Lu Wanning frowned. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
He Chan's eyes widened like copper bells. "Nonsense? Let me ask you, what are you doing here if not to plot something?"
Lu Wanning was impatient. "You're crazy. This is a restaurant. Who can't come?"
"How could it be such a coincidence? My cousin was dining here today, and some man came to harass her. It must be your doing. If Brother Fu hadn't come in time, my cousin..."
Shi Aohan also rushed over, tears in her eyes as she stopped He Chan. "Chan'er, this has nothing to do with Miss Lu. Don't talk nonsense."
He Chan pulled her behind. "You always think about others, but what about her? She clearly meant to harm you."
Lu Wanning rolled her eyes and stood up. "Harm her? I'm the respected Princess Zhaoyang, the emperor's favorite princess. Why would I harm an orphan girl living in someone else's house? I think it's beneath me!"
"You... What did you say?"
Lu Wanning clapped her hands. "Can't you understand what I'm saying? I think it's beneath me. Besides, I don't have much to do with the Fourth Prince. I don't have the ability to ask him to harass others."
He Chan was stunned. She had just arrived and saw Fu Rongxuan riding away with someone in his hand. She thought it was a lecher, but she didn't expect it to be the Fourth Prince.
Lu Wanning added, "Oh, right, Shi Aohan. I just want to say something. When you play your love games, could you please not involve me? I did break off the engagement, and it's true that your lover fell in love with someone else. But don't blame me for abandoning him. If he were really the one being abandoned, why doesn't he seem sad at all? Instead, he follows you around all day. It's better not to do such things where you want to have your cake and eat it too."
Shi Aohan took a step back. Her face turned even paler, but she only bit her lower lip and bowed slightly. "Your Highness is right."
Lu Wanning was too lazy to play these innocent girl tricks with her. She waved to Jiyue. "Come on. It's too late to wait for anyone. Let's go home."
He Chan couldn't bear it. She reached out and pushed Lu Wanning, causing the gifts in Lu Wanning's arms to fall.
Several books landed on the ground, and the incomplete rare book happened to fall at Shi Aohan's feet.
Lu Wanning got angry. She drew a curved knife from her waist and pointed it at He Chan. "Do you think you can push this princess? I'll teach you a lesson today and make you pay!"
Jiyue was scared out of her wits. She was afraid that her princess would be impulsive and hurt Miss He, so she quickly stepped forward to stop her.
Under the threat of the weapon, He Chan was afraid that the curved knife would hurt her fair face. She kept backing away and was forced to kneel in the corner by Lu Wanning.
"You slandered this princess and tried to hurt her. I've been too kind to you and never punished you before, which made you forget the rule that a princess is personally appointed by the emperor. When you meet her, you should bow and not be disrespectful. He Chan, kneel here for half an hour as a small punishment. If you dare to be wild in front of me again, you won't keep your pretty face!"
After telling the attendants to guard He Chan and not let her get up, Lu Wanning turned around. She saw that all the noble girls were looking terrified at the sight of the curved knife, while only Shi Aohan was holding the rare book and looking at it intently.
Oh, so they have such deep sisterly love. I'm punishing your cousin, and you, the elder cousin, don't show any reaction at all?
Lu Wanning was too lazy to care. She walked over and shouted, "Give it back to me."
Shi Aohan was itching with desire, but seeing Lu Wanning's fierce look, she didn't dare to ask for the book. She just returned it.
"What bad luck."
After being a villain, Lu Wanning felt that all her pent - up anger from not being able to curry favor with powerful people had disappeared. She took Jiyue to buy some snacks nearby and walked around for a while before going home.
At this moment, on the third floor of Linglong Pavilion, He Nanfeng's eyes were full of smiles. "This girl is interesting. She used to be a bit domineering, but she always ended up getting herself angry. Now she finally realizes that as a princess, others can't bully her."
Sheng Jinyu slightly raised his eyebrows but didn't show any expression with a straight face.
He Nanfeng added, "I wonder which friend this girl was planning to meet here today."
The Prince of Qishan was eating while saying, "I heard that the girl from the Jiang family got sick again after being stimulated by your second brother. Maybe she was meeting her... No, since she's sick, she can't go out."
He Nanfeng's eyes darkened, and he didn't say a word.
The Prince of Qishan continued, "Princess Zhaoyang is the same kind of person as the girl from the Zhen family. Maybe she was waiting for the Zhen girl."
He Nanfeng said, "I don't think so. The books she had just now were ancient guqin scores. Zhen Yan doesn't seem like a girl who likes the guqin."
"You're right." The Prince of Qishan pouted. "Actually, women should be obedient and well - behaved. What's the point of always wielding swords and guns? That Miss Zhen has a nice name, but her appearance and personality have nothing to do with beauty."
Sheng Jinyu glanced at him indifferently. "Judging others is not what a gentleman does."
The Prince of Qishan grinned. "Come on. I'm not a gentleman. I'm just a hostage staying in the capital."
He Nanfeng took out a letter and pushed it in front of Sheng Jinyu. "This is the intelligence from those areas. It seems that the local officials are seriously under - reporting, and the Crown Prince is taking too many actions."
Sheng Jinyu slightly raised his eyebrows. "The Crown Prince is very good at using his reputation, but the more he does so, the more suspicious the emperor will be of him. He's just stupid."
The Prince of Qishan thought for a while and said, "Recently, your He family has been in turmoil, and Fu Rongxuan has the problems of breaking off the engagement and having an affair with a woman. On the surface, it's not good for the Crown Prince, but in fact, it's not. Jinyu, do you want to consider finding a way to make sure there are no problems with Fu Rongxuan's marriage? I heard that the Lu family is very concerned about the Empress Dowager. Maybe we can use the Empress Dowager's illness as bait to make the Lu family compromise."
Sheng Jinyu's face darkened slightly. "No need."
He got up and walked to another window, which faced another street. Lu Wanning and Jiyue had just got off the carriage and were laughing as they ran into a shop.
He Nanfeng walked over and asked, "Do you have a plan in mind?"
Sheng Jinyu asked, "What do you think of the Lu family, Nanfeng?"
The Prince of Qishan was startled and quickly came over. "Jinyu, didn't you used to say that Lu Hongxi was stupid and stubborn and that you didn't like him? And the emperor is already suspicious of him. If you..."
Sheng Jinyu frowned and asked, "Did I?"
The Prince of Qishan nodded. "Yes, it was..."
"It doesn't matter." Sheng Jinyu's gaze was calm. "Lu Hongxi is not stupid. He's just loyal. There are too few such loyal officials in the Great Zhou. We should make good use of him. If the emperor is suspicious, we'll find a way to dispel his suspicion."
The Prince of Qishan couldn't believe his ears. He was silent for a while and then said, "Well, Jinyu, the Lu family is closely related to the Queen and the He family. Making friends with them may not be good for us. And who knows if Lu Hongxi is not just pretending to be weak to take advantage of us? I think..."
Sheng Jinyu sneered. "Do you think I care about such things?"