Qin Yi narrowed his eyes when he heard this: "A marriage offer?"

He completely ignored Lin Xiyuan's previous words.

"That's right." Lin Xiyuan looked directly at Qin Yi and said calmly, "The old lady of the Chu family has already told my grandmother that we will be settled in a few days."

Qin Yi had seen the answer in Lin Xiyuan's eyes, and his voice unconsciously became extremely cold: "Who is it?"

"My cousin Jinyao."

Qin Yi suddenly felt an unspeakable irritation. He wanted to tell Lin Xiyuan that he could call her Jinyao? But Qin Yi endured for a long time and found out angrily that he had no reason to stop this.

Marriage between men and women is a natural law. With what identity and what position did he have to stop Lin Xiyuan?

Qin Yi once again thought of last year when he inexplicably asked Chu Jinyao what kind of husband she wanted to marry in the future. He had a vague feeling at that time that Chu Jinyao's ideal husband was based on Lin Xiyuan's image.

If Chu Jinyao was willing, this would actually be a match made in heaven, wouldn't it?

Qin Yi paused for a long time and couldn't speak, so Lin Xiyuan just waited quietly. Qin Yi probably knew why Lin Xiyuan said this in front of him. The arranged marriage was fake, but the secret reminder was real. If he really wanted an arranged marriage, he could just write a letter to request a seal. He was just a prince, so why would he ask for his will?

Lin Xiyuan saw that he was too close to Chu Jinyao, so he deliberately reminded him. Qin Yi seemed to have been hit by a wake-up call. He now clearly realized that Chu Jinyao was already fourteen years old, at the prime of her life. She would soon discuss marriage with another man, get engaged, and even take someone else's surname and have children. Now, this man dared to run up to him and warn her not to get too close to Chu Jinyao.

Qin Yi seemed like a lion whose territory had been invaded. He was obviously angry, but he didn't know what he was angry about.

When he finally sorted out his mood, the first sentence he said was: "Do your parents know about this?"

Lin Xiyuan knew that the old princess would personally tell the princess and the prince about this. He was satisfied that his parents would not object, so he said with extra firmness: "Of course."

Qin Yi suddenly felt that there was nothing to say. The matter was a foregone conclusion. It seemed that he could only bless them. Although he looked down on the Lin family's king of a different surname, to be fair, compared to Shanxi, Huailing Palace was already a good home, and compared to those powerful and noble children in Beijing, Lin Xiyuan had already made much more progress. His family background and character were both acceptable, and Qin Yi had no position to convince himself that this was not a good marriage.

The most important thing was that Chu Jinyao liked it.

She must be very happy that her dream came true and she successfully married her lover.

Qin Yi clenched his hands in his sleeves several times, and finally flattened them stiffly. There was no unnecessary expression on his face, and he said to Lin Xiyuan very calmly and coldly: "The Changxing Marquis's Mansion is also a promising family. It's a good thing that your two families can form a marriage."

Lin Xiyuan smiled: "Then I would like to thank Your Highness in advance. When the time comes for the wedding, Your Highness is welcome to come."

Qin Yi said coldly, "No need" and wanted to stand up and leave. Lin Xiyuan hurriedly stopped him: "Your Highness, please stay."

"What else?"

"A few days ago, my sister accidentally walked into Your Highness's area. She was young and ignorant, and did not mean to offend. Afterwards, my grandmother and mother also taught her a lesson. Your Highness, please do not punish my sister because of her young age."

It turned out to be this matter. Qin Yi had never taken their county head seriously. He had stepped forward last time because she dared to bite Chu Jinyao. If Chu Jinyao was really engaged to Lin Xiyuan, then the county head would be Chu Jinyao's sister-in-law. Even though Qin Yi was a man who didn't care about the affairs of the harem, he knew that the sister-in-law of the husband's family should not be offended. With this consideration, Qin Yi couldn't embarrass Lin Baozhu anymore, lest their family embarrass Chu Jinyao in turn.

Qin Yi nodded perfunctorily: "I see. I just said it casually that day. Since she is young, let it go."

Lin Xiyuan bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness." After that, he said casually: "My sister is naive and young, and she respects Your Highness the Crown Prince the most."

Qin Yi was in a bad mood to begin with, and when he heard Lin Xiyuan's words, he inexplicably felt something was wrong. Qin Yi frowned and stared straight at Lin Xiyuan: "What do you mean?"

Lin Xiyuan was originally testing, and when he saw that the Crown Prince was alert, he immediately retracted his gaze. Lin Xiyuan smiled gently: "I just said it casually, Your Highness, don't take it to heart."

Qin Yi glanced at Lin Xiyuan very coldly, then retracted his gaze, not wanting to look at him even once. For some reason, Qin Yi now finds Lin Xiyuan particularly unpleasant.

Qin Yi walked out, and Lin Xiyuan followed behind to see him off. They walked one after the other, and just as they reached the courtyard, they suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside.

Chu Jinyao ran in panting in the same clothes as before.

Qin Yi frowned almost immediately: "What's the matter?"

After Chu Jinyao ran over, she never expected that the prince and the prince had not left yet. She didn't bother to talk too much, and said hurriedly: "Your Highness, Prince, have you seen a jade pendant?"

"What jade pendant?" Lin Xiyuan asked. What kind of thing is it that can make Chu Jinyao so anxious?

Qin Yi guessed it without Chu Jinyao's explanation. He looked at the hem of Chu Jinyao's skirt and found that the jade pendant there was indeed gone. He

actually lost this jade pendant. Qin Yi looked at Chu Jinyao helplessly, turned around and told Xiao Linzi: "Mobilize people to find a palm-sized jade pendant with red silk floating inside."

Chu Jinyao was trying her best to adjust her breath, and wanted to describe it to the prince and the prince after catching her breath, but before she could open her mouth, the prince actually said it.

Chu Jinyao was shocked.

Lin Xiyuan saw Chu Jinyao's expression and felt more and more uneasy: "Your Highness, how did you know about the fifth cousin's jade pendant?"

Qin Yi thought to himself, when he saw this jade pendant, you didn't know Chu Jinyao yet. But Qin Yi has never been a person who is willing to waste his words, and his status does not allow him to be so arrogant, so Qin Yi did not explain, but just said lightly: "I have seen it."

Lin Xiyuan's eyes became more and more vigilant. Chu Jinyao suppressed the feeling of irritation and fear in her heart, and told herself to find the jade pendant first. She said: "Your Highness, Prince, Your Highness is right, my jade pendant is indeed the size of a palm, the jade is clear, and there are about ten red fibers floating in the jade. By the way, I also put a gold thread on the outside of the jade pendant."

"Gold thread..." Qin Yi was very disgusted. Good jade, how tacky it is to turn it into gold. Did he agree?

"Ah?" Chu Jinyao looked at Qin Yi in surprise.

"It's okay, I just think you have a special taste."

Chu Jinyao smiled awkwardly: "It's okay."

Lin Xiyuan kept smiling, but his guard was raised again. The prince was not one to explain things to others. He always gave orders when speaking. You didn't need to know why. Just do as he said. But the prince himself probably didn't realize that he would always subconsciously explain the whole story to Chu Jinyao.

Why?

Lin Xiyuan secretly raised his heart and made up his mind to urge his grandmother to exchange the engagement letter with the Changxing Marquisate as soon as possible. The prince... definitely had no good intentions.

Qin Yi asked Xiao Linzi to write it down, and then said to Chu Jinyao, "Don't worry, I've asked someone to check it. As long as it's found, it will be sent to you immediately."

Chu Jinyao's heart, which had been uneasy for a long time, finally settled down. She breathed a sigh of relief, bowed and thanked, "Thank you

, Your Highness." Lin Xiyuan was also very concerned about this matter. He looked down on Qin Yi's behavior of taking the lead, so he said, "I will send someone to look for fifth cousin's things. This is a family affair of our palace, so Your Highness doesn't need to worry about it."

Qin Yi was stung by the word "family affair". He glanced at Lin Xiyuan coldly and said, "Why should I need others to point fingers at me when I do things?"

Qin Yi had already used the title "I" in his words. Lin Xiyuan didn't dare to say anything and lowered his head to give in. Chu Jinyao was frightened. How could the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Prince become so bad in such a short time? He even called himself the Crown Prince.

Chu Jinyao was still unwilling to give up and searched the courtyard from top to bottom. She was looking for something here, and Qin Yi and Lin Xiyuan were accompanying her not far away. Chu Jinyao felt bad and kept saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Prince, if you have something to do, go back first. Linglong and I can look for it here."

Lin Xiyuan shook his head, and Qin Yi said, "Just look for it with peace of mind."

In the end, Chu Jinyao still found nothing and left with regret. She didn't go anywhere else today, so where could she have dropped it?

Xiao Linzi followed Qin Yi to his residence. At first, Xiao Linzi walked quickly, but later he almost had to jog to keep up. After Qin Yi returned to his residence, the first thing he did was to gather everyone and let them go to the garden to find the jade pendant.

Xiao Linzi carefully looked at Qin Yi's face. Ever since the prince came back from outside, he has been in a bad mood. Xiao Linzi was serving by his side and was really scared.

Xiao Linzi asked tentatively: "Prince, what's wrong with you today?"

Qin Yi didn't say anything, his brows were cold, Xiao Linzi shrank his neck and immediately didn't dare to mention this matter again.

After a while, someone outside reported: "Your Highness, the princess and the county lord sent a food box, saying it is an apology gift for your Highness. Do you want to see it?"

Qin Yi was too lazy to even say a word. Xiao Linzi quickly pushed open the door and sent him away, saying: "No need to bring it in, let someone handle it."

The person outside agreed. After the footsteps faded away, Xiao Linzi sighed: "The princess's hospitality is really thoughtful. This time she even sent a gift in the name of the county lord. Their family is thoughtful..."

Qin Yi's hand, which was writing quickly, suddenly stopped. He raised his head and asked: "What did you say?"

Xiao Linzi was startled and quickly apologized: "Prince, please forgive me. I overstepped my bounds and talked about the master's affairs..."

"I asked you what you meant by that sentence just now."

"Ah?" Xiao Linzi was stunned, shook his head and said, "They held a banquet and sent gifts, isn't it obvious that they want to please His Highness?"

Qin Yi woke up as if from a dream, and finally understood what Lin Xiyuan meant.

"Could it be that they are planning to give that county lord to me?"

Xiao Linzi remained silent, but his expression showed that it was obvious.

Qin Yi found it incredible: "Why do they think I will agree? Their county lord is stupid and arrogant, simply... the most ridiculous thing in the world."

Xiao Linzi couldn't help but nod, and when he realized what he was doing, he stopped immediately. Xiao Linzi said, "Your Highness, I didn't tell you before that the fourth lady of the Chu family also sent you something."

"Her?" Qin Yi had no good feelings towards this vicious woman who had taken everything from Chu Jinyao and framed her time and again. He was very kind not to pursue Chu Jinmiao, but this woman dared to provoke him?

"Throw them all out." Qin Yi said coldly, "If she does it again, throw them in front of her."

Xiao Linzi responded attentively. He then remembered something jokingly: "The general and others had originally guessed that the prince would prefer this kind of noble and talented woman, but they didn't expect..."

Qin Yi tapped the table with his fingers, and his eyes immediately swept towards Xiao Linzi. Xiao Linzi was a well-behaved man, and was favored by the prince. He was a little bit dazzled unconsciously. He suddenly realized what he had said, his face turned pale, and he knelt down with a thud.

"You are getting more and more daring, and you even dare to discuss my affairs."

Xiao Linzi kowtowed: "Your Highness, spare my life."

He did not even dare to defend himself, and directly asked Qin Yi to be lenient.

Qin Yi waved his hand tiredly and said, "Go and accept the punishment yourself. Get out, I don't want to see you."

"Yes." The servants did not dare to provoke Qin Yi, and they all retreated in small steps.

After everyone left, Qin Yi stood in front of the desk, holding a pen in his hand, but did not move for a long time.

In front of him was a piece of rice paper. He originally practiced calligraphy to calm himself, but the rice paper had become a mess, and he was still irritable.

The general, a soldier, actually guessed his preferences and thought he liked noble women?

It was a joke.

The Lin family wanted their arrogant and brainless county lord to be the crown princess. Qin Yi sneered. The county lord looked like a child who had not grown up. How could he like this? As for Chu Jinmiao, it was even more a fantasy.

Qin Yi thought a lot sarcastically, but his heart became colder and colder. He disdained most women, so what should the crown princess look like in his imagination?

Qin Yi fell into a long silence because of this question.

After a long silence, Tang Xinyi's voice came from outside the house: "Your Highness, we found what you wanted."

Qin Yi came back to his senses and said, "Bring it in."

Tang Xinyi went into the house as he was told, only to find that there was not a single servant in the house. He was surprised, but did not dare to ask any more questions. He put down the things and left.

The room returned to silence again. Qin Yi found a chair and sat down, slowly unpacking the jade pendant.

This was something Chu Jinyao had brought with him since he was a child. A year ago, he also rested his soul here. He remembered that before he fainted, the red floss in the jade pendant disappeared completely, but he did not expect that after such a long time, it would slowly grow red silk again.

The fate in the world is really wonderful, and sometimes it is really cruel.

Chu Jinyao lost her jade pendant and slept restlessly all night. The next day, when she went to pay her respects to the old princess, she still looked listless.

"What's wrong with Fifth Miss? Why do you look listless?"

Chu Jinyao was called by her name and woke up instantly. She then realized that the old princess was looking at her. Chu Jinyao smiled and said, "Nothing, I didn't sleep well yesterday, and I can't concentrate today."

"So you didn't sleep well." The old princess and the people around laughed, "You are still a child after all. You will miss home when you are away for a long time. It just so happens that your grandmother has a letter. Why don't you two go home and stay for a few days

, so that you can talk to your grandmother. She must miss you so much without these two well-behaved granddaughters." The old princess said this, obviously leaving no room for Chu Jinyao to refuse. Chu Jinyao also wanted to go home, so she smiled and stood up and agreed, "Thank you for your consideration, old ancestor."

Chu Jinmiao was very reluctant. Why? The prince is still here, who wants to go back to Changxing Marquis' Mansion! Chu Jinmiao was reluctant to agree, but her arms were no match for her thighs. Chu Jinyao had already agreed, and no matter how Chu Jinmiao tried to manipulate it, she could not change the result.

The prince came to pay his respects very late today, so the other girls naturally had to wait until the end. Chu Jinyao wanted to go back and find her jade pendant, so she said goodbye in advance: "Grandpa, I am really dizzy and can't talk with you."

"Okay, you should go back and take a nap."

Chu Jinyao saluted and walked out with the maid. At the gate of the courtyard, Chu Jinyao happened to meet the prince who came to pay his respects. When

Chu Jinyao saw the prince, she stopped and stood aside early. She saluted the prince from a distance: "Long live the prince."

Qin Yi approached slowly and saw Chu Jinyao standing under the crabapple tree in a silver-red dress. She had become much whiter and taller than before. Now she had black hair, snow-white skin, gorgeous facial features, red lips and white teeth. She stood quietly under the crabapple tree, like a light and appropriate ink painting, with just the right color and white space. She

seemed to complement this mansion, and she herself was accustomed to everything. Perhaps, this was the environment she liked.

Qin Yi did not stop as usual. He just nodded slightly and passed by Chu Jinyao. Chu Jinyao didn't know why, but her heart was empty.

Actually, she still had some questions for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...

Forget it, let's talk about it when there's a suitable opportunity in the future. There are so many people coming and going here, and she can't just stop the Crown

Prince like this. After Chu Jinyao returned to the house, she took the opportunity to pack up her things and searched the house again, but she still couldn't find her jade pendant. Chu Jinyao was frustrated and anxious. She couldn't explain why the jade pendant was important, but she just knew that it couldn't be lost, no matter what.

After the old princess made her words that day, Chu Jinyao didn't go out for a few days, and stayed in the yard wholeheartedly preparing to go home. The day before she left, a eunuch in green clothes knocked on Chu Jinyao's gate, handed a jade pendant to Kikyo, and left without saying a word.

Chu Jinyao held this special jade pendant, and then she felt relieved. She was grateful but also a little surprised. Was it such a coincidence that the prince found her jade pendant the day before she returned home?

Chu Jinyao thought that she must thank the prince tomorrow. Maybe the prince thought it was a piece of cake, but for Chu Jinyao, this was a great favor.

However, things did not go as she wished. The next day, Chu Jinyao took the carriage home. Yang Qixia, the county lord and others came out to see them off. Even the prince came and gently told Chu Jinyao to be careful on the way. Chu Jinyao was very moved. She looked back again and again, but still did not see the other person.

Forget it, Chu Jinyao said self-deprecatingly, the prince was a man of such status, how could he remember such a trivial matter as her departure today. Anyway, she was only going home for a short stay, and she would thank the prince in person after she came back.

Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinmiao got on the carriage one after another, the horse snorted hard, scratched its hooves, and then let go of all four hooves, pulling the carriage out of the second gate. When

Old Madam Chu received the news that Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinmiao were going home for a short stay, she was surprised for a moment, and then she put away her expression. Old Madam Chu asked about their daily life in the Prince of Huailing's Mansion, and let them go back to rest.

Ever since the last time Old Madam Chu almost sent Chu Jinmiao to the nunnery, the relationship between Chu Jinmiao and Old Madam Chu has become visibly bad. Everyone in the mansion knew about this, but they just tacitly didn't mention it.

Old Madam Chu even secretly asked Chu Jinyao, "What does Chu Jinmiao do in the palace?"

Chu Jinmiao and Old Madam Chu almost fell out. Chu Jinmiao tried her best to jump high, wanting to give the old lady a good look, and the old lady would naturally suppress Chu Jinmiao in order to maintain her own face. Chu Jinyao

thought about it and told Old Madam Chu the truth about Chu Jinmiao's plan to detain Linglong and Lin Xining's ambiguous attitude.

After hearing this, the old lady's face immediately fell: "I knew she was not a worry-free person. Zhao was willing to trust her! I don't know whether to say she is kind or stupid."

The old lady could say something bad about Zhao, but Chu Jinyao could not. Chu Jinyao remained silent. The old lady quickly realized that it was not good to say these things in front of the younger generation, so she changed the subject with a faint expression: "Is it true about her and Ning'er?"

"Grandmother, you can ask aunt."

The old lady pondered. If Chu Jinmiao was indeed a girl from the Chu family, it would not be bad to go with the flow. However, the problem was that Chu Jinmiao had no relationship with the Chu family, and even now she still hated the Chu family.

Old lady Chu did not want Chu Jinmiao to marry high at all, and she did not want to see Chu Jinmiao marry her precious grandson. Since it is a hidden danger, there is no need to try. It is best to nip it in the bud.

The old lady thought about many things and finally said to Chu Jinyao, "I know. You go back and have a rest first."

The old lady stared at Chu Jinmiao. Chu Jinmiao was not on guard against the old lady before she tried.

She sent people to inquire for a long time and finally found out about Chu Jinyao's strange shop.

With the help of Nanny Sun, Chu Jinmiao knew that Chu Jinyao had something in her hand. Unfortunately, Nanny Sun passed away early and many things were not found out.

But the information left behind was bit by bit. Chu Jinmiao observed that someone came to the mansion every month to report things to Chu Jinyao. Chu Jinmiao sent people to watch for a long time and finally determined the address of this group of people.

Early in the morning, Chu Jinmiao harnessed the carriage and asked the coachman to drive to this place. She wanted to see what Chu Jinyao was doing.

When they arrived outside the store, Chu Jinmiao asked the coachman to slow down early and drove the carriage into an alley. Then Chu Jinmiao opened the curtain herself and checked the situation across the street.

Seeing the street across the street, Chu Jinmiao was shocked. She didn't expect Chu Jinyao to have such a grand and magnificent store. But this is even more strange. Why did the shopkeeper bring Chu Jinyao to such a big shop?

What is his plan?

Chu Jinmiao was puzzled. She couldn't imagine how much profit a shop like this could make every month. Chu Jinmiao was very indignant. How could Chu Jinyao get such a bargain? She was feeling depressed when she suddenly saw a group of people sneaking towards the embroidery shop.

They were two men and one woman. They were poorly dressed, with dark and cracked skin. They looked like a couple and their son. They seemed to be from the countryside and found everything in the city new and surprising. The younger man was fine, but the hunched middle-aged woman was timid and almost didn't dare to raise her head.

The three of them supported each other and slowly walked to the gate of Yunzhi Embroidery Shop. Seeing such a grand store, the woman hesitated and refused to go in. The middle-aged man next to her seemed to be cursing. The three of them were arguing when suddenly a well-dressed young woman walked out of the store. The young woman seemed to be out to get something. She saw three people on the steps and her face suddenly became very ugly.

The three people seemed to smell flies. They immediately rushed over and held the woman's arm and refused to let go. The middle-aged woman's performance was particularly exaggerated. She held the woman's hand and cried, "Su Hui, I raised you with my own hands and promised you a good marriage. But now that you have money, you treat your own parents like this?"