"This servant is incompetent, please forgive me, young lady..."
Fu Yunning stared sadly and without light in the direction Xu Yunci had left. She could no longer see her beloved, but she refused to give up.
When her eyes started to sting, she closed them and chuckled. When she opened them again, Fu Yunning couldn't hide the anger between her brows: "It's not your fault. It's my own fault for being useless. I couldn't make the person I like like me back."
Her voice was extremely forceful, and the maidservant was frightened by the fierceness in her eyes as soon as she looked up.
"I never imagined that Miss Fu would be so devoted to Xu Li. The Imperial Concubine has always doted on Miss Fu, so why not ask her for help?"
King Zhao walked over from one end, the jade beads in his hand making a crisp sound as he nimbly rotated them. He seemed to find the sound extremely pleasing to him, and stopped beside Fu Yunning.
Upon seeing this, the maid stood up and withdrew.
Fu Yunning seemed unsurprised, glancing at the King of Zhao out of the corner of her eye, a fierce glint spreading from her brows to her eyes: "Are you here to mock me?"
King Zhao raised his hands in surrender, smiled and shook his head: "No, it's just that I'm worried about Miss Fu being upset."
Fu Yunning chuckled softly, no longer looking at his feigned affection: "Back then, no matter how much Chunhui wanted to marry into the Xu family, her aunt couldn't do it. Now that it's me, she certainly won't offend the Emperor at this opportune moment."
That makes sense. King Zhao nodded as if to himself, stroking his chin as he pondered, "I have helped you and given you what you wanted. Miss Fu, you should make a decision soon, otherwise you won't be able to escape once you enter my King Zhao's mansion."
Among the three princes of the Emperor, Prince Zhao was the least distinguished, but he inherited the Emperor's handsome features from his youth.
He was about the same age as Xu Yunci, and tilted his head to look at Fu Yunning, his upturned lips adding a touch of playfulness.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he secretly harbored feelings for Fu Yunning and was deeply devoted to her.
Fu Yunning took out a purse from her sleeve. The contents of the purse seemed small. She tossed it to the King of Zhao.
A mocking smile played on her lips as she looked at King Zhao, watching him open the purse to reveal a private seal.
Looking at the private seal in his hand, which was not large and bore the name of the Earl of Changping, the King of Zhao's smile deepened: "Miss Fu has endured for many days in the Earl's mansion, and she has not disappointed me."
“Your Highness, remember what you said: I helped you obtain the private seal, and you used it to threaten Father into canceling our engagement.” Fu Yunning clenched her hands, her mind focused entirely on Xu Yunci, completely unaware of the sinister glint in the Prince of Zhao’s eyes.
“Of course I won’t forget.” King Zhao’s eyes held an inscrutable meaning. He placed the private seal in his purse, held the purse containing the private seal in his hand, and walked away.
Looking out from afar, the lotus leaves in the middle of the lake stretch out in a continuous line, with delicate pink lotus flowers nestled among the green leaves. For a time, there were quite a few people enjoying the lake.
Just as Li Shiyue was about to step out to find Qin Wanyin and Xu Wan, she was suddenly stopped by a voice behind her: "Cousin Yan Yan."
It was Wei Yujie. She had come over at some point, and upon closer inspection, her smile seemed somewhat forced. She walked to Li Shiyue's side, and perhaps afraid that Li Shiyue would ignore her, she took the initiative to tug at her sleeve.
Li Shiyue glanced at the hand gripping her sleeve and patiently asked, "Why didn't we go boating on the lake together? The lotus flowers at the Grand Tutor's residence were in full bloom."
Wei Yujie shook her head, a bitter smile on her lips: "My fifth cousin went boating on the lake with Lord Guo, but I didn't go with her."
It turned out that Xu Lingzi and Guo Xun had gone boating on the lake again. Li Shiyue turned to look at the lake, but it was too far away to see which boat Xu Lingzi and Guo Xun were on.
"Lord Guo is so good to Fifth Cousin. He stays with her no matter what, even on this occasion."
Wei Yujie paused as she spoke, then looked up and realized that Li Shiyue's gaze wasn't on her at all. She felt anxious and bit her lip even harder.
"If only I had such good fortune. My cousin Yan Yan is loved by the young master, my fifth cousin is with Lord Guo, and Miss Qin and Miss Xu are on good terms. No one else can get involved. Only I am all alone."
Li Shiyue turned to look at her, seemingly not immediately understanding what she meant by those words.
She subconsciously tried to break free, smoothing out the wrinkles on her sleeves, pretending not to understand what Wei Yujie meant.
"Ayin and Awan have very good personalities; you'll see that in time. I'm going to find them; you must come with me."
Wei Yujie gave an awkward smile, her lips twitching slightly. She shook her head but didn't go over. Those women had lived in the capital since childhood, and much of what they said was unfamiliar to her. Their tone was like that of a wooden stake that couldn't understand or speak. She preferred to wander around.
Li Shiyue didn't force her, and breathed a sigh of relief as she walked towards Qin Wanyin. Xu Wan noticed her first and pulled her to sit down: "We were just talking about you, and here you are."
"The county princess's arrival is just in time. We were just wondering what would be a suitable gift for her wedding day."
The woman who spoke was from the household of a third-rank imperial censor. These families were all officials' wives who served the Chonghua Palace.
The woman had a kind face and chatted with Li Shiyue. The woman beside her also spoke up, "The county princess and the young master's happy occasion is naturally going to be a grand one."
"More than that, look at how much the young master cares about the county princess. He would probably find all the best things in the world to give to her, just to win a smile from the beauty."
The women huddled together, talking in hushed tones. This wasn't their first time meeting Li Shiyue; although they weren't as close as Qin Wanyin and Xu Wan, it didn't mean their relationship was bad.
Li Shiyue's cheeks flushed, but she didn't flinch. Qin Wanyin and Xu Wan, flanking her, were also smiling and looking at her with teasing eyes.
"And you're talking about me? You guys are all getting engaged too, and I've prepared gifts for you all."
The women exchanged smiles, and one of them stood up, pretending to express her gratitude: "Then this humble woman thanks Your Highness the County Princess."
After she finished speaking, Qin Wanyin was the first to burst out laughing, and the others couldn't help but laugh as well.
As the banquet began, Li Shiyue remembered Wei Yujie and brought her to sit next to Madam Yang.
Compared to Li Shiyue sitting beside Yang Shi, with whom she occasionally conversed, Wei Yujie, sitting on Li Shiyue's other side, seemed slightly uneasy.
The Rongguo Duke's residence was located near the front, and her seat was next to Li Shiyue, with the Duchess above her. Having experienced the previous incident, she felt a certain fear of the Duchess and subconsciously dared not approach her.
Moreover, many eyes were on her, and compared to Li Shiyue's composure, she felt a little flustered.
"Cousin Yan Yan, I want to go change my clothes."
Li Shiyue had no doubts, only saying, "Don't go too far."
Wei Yujie's eyes lit up with joy, and she nodded hurriedly before quietly leaving the table with her maid.
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