The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

The fourth prince, being the legitimate son of the empress, held a noble status and did not take the eldest prince seriously.

He did not invite the eldest prince today.

He was extremely displeased by the way the eldest prince acted like the master of the house.

After the Fourth Prince finished speaking, the others did not dare to respond easily.

"I wonder how my cousin's little princess is doing, yet he shows no concern whatsoever."

It was Luo Jingqian who picked up the conversation.

He rarely appeared at banquets, and even when he did, he was as inconspicuous as someone who could be seen. This time, his unusual behavior was unexpected. Could it be because of that dark-skinned girl?

"My cousin has really gone to great lengths for this...dark-skinned girl. If she has no skills to fight, why don't you take her place?"

The eldest prince, contrary to his usual humility, actually confronted Luo Jingqian.

He already knew what Han Cuiyin had done at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The eldest prince glanced at Luo Jingqian with a sinister look, then grinned, "I thought someone would marry a sickly man, but I didn't expect... this marriage is quite good."

Grand Secretary Han considers himself a lone minister, impervious to persuasion. Despite repeated attempts to recruit him secretly, he has always politely declined. If the eldest daughter of the Han family marries the second son, the second daughter marries the third son, and this dark-skinned girl marries Luo Jingqian, then things will get interesting.

At that time, the Xu Prince's Mansion, the Xu Imperial Preceptor's Mansion, and the Grand Princess's Mansion were all going to get involved.

Sensing the connection, the eldest prince was visibly excited. "Changshou, you finally get to come out, so you should host a banquet to make everyone happy. It's just an arts competition; the young masters and ladies here are just having fun. It's better than just sitting here doing nothing."

The fourth prince's face turned somewhat ugly, and he was about to lash out when Luo Jingqian stopped him with a look.

"Alright! Since the eldest brother insists, the champion should at least have a prize. What do you all think?"

What could the crowd do but agree?

The First Prince's trip was solely to disrupt the Fourth Prince's banquet; in any case, they were merely tools in the power struggle between the two.

Seeing the eldest prince's foolish behavior, the young princess tightened her grip on Qi Yuejiao's hand even more.

"Aunt Qi, shall we go sit with Sister Black Face?"

The young princess's voice wasn't quiet, but it seemed louder because no one else in the hall was speaking at that moment.

The eldest prince looked over, his smiling face suddenly falling the moment he saw Qi Yuejiao. "You're here, why aren't you coming over! You've only fallen into the water, and you've already lost your mind?"

These words were truly disrespectful to the young princess.

Qi Yuejiao's eyes had lost all their affection, and she retorted directly, "The young princess is lucky to have escaped death. Your Highness claims to be a benevolent father, so why doesn't he find out who tampered with the boat? Why doesn't he punish the palace servants who gossiped about the young princess? If it weren't for them, she wouldn't have misunderstood and insisted on coming to the middle of the lake to talk with me..."

Qi Yuejiao's appearance left the eldest prince speechless.

Imperial Censor Qi was known for his eloquence. Like Han Zhen, he came from the imperial examination system and was the second most favored person in the eyes of Emperor Chu Yuan.

All those he impeached were found to be reasonable and had never been wronged. High-ranking officials in the court always treated him with great courtesy, fearing that he might find a pretext to attack them and be relentlessly pursued by Censor Qi.

"This is the jade pendant Your Highness left behind when you saved me. Here you go!" Qi Yuejiao tore something off her neck and threw it at the Crown Prince. "As for our marriage, it was all my doing. Tomorrow, I'll have my father go before the Emperor to confess his sins. I'd rather cut my hair and become a nun!"

Everyone listened intently, never expecting such a turn of events.

A woman fell into the lake at the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The eldest prince's fiancée was almost saved by a stranger. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the eldest prince was magnanimous. In order to refuse the marriage, she even took the initiative to add some color to her own head.

Han Yueshi sat next to the Third Prince, eating melon seeds with a smile on her lips. "If it weren't for Lingzhi's intervention today, Miss Qi and the Little Princess would have both perished. Miss Lin, you've gone to any lengths to become the First Prince's consort. Does the Lin family even know what you've done? After all, the Emperor only hinted that he wanted to choose one of the ministers' daughters for a political marriage, but you disregarded two lives in your attempt to avoid it."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of understanding.

Lin Jiabao cast a pleading look at the eldest prince, but he completely ignored her. He stood up and walked up to Qi Yuejiao, saying, "This jade pendant does not belong to me, nor did I save you. There is no need for you to repay my life-saving grace by offering yourself to me."

Qi Yuejiao stared blankly at the First Prince's face, her eyes clearly filled with disbelief. "Your Highness, in order to distance yourself from me, you actually said with your eyes wide open... Fine, let my father come to the palace to meet the Emperor tomorrow. Yuejiao was frightened after falling into the water. Fourth Prince, please allow me to go home and rest as soon as possible."

The Fourth Prince sat in the main seat, somewhat absent-minded. He looked up and met eyes with red-rimmed rims. "Miss Qi has been frightened. Go back to your residence and rest early! Someone, go and investigate the incident of someone falling into the lake at the pavilion today—"

"Changshou, I've already decided not to pursue the matter of Wenmin falling into the water, so why are you meddling in other people's business?" The eldest prince glared at the young princess, his face showing displeasure.

The Fourth Prince abandoned his usual nonchalance and became unusually serious. "Eldest Brother, I am merely investigating for Miss Qi to ascertain that she did not wrong anyone, but was framed. I simply want to find the culprit. As for that person's final fate, with Imperial Censor Qi here, we have no right to interfere. If we don't find out today, I'll be the one eating the dregs tomorrow!"

As expected, the Crown Prince was speechless when Imperial Censor Qi appeared.

Lin Jiabao could no longer sit still; she was about to twist the handkerchief in her hand into a rope.

Qi Yuejiao put away the jade pendant and left without looking back, accompanied by her maid and servants.

The young princess called out "Aunt Qi," but still did not get her to turn around.

"Father, please give me back the nannies who served Mother. They were the ones who truly cared for me! If they were here, why would I have gone to cause trouble for Aunt Qi today?"

The young princess, named Wen Min, burst into tears in front of so many people.

The orphaned child was pitiful, and some of the girls present also shed tears.

Han Lingzhi glanced at Han Cuiyin and then said, "Your Highness has the heart of a loving father, so why not grant the little princess's wish? She is young and has been frightened today. If Cuiyin and I go any later, we will become two innocent souls in the water."

"Thank you for saving me today, Miss Han. I will send you a gift of gratitude soon. However, the old nanny who served Wenmin's mother has already been released to live out her days in peace. If we want to find her, it will take some time."

The eldest prince regained his previous composure, completely different from before.

Seeing this, Han Yueshi smiled and thought to herself, "You're right, the eldest prince does have feelings for the second sister."

Lian Yao replied immediately: "After today, I will be going to the Pinglian Mountains. Your cultivation is quite good. You are putting your knowledge to practical use. The experiment you just conducted on the First Prince was quite good."

Why go there?

Don't ask so many questions. You can handle the rest yourself. Once you've mastered the skill, you won't need to ask anyone for help.

After Lianyao finished speaking, there was no further reply.

Han Yueshi was helpless; she only realized Lian Yao's power after cultivating.

Her hands were tucked into her sleeves, and she secretly made a hand seal, causing the wisp of black energy that had been on the eldest prince to be drawn away from him.

Han Cuiyin suddenly looked up and saw the black aura moving from the eldest prince to Han Yueshi, and she understood.