The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

The male and female relatives still sat at separate tables, but this time they were a little closer together.

The area under the flower vines was bustling with activity. Zhao Yu and Li Jing sat in the main seats. A palace maid poured a cup of wine for them, and Li Jing stood up.

"Thank you all for attending the Crown Princess's birthday banquet."

Li Jing raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Those who could drink also picked up their wine cups and drank.

Shen Hanyu took a small sip and put it down.

Li Jing looked at Li Jun.

"Third brother, I just heard someone say that you and Miss Liang are together. Does this mean that good things are about to happen?"

Li Jing asked the question that everyone was curious about, and they all pricked up their ears to hear how Li Jun would answer.

Over the years, there have been many introductions to Li Jun, but she has rejected them all.

Li Jun didn't say anything, she just smiled.

Seeing this, Li Jing turned the page and started talking about other things.

However, Li Jun did not give a direct refusal; her silence was tantamount to acquiescence.

Those people couldn't help but look at the people from the Marquis's mansion; they were truly blessed.

Liang Chengxuan glanced at Liang Chengli, who sighed, his expression a mixture of joy and annoyance.

Liang Ruoxue smiled provocatively at Liang Ruoyan, who lowered her head in anger and clenched her chopsticks tightly.

"Alright, why bother arguing with her? She'll have her day."

Xu Ying comforted her softly, saying that Liang Ruoyan couldn't afford to make a mistake at the Crown Princess's birthday banquet, or she would be truly finished.

“I know, Mother.”

Liang Ruoyan scoffed, letting Liang Ruoxue be smug for a while.

Lin Lihua held Liang Ruoxue's hand.

"You're such a good daughter, you've made your mother proud."

Liang Ruoxue raised her head arrogantly.

"Mother, don't worry, I definitely won't end up like Liang Ruoyan."

The mother and daughter whispered to each other, but Liang Chengli had too many worries to share, so he could only let them be.

Liang Sihan's gaze wandered around before finally settling on Shen Hanyu.

He licked his lips and gave Liang Ruochu a wink.

Liang Ruochu nodded slightly, not in a hurry to do anything. Moving around now would be too conspicuous, so she could only wait for an opportunity.

Shen Hanyu noticed the gaze and looked over. Before the birthday banquet, she had been having people keep an eye on them and discovered that Liang Sihan and Liang Ruochu were plotting something.

Given Liang Sihan's despicable thoughts, she could probably guess what was going on.

She even asked Liang Ruochu for help. Shen Hanyu lowered her eyes and picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, placing it on her plate.

These two dimwits ended up getting together.

He gave Miao Cui a wink, and Miao Cui understood immediately, keeping an eye on what was happening over there.

"Elder sister, the imperial examinations for children will be held after the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. How did things go on your end?"

Li Jing and Princess Yongning were talking on one side. He advocated for girls' education and naturally did not want to see any mistakes made there.

“Everything went smoothly.” Princess Yongning tapped her fingertips on the table. “To be honest, I was quite surprised that you were willing to help me back then.”

Li Jing smiled.

"It wasn't entirely unexpected. When I first heard about it, I didn't think much of it. But after talking with Ayu for a long time, I realized that girls' schools are indeed a good path for women, so I came to help my elder sister. Fortunately, Father Emperor thinks so too."

Princess Yongning was fairly satisfied with what she heard.

"It's all thanks to you that you persuaded Prime Minister Zhao, otherwise I would have had a headache for a long time just dealing with Minister Qin."

Princess Yongning expressed her sincere gratitude for this.

"It's all what I should do. I hope this children's exam will give us a good result."

Li Jing's words were impeccable, and Princess Yongning went back to sit down.

Li Jing stood behind, looking at Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu seemed to sense it, and she sighed inwardly, thinking that one problem after another was truly unresolved.

Today is her birthday banquet; surely Li Jing can't send anyone to harm her again?

She didn't want to attend the birthday banquet because she was worried about this.

It's not so easy to guess what's on the mind of someone in a high position.

A bowl of pigeon soup was served, and the maid ladled a bowl for Shen Hanyu. Looking at the bowl of pigeon soup, Shen Hanyu was in no hurry to drink it.

She stirred it with a spoon, noticed Liang Sihan's anxious gaze, and reminded Miaocui to remember the face of the maid from earlier.

Liang Ruochu didn't dare to stare openly, but she felt it was a pity that Shen Hanyu didn't seem to want to drink the bowl of pigeon soup.

"Miss Shen, do you not like this pigeon soup?"

Zhao Yu suddenly looked over, a puzzled expression on her face.

Shen Hanyu smiled and said, "I like it, but it's a little hot. I'll wait until it cools down a bit before drinking it."

Li Huaijiang propped his head up and slowly pointed at Shen Hanyu's bowl.

“Ah, you really don’t understand. This soup should be drunk while it’s hot. Qingluo, go and bring me Miss Shen’s bowl of soup.”

Qingluo received the order and went to fetch the soup, and Zhao Yu sighed softly.

"If the princess wants to drink, I'll have someone serve you another bowl. Why bother taking someone else's?"

Li Huaijiang had already brought Shen Hanyu's pigeon soup, and she gave Zhao Yu a smile.

"Since I've already brought it, there's no need to trouble myself. Anyway, Miss Shen and I are classmates, so she won't mind."

Li Huaijiang was about to drink with the spoon when Zhao Yu quickly stopped her.

"It's never right to steal from others, so I'll have someone serve you a fresh bowl."

The last bowl of soup wasn't sent back to Shen Hanyu, and Li Huaijiang got to drink a new one.

Shen Hanyu blinked; she could tell that Li Huaijiang was helping her.

If Liang Sihan and Liang Ruochu orchestrated this whole affair, judging from Zhao Yu's demeanor just now, it's unlikely she was unaware of it.

They still didn't let her go.

Shen Hanyu became even more curious about what she had done to make the Crown Prince attack her so many times.

If the Crown Prince finds out about Zhou Yurong, he will definitely help Zhou Yurong. This is really troublesome.

Shen Hanyu racked her brains but couldn't come up with a good solution for the time being.

Zhou Yurong's gaze was intense and undeniable; even Xiao Ran noticed it.

She warned in a low voice, "Zhou Yurong, what are you looking at?"

Zhou Yurong was in no hurry to bring up the matter of taking Shen Hanyu as a concubine to Xiao Ran. This time, he planned to act first and then inform the Marquis's mansion.

"It's nothing," Zhou Yurong said coldly.

Xiao Ran's expression was unpleasant.

"You'd better be nicer, or once that Lu Lingyue enters the house, you won't let her have an easy time."

Xiao Ran threatened that if it weren't for someone from the palace telling her not to make too much of a fuss, she wouldn't have agreed to let Lu Lingyue into the mansion.

Xiao Ran despised those lowly people who used tricks to seduce others, but Zhou Yurong liked them very much.

However, entering the manor wasn't all bad. Zhou Yurong couldn't protect her all the time, and eventually, no matter how much she tormented him, she wouldn't be able to resist.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran's expression softened a bit.

Zhou Yurong understood what Xiao Ran was thinking. If it weren't for Shen Hanyu, he could have protected Lu Lingyue for a while longer, and things wouldn't have come to this.

He was furious, which is why he said those things to Shen Hanyu.

Zhou Yurong got up to negotiate with the people from the Marquis's residence and mention the matter, leaving Xiao Ran behind.

When Liang Sihan saw the pigeon soup being taken away, he sighed, but fortunately he had other plans.