"Want to know?" Qi Rong asked, smiling indulgently. Yun Xi nodded instinctively.
"Tell you after the training!" Qi Rong winked at Yun Xi and then turned around to get dressed.
Feeling teased by Qi Rong, Yun Xi rolled her eyes at his back.
"Tsk! Stop being so mysterious. I don't even want to hear it!"
Thinking about the upcoming martial - arts training, Yun Xi instantly felt her legs start to tremble.
When it came to martial - arts training, Qi Rong was not only extremely strict with himself but also with her. He didn't allow her to be lazy at all.
He always pushed her to her physical limit before letting her off.
So, she always felt completely exhausted after each training session.
And then, he would feign concern and give her a pill to replenish her strength.
Several times, she wanted to give up. But seeing Qi Rong's expressions that seemed to say "You're nothing special" or "Are you finally going to surrender?", she couldn't help but get competitive.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and persevered.
"Let's go. There's new training today. If you don't finish it, you'll miss breakfast!"
Just as Yun Xi finished washing up, Qi Rong, fully dressed and all packed up, put his arm around Yun Xi's shoulder, and they left the room together.
Hearing "new training", Yun Xi's calf muscles twitched, and her face showed utter resignation. She took the opportunity to make a request.
"Before that, can I eat something first?"
She wanted to treat herself in advance so that she wouldn't be too tired to enjoy her meal later. Wuwuwu.
"No. You can only drink water before training, not eat."
At this moment, Qi Rong seemed possessed by a devil. Yun Xi pursed her lips, looking extremely aggrieved but not daring to speak out. This made Qi Rong laugh. Then his tone softened.
"However, if you train seriously this time and don't try to be lazy, I'll take you to Fumanlou later. They've recently developed some new dishes."
Hearing about the new dishes at Fumanlou, Yun Xi's eyes instantly lit up, and she perked up.
"What are you waiting for? Let's start right away!"
Yun Xi couldn't wait to grab Qi Rong's arm and dragged him all the way to the martial - arts training ground.
Seeing Yun Xi looking like a greedy cat, Qi Rong couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Fumanlou had many chefs from all over. They were carefully selected by him. Some were former imperial chefs, and some were chefs from other countries who had traveled across the sea to Liuguo. So, the variety, taste, and presentation of the dishes were very diverse.
Knowing that Yun Xi was a foodie, he had ordered the restaurant to constantly innovate to satisfy her taste buds.
Yesterday, someone had wanted to buy Fumanlou. The shopkeeper had sent someone to ask for his opinion, saying that the buyer had brought three large boxes of gold, and the offer far exceeded the value of the restaurant.
However, he had flatly refused because Yun Xi liked the place.
So, even if the buyer offered several mountains of gold, he wouldn't trade it!
With the temptation of delicious food, Yun Xi trained extremely hard today, but she was also extremely tired. Just as she was trying to find an excuse to take a break, two uninvited guests arrived at the Prince Xian's Mansion!
After promising the Empress Dowager to make the Crown Prince give up on Yun Xi, the Eighth Princess went to the Eastern Palace where Qi Yu lived the next day.
She told the Crown Prince everything that had happened to Yun Xi during the period when he was poisoned.
The key point was that Yun Xi had become Qi Rong's concubine, and she urged the Crown Prince to let go of his obsession with Yun Xi.
Due to the poisoning, the Crown Prince Qi Yu's body had been severely damaged. Although Yun Xi had promptly found the famous divine doctor Baizhu in Liuguo to save his life, it would still take half a year of recuperation for him to fully recover.
The Queen was worried about the Crown Prince's health. Knowing his feelings for Yun Xi, she deliberately blocked the news about Yun Xi in the Eastern Palace.
The Crown Prince had been kept in the Eastern Palace by the Queen for recuperation, so he didn't know about Yun Xi's situation.
Hearing what the Eighth Princess said, he thought she was joking with him.
After all, the Eighth Princess disliked Yun Xi and had previously instigated Li Ji to do such things.
So, the Crown Prince Qi Yu also had complaints about the Eighth Princess and naturally wouldn't easily believe her words.
Seeing that her once - close nephew was drifting away from her because of a woman, the Eighth Princess was not convinced. She tried every means to secretly take the Crown Prince out of the Eastern Palace just to let him see Yun Xi's current situation with his own eyes.
To make him completely give up on Yun Xi!
Standing in front of the Prince Xian's Mansion, Qi Yu looked hesitant and said to the Eighth Princess,
"Auntie, let's not bother Uncle Qi Rong. He won't be happy to see us."
Even at this moment, Qi Yu still didn't believe the Eighth Princess's words.
In his heart, he thought that since he had finally managed to get out of the palace, he wanted to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to see Yun Xi.
Because the Prime Minister had been imprisoned before, he assumed that Yun Xi had suffered a lot. However, because of his poisoning, he had almost always been in the palace and hadn't been able to help much.
He heard that in the end, it was Uncle Qi Rong who had stepped in, exposed the Li family's conspiracy, and persuaded his father to release the Prime Minister.
From beginning to end, he had only gone to the Fengtian Hall to give a testimony and didn't even fully understand the whole process.
He felt that he hadn't been able to reach out and help Yun Xi when she needed him the most, so he felt guilty towards her.
He couldn't wait to see Yun Xi!
The Eighth Princess glanced at the guards in front of the mansion and said to Qi Yu,
"We've come all the way here. How can we just leave without going in?"
Seeing Qi Yu's embarrassed expression, the Eighth Princess raised her eyebrows and said,
"Also, don't you believe what I said? As long as you go into the mansion, you'll know if I'm lying to you or not!"
Seeing the Eighth Princess's confident look, Qi Yu couldn't help but be shocked. But he tried his best to shake off the disturbing thoughts in his mind.
Because he knew that Uncle Qi Rong also liked Yun Xi, and he couldn't possibly treat Yun Xi like this.
Taking a concubine was an insult to a noble lady. Even Yun Xi herself wouldn't agree to such a ridiculous thing!
While Qi Yu was deep in thought, the Eighth Princess had already started walking towards the mansion.
"Who are you? Wait for the announcement before entering the mansion!"
Seeing two guards blocking her way, one on each side, the Eighth Princess immediately frowned in anger and shouted,
"How dare you block the way of this princess and the Crown Prince? You even ask who we are. You blind dogs!"
Hearing the Eighth Princess announce her identity, the two guards quickly knelt down to pay their respects. However, even so, they still didn't let the Eighth Princess in and insisted on reporting first.
The Eighth Princess didn't expect the guards in the Prince Xian's Mansion to be so bold. She was instantly enraged and stepped forward aggressively towards the blocking guards.
"How dare you! This princess is going in. Let's see if you can stop me!"
She didn't understand why she had to be blocked by servants even when going to her own brother's house. It was simply outrageous!
Seeing a woman like the Eighth Princess constantly advancing, the guards were flustered.
They were afraid of touching the princess and being immediately executed, so no one dared to stop her anymore.
One of them hurriedly ran in to report, while the other just let the Eighth Princess and the Crown Prince Qi Yu directly enter the mansion!
The Eighth Princess leisurely followed in the direction the guard had run.
Just as they were almost at the martial - arts training ground, they suddenly heard a woman's pleading voice, breathing heavily as if extremely tired.
"I really can't do it anymore. Please let me take a break. I promise it'll only be a short while!"
Then another clear voice sounded, with an unwavering tone.
"No. You've rested long enough."
"How could it be Yun Xi's voice?!"
Qi Yu's expression instantly changed, and he quickly rushed in the direction of the sound.