When Cui Yunchu and Tang Qingwan arrived at the banquet hall, the Crown Prince and Shen Xiabai were already there. It was unclear what they were discussing, but they immediately stopped talking when they saw the two women approaching.
A fleeting look of discomfort seemed to cross both men's faces.
Looking at Shen Xiabai, Cui Yunchu couldn't help but recall her cousin's words from earlier, making her feel even more awkward.
Having been suspected so many times, she was starting to doubt her own innocence.
...
She followed Tang Qingwan and sat down. Whether intentionally or not, her seat was right next to Shen Xiabai.
Cui Yunchu was speechless. She was not happy about this.
But changing seats was obviously out of the question. She couldn't very well separate the Crown Prince and her cousin. As for Prince An and Yunfeng, who would be arriving shortly...
Considering Xiao Yi acted like a maniac, she was better off sitting with Shen Xiabai; at least he was normal.
Cui Yunchu's mind wandered wildly, completely oblivious to the furrowed brow of the man beside her and the frequent glances he shot her way.
Seemingly unable to bear it any longer, he lowered his voice while the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan were talking and asked, "Did you apply all the scented powder in the entire city onto your body?"
It was truly suffocating. He hadn't noticed it before, but now the fragrance was endlessly drilling into his nose, making him inexplicably irritable.
Cui Yunchu was speechless.
Wasn't that a stupid question? She was a girl, of course she used it. Was she supposed to save it to sell to men like them?
"That's enough out of you," Cui Yunchu gritted her teeth. Seeing the faint disgust radiating from Shen Xiabai's brow made her even more displeased.
Shen Xiabai replied, "It smells... terrible."
Cui Yunchu was furious. "I'm poor, I can't afford the expensive stuff. You're rich, so go sit over there."
...
What did this have to do with being rich or poor? Weren't they talking about scented powder?
As the two traded barbs, Tang Qingwan finally noticed something was amiss and gently nudged the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince looked over and asked gently, "Is something the matter?"
Shen Xiabai remained silent.
Cui Yunchu said, "Lord Shen finds me vulgar. He says he greatly admires Your Highness's Side Consort Liu and wishes to sit next to her."
What absolute nonsense.
Both the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan were momentarily stunned.
Shen Xiabai's face darkened with exasperation, gaining a deeper understanding of Cui Yunchu's ability to spout utter nonsense with a straight face.
It was pure drivel, completely baseless.
"Yunchu," Tang Qingwan, who knew her cousin well, said helplessly, "Stop messing around."
Cui Yunchu gave a cold snort.
She felt completely secure. After all, this wasn't their first clash, and she was well aware of Shen Xiabai's clumsy tongue.
He was the type to only sulk in silence, barely able to squeeze out a single word of rebuttal even given half the day.
And it was true. Shen Xiabai's face turned red with anger, and it took him a long time to finally say, "That is the Crown Prince's Side Consort. Do you even know what you are saying?"
"You stink."
...
Shen Xiabai's lips twitched. He decisively turned his head away and stopped talking.
He looked as if uttering even one more word would taint him.
The Crown Prince was well aware of Cui Yunchu's eccentricities and didn't hold it against her.
Tang Qingwan's gaze swept back and forth between the two before she finally lowered her eyes and quietly drank her tea.
The two, with their clashing auras, sat at the same table, ignoring each other. On the other side, the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan were talking and laughing merrily, with the Crown Prince thoughtfully peeling sweet fruits for her to eat.
The air seemed to radiate a sickeningly sweet aura, a stark contrast to the stiff-faced Shen Xiabai and Cui Yunchu.
Both of them were stubborn by nature.
However, with the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan right beside them, the pair appeared somewhat comically awkward.
Cui Yunchu felt uncomfortable all over, repeatedly glancing at the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan.
Watching the Crown Prince feed her sweet fruits...
As if she didn't have hands of her own.
Catching a glimpse of Cui Yunchu's expression, Shen Xiabai inexplicably recalled the words she had spoken earlier at the waterside pavilion.
What kind of girl was worthy of another's affection?
Then, as if possessed, he picked up a sweet fruit and tossed it onto Cui Yunchu's plate.
Instantly, everyone's eyes darted over to them.
"...My hand slipped." He silently took the fruit back, lowered his head to peel it in silence, and popped it into his mouth.
It was sickeningly sweet.
Absolutely awful.
Suddenly, a hand reached over and snatched half of it from his grasp. The woman's whispered voice drifted over, "They have hands, so why do they insist on having someone else peel it and feed it to them? Isn't it disgusting?"
Shen Xiabai glanced at the Crown Prince, whose eyes were practically dripping with tenderness, and for the first time, he agreed. "Yeah."
After all, at this moment, he and Cui Yunchu were the true victims.
Cui Yunchu watched the couple's cloying affection with a look of disdain, chewing the fruit forcefully, though she made no effort to hide the envy and jealousy in her eyes.
This was clearly a humiliation.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
"I had my royal brother, the Crown Prince's chef, prepare a few of your favorite dishes. Eat more later."
A gentle, coaxing voice drifted in from the doorway, making Cui Yunchu suddenly feel that the fruit in her mouth tasted bitter.
She couldn't help but shiver.
Xiao Yi and Xiao Chen fought tooth and nail in the royal court, yet today they seemed like deeply affectionate brothers, getting along exceptionally well.
The two men sat down on the other side of Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai were sandwiched in the middle, and it was far beyond merely awkward.
Throughout the meal, it was either the soft murmurs of the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan or the sound of Xiao Yi serving food to Cui Yunfeng.
This one, Yunfeng loves to eat.
That one, Yunfeng loves too.
This one, Qingwan likes.
That one, Qingwan also likes.
Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai gripped their chopsticks with stiff faces, watching the Crown Prince and Xiao Yi passing food back and forth.
Xiao Yi said, "The braised pork meatballs are quite good. Let me get one for you."
Unable to bear it any longer, Cui Yunchu clenched her chopsticks tightly and viciously stabbed them into a braised pork meatball. Juices splattered everywhere, and naturally, Shen Xiabai, who was closest to her, suffered the consequences.
With a dark expression, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the sauce off his face, then went to wipe his eye.
Four people and eight eyes stared at Cui Yunchu, yet she felt no embarrassment whatsoever.
Cui Yunchu took a fierce bite before turning back to look at Shen Xiabai, feeling somewhat awkward. "Are you... alright?"
Tang Qingwan remarked, "That handkerchief is covered in juice. I'm afraid wiping with it will only make it worse."
Cui Yunchu immediately pulled out her own handkerchief and shoved it into Shen Xiabai's hand. "Don't go blind now. I won't take responsibility for it."
Tang Qingwan was speechless.
One really couldn't expect anything pleasant to come out of her mouth.
Shen Xiabai opened his other eye to a slit, glared at Cui Yunchu, and coldly spat out two words, "No need."
Cui Yunchu picked up her chopsticks and continued gnawing on the braised meatball, taking a moment to glance at Shen Xiabai.
The meal left her incredibly frustrated.
Come to think of it, she wasn't the only unhappy one. After all, Shen Xiabai was also being forced to watch these displays of affection.
As Tang Qingwan and Cui Yunfeng put down their chopsticks, the Crown Prince spoke up, "Are you full? I had someone set up a chessboard in the back garden. We can go there to digest our food."
Cui Yunfeng immediately perked up with interest. "That sounds wonderful."
Cui Yunchu lowered her head, silently stuffing rice into her mouth.
The four of them hit it off instantly and were ready to leave the table.
Perhaps Shen Xiabai had finally reached his limit as well. "Your Highness, this subject hasn't even touched his chopsticks yet."
Cui Yunchu chimed in, "This whole table of food was just meant for the two of us to look at."
Hosted by the Crown Prince, with Prince An personally introducing the names of the dishes one by one, what a great honor. They were full just from listening, without even eating.
...
The resentment radiating from the two of them was heavier than that of a vengeful ghost.
Cui Yunchu nearly stabbed her bowls and plates to pieces with her chopsticks.
Was she someone so lowly? Why did she have to endure all this?
The Crown Prince and Prince An seemed to finally discover a shred of conscience. They sat back down, and the Crown Prince ordered the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes.
Cui Yunchu said, I want braised pork meatballs.
Prince An was just about to say something when Cui Yunchu suddenly raised her voice, Yunfeng does not like to eat them, but Yunchu does.
This gave everyone a huge fright, and even the chopsticks in Shen Xiabai's hand, who was sitting to the side, trembled.
Cui Yunchu remembered the sauce she had splashed all over Shen Xiabai's face just a moment ago and felt a bit embarrassed. She added, You can eat some too.
...
Shen Xiabai remained silent.
The food arrived quickly. Cui Yunchu's movements were fast and precise, as if she were fighting for her life over the meal, but she was mindful enough of the rules to leave half for Shen Xiabai.
The four people on their left and right stared at the two of them eating with all eight of their eyes.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
A quarter of an hour passed before Cui Yunchu slowly put down her chopsticks. Shen Xiabai cast a sideways glance at her and also unhurriedly set his chopsticks down.
As if by prior agreement, the two washed their hands in the water basin brought by the servants and wiped the corners of their mouths with handkerchiefs.
The Crown Prince and Cui Yunfeng showed no particular emotion, but Tang Qingwan and Prince An, Xiao Yi, had dark, heavy looks in their eyes.
