Chu Hongluan smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear and casually added, "On the contrary, if you harm me today, I will go to the Imperial Court tomorrow and accuse Prince Mo of disrespecting the Emperor's grace! Prince Mo is outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful of me, the fiancée bestowed by His Majesty, to the point that he wants to frame me with fabricated charges in order to get rid of me!"
The girl stood in the wind, her clothes fluttering like butterfly wings, her smile cold yet extremely arrogant: "Guess? Do they believe you, or them believe me?"
Therefore, from the moment she decided to kick him, she knew he would be powerless against her.
Meticulous, confident, decisive, and adept at handling situations.
She is not Chu Hongluan at all!
"You are not Chu Hongluan at all."
Mo Yu looked dazed and murmured softly.
His words were so soft that they could almost be swallowed by a gust of wind.
But Chu Hongluan was close enough to hear it.
She simply frowned impatiently: "It's your business how you imagine things. I'm busy. If Prince Mo has nothing else to say, I'll be leaving."
Before she could finish speaking, she had already turned around.
Mo Yu instinctively reached for her arm again, but she slapped it away forcefully!
The girl glanced sideways, her phoenix eyes cold and piercing, filled with intense killing intent: "Don't touch me. This is the last time I'm warning you."
Enveloped by such a gaze, Mo Yu felt a chill run through his body, as if his blood was about to freeze. Strangely, he could no longer muster even a trace of the courage to fight back.
Chu Hongluan ignored him and slowly walked away.
Bitao glanced at Chu Hongluan's retreating figure, then at the still-stunned Prince Mo, blinked her large, unsettled eyes, and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me!"
He immediately got up and chased after his young mistress.
Mo Yu snapped out of his daze, looked down at his hand that had been slapped until it was bright red, and his eyes were filled with complex emotions.
Actually, what he meant when he stopped her was that he didn't care whether she was the real Chu Hongluan or not, and he could even help her conceal it and create momentum for her, as long as her intentions were harmless to him.
After all, compared to making a good-for-nothing who only knows how to cause trouble and drool over handsome men a princess, a princess with her courage and resourcefulness would be more favored by him and more useful.
Especially when he still had leverage over her.
But now Chu Hongluan has left without hesitation, without the slightest bit of guilt. Is she really so fearless?
Or is it...?
No, no matter what, he didn't believe that the current Chu Hongluan was the same person as the former Chu Hongluan.
He will definitely find the evidence.
"Prince Mo!"
Hurried footsteps came from behind, followed by a clear, cold call.
Mo Yu bent down to brush the shoe print off his clothes, and when he turned around, his face had returned to its usual indifferent expression.
"Miss Xu."
Xu Qingqiu tried her best to adjust her breathing and tone, and then tidied her slightly disheveled sideburns, which had become messy from running too fast, in order to make herself appear more elegant and proper.
"Everyone has finished their meal and is now enjoying the game of floating wine cups on a winding stream. The princess asked me to come and fetch the prince and Miss Chu to go back."
As she spoke, Xu Qingqiu glanced behind Mo Yu out of the corner of her eye, and only after confirming that she didn't see Chu Hongluan did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief. But she still asked aloud:
"Has Your Highness seen Miss Chu?"
How could Mo Yu not see through her scheming? He had initially allowed her to get close because he wanted to use her to get rid of Chu Hongluan.
But now, he has changed his mind and no longer intends to engage in any pretense with her.
Mo Yu's tone was indifferent, his thin lips moving as he said, "Never." Without even glancing at her, he turned and left, heading back towards the banquet.
On the other side, Chu Hongluan followed the direction the kitten had run off in. She stopped when she reached the next pavilion.
"Bitao, go back to the banquet area and keep an eye on things. Call me when it's over."
Bitao wanted to say that it wasn't safe for Miss to be here alone.
But then I thought about it again and realized that this was the princess's back garden, and there were no bad people around, so there shouldn't be any danger.
And upon further reflection, even Prince Mo couldn't bully her young lady, so who else could?
So Bitao obediently nodded and turned to leave.
After dismissing Bitao, Chu Hongluan sat down again in the pavilion and calmly said, "You've been following me for so long, it's time to come out."
I heard the rustling sound of fabric behind me.
When Chu Hongluan turned around, she saw a tall, slender figure emerge from the shadow of the big tree.
The boy awkwardly touched his nose and simply said, "I'm sorry for rudeness."
There was no further explanation.
The boy was about eighteen or nineteen years old. He stood tall and straight, with fair skin like snow and clear, spirited eyes. His long, ink-black hair was tied up high with a silver crown inlaid with sapphires.
She wore a magnificent indigo blue round-necked robe, with silver thread embellishing the cuffs, chest, and hem, outlining delicate auspicious cloud patterns.
With a jade-bone fan tucked at his waist, he was undeniably dashing and debonair.
"Aren't you going to explain?" Chu Hongluan raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on her face.
The boy tentatively moved towards Chu Hongluan step by step, and weakly asked, "I...can I sit down and talk?"
To be honest, having learned from Prince Mo's experience, he was also afraid of getting beaten up.
Chu Hongluan was amused by his appearance, pointed to the stone bench beside her, and said, "Sit."
"Why!"
Liu Jinghong responded quickly, then scurried over and sat down. He cupped his hands in greeting and said loudly, "I am Liu Jinghong, son of the Marquis of Zhenbei. I am honored to have you here!"
Oh——Prince Liu Xiaojun.
"Why is the young prince following me instead of attending the banquet?"
Chu Hongluan had only asked casually, but the young man in front of her blushed instantly and stammered, "It was just...just a moment of curiosity."
A flicker of interest flashed in Chu Hongluan's eyes. She deliberately moved closer to him, softening her voice and letting out a sweet, fragrant breath: "What is the young prince curious about? Me?"
Liu Jinghong suddenly stood up and took several steps back! A large area behind her ears turned red at a visible speed.
"Miss Chu, please don't misunderstand! I had no intention of disrespecting you! It's just that you are very different from the women I usually see, which is why I followed you as if by some strange impulse. If you feel offended, I will leave now!"
"The young prince has not yet answered me why, despite the arrival of guests, he did not attend the banquet but instead lazed around in the back garden?"
Liu Jinghong pursed her lips shyly and said, "I don't like those occasions, but my mother is fierce, so I had to come. I originally planned to find a tree in the back garden, take a short rest, and then go back to report after the banquet. I never expected to hear you arguing with Prince Mo under the tree..."
He told half of it, and kept the other half hidden.
He didn't mention that he had actually been awake for a while and had watched her play with the cat for quite some time, including her unusually casual "sweeping leg" kick.
He sensed a sense of freedom in her and wanted to get to know her, but the annoying Prince Mo beat him to it! He was forced to listen to a dispute and unexpectedly learned her name.
Chu Hongluan.
Those three words seemed to be etched into his heart.
It sounds pleasant to the ear no matter how you look at it.
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