After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"No, no, the princess is kind-hearted, a celestial being descended from heaven, she would never kill a lowly servant like me."

Xiang An smiled and said, "Of course I won't kill you. Here's what we'll do: I'm leaving the manor now and don't have time to find Sun Yi. You can go and tell him that the cost of the vegetables is three coins for two heads. Have him count how many heads are in the two baskets and calculate whether I made a profit or a loss by buying these vegetables today."

With each word she spoke, the head chef's face grew paler, until finally even his lips trembled.

However, Xiang An didn't care whether he lived or died. A head chef in the kitchen was neither in charge of money nor in charge of purchasing. Knowing that she had personally changed the dishes today, he still came to her to cause trouble. If no one had backed him up, who would believe that he was so audacious?

Xiang An shouted, "Hurry up and get it done! Don't delay me from enjoying the dishes you personally prepared tonight."

The implication is—I'll protect your life, and Sun Yi can't kill you either.

The head chef's pale face regained some color, and tears welled up in his eyes: "This servant thanks Your Highness for sparing my life, thank you for your grace."

After leaving the mansion, I boarded the carriage and lifted the curtain. The fresh scent of oranges wafted out. The orange segments, peeled and with the pith removed, lay in a jade dish.

Xiao Ling put down the orange peel in her hand and bowed: "Your aunt specifically instructed me to peel the orange peel clean for the princess."

"I understand." Xiang An waved his hand casually, somewhat dazed. "Go out and tell the coachman we're going to the First Prince's residence."

Xiao Ling: "Yes."

She left and sat down next to An at the table, staring blankly at the orange segments. She inexplicably felt that the orange segments in the jade dish were a bit too big, and she attributed this to either the table being too big or the jade dish being too big.

In fact, the table was small and square, and was only used to place snacks and tea in the carriage. The jade plate was a normal size, made by the Imperial Household Department of the palace.

While eating an orange, he was thinking about how to talk to Xiang Xin.

Xiang Xin is not someone who is easily fooled. The last test failed, and this time, even though someone brought her medicine, she didn't want to show any interest because she really disliked this brother.

Or should I just buy him something on the street now?

As I was pondering this, I heard the noisy, bustling voices around me gradually fade away, and soon the carriage stopped.

Xiang An didn't speak or lift the carriage curtain. Instead, he quietly took out a dagger from his pocket and crouched down warily, keeping an eye on the carriage door.

He thought to himself, "No matter who comes in next, I must strike first and catch them off guard."

For a long time, all was quiet.

Suddenly—

"Princess."

With a low, clear, and concise sentence, Xiang An already knew who the person outside the carriage was. He put the dagger back into its sheath in his bosom and remained still.

"I apologize for inviting the princess here in this manner; it is Fu Qingbai's fault for being so impolite."

Finally hearing what he wanted to hear, Xiang An lifted the carriage curtain, climbed out of the carriage, stood on the carriage shaft, and looked down at Fu Qingbai, who was looking up below the carriage: "One hundred taels of silver."

Fu Qingbai: "One hundred taels?"

Xiang An stepped down from the carriage: "As an apology for your rudeness."

A verbal apology is the least effective.

Fu Qingbai: "...Yes."

"Where are my people?" Standing by the roadside, Xiang An looked around but didn't see Xiao Ling or the driver.

Fu Qingbai looked up and gazed across the street. Xiang An followed her gaze and saw two people sitting in a teahouse across the street, surrounded by four men, their expressions filled with bitterness and resentment, yet forced to drink tea.

It's good that there's no danger to his life. His gaze shifted from the teahouse to Fu Qing's pale face, focusing on his dark eyes. Xiang An casually asked, "General Fu, are you planning a rebellion?"

Rebellion, a word that could get you killed, was something Xiang An deliberately used. He could stop her carriage whenever he wanted.

Fu Qingbai: "..."

Fu Qingbai silently reached out and took the bundle containing the medicine bottles from her arms. Only after taking it away did Xiang An realize that her arms were already sore from holding it so tightly.

Fu Qingbai bowed: "Princess, please."

He gestured for her to go into the restaurant to discuss business.

Xiang An did not object much to this. The rumors had not yet dissipated, and the emperor was still watching. Meeting the two of them was already extremely risky. He did not want to meet him, but there were some things he had to say.

Before going in, Xiang An subconsciously glanced up at the signboard, and the three small characters on it made her pause—

Piaoxianglou.

Thinking of the book she saw in a secret room in this building, her gaze swept meaningfully over Fu Qingbai.

The person next to her stopped, and Fu Qingbai immediately looked back at her: "Not good?"

"No, very good." The next moment, as if verifying something, Xiang An strode in.

The window of the private room was half open, and the bright sunlight streamed in warmly. In the shady corner, lush orchids filled the shelves, their pale red flowers in full bloom. When the summer breeze blew outside the window, the delicate fragrance of orchids filled the entire room.

The waiters lined up like an assembly line, carrying trays in one after another, and quickly filled the small round table to the brim. After putting down the last pot of tea, the waiter smiled and closed the private room.

"There's so much, can the two of us finish it?" Xiang An was a little worried about wasting food.

Although this amount of money was nothing to Fu Qingbai, and although she knew he had specially prepared so many dishes to show her princess status, the waste was still a fact.

Fu Qingbai: "It's alright."

Xiang An: "Okay."

Fu Qingbai treated her to a meal, and she brought her own food. Her constant worrying about trivial matters only spoiled the fun.

Xiang An quickly finished her meal and put down her chopsticks: "What exactly do you want from me?"

Last time, Fu Qingbai tried every means to say something to her, and this time he came again. I don't know what it is that he can't let go of.

Upon hearing this, Fu Qingbai, who was slowly chewing his food, put down his chopsticks, hesitated for a long time, and then said, "Princess, Your Majesty..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, unable to continue. His voice trembled uncontrollably, and his face and ears turned bright red. He felt as if he were an actor about to make his stage debut, filled with anticipation yet also extremely nervous.

Xiang An frowned: "What?"

Why is he blushing after only a few words? Could it be... that the person in front of me is someone else in disguise?

Thinking about it, Xiang Ban leaned over, reached out, and pulled at his face from all sides, muttering to himself, "Smooth and delicate, without pores, soft and tender like tofu, it's real human skin."

Fu Qingbai: "...Princess, I am a military general."

"General, yes, yes, how can a general like you have such good skin? What skincare products do you use? This Empress... cough cough"

Under Fu Qingbai's calm gaze, Xiang An felt extremely embarrassed. She coughed a few times to relieve the embarrassment, picked up her teacup, and took a big gulp of tea: "I'm getting off-topic. Um, well, you continue, you continue."

Fu Qingbai said solemnly, "I am Fu Qingbai."

Xiang An sipped his tea and nodded perfunctorily, "I know, I know."

She just verified it; it really can't be real.

Fu Qingbai: "I adore the princess."