Li Xinyue was struck like lightning by Li Xinrong's words.
The champion of the first imperial examination in the Great Yan Dynasty was actually him!
The man she had treated badly!
So, besides Murong Xiu, there was also Chu Junyi on the boat.
Great! A banquet had successfully brought together the two men she least wanted to see.
She secretly let out a sigh and gritted her teeth to accept this most embarrassing and dismal moment in her life. In her mind, she pictured the scene at the banquet where the two men stood in a parallel line and stared straight at her in unison.
It was simply unbearable!
Steadying her nerves, Li Xinyue pretended to be calm as she raised her eyebrows, but quietly shifted behind Li Xinrong. Seizing the opportunity, she turned around and tried to leave.
When Li Xinrong heard the champion say that he was resting there because of seasickness, she immediately thought of Li Xinyue.
"So many people are seasick. Even Sister Six is seasick."
Li Xinyue froze, feeling as if she had needles on her back.
Chu Junyi's gaze fell on that back figure. He watched the bright red Hangzhou silk embroidered everyday robe sparkle in the sunlight, the hairpin on the bun swaying gently in the breeze, and that back figure that dared not face him.
His eyes tightened. He slowly closed his book, walked around to Li Xinyue, and looked down at her.
"Does Princess Yuanyang like to bully others by relying on her power so much?"
Li Xinyue stepped back guiltily, trying to avoid the cold gaze above her head.
Who would have thought that as she stepped back, the man stepped forward. His tall and straight figure was like a moral yardstick, measuring her dirty deeds.
She was speechless.
Chu Junyi took a deep breath, and the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.
That night, just as the innkeeper's wife came in, she saw them hugging each other.
With great difficulty, he put her back on the bed. When he turned around, he saw the innkeeper's wife hurriedly leaving after throwing down the clothes, and "kindly" closing the door.
There was nothing he could do but take matters into his own hands.
Then his body, already feverish from a cold, became even hotter.
This woman even touched him all over. Just when he was at his most restless and uncomfortable, she fell into a deep sleep.
As a result, he had dreams for three months. In every dream, it was her. And every time it got to the crucial moment, he heard her calling Murong Xiu's name.
Thanks to her, he remembered that man named Murong Xiu deeply.
The heir of the Duke of Dingguo.
Indeed a handsome and elegant young man.
"Mr. Chu, you've come just in time! Please be my witness. Sister Six hit me!" Li Xinrong took the opportunity to pull Chu Junyi to her side.
"Sister Six, as the saying goes, what goes around comes around. No one can escape this truth.
Mr. Chu, when we get on the boat later, please testify for me! I was beaten by my own sister. Look, there's still swelling on my face."
Although Chu Junyi had no feelings for this delicate Fourteenth Princess, he had to admit that what she said today made quite a lot of sense.
"What goes around comes around! The Fourteenth Princess, at such a young age, understands this truth. Why doesn't the Sixth Princess?"
Li Xinyue was speechless.
Sixteen years old was still young?
Fine. She was guilty. She was a heartbreaker. She would get her just deserts.
Would that do?
She couldn't afford to provoke them, but she could afford to avoid them.
Li Xinyue turned around and got on the boat.
Chu Junyi was so angry that he tightened his lips.
Her silent attitude made him feel that he wasn't worthy of her attention. Even after that absurd night, in the eyes of the high - and - mighty princess, it probably didn't count for much.
Maybe, in private, she had countless male favorites, and he was just one of them. That's why she didn't care.
So he was angry. He clenched his fists tightly.
"Your Highness should have seen the person clearly this time, right? Well, in broad daylight, there should be no mistake!"
Li Xinyue's heart trembled. She stared at Chu Junyi angrily.
The incident that night must not be known to anyone, especially Li Xinrong.
What was this man trying to do? Was he trying to drag her down with him?
She was annoyed, and even the last bit of shame she felt towards him vanished.
Finally, Chu Junyi saw a slight change in her emotions. He felt satisfied, as if he had vented his anger. "Your Highness, next time, please pick someone else to trick."
This time, Li Xinyue really couldn't hold it in anymore!
"The champion seems to think too highly of himself. Do you think that just because you've won the champion title, I'll think highly of you? What a joke! There are countless young men in the Great Yan Dynasty. Why should I take you seriously? Who do you think you are?"
Chu Junyi clenched his fists tightly and looked down at the ground. His eyes were filled with gloom.
So, the five hundred taels of silver was meant to insult him?
He had even thought about taking responsibility for that matter. In the end, it was just his over - ambition.
After a suffocating silence, he slowly stepped back, bowed to Li Xinyue with hands clasped in front, his posture humble. "Your Highness is right. I've learned my lesson."
Li Xinyue opened her mouth. She was anxious and turned around to look for him, but due to her pride, she didn't call out to him in the end.
The five hundred taels was compensation for him. This ungrateful...
Forget it. He was an irrelevant person. He could think whatever he wanted. Anyway, he was an outside official and she was a princess. They probably wouldn't meet again. Just consider today a small accident.
She rubbed her temples and let out a long sigh. When she calmed down, she found that Li Xinrong was also gone.
She didn't even know how much Li Xinrong had heard or guessed.
Moreover, Li Xinrong would definitely ask Chu Junyi to testify about the fact that she had hit her.
In addition, there was Murong Xiu on the boat.
So, today was a day when the heavens were out to get her!
After a brief inner struggle, she quickly came up with a plan in her mind.
First, stabilize Chu Junyi, then deal with Li Xinrong.
As for Murong Xiu—
That guy probably couldn't wait to avoid her. There would be no chance for them to meet, so there was no chance for embarrassment at all.
...
At this moment, there was singing and dancing on the boat, and cups were clinking.
Outside the boat, the spring breeze blew across the lake, and the waves slapped against the hull, making a thumping sound.
Li Xinyue gritted her teeth. Standing outside the toilet, she held onto the handrail of the boat, blowing the spring breeze and smelling the faint stench. Reluctantly, she swallowed her pride.
"Just now, I was wrong. I apologize to you. Mr. Chu, please be magnanimous and don't bear a grudge against me."
Since there was no suitable place to talk, this was the only option.
After all, the men's and women's toilets were adjacent. If someone saw them, she could pretend that she had just come out of the toilet, so as not to be discovered that she was in an ambiguous situation with the champion of the imperial examination. It just smelled a bit bad, just like Chu Junyi, both smelly and stubborn.
Chu Junyi came out of the toilet, shook off the water on his body, leaned against the wall, and looked at her with his arms crossed.
The noble princess in front of him had a long roll of paper stuffed in her nose. Her peripheral vision would occasionally fall on him, but when their eyes met, she would quickly look away guiltily.
Chu Junyi raised his eyebrows, and his mood actually improved a little.
He even despised himself a bit!
He wasn't her male favorite. Why should his mood be affected by her?
"Your Highness is as precious as gold and jade. What mistake could you possibly make?"
Li Xinyue's eyebrows and eyelashes trembled. It was this "as precious as gold and jade" again. She was almost allergic to these words.