The Prince of Liang frowned and scolded, "Yunxi, you're being too naughty. How could you act like this in front of the Emperor?"
Lu Yunxi pouted and looked at him defiantly. "It was Uncle Emperor who asked me to take it out. I originally wanted to use it to scare Gu Liyue, but you just killed it!"
Gu Liyue was talking to Lin Zhijie. Hearing this, she was quite surprised. Was Lu Yunxi going to scare her with a frog?
The Prince of Liang was extremely vexed. He handed the dagger to his princess and told her to clean it up properly. Then he took a handkerchief and was about to wrap up the dead frog.
Lu Yunxi quickly stepped forward to stop him. "You're not allowed to throw away my frog. You killed it, and now you want to discard it?"
The Prince of Liang was furious. He knelt in front of the Emperor and said, "Brother Emperor, this child Yunxi is too naughty. She must be disciplined!"
The Emperor glanced at him and asked, "Then in your opinion, what should Yunxi be like?"
The Prince of Liang had always been straightforward. In matters of the court, the Emperor often listened to his advice. So he thought this time would be the same and simply said, "Your humble subject believes that a princess should act like a princess. Yunxi should take the Eldest Princess as an example. She is the most beloved princess by the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty. She is the role - model for all the young ladies in the world and should be calm and reserved."
The Emperor smiled. "Third brother, your words are a bit too serious."
The Prince of Liang quickly advised again, "Brother Emperor, if Yunxi is allowed to be so naughty and the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty keep indulging her, and if everyone follows her example, the young ladies will not learn well and will not respect the Emperor and their elders. Won't this lead to chaos?"
Lu Yunxi muttered discontentedly, "Uncle's words don't make sense at all. I'm just playful, but I've never disrespected the Emperor or my elders."
The Prince of Liang looked at her angrily. "Brother Emperor, look at her. She even talks back to her elders."
"Is a good child and a good role - model someone who never talks back or plays around?" The Emperor still looked at the Prince of Liang calmly. "But which child isn't naughty? Not to mention the children among the common people, even the children in the palace should be innocent and naughty. I love Yunxi and A Jie the most because they are as innocent and carefree as real children."
The Prince of Liang was a bit stunned. He looked up at the Emperor and felt that there seemed to be something more to his words today.
The Emperor chuckled. "Or does third brother think that Yunxi is not a good example for noble ladies, and your daughter Jinxuan, who is obedient and sensible, is the real princess?"
He said it casually, but while the Prince of Liang was still reacting, the princess had already knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, your humble subject's wife has made a mistake. My daughter Jinxuan is clumsy. How can she be compared to Princess Yunxi?"
The Emperor's face darkened. He reached out to take the fruit on the table.
The Prince of Liang was quick - witted and held his hand. "The frog just crawled over it. Brother Emperor, you can't eat it."
The Emperor impatiently pulled his hand away and stood up. "Don't you understand? Lu Jinxuan is my own niece."
Then he turned around and was about to return to the palace. Everyone stood up and prepared to follow the Emperor back to the palace.
The Prince of Liang stood there, stunned. He was the Emperor's younger brother. Although one was the king and the other was a subject now, they were still brothers born of the same mother, and their relationship had always been good. The last time the Emperor was angry with him seemed to be when Jin Chen was a child and didn't listen to him, and he punished the child so severely that the child couldn't get out of bed.
Why was the Emperor angry this time?
Looking back, the Prince of Liang saw the concubine of the Prince of Qingling walking over with a cloak and gently putting it on Lu Yunxi.
"Yunxi, it's getting late. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Lu Yunxi pouted. "My frog is gone."
The concubine just smiled. "It's gone. Your step - mother will get you something else fun later. But in the future, you can't be so naughty. You can't be lawless just because the Emperor dotes on you. Do you understand?"
Lu Yunxi just pulled on the concubine's sleeve. "You said you'd get me something fun. What is it? Is it more fun than a live frog?"
They went downstairs together. The Prince of Liang still stood there in a daze. Why was the situation in the Prince of Qingling's mansion so different from his own mansion, even though they both had a step - mother and legitimate children?
The Prince of Liang looked back at his princess and saw his daughter crying. She didn't dare to cry loudly but just sobbed softly. The princess was comforting her gently.
He seemed to have a feeling, but it was so vague that he couldn't even detect it himself, let alone grasp it.
Lu Jinchen was summoned by the Emperor to enter the palace, so he had to part with Gu Liyue. He asked his attendant to escort Gu Liyue back to her mansion.
Gu Liyue shook her head. "I can go back by myself."
Lu Jinchen smiled. "I can't escort you myself, so let my attendant accompany you. Is that okay?"
Gu Liyue lowered her head and didn't refuse. After a long time, she took out the prepared jade pendant from her sleeve, carefully held it up, and presented it to him.
Lu Jinchen was surprised and couldn't help laughing heartily. "Thank you."
Gu Liyue said softly, "I... I can't make good knots. If it... doesn't suit you, you can untie it and ask someone else to redo it."
Lu Jinchen tucked the hair on Gu Liyue's cheek behind her ear. "How could something you made not look good? I like it the most."
Gu Liyue pursed her lips and smiled. "You... Why were you so sudden today?"
"Sudden about what?"
Gu Liyue felt embarrassed. She wanted to ask why he had suddenly expressed his feelings so directly, but she was afraid of delaying his time, so she just shook her head. "Just asking. Hurry up. The Emperor and the others are going back to the palace."
"Okay." Lu Jinchen seemed a bit reluctant to part. Even though there were many lovers on the Lantern Festival, such a well - matched couple was still very eye - catching.
"The Emperor has wanted to meet you for a long time. I didn't bring you to see him until today. But it doesn't matter. After you marry me, you'll have plenty of time to meet the Emperor."
Gu Liyue was startled. She was timid. Meeting the Emperor too often would only scare her more. Looking up and seeing Lu Jinchen's teasing look, she understood that he was deliberately scaring her.
"Don't worry. The Emperor is very kind and will be very good to you."
Running out of time, Lu Jinchen rushed away in a hurry.
Gu Liyue stood under the osmanthus tree, her eyes filled with more tenderness.
"Liyue, over here!"
Gu Liyue looked back and saw Lu Yunxi. She walked over and asked, "Don't you need to go back to the palace?"
Lu Yunxi stuffed the object in her hand into Gu Liyue's hand. Gu Liyue felt the cold, dead frog but didn't show any reaction.
Lu Yunxi pouted unhappily. "Are you really not afraid of anything?"
Gu Liyue shook her head helplessly. "I saw scarier things when I was a child. What's there to be afraid of? But when it's unexpected, it still gives me a bit of a shock. This... It's sticky and uncomfortable. How can you even hold it with your hand?"
Lu Yunxi laughed. "I wrapped it in a handkerchief. It's you who are sticky."
There was no place to wash her hands at the moment, so Gu Liyue had to take a handkerchief and carefully wipe her hands clean. Then she said to the attendant, "Please help me dispose of this."
Lu Yunxi curiously put her arm around Gu Liyue. "Are you always so polite to the guards?"
Gu Liyue blushed. Although she was polite, she wasn't overly polite everywhere. But her own guard wasn't with her, and this was Lu Jinchen's attendant. How could she order him around casually?