The system forced me to blow up the female lead's fishpond.

The Red King's Palace.

Inside the study, a faint fragrance wafted through the air. Chu Chouchi sat upright at the desk, pen in hand, staring at the drawing he had just finished, and suddenly chuckled to himself.

Standing behind him, Xiao Ling's curiosity was piqued by his smile, and she glanced at the painting.

The painting depicts a perfect couple, like a pair of celestial beings.

The two stood in the peach grove, peach blossoms falling like snow, landing on their shoulders and hair. The man lowered his eyes and gently brushed the petals off the woman's shoulder, while the woman tilted her head slightly, gazing at the man with a smile in her eyes.

Xiao Ling looked more closely and was immediately speechless.

Aren't the people in this painting Miss Shen and the Second Prince?

Xiao Ling almost burst out laughing. The Second Prince was usually stern and cold in front of outsiders. Who would have thought that the Second Prince would be like this after meeting Miss Shen?

Chu Chouchi paused in mid-air, holding his brush, then stared intently at Xiao Ling and suddenly asked, "I am not satisfied with this painting no matter how I look at it. Has my painting skill deteriorated?"

Xiao Ling forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth that were curling up, cleared his throat, and said in a serious tone, "Your Highness's paintings have been highly praised by the teacher since childhood, and they have become even more outstanding in his youth. How can you say that he has regressed?"

"Then that is not my problem."

Chu Chouchi curled his lips into a smile. He slightly adjusted his sleeves, and his well-defined fingers lightly brushed against the girl's lips, causing the tips of her ears to turn red.

"Indeed, she is so beautiful that even a thousand words could not capture even a fraction of her charm."

After saying that, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Xiao Ling felt a shiver run through his body, goosebumps spreading from his scalp upwards. Was he overthinking it? The more he listened, the more he felt that the Second Prince's laughter carried a hint of smugness.

Sigh, they're already so lovey-dovey before they're even married. If Miss Shen and the Second Prince were to marry in the future, wouldn't the Second Prince be grinning like an idiot every day?

The thought of his aloof Second Prince smiling foolishly at him all the time made Xiao Ling feel pressured for the first time.

"Rustling."

Hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. Recognizing the familiar scent, Xiao Ling quickly identified it as Xue Liao, so he did not move.

"Your Highness! Help! Your Highness!"

Xue Liao spoke urgently, barging in without even knocking.

"Whoosh-"

An arrow came from the shadows, but Xue Liao, with practiced ease, parried it with his sword. With a clang, the arrow struck the sword and fell to the ground.

Xue Liao took two steps forward, knelt on one knee, and was about to bow when the meat bun stuffed in his arms rolled out.

"Ah! My meat bun!"

Xue Liao reacted quickly, picking up the meat bun that had rolled to the ground, blowing off the dust, and stuffing it back into his pocket.

"..." Xiao Ling simply couldn't bear to look.

This Xue Liao's martial arts are quite good. Every time he breaks into the study, he can easily knock down the hidden arrows. But why does he seem a bit slow on the uptake?

Compared to Xiao Ling's helplessness, Chu Chouchi was not surprised at all.

He stared at Xue Liao's panicked appearance and subconsciously thought that something might have happened to her again. He suddenly stood up and stepped forward, "What's wrong? Has something happened to her? Did Chu Tu go to cause trouble for her again?"

He made his point so clear at the Tu Prince's mansion that day; if Chu Tu still went looking for her so ungratefully, then he shouldn't blame him for taking action against Shen Qinshou.

Xue Liao took a deep breath and shook his head, "No, it's not the Third Prince, it's the Crown Prince of Han Palace Kingdom."

The words had barely left his mouth when Chu Chou's red eyes turned cold. "Gong Muze? He went to cause her trouble?"

Xue Liao said urgently, "The Crown Prince of Han Palace personally brought betrothal gifts to the Prime Minister's residence today to ask for your hand in marriage. Prime Minister Shen has already agreed to the marriage and will be going to fetch you tomorrow."

Xiao Ling: !!!

Xiao Ling was utterly shocked!

Is Gong Muze out of his mind?! The Second Prince has repeatedly hinted to Gong Muze that Miss Shen is his woman, and he still dares to propose to her so openly?

Everyone says you can't touch a tiger's backside, but Gong Muze has gone beyond that; he's practically sticking his head into the tiger's mouth.

Xiao Ling looked at Chu Chouchi with trepidation, and sure enough, she saw her prince's eyes, which were as cold as a deep pool, suddenly turn bloodthirsty and violent.

Xiao Ling felt a chill run down her spine, already able to picture Gong Muze's tragic death.

"A marriage proposal?" Chu Chouchi laughed instead of getting angry, but the smile on his lips made the surrounding temperature suddenly drop. "It seems that the matter of Gong Muyan still hasn't taught him a lesson."

Xiao Ling broke out in a cold sweat. It was over. The Second Prince's smile meant he was truly angry.

Chu Chouchi raised an eyebrow, tapping his fingertip lightly on the table beside him, his voice carrying a chilling undertone, "Fine. If he wants to marry you, then let him reincarnate sooner. Who knows, maybe he'll change his mind once he's in the underworld?"

Xiao Ling lowered her head so much that her chin almost touched her collarbone.

Since Miss Shen arrived, he hadn't seen the Second Prince so angry in a long time. Gong Muze was really jumping into a fire pit.

"Xiao Ling!"

Chu Chouchi suddenly spoke, and his frosty voice startled Xiao Ling, bringing her to a sudden realization.

He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness."

Chu Chouchi's eyes narrowed, and his tone was extremely cold, "Summon the entire Chi family army and bring them to the palace now. Today, I will definitely skin Gong Muze alive and make him into a human skin lantern."

Xiao Ling paused, then pursed her lips with some worry.

Although he knew that Gong Muze deserved to die, he was, after all, the Crown Prince of Han Palace. Anyone who could sit in the position of Crown Prince must be outstanding and highly valued by the King.

The fact that a prince from a powerful nation would come to arrange a marriage alliance and die in a foreign land, regardless of the relationship between the two countries, will surely bring a lot of unnecessary trouble to the Second Prince.

In a fit of rage, the ruler of Han Palace might start a war against the Crown Prince, since the death of a prince is a much more serious matter.

But if he were to use this tactic to persuade the Second Prince, based on his understanding of the Second Prince, the Second Prince would surely say:

'That would be even better. Let the old man and Gong Muze be made into human skin lanterns, and the father and son can hang them at the city gate. When they're extremely bored, they can at least enjoy the breeze. Their lives after death would be quite pleasant.'

It seems that the only person who can make the Second Prince suppress his murderous intent is Miss Shen.

Seeing Xiao Ling standing still for a long time, Chu Chou's eyes turned cold, and he turned his head to look at her, "Aren't you going yet?!"

Xiao Ling lowered his eyes and pretended to hesitate, saying, "Second Prince, didn't Miss Shen say that you should be kinder in the future and not resort to killing so easily?"

Upon hearing Xiao Ling mention Shen Zhizhi, the murderous intent in Chu Chouchi's eyes instantly vanished.

He paused for a moment before lowering his eyes slightly. "I already reasoned with him at the Pear Blossom Palace that day, but he has repeatedly failed to change. Why should I be polite to him again?"

Chu Chouchi spoke these words in an unusually weak tone, it was unclear whether he was explaining to Xiao Ling or comforting himself.