The Crown Prince sensed Xie Fengran's inquisitive gaze and turned to look at her. "Miss Xie, is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Your Highness's words are quite correct," Xie Fengran said, gathering her wits and no longer daring to let her mind wander.
The Crown Prince watched as Xie Fengran became on guard because of his words. A flicker of darkness passed through his eyes.
She could accept Qin Junxing holding an umbrella for her just now, but she became guarded because of his words. She really made a clear distinction.
Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up in his heart.
He had shown her so much favor, yet why would she rather get close to Qin Junxing than accept him?
"Miss Xie, you..."
"Hey, Sister Xie, look. Isn't that Zhang Yao?"
Before the Crown Prince could finish his words, the Fourth Princess interrupted him.
Xie Fengran let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief and stood by the window, looking in the direction the Fourth Princess was pointing.
A carriage marked with the emblem of the Prime Minister's Mansion stopped at the door. First, a young girl in a pink - purple brocade dress jumped out of the carriage. After standing still, she lifted her skirt and rushed inside.
Immediately after, a young man in a sky - blue brocade robe got out of the carriage behind. This young man scrambled out of the carriage and shouted, "Cousin." Then he also followed in.
The Fourth Princess and Xie Fengran exchanged a look, and both saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.
It was the Fourth Princess who spoke first. "Sister Xie, if I'm not mistaken, that's Zhang Yao! Who's that man?"
Xie Fengran was also a bit surprised. "Your Highness is right. It is indeed Miss Zhang. That man... seems to be her cousin!"
"Cousin?"
After Xie Fengran finished speaking, she only felt the Fourth Princess's eyes light up. "Then isn't he Zhang Yao's fiancé?"
Xie Fengran didn't know what had happened in the imperial study that day. Hearing what the Fourth Princess said, she was even more confused.
Finally, Qin Junxing kindly explained, "Prime Minister Zhang has betrothed Miss Zhang to her cousin."
"..." Xie Fengran looked at Qin Junxing's expression. Why did she feel that this matter was so strange?
Zhu Ye had investigated. Zhang Yao's cousin was just an ordinary wealthy family member. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and he was also fond of women. Would Prime Minister Zhang betroth his daughter to such a person?
She didn't quite believe it.
However, seeing that neither the Crown Prince nor the Fourth Princess refuted, it was probably true.
Xie Fengran had a hunch that this matter must be related to Qin Junxing.
But the occasion was not right, so she couldn't ask in detail.
Just as they were talking about Zhang Yao, a commotion suddenly came from the door of the private room.
"Miss Zhang, His Highness the Crown Prince is inside. You can't go in," said the voice of an imperial guard.
Immediately afterwards, a shrill female voice came. "Get out of the way. I'm here to find the Prince."
"Miss Zhang..."
The Crown Prince glanced at Qin Junxing and suddenly said, "Let her in!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Xie Fengran clearly felt the excitement of the Fourth Princess beside her. Her eyes kept darting around Qin Junxing.
Qin Junxing, however, showed no sign of uneasiness. He even joked, "Your Highness really knows how to think for this subject."
"Cousin, running away is not the solution!"
As soon as the voice fell, Zhang Yao came in. She immediately saw Qin Junxing sitting on the chair. "Prince!"
"Miss Zhang!"
Qin Junxing收起 his smile and looked at Zhang Yao calmly. "May I ask what Miss Zhang wants with this prince?"
Zhang Yao looked at Qin Junxing's face. She thought this man was extremely good - looking. Even when he was cold - faced, he was still good - looking. "I, I..."
Qin Junxing's expression turned cold. "If Miss Zhang has nothing to say, please leave. Miss Zhang is already betrothed. This prince doesn't want to hear any bad rumors! I don't want to get myself into trouble."
A look of hurt flashed across Zhang Yao's face. "Prince, I don't agree to that marriage, so it doesn't count. Moreover, my father was forced."
"Cousin!"
Zhang's cousin was standing at the door with his mouth half - open, obviously very surprised. "Cousin, didn't you say you liked me?"
The situation suddenly changed. Zhang Yao obviously forgot there was such a person behind her. But obviously, she didn't take this cousin to heart. Instead, she looked at Qin Junxing anxiously. "Prince, it's not like this!"
"What the situation is has nothing to do with this prince," Qin Junxing said.
"Prince..." Although Zhang Yao had seen Qin Junxing's coldness before, she really didn't expect that he would still be so cold - hearted even after she had said so much. "Prince, I love you and want to marry you. I don't want to marry my cousin!"
Qin Junxing rubbed his temples, looking a bit impatient. "Miss Zhang, be careful with your words. Don't damage this prince's reputation. After all, this prince hasn't married a princess yet!"
This look of disgust was impossible to ignore.
Xie Fengran, who was standing by the window trying to minimize her presence, suddenly felt her arm being nudged. She turned her head -
The Fourth Princess leaned over and whispered, "Is Zhang Yao out of her mind?"
Xie Fengran glanced at Qin Junxing and whispered back, "Not necessarily. It's just that your cousin is too charming!"
These words...
The Fourth Princess suddenly looked over, her tone a bit excited. "Sister Xie, do you like cousin?"
"No, I don't, I don't like him!" Xie Fengran denied it three times without even thinking.
But then she thought that she was still a partner with him. Would such a quick denial hurt the prince's face?
She nervously glanced at Qin Junxing, only to find that the prince was looking back at her.
His expression was somehow a bit dangerous.
Xie Fengran subconsciously turned her head away to avoid his gaze.
After avoiding his gaze, she realized that she hadn't done anything wrong. Why should she avoid him?
Thinking like this, she straightened her back and glared back.
While they were having a silent exchange of glances, the cousin got anxious. He quickly rushed to Zhang Yao's side. "Yaoyao, Uncle has already agreed. You clearly agreed too. How can you go back on your word like this?"
"Shut up!" Zhang Yao shouted angrily. "If I didn't say so, would my father let me out of the mansion? And look at yourself. Are you worthy of me? I tell you, I've never liked you. I said those things just to get out of the mansion. If you're smart, go and tell my father that you're not worthy of me and cancel this engagement!"
...
After Zhang Yao shouted hoarsely, the room fell into silence!
Zhang's cousin took a panicked step back. Obviously, he couldn't accept that his fiancée had belittled him like this. He kept shaking his head. "It's not like this. You said you've liked me since childhood. You said you asked Uncle to agree to this engagement. You said you would be with me forever..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yao didn't show the expected emotion. Instead, she looked at him disdainfully. "You believe whatever I say? Cousin, I don't like you. If you really like me, go and cancel the engagement with my father. Then you'll still be my cousin. If you want to marry any noble girl in the capital, I'll help you. Okay?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room looked a bit uncomfortable.
But Zhang Yao didn't think there was anything wrong. She still waited for Zhang's cousin to speak.
Zhang's cousin shook his head, and the words he said surprised everyone -
"But if I marry someone else, what will happen to you?"
"Cousin, you're already mine!"