The next day, in contrast to the previous days' sunny and pleasant weather, a gentle drizzle started falling early in the morning.
The entire capital city was enveloped in misty rain, taking on a rare and hazy charm.
Since Xie Chenghui came to Tingfeng Courtyard, there had been more signs of life here. Even on this drizzly morning, the liveliness was hard to conceal.
"Sister, sister, I want Zhuqing to take me out to play!"
Xie Fengran was having her clothes dressed by Lanfang when Xie Chenghui came running in and pounced towards her.
Liu Yi, who was just picking out jewelry for Xie Fengran, quickly caught the boy in her arms. "My young master, you can't pounce on the young lady like this. If her clothes get wrinkled even a bit, she'll have to change again."
Xie Chenghui didn't quite understand what Liu Yi meant, but he knew he couldn't pounce on his sister. So he leaned in Liu Yi's arms, sucking his finger and tilting his head to look at Xie Fengran.
Xie Fengran let Lanfang attend to her while she turned to talk to Xie Chenghui. "Chenghui, have you had your breakfast?"
Xie Chenghui nodded and suddenly smiled. "Sister, you're so pretty!"
Xie Fengran burst out laughing. "Chenghui, be good. Sister will bring you something to eat when she comes back!"
"No, I want to go out and play with Zhuqing!"
"It's raining outside. How can you go out to play?"
Xie Chenghui rolled his eyes, then turned back and pointed at the door. "I have clothes!"
"Clothes?" Xie Fengran glanced at the door and saw Zhuqing with both hands behind his back, peeping furtively in their direction.
Seeing Xie Fengran looking over, he quickly straightened up. Before she could ask, he took out a small coir raincoat from behind his back and said obsequiously, "Miss, this was made for the young master by my senior brother."
Xie Fengran, who was just thinking of an excuse to stop Xie Chenghui from going out to play in the water: "..."Thank" your senior brother for me!"
"Senior brother said the miss needn't be polite!"
"..." It seemed that the leader of these Bloodthirsty Guards was quite idle!
In the end, Xie Fengran didn't stop Xie Chenghui from going out to play. She just told Lanfang, "You stay here and watch over them. Make sure Chenghui doesn't catch a cold."
"Miss, don't worry!"
After dealing with the most difficult one, Xie Fengran left the courtyard with Hexiang and Liu Yi.
It wasn't Uncle Feng waiting at the door. Xie Fengran frowned but didn't say anything. Instead, she got into the carriage.
Liu Yi obviously noticed it too. She let Hexiang get into the carriage to attend to Xie Fengran while she sat beside the coachman and started chatting.
After a while, Liu Yi also got into the carriage. "Miss, it was the old madam's order!"
Xie Fengran waved her hand, signaling her not to say more.
Princess Fourth had made another appointment at Jingyueju.
After the incident at Lingfeng Teahouse, Xie Fengran always suspected that Jingyueju might also be someone's property.
Hardly had the thought crossed her mind when the person in question appeared.
As soon as Xie Fengran got out of the carriage, she didn't see Princess Fourth or the Crown Prince, but only saw Qin Junxing holding an umbrella beside the carriage.
"Your, Highness, the Prince, why are you here?"
"Naturally, I'm here for the same reason you are." Qin Junxing raised his eyebrows and smiled, looking extremely charming.
He held the umbrella and walked to the carriage, waiting for Xie Fengran to get out.
Xie Fengran refused. "Thank you, Your Highness. My maid can hold the umbrella."
Qin Junxing remained unmoved and still stood there. "If you hesitate any longer, the little thing between us will probably reach Uncle's ears. Then you won't need to avoid suspicion anymore. You can just go straight into the palace."
"..." Xie Fengran lifted her skirt and got out of the carriage.
A hint of a smile flashed across Qin Junxing's eyes. He held the umbrella for Xie Fengran, and the two walked side by side into the main hall.
The scene looked quite harmonious.
However, this scene was extremely eye - catching to the person upstairs!
Inside the private room, Princess Fourth was standing by the window, holding a handful of sunflower seeds and munching on them happily. Her eyes were full of the look of watching a show.
Even the low - pressure aura around the Crown Prince didn't affect her. She was watching with great relish.
It was not until the two entered the restaurant that she came back to her senses. She had to admit that the two of them, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, were really a feast for the eyes. She felt a bit reluctant to stop watching!
When she came back to her senses and wanted to grab another handful of sunflower seeds, she heard a cold voice beside her. "Is it nice to watch?"
Princess Fourth was just about to nod, but at the crucial moment, her strong will to survive made her shake her head against her will. "It's not nice!"
"If it's not nice, why did you deliberately mention in front of Father that you invited Miss Xie?" The Crown Prince turned his head, with a cold expression and a gloomy tone. "Zhaoyue, is Qin Junxing's hairpin so good that you betrayed your own brother to help him?"
"Brother!" Princess Fourth was indignant. "You've placed people beside me?"
"Dear Zhaoyue!" The Crown Prince gave her a cold look. "Do I need to remind you that all your people were sent by me?"
Princess Fourth remembered that all her personal attendants were good hands from her brother's side, who had helped her avoid many secret plots. So she said a bit sheepishly, "Brother, don't be angry. It was Father who asked me to do this. I didn't expect these two to be so affectionate."
"..." The Crown Prince's face turned even uglier!
Seeing the Crown Prince's increasingly ugly expression, Princess Fourth felt a bit nervous. But as everyone had arrived, that nervousness turned into excitement.
Witnessing the confrontation between rivals in love up close was simply too exciting.
Maybe Princess Fourth's gaze was too intense. The three of them all turned around and looked at her.
"Everyone's here. Take your seats!"
Princess Fourth coughed lightly to cover up her expression.
She glanced at her Crown Prince brother without showing it.
The Crown Prince ignored Princess Fourth's expression. His eyes were fixed on the two people opposite, and he just felt that there was an indescribable tacit understanding between them.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Seeing that this good show was about to turn into a violent incident, Princess Fourth quickly spoke up. "Sister Xie, the interview is the day after tomorrow. How are you preparing?"
"Not bad. I just don't know what questions the masters will set, so I'm a bit nervous."
Princess Fourth nodded repeatedly. "If you all pass but I fail, how embarrassing that would be! I don't know what questions those old men will set?"
Unable to hold back, Princess Fourth blurted it out. After she said it, she felt a cold look from beside her. She quickly explained, "I don't mean to disrespect the masters. They are all great scholars of our time, so brilliant that they will surely not argue with a little girl like me!"
Her will to survive was simply off the charts. After she finished speaking, she looked at the Crown Prince. "Brother, is it okay now?"
The Crown Prince was a bit helpless. "Zhaoyue, as a princess, you should be more cautious in your words and deeds. How can you criticize the masters?"
"Brother, I was wrong. I know now!"
While watching the interaction between the siblings, Xie Fengran's thoughts flew to the message Qin Junxing had given her yesterday.
Those masters who "all perished", the information on that piece of paper -
Did the Crown Prince know about it?