Xiao Yi's gaze fell on Cui Yunchu, who was half-bent over talking to Liu Wanting, and his brows furrowed slightly.
This pesky bug seemed somehow different now.
Suddenly, there was a noise at the door of the private room. "Miss Liu."
It was the sharp voice of the young eunuch beside the Crown Prince.
Cui Yunchu immediately straightened up and looked toward Xiao Chen, who was off to the side.
Facing the Crown Prince, her status was somewhat inadequate, and that day in Tang Qingwan's courtyard, the Crown Prince's protection of Liu Wanting had been very obvious.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Liu Wanting immediately began to weep pitifully, but in the next instant, she smelled the foul stench on herself, and her face stiffened.
At this moment, two contradictory thoughts—wanting the Crown Prince to come in and back her up, and not wanting him to come in and see her in such an embarrassing state—began to pull and tangle madly in her heart.
So, she cried while retreating backward, trying her best to shrink into a corner, looking even more pitiful and delicate.
A moment later, the door to the private room was forcefully pushed open. Xing'er and several maids immediately retreated behind Cui Yunchu.
The Crown Prince strode in. He was first hit by the foul stench, causing him to cover his mouth and nose, his gentle brows knitting tightly together.
The whimpering cries continued, but no one could be seen. The Crown Prince's gaze swept over the mess in the room and then fixed on Cui Yunchu.
A moment later, it settled on Prince An.
Seeing this, what else could he not understand? His clear, handsome face instantly turned cold.
Cui Yunchu curtsied and bowed. "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. It is quite a coincidence today; both you and His Highness Prince An are here. It shows that the destiny between the three of us is truly profound."
She spoke in an affectedly sweet voice, her peach-blossom eyes slightly raised, gazing deeply at the Crown Prince.
Xiao Chen, "..."
He had the urge to tell Cui Yunchu to get the hell out immediately.
Prince An, standing to the side, also twitched his brow. It must have been his illusion just now; Cui Yunchu was simply the rat dropping that ruined the Cui family's pot of soup.
It was one thing to have the ambition to cling to royalty—after all, there were quite a few young ladies in the capital who wanted to latch onto the two brothers—but there was no one like Cui Yunchu, who cast her net at both of them simultaneously without any disguise.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," the young eunuch dragged someone out from the corner. It was Liu Wanting, huddled up and looking utterly humiliated. "Miss Liu is here. Miss Li has already fainted."
The disgust the Crown Prince had just felt towards Cui Yunchu dissipated in an instant. His clear voice turned icy cold, "Eldest Miss Cui, Royal Brother, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
"Crown Prince," Liu Wanting knelt on the ground. She wanted to shuffle forward on her knees but stopped, afraid her stench would offend the Crown Prince. "You must seek justice for me."
"I received Eunuch Chen's message and came to the restaurant with Miss Li to wait for you, Your Highness. Unexpectedly, Eldest Miss Cui brought people in and, without a word of explanation, subjected me to all kinds of humiliation, and even..."
Liu Wanting pointed at the slop bucket, too ashamed to say it out loud.
The Crown Prince had asked Liu Wanting to come here originally to warn her, but he didn't expect Cui Yunchu and Xiao Yi to be one step ahead.
Even if Liu Wanting was in the wrong, she was still his future secondary consort. How could he allow others to humiliate her like this?
Cui Yunchu pointed at Liu Wanting, pinching her voice and drawing out her words, "She is speaking utter nonsense! Brother-in-law Crown Prince, you absolutely must not believe her. You have to listen to my explanation."
The Crown Prince desperately wanted to tell Cui Yunchu to shut up!!!!
But he could only suppress the endless waves of nausea welling up inside him. "Speak."
He was actually letting her speak?
Cui Yunchu touched her nose, tilted her head to look at Xiao Chen, and used the same tone, "Your Highness Prince An, Brother-in-law Crown Prince is asking us for an explanation~"
"..." Prince An's wicked brow instantly cooled down at the fastest speed, and he looked at Cui Yunchu with a deadpan face. "Damned fake."
"."
Cui Yunchu curled her lips and just stood there.
Whoever asked her for an explanation, she would just twist her body and speak in that overly sweet, pinched voice.
What the Crown Prince and Prince An wanted most right now wasn't to deal with the farce in front of them, but to strangle Cui Yunchu to death so she could never open her mouth again.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Liu Wanting pitifully reminded the Crown Prince. They hadn't dealt with Cui Yunchu yet.
The Crown Prince's face was extremely dark. He glanced at Cui Yunchu a few times, unwilling to speak to her.
"Royal Brother,"
"I arrived late and am not clear about the ins and outs of this. Royal Brother should ask Eldest Miss Cui."
Cui Yunchu said, "I came to find His Highness Prince An, but now that Brother-in-law Crown Prince is here, seeking out Brother-in-law Crown Prince is just the same."
The Crown Prince thought: He definitely had to tell Qingwan to poison her mute!!
"Eunuch Chen, escort Miss Liu and Miss Li back to their residences first."
"Crown Prince," how could Liu Wanting be willing to leave? She glared resentfully at Cui Yunchu, and was even more enraged to the point of a heart attack by Cui Yunchu's foxy behavior of making eyes at the Crown Prince.
Her head tilted, and she fainted from anger.
Cui Yunchu cast a glance at Liu Wanting, a flash of coldness quickly passing through her peach-blossom eyes.
The Crown Prince didn't know the whole story, but he recognized the maids behind Cui Yunchu. They were Tang Qingwan's people. Instantly, his desire to interrogate and punish them faded by half.
His gaze fell on Xiao Yi. "The young lady of the Liu family is the Crown Prince's secondary consort appointed by Imperial Father. Royal Brother, by doing this, have you considered how you will explain yourself to Imperial Father?"
Xiao Yi's voice was lazy, "I came to the restaurant for a short sit. Eldest Miss Cui came to bother and pester me. I was annoyed, so I had someone bring a slop bucket, intending to drown her. Unexpectedly, Miss Liu and Miss Li somehow insisted on diving into it. What does that have to do with me?"
Cui Yunchu, "..."
Why don't you say you wanted to drown yourself instead.
However, compared to her throwing a tantrum and playing the fool, Prince An's excuse was indeed a bit more convincing. She could only nod. "Yes."
Agreeing to this was her limit; asking her to say anything more was impossible.
"Brother-in-law Crown Prince, I was so frightened by His Highness Prince An that my chest hurts," she clutched her chest, swaying like a fragile willow in the wind, letting out soft cries of "Ouch, ouch."
"I heard that the imperial physicians in the Crown Prince's estate possess superb medical skills. Could they perhaps examine me? I would be endlessly grateful."
Stumbling, she was about to fall onto the Crown Prince.
"Escort Eldest Miss Cui back to her residence." The Crown Prince gritted his teeth, turned around, and left the private room, with Prince An following closely behind.
The two of them were so disgusted that the very tips of their hair were standing on end.
Once their figures disappeared, Cui Yunchu immediately stood up straight. "Let's go too. This stench makes me want to throw up."
After leaving the restaurant and getting into the carriage, Xing'er was still a bit dazed. "Miss, did we really fool them so easily? Will the Crown Prince not pursue the matter further?"
Cui Yunchu took off her foul-smelling outer garment and changed into a new one, only then feeling the smell dissipate a bit.
"The Crown Prince has never cared about Liu Wanting, so why would he pursue it? What he truly cares about is clearly the military power in the hands of the Liu family."
The Crown Prince knew very well what was actually going on today, but with Prince An taking the heat in front, he was naturally happy to go with the flow and let the Liu family and Prince An tear each other apart.
The more fiercely the Liu family and Prince An fought, the happier he would be. Especially in front of the Emperor, how could he miss the opportunity to speak ill of Prince An?
Being fierce tigers of the same royal bloodline, who wouldn't want to fight and vie for that ultimate position? And the Crown Prince, as the heir apparent, how could he allow a fierce tiger to covet his territory right beside his own bed?
