well. Moreover, the Emperor has also told me that he wants you to go."
Xu Yunci sighed, his gaze towards Li Shiyue filled with worry: "Don't you think the Emperor is being a little too attentive to you?"
Li Shiyue looked up and met Xu Yunci's gaze. She hesitated for a moment and then nodded: "I haven't gone out of Chonghua Palace these past few days, and I haven't even seen His Highness much. On the day I entered the palace, Pixiang Palace sent someone to invite me, and Funing Palace also sent someone to invite me. Fortunately, my cousin helped me decline."
"Today was an accident. My cousin was busy with palace affairs and couldn't get away. But thinking about the joy of Consort An's promotion, she had no choice but to take me out. Otherwise, Pixiang Palace wouldn't have taken me away."
Knowing full well what Pixiang Palace's purpose was, Xu Lingyu had no intention of letting herself out.
"The Emperor sees you as a reflection of his aunt, probably hoping to lessen his longing for her through you."
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