A short night is hard to please! A stunningly handsome prince dotes on her exclusively.

Lou Shenghan made her stand in front of the table, while he slowly got up with the square cloth in his handkerchief, walked to the pile of handkerchiefs, gathered them up with a hint of disgust, then turned them inside out and wrapped them up, not even wanting to touch the handkerchiefs that bore the marks of his glorious achievements...

"Yuan Huaixue, you gave me these handkerchiefs."

"Yes, yes! If Prime Minister Lou still wants some, I'll have someone prepare more and send them to your residence tomorrow."

"No need!" He glared at Yuan Huaixue irritably, but fearing she would continue to cry, his tone was no longer as harsh as before.

"Yuan Huaixue, I will settle accounts with you properly after the sacrificial ceremony tomorrow!"

Yuan Huaixue's features instantly crumpled, and she clasped her hands together, pleading, "Prime Minister Lou... I really know I was wrong. You can hit me or scold me, but please don't tell my brother and the others."

"Hmph! You've got it backwards. I won't hit you or scold you. Instead, I'll let the whole world know how utterly shameless Princess Yuanqi is. I'll also tell your brothers about this and have His Majesty depose you as princess!"

Lou Shenghan put the bundle on the ground, crossed his arms and sat in front of her, his expression becoming more and more calm, self-confident and proud. To be honest, he was quite self-controlled tonight, and even he admired himself!

Yuan Huaixue was almost in tears, staring at him with teary eyes, "Prime Minister, I really know I was wrong, please, don't tell anyone about this, okay? I'll give you as much gold and silver as you want, but this matter must not be known to anyone else!"

"You've committed such inhumane and heinous acts, and you're still afraid of others finding out? Weren't you planning to drug Brother Ling so that he would lose his virginity to you, and then make a big fuss about it so that you could marry Brother Ling?"

"I...I really know I was wrong."

"Ha! You admit your mistake? I will not only have His Majesty and the Empress Dowager help me make the decision, but I will also let Brother Ling know about this so that he will be wary of me in the future."

Yuan Huaixue's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground with a thud, sobbing, "Your Excellency, please don't tell Brother Ling, okay? I really won't dare to do it again next time, and I won't do such a despicable thing again, I beg you~"

Lou Shenghan was startled and hurriedly got up and moved to the side, saying, "Get up and talk, don't kneel before me."

"Prime Minister Lou... Waaah~ I really won't dare to do it again..."

I hate it when women cry...

He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, it's almost dawn. I need to go back to my residence to rest as soon as possible. Remember, after you've finished crying, next time you see me, you must take a detour!"

"Prime Minister... Your Excellency..." She continued to sob as she looked at Lou Shenghan, fearing that in a few more hours, her brother would find out about this and issue an edict to depose her as a princess...

"Shut up!" He made a shushing gesture, bent down to pick up the bundle from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and made as if to lift his leg and leave.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to give the little princess another scare, "Yuan Huaixue, you can stay in this Cold Snow Palace and enjoy the little bit of your remaining princess life!"

"Woooooo~"

Lou Shenghan ignored the crying behind him, slung the bundle over his shoulder, and walked slowly out of Hanxue Palace with trembling steps.

"Your Highness... Princess, how come it's the Prime Minister?"

Yuan Huaixue collapsed to the ground, ignoring the maid's horrified expression, and just kept crying. Her imperial brother would definitely cripple her, and if Brother Ling knew about this, he would hate her even more...

The next day, the two of them chatted until midnight and ended up sleeping in. It wasn't until Xuan Yuan came to pick them up that Cai Lian frantically tried to wake them up.

"Yan Yan, don't worry, it's fine to let him wait in the front hall a little longer." She calmly put on her clothes, and couldn't help but find it a little funny to see Xin Moyan's anxious appearance.

“Cailian said he had been waiting at the gate for a long time before we welcomed him in. Besides, the sacrificial ceremony is about to begin, so we can’t delay any longer!”

"All right!"

The two stopped dawdling and quickly washed up before rushing to the front hall to find Xuan Yuan.

Xin Moyan instantly spotted the handsome figure in the hall, but... why was he wearing a black robe today?

"Xuanyuan!" The voice couldn't help but contain a hint of excitement.

Xuan Yuan immediately stood up and strode towards the two of them. Seeing her tired face, he said softly, "Yan'er, if I had known that Hua Buyu would disturb your rest, I would have asked her to come a few days later."

Hua Buyu paused, giving him a resentful look. "Boss, you can't be this biased!"

"Hmph! I had no idea that you'd been lounging in Yan'er's room all along."

"I..." Hua Buyu choked up, realizing she had indeed concealed this fact, and quickly changed the subject.

"I heard you played the hero and saved the damsel in distress last night? You almost got my Yan Yan punished?"

"Keep quiet!" Xin Moyan quickly gave him a look. They had just opened up to each other last night and finally managed to put Xuan Yuan at ease about her past relationship with Prince Lie. If she kept quiet about it, he would definitely be unhappy again.

Someone's face darkened, and he said seriously to Xin Moyan, "Yan'er, from today onwards, I will never let you be bullied again."

"Yes, Xuan Yuan, I believe you."

"Alright! Alright! We're already eating dog food first thing in the morning. Let's get going. We can talk in the car."

Cailian tilted her head curiously, "Miss Hua, what is dog food?"

"It's...it's just dog food!"

"what?"

"Hehe, Buyu, stop teasing Cailian, we're going to be late, let's go out!"

Cailian and Hongluan sat outside the carriage with Liuqing, just like last time, while Xin Moyan and two others sat inside. With the addition of Hua Buyu, who was also very talkative, the atmosphere became much more cheerful.

"Xuanyuan, why are you dressed like this today?"

"Yan Yan, you don't understand. This is called a black and white match. Look at you in your flowing white dress and him in his magnificent black robe. You're such a perfect match!" Hua Buyu quickly flattered him, after all, someone really minded her being a third wheel.

"Yan'er, come sit here." He pointed to the seat next to him, his intention quite clear.

"It's the same whether I sit next to Buyu!"

"No! Yan'er, come here." Xuan Yuan's tone was as firm as ever, his cold eyes carrying a hint of warning.

"Hey~ Yan Yan, go over there! Otherwise, I'll be stared at to death!"

"Haha~ Bu Yu, don't exaggerate." Despite saying that, Xin Moyan still obediently moved to the opposite side and sat side by side with Xuan Yuan.

"Yan'er, after the sacrificial ceremony, come with me to see the Empress Dowager!"

"Okay, I must have upset my aunt last night."

"Boss, are you planning to make this public?"

“I made that point out last night, but the Empress Dowager has always cared about me, and Yan’er is her own niece, so I should have a detailed talk with her.”

He gently put his arm around Xin Moyan's shoulder, speaking in a seemingly casual tone, but his eyes held a thoughtful expression...

"Xuan...Xuan Yuan, you're too close!"