Four people were in the room, and three of them had their six eyes fixed entirely on Cui Yunchu.
"Alright." She nodded, having no choice but to agree.
However, it was still early. After finishing their meal, there was nothing else to do. Chen Miaohe and Cui Yunchu had chatted until their mouths were dry. Looking to the side, Chen Jiuhe and Shen Zilan were sitting upright, also looking quite bored.
Chen Miaohe simply suggested they go for a stroll on the streets. "Sister Yunchu, a few new rouge shops have opened in the west of the city. I heard the colors are bright and they sell very well. Why don't we go take a look?"
Cui Yunchu naturally agreed. Sitting there all the time made her feel quite uncomfortable anyway, but...
She shifted her gaze to Chen Jiuhe and Shen Zilan. Was it really appropriate for two men to accompany them to rouge shops?
"Don't worry about it. Today, the two of them are our bodyguards, tasked with protecting our safety."
Chen Miaohe blinked at the two men.
Chen Jiuhe smiled and lowered his head somewhat shyly, while Shen Zilan agreed very readily, "Miss Chen is right."
Instead, it was Chen Miaohe's turn to blush.
Shen Zilan had a tall and straight posture, and his looks were no inferior to Chen Jiuhe's. His way of speaking and acting carried a refreshing straightforwardness, which suited Chen Miaohe's temperament quite well.
The two girls walked in front, with the two men trailing a few steps behind as they strolled leisurely through the west side of the city.
"Sister Yunchu, what do you think of that Young Master Shen?"
Chen Miaohe held onto Cui Yunchu's arm and asked in a low voice.
"..."
She thought he was nothing special. She disliked anyone with the surname Shen, especially a Shen related to Shen Xiabai.
"He's quite nice." Cui Yunchu put on a smile. "Just look at how considerate he was to you during the meal earlier."
Chen Miaohe blushed, quickly glanced back at Shen Zilan, and hurriedly added, "My eldest brother is not bad either. He is also quite considerate, just a bit clumsy with words and doesn't know how to speak well."
Cui Yunchu smiled and said nothing.
Chen Jiuhe was the type of person who strictly followed the rules. You couldn't pick out any outstanding traits, nor did he have any uncomfortable flaws.
Being with someone like him meant nothing but plainness, like a pool of stagnant water that couldn't stir up any waves. It was very suitable for settling down.
His family's traditions were also good; perhaps this was the reason her grandmother had chosen him.
Living with such a person would undoubtedly be very boring, but the current Cui Yunchu only sought to live a stable life.
Chen Jiuhe was very suitable. It was just a pity that the Chen family and the Shen family were discussing a marriage alliance.
Cui Yunchu was already racking her brains, trying to figure out what excuse to use to persuade her grandmother to drop the marriage discussions with the Chen family.
As she was thinking, Chen Miaohe pulled her into a rouge shop. Cui Yunchu had her head down and didn't notice the carriage parked at the entrance.
"What would you two young ladies like to see?"
Chen Miaohe replied, "Pick out some of the best-selling rouge colors at the moment."
Just as she finished speaking, a female voice suddenly rang out, "Miss Chen, Eldest Miss Cui, are you also here to look at rouge?"
Chen Miaohe looked toward the voice. Upon seeing Liu Wanting and the person beside her not far away, her expression changed slightly, and she immediately curtsied to pay her respects. "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Chen Jiuhe and Shen Zilan, who entered a few steps behind, also hurriedly followed suit and bowed.
Cui Yunchu raised her eyes, meeting Liu Wanting's venomous and resentful gaze. She looked away expressionlessly and bowed. "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Xiao Chen seemed not to have expected to encounter members of the Cui family here. His brows furrowed slightly. "Rise, all of you."
He sat upright in a chair. Beside the desk was a tray containing many types of rouge, presumably for Liu Wanting to test the colors one by one.
Chen Miaohe tugged at Cui Yunchu, intending to leave.
But unfortunately, Liu Wanting wouldn't let them. "How come Miss Chen is walking together with Eldest Miss Cui? Where are Eldest Miss Cui's two little sidekicks?"
Given Cui Yunchu's reputation, the only ones willing to hang out with her were those two little sidekicks. Liu Wanting was mocking them.
But at the mention of those two, Cui Yunchu suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen them for a few days.
"Is my walking with Miss Chen more surprising than Miss Liu walking with His Highness the Crown Prince?" Cui Yunchu asked back indifferently.
The Chen siblings turned slightly pale. After all, neither the Crown Prince nor the Liu family were people the Chen family could afford to offend.
Shen Zilan, however, merely raised an eyebrow and watched leisurely.
Cui Yunchu wasn't afraid in the slightest. Liu Wanting was nothing to her, and as for the Crown Prince, she had her cousin.
Although Liu Wanting and the Crown Prince's marriage was already known to everyone, the Emperor hadn't issued an imperial decree yet. In front of others, it still couldn't be spoken of.
Her gaze shifted and landed on Shen Zilan. "I heard that Young Master Shen and Miss Chen are engaged?"
Chen Miaohe, not understanding her intention, nodded in acknowledgment.
"Miss Chen has such a broad mind, actually bringing her fiance to stroll around with Eldest Miss Cui. Could it be that you've forgotten the cautionary tale of Miss Zhao?"
Cui Yunchu and Miss Zhao had caused quite a scene before, something even Shen Zilan and Chen Jiuhe had heard about.
Chen Miaohe's expression changed slightly. Cui Yunchu's stunning beauty was indeed enough to make men unable to look away, but things were different now; Cui Yunchu was about to become her future sister-in-law.
"Some rumors might just be a misunderstanding. Miss Liu must be joking."
"Is that so?" Liu Wanting provoked. "But why does it look to me like the way Young Master Shen is looking at Eldest Miss Cui isn't very innocent?"
"Wanting." Crown Prince Xiao Chen's voice sank slightly. "That's enough."
Even if Cui Yunchu was terrible, she still represented the Cui family and was Qingwan's cousin. The incident with Cui Yunfeng had just passed; if today's matter reached Qingwan's ears, it would inevitably cause another quarrel.
Especially if he sat by and did nothing, indulging Liu Wanting, he would probably be even more at fault.
"Your Highness," Liu Wanting said, dissatisfied.
Hadn't he said he would compensate her and help her vent her anger?
The incident from that day was like a humiliation carved into Liu Wanting's heart. She wished she could flay Cui Yunchu alive.
Liu Wanting's words were nothing short of an insult to the Chen siblings.
Chen Jiuhe was already harboring some displeasure, and now he felt even more disgraced, developing a grudge against Cui Yunchu.
The atmosphere instantly became very awkward.
But Shen Zilan wasn't Chen Jiuhe. With his young uncle Shen Xiabai around, the young Master Shen was pampered and arrogant. How could he let someone use him as a laughingstock, especially when the target was Sister Peach Blossom?
He immediately took two steps forward, his posture lazy as he glanced sideways at Liu Wanting, and said lightly, "Miss Liu, as a sheltered young lady, you analyze a man's gaze so thoroughly. What is it? A family tradition, or the result of diligent practice?"
"Then why don't you see if my gaze is innocent when I look at you, Miss Liu?"
After saying that, he even raised an eyebrow at Liu Wanting.
If the Crown Prince weren't there, he probably would have thrown her a flirtatious wink.
Cui Yunchu's dislike for his surname instantly dissipated by half, and even Shen Zilan as a person started to look pleasing to the eye.
"You're insolent!..." Liu Wanting couldn't believe it. Shen Zilan actually dared to tease her right in front of the Crown Prince.
"Young Master Shen..."
"Crown Prince Brother-in-law," Cui Yunchu interrupted the words the Crown Prince was about to say, speaking with a smiling face. "Cousin has still been in a bad mood these past few days because of my second sister falling into the water. If something were to happen to me, I'm afraid Cousin would get sick from anxiety, and that wouldn't be very good."
"..."
Xiao Chen felt guilty toward Tang Qingwan.
Although he despised Cui Yunchu to the core, he still had to show some respect to the Cui family name.
Cui Yunchu did indeed pose a threat to the Crown Prince. After all, with the wedding day fast approaching, Xiao Yi did not want any unexpected complications.
Smoothing things over was his usual approach to mediating between the two of them.
"Your Royal Highness," Liu Wanting called out, hoping Xiao Yi would stand up for her.
Shen Zilan chimed in, "But from what I can see, the way His Highness looks at Miss Liu is completely platonic."
Shen Zilan's words were like a sharp sword piercing straight through Liu Wanting's heart, leaving it bleeding and raw.
