After a long silence, she chuckled softly, "It's nothing, just a kind reminder. If you do too many bad things, you'll eventually fall into a trap, don't you think?"
Jiang Qingyue's composure wavered until Shen Tangning walked away and she felt a sharp pain in her palm. Only then did she dazedly let go of her hand, staring at the nail marks on her palm with an inscrutable expression.
...
What were you and Miss Jiang talking about just now?
As she approached, curiosity flashed in Gu Qingxu's eyes.
Shen Tangning casually replied, "Just catching up. How are you feeling? Are you nervous?"
The other person's attention was indeed diverted; their face flushed, they lowered their head, and their fingers unconsciously clenched together: "Why am I nervous?"
Seeing her shy and unaware appearance, Shen Tangning smiled and said, "There's no need to be too nervous, after all, it's a done deal."
Gu Qingxu pursed her lips, her tone somewhat dejected: "Nothing is absolute in this world, as for His Highness the Crown Prince..."
She was still unsure of his feelings. He was acting on his parents' orders, but what did he think about it himself?
So that's what you were worried about?
Shen Tangning suddenly realized and coughed lightly: "There's something I've been keeping from you."
Gu Qingxu slowly raised her head.
"The birthday gift I gave you this year was that ancient chess manual. Actually, it was a gift from His Highness the Crown Prince, and I was just passing it on on his behalf."
Gu Qingxu stared wide-eyed in astonishment, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
Shen Tangning couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile, and lowered her voice: "His Highness was worried that you wouldn't accept it, so he used my name as a pretext."
The Gu family has very strict rules, and Gu Qingxu is a bit old-fashioned. Not wanting to put pressure on her, Yan Huai asked Shen Tangning for help, and she never doubted it.
Gu Qingxu's cheeks flushed red, and she glared at her, embarrassed and annoyed: "Why didn't you say so sooner..."
She didn't send a gift to His Highness on his birthday. Actually, she had prepared one, but she didn't dare to give it to him.
Seeing her frustrated expression, Shen Tangning smiled but said nothing.
The eldest princess also arrived and said a few words before the banquet officially began.
She never liked these kinds of troublesome things, but since the Empress had approached her and seemed quite sincere, she impulsively agreed.
Looking at the crowd in the courtyard, Yan Mingyi felt overwhelmed and clicked her tongue in disdain.
...
"Brother Chu, why do you keep covering your face? Is there something you're ashamed of?"
Shen Ci stared at Chu Mingyu's evasive manner, quite puzzled.
Chu Mingyu covered the lower half of his face with his sleeve, his voice muffled: "It's nothing, I'm just... not very convenient to see people lately."
Shen Ci felt an itch in her heart, like a cat scratching her. Taking advantage of his inattention, she ripped open her lips, then her hand trembled, and she took a few steps back in shock: "Why are your lips so swollen?"
With things having come to this, Chu Mingyu could only lower his sleeves. His lips were swollen, ruining his handsome face. He said helplessly, "I was stung twice by bees."
Chi Yan's lips twitched slightly, and she subtly gave him a thumbs up.
That's incredibly reckless!
Shen Ci looked at him with pity: "Your skin is so swollen, you didn't go and steal honey, did you? And you really got a taste of the sweetness!"
Chu Mingyu: "..."
——
"Why is the princess laughing?"
"Could it be that the princess already has a chosen consort in mind?"
Those around her chuckled and teased, but Princess Yun'an kept her gaze fixed on the men's section, a meaningful smile playing on her lips, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"There really is one."
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