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

Chu Tu snapped out of his daze and looked at the person he cherished, her face streaked with tears. A heavy chill settled over his peach blossom eyes.

No wonder Shen Zhizhi was not favored by Prime Minister Shen; she turned out to be a shameless woman who never came home at night.

They even dared to send people to throw Ah Shou out? Does she really have a death wish?

Shen Hongsheng was naturally furious; he had absolutely no patience for his illegitimate daughter who had contributed nothing to the family.

Not only is she stupid and clumsy, but she also spends all her time chasing after the Second Prince, trying to ruin the image that Ah Shou has painstakingly cultivated over the years in front of him.

Fortunately, the Second Prince was also completely infatuated with Ah Shou and did not believe Shen Zhizhi's unsubstantiated claims at all.

Chu Tu suddenly smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Prime Minister Shen, please don't be angry. Anyone who dares to wrong A-Shou will certainly not be let off by this prince."

Shen Qinshou lowered her eyes, a hint of smugness flashing in her dark pupils in an instant, her voice tinged with moisture, "Brother Tu, don't blame your sister. She is still young. Just tell her to consider the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion and not to stay in the Second Prince's residence any longer."

After all, the Second Prince's attitude today was clearly strange; Shen Zhizhi must have been stirring things up in front of him.

To prevent her from saying anything inappropriate in front of the Second Prince again, the most urgent task is to get her out of the Red Prince's residence.

Chu Tu's heart softened. "A Shou, it's because you're so kind that people take advantage of you."

Even with his protection, Ah Shou never boasted about it to outsiders, claiming that she had climbed the social ladder by marrying him.

Instead, he became even more careful not to let others know about his affection and care for her, saying that he disliked others flattering and fawning over her, which would cause her to lose some true friends.

Thinking of this, Chu Tu's anger and ruthlessness intensified.

Shen Zhizhi! He will make her pay for bullying A-Shou!

Shen Qinshou lowered her head, burying her face, contorted with resentment, in the shadows, and curled her lips in satisfaction.

Shen Zhizhi, your good days are over.

Chiwangfu

The two chatted and laughed all the way to the Prince's mansion. As soon as they stepped into the house, they saw several palace servants standing to the side, with a senior eunuch in the lead.

Upon seeing Chu Chouchi return, Eunuch Ma stepped forward with his whisk in hand. "Your Highness, I have received an imperial decree that His Majesty will be hosting a banquet at Yonghe Palace to invite officials and their families to the palace. I have come to invite Your Highness to the palace tomorrow."

"Please trouble Eunuch Ma to inform the Emperor that I am unwell recently and may not be able to attend the palace." Chu Chouchi curled his lip in disdain, as he had never been interested in palace banquets.

It was called a palace banquet, but it was nothing more than a hypocritical performance by a group of pretentious people.

Furthermore, he had no desire to see his so-called father, the emperor.

Eunuch Ma hesitated slightly, "Second Prince, the Emperor is thinking of you. If there's nothing else, why don't you come to the palace tomorrow?"

"No need," Chu Chouchi said succinctly, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

Shen Zhizhi quickly caught the grief and indignation in his eyes and blinked in confusion.

Chu Chouchi's reaction suggests that he has some unpleasant past with the emperor, but unfortunately the original text only focused on describing the romance between the male and female protagonists and did not explain the rest.

In addition, she abandoned the book halfway through, so she was unaware of whether the author focused on describing Chu Chou Chi's background later on.

[Please accept the new mission, host—accompany Chu Chouchi to the palace banquet.]

This sudden task left Shen Zhizhi completely bewildered.

[Shen Zhizhi: Huh? What does this palace banquet have to do with me?]

[Host, have you forgotten? This palace banquet was where Shen Qinshou and the male lead, Zhang Jiali, first met. On the way to the banquet, Zhang Jiali was humiliated, and it was Shen Qinshou who ultimately rescued him.]

Ya Dan's explanation finally made Shen Zhizhi realize the truth.

Shen Qinshou, who also attended the palace banquet, took a liking to this gentle and refined man at first glance. Seeing him being humiliated, she immediately offered her help and stood up for him.

The bond between the two was born at this moment.

After spending several days getting to know each other, Shen Qinshou, the sea queen, was finally won over by the gentle and refined Zhang Jiali.

However, the villains were not happy about this and used various schemes to target and frame Zhang Jiali, thus completely going against the main characters.

[Shen Zhizhi: No way! Chu Chouchi and Chu Tu haven't been completely eradicated from their wickedness and sycophantic tendencies yet. If they get jealous and frame Zhang Jiali again, wouldn't all our efforts be wasted?]

Ya Dan, with an expression of "you're teachable!" replied: "Yes, yes, so the host must rescue Zhang Jiali first."

Shen Zhizhi looked puzzled: "But this is the first encounter between the male and female leads. If I ruin it like this, how will they ever get together?"

[Host, don't worry. The male and female leads have their own special aura; their bond won't break easily. Even if they're on opposite sides of the world, they'll definitely come together for various reasons.]

Shen Zhizhi nodded: "So, you mean I should first prevent them from developing feelings for each other, and then we can discuss how the male and female leads' relationship will develop after the villain's 'simp' and 'darkening' traits have been completely eliminated?"

A happy emoticon appeared on Ya Dan's eyes on the screen: ^o^

[The host is clever!]

Shen Zhizhi felt like she had boarded a pirate ship. This mission seemed simple on the surface, but in reality, it involved a lot of people and things.

As she soared through the air, she suddenly felt two gazes fixed intently on her, instantly clearing her mind. She looked up.

She then met those deep, dark eyes, which were staring intently at her without uttering a word.

"What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed." Chu Chouchi raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise at her sudden gaze.

Shen Zhizhi looked up and around, only to find that Eunuch Ma had left sometime earlier.

She waved her hand and quickly said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I was just thinking about something..."

"Hmm?" Chu Chouchi glanced at her indifferently.

Shen Zhizhi took a step forward and squeezed his arm in a flattering manner, "Second Prince, are you really not planning to attend this palace banquet?"

"Hmph." Clearly, Chu Chouchi did not want to continue this topic. He snorted coldly and sat down on the armchair next to him.

Shen Zhizhi casually rolled her eyes, sighed deeply, and stared longingly out the window, feigning sadness, "I wonder how delicious the food at the palace banquet is? I really want to try it."

"..."

Chu Chouchi's eyes twitched, and he looked up in puzzlement. "When the palace hosts banquets, the Prime Minister's residence is always on the invitation list. You've never been to one?"

Upon hearing his reply, Shen Zhizhi secretly thought that things were looking promising.

She adopted a worried and distressed expression, her grief welling up inside her. "Father has always been proud of my sister, he would never take me to the banquet."

Chu Chouchi fell silent, lost in thought.

Indeed, no matter what Prime Minister Shen did, it seemed that he always had A-Shou by his side.

If Shen Zhizhi hadn't kept pestering him, he would have forgotten that the Prime Minister's mansion had a concubine's daughter.

"Sigh!" Shen Zhizhi's eyes began to shine, then became misty with tears. "So be it, I am just an unloved concubine's daughter. I hope that in my next life I can be reborn into a good family."