"You think just saying sorry is enough?"
Yun Chuhuan refused to let the matter go.
"This Prince tells you, you—"
"Would you like some fried tudou balls?"
Yun Shu suddenly extended a porcelain plate filled with freshly fried golden tudou balls. The dish had just been served, still untouched.
"There's not much. This is the only plate on my side, and they must be eaten while hot."
"A new dish again?"
Emperor Xuanwu had placed great importance on the cultivation of tudou. Even the five pots of seed tudou in Noble Consort Liu's care had been sent to Yun Shu previously.
Yun Chuhuan had been longing for tudou for months. Now that he finally had a taste of them, and they were even prepared in a new way he hadn't tried, his eyes lit up. He promptly took the plate, completely forgetting his earlier intent to make things difficult for Huyan Mingchuan.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for defusing the situation on my behalf."
Huyan Mingchuan lowered his gaze and gently brushed at the faint footprint stamped across his robe, slowly wiping it away.
He appeared as if long accustomed to such treatment. His expression remained calm, showing neither joy nor anger. Yet his spine remained straight, as if silently resisting the humiliation imposed upon him. His poise and demeanor were impeccable.
Even the noble ladies in the distance couldn't help but cast a few more curious glances in his direction.
Only Yun Shu remained unmoved, as if something in her simply did not register this kind of calculated display. She gave him a fleeting glance before turning her attention elsewhere.
"Sixth Brother is still young and has yet to learn propriety. Ninth Prince, I hope you will not take offense."
She truly had no idea how much Huyan Mingchuan had grown over the years or whether he might retaliate against Yun Chuhuan in private.
All she could do was try to prevent Yun Chuhuan from offending him too deeply.
After all, based on her experience with novels, people like Huyan Mingchuan often harbored a warped and dangerous psyche.
It was simply not worth it to stir up a big mess over such a small incident.
With a serene expression, Yun Shu picked up her chopsticks.
"These dishes are all new creations developed in the Tian Sheng court over the past couple of years. Ninth Prince likely hasn't had the opportunity to try them yet. If you have no dietary restrictions, feel free to sample them all."
If he had interpreted her words correctly, the Crown Princess was telling him to eat more and talk less.
A subtle flicker crossed Huyan Mingchuan's eyes—an emotion so brief no one else noticed. He lowered his gaze and murmured, "Many thanks, Your Highness."
This Tian Sheng Crown Princess was entirely unlike what he had anticipated.
Back in Bei Xiang, his face alone had often granted him leverage in front of princesses and noble ladies. While not everything went his way, it at least gave him some advantage.
Though he had always disliked the way they looked at him, this princess…
Was she blind?
After tasting a few bites of the surprisingly delicious dishes, Huyan Mingchuan gently set down his chopsticks.
"Your Highness."
Yun Shu: "..."
So even the food couldn't shut him up.
She looked up, a bit helpless.
"Does Ninth Prince have something to say?"
"Does Your Highness… not like me?"
Seeing that Yun Shu was not one for vague euphemisms, Huyan Mingchuan went straight to the point, his tone uncertain.
Sure enough, Yun Shu was caught off guard by the question. After a pause, she replied without committing either way:
"This Princess simply does not know you well and has no interest in arranging a marriage. Surely Ninth Prince does not truly wish to be wedded to me either, does he?"
Wedded?
A trace of scorn twisted in Huyan Mingchuan's heart, though his face only grew more forlorn.
"This is the mission I must complete on this diplomatic visit to Tian Sheng."
"And if you fail to complete it?"
Yun Shu raised her brows and smiled lazily, as if teasing an old friend.
"Will they kill you?"
"If that were all, I might not need to say such troublesome things to Your Highness."
His smile was bleak, his pallor strikingly pale. He lowered his head and sat in silence for a long time, as if struggling with an inner decision. Then, with a voice so soft Yun Shu nearly missed it, he said:
"Might Your Highness be free tomorrow? There are some things I wish to say to you in private."
So he really was trying to lure her out of the palace.
Yun Shu rejected him immediately, without a flicker of hesitation.
"This Princess is very busy."
Huyan Mingchuan: "..."
So she truly wasn't playing along.
In that case…
He leaned slightly toward her. His expression and demeanor remained perfectly controlled, but his voice—heard only by Yun Shu—turned suddenly cold and carried an eerie undertone:
"A Bei Xiang offered for free. Does Your Highness not want it?"
As he spoke, his amber eyes locked onto her face, tracking every subtle shift in expression.
Surprisingly, she did not show the slightest shock.
So she had known all along that his earlier weakness was a façade.
"Your Highness is remarkably calm."
Feigning politeness, Huyan Mingchuan poured her a cup of tea and curved his lips into a faint smile.
"Did I not act well enough before?"
Yun Shu: "..."
He was dropping the act already?
What kind of villain was this impatient?
Couldn't he just keep pretending to be his pitiful, fragile self a while longer?
It was always said that the more you knew, the more danger you were in.
Now that the big villain had suddenly revealed his true nature to her, she was terrified!
In her heart, Yun Shu's metaphorical alarm bells were screaming.
But on the surface, maintaining the poise befitting the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng—and hoping to intimidate Huyan Mingchuan just enough to stop him from making any rash moves—she smiled faintly after a pause.
"You acted well enough."
"Yet you saw through it regardless."
Huyan Mingchuan's voice turned wistful.
"Is Your Highness praising me, or yourself?"
They were not seated far apart. And since Huyan Mingchuan's expression remained impeccably managed, this entire exchange looked quite different to Emperor Xuanwu, who sat above them and could not hear a word they said.
To Emperor Xuanwu, it appeared that the Ninth Prince of Bei Xiang was sparing no effort in trying to seduce his daughter. The youth practically leaned against her.
And Yun Shu was not exactly pushing him away. On the contrary, she let him whisper beside her—and even had a faint smile on her lips.
At this rate, the Emperor feared his precious daughter might truly be taken in by this pretty-faced fox.
The very idea made Emperor Xuanwu's skin crawl.
He had to put a stop to this immediately.
With a loud clang, he set his wine cup down onto the dragon table.
Forcing a smile through gritted teeth, he called out,
"We heard that the Crown Princess has been making frequent visits to the Ministry of Works recently. What has kept you so occupied there?"