On the other side, Xing'er carefully offered a cup of tea. "Miss, let it go. His Highness Prince An is not someone to be trifled with."
If he throws you into the water later, what will we do?
After all, it wasn't as if Prince An had never done such a thing before. Throwing Cui Yunchu out of a restaurant used to be a common occurrence.
Compared to him, the Crown Prince had much more grace.
No, that wasn't right. It should be said that he was more capable of enduring things.
Cui Yunchu looked at the boat not far away, then turned to glance at the cabin guarded by Eunuch Zhang, who was preventing anyone from entering. She immediately slumped against the edge of the boat in defeat.
"Are the daughters of our Cui family truly unable to escape the sons of the Xiao family?"
Xing'er said, "Aren't you doing just fine, Miss?"
"..."
Cui Yunchu raised her eyes and glared at Xing'er. If she had said this in the past, she would have kicked her a few times for mocking her.
A quarter of an hour later, there was finally some movement from the cabin behind them. Tang Qingwan walked out, supporting the Crown Prince. Eunuch Zhang immediately stepped forward to take hold of him.
"Oh my, Your Highness, how did you get so drunk?" Eunuch Zhang cast a glance at Tang Qingwan.
"Qingwan, Qingwan." Xiao Chen refused to leave, reaching out to pull Tang Qingwan who was beside him.
Tang Qingwan immediately stepped aside to avoid him, her gaze cold. "Your Highness is drunk. Let Eunuch Zhang help you back to the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, if the Empress finds out, she will issue blame again."
The Empress had always been extremely good to Tang Qingwan. Especially when she was young and Madam Tang, née Cui was at the height of her power, the Empress had loved her like her own daughter, giving her even more favor than her own biological daughter, Grand Princess Wanqing.
But later, since some unknown point in time, the way the Empress looked at her slowly changed, becoming more critical.
Yet the Crown Prince refused to leave. "Qingwan, I will never break the promise I made to you. You must believe me."
Tang Qingwan was clearly smiling, but her voice was faint and devoid of warmth. "I know."
The gentle and refined Crown Prince was hazy with drunkenness at this moment. His eyes seemed only able to hold Tang Qingwan as he stared at her fixedly, refusing to move a single step.
Helpless, Tang Qingwan had no choice but to accompany him as he left.
Before leaving, Cui Yunchu looked back at the boat still drifting on the lake not far away. The candlelight had grown dim, and it was unknown whether the person on board had left.
"Yunchu, what are you looking at?" Tang Qingwan asked.
"Nothing," Cui Yunchu immediately withdrew her gaze.
Leaving the North Lake, the Crown Prince got into his carriage and headed all the way back to the Eastern Palace.
Tang Qingwan stood on the street, her eyes watching the carriage kick up a large cloud of dust. She didn't move her feet for a long time.
Another miserable soul.
Cui Yunchu sighed softly. Looking at it this way, among the three sisters, she seemed to be the most comfortable one.
"Cousin, it's getting late. We should return to the manor."
"Mm." Tang Qingwan withdrew her gaze and boarded the carriage.
After a silent journey, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Cui Manor. Tang Qingwan suddenly spoke, "Yunchu, do you know what the Crown Prince promised me?"
Cui Yunchu looked up but didn't say anything, just silently waiting for her to continue.
"He said that the Emperor and Empress intend to have Liu Wanting enter the Eastern Palace on the same day as me."
For the primary consort and the secondary consort to marry on the same day was nothing short of a humiliation for the primary consort.
"He said he would plead with the Empress."
Tang Qingwan's face was full of smiles, exceptionally ironic.
Hearing this, Cui Yunchu didn't know what to say.
She had thought the Crown Prince was going to defy the imperial decree and refuse to marry Liu Wanting, but unexpectedly...
"This promise is truly moving," Tang Qingwan laughed.
Cui Yunchu stayed silent for a moment before saying, "As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince often has no control over his own circumstances. Perhaps this is already the greatest right he could fight for."
"But no one forced him to accompany Liu Wanting to buy rouge."
"How could they not?" Cui Yunchu smiled faintly. "Lord Liu's great favor and the military power in his hands, aren't they the biggest bargaining chips to pressure the Crown Prince?"
Although she had pushed all the blame onto Prince An, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Liu family were not fools. Since the Crown Prince didn't want to give up the Liu family's support, he could only offer some benefits to comfort them a little.
"You have a point." Tang Qingwan nodded in agreement.
"The palace banquet the day after tomorrow will be quite lively."
Looking at Tang Qingwan's smile, Cui Yunchu suddenly felt a particularly bitter taste in her heart.
She and the Crown Prince were childhood sweethearts. She should know the Crown Prince's character even better than herself. It would likely be very difficult for him to change a decision made by the Emperor and Empress.
"At least he was sincere when he made the promise to you. That's enough."
Tang Qingwan slightly raised her eyebrows. "Are the daughters of the Cui family so worthless? In the treacherous and unpredictable imperial palace, how much is mere sincerity worth?"
"..."
What else could be done? The engagement couldn't be broken off. Aside from self-comfort, what else could she say?
"Wasn't His Highness the Crown Prince discussing matters with Lord Shen? How did he suddenly get drunk?" Cui Yunchu changed the subject.
"He's not drunk." Tang Qingwan lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down. "It's just his usual method of evasion. He's afraid I won't let the matter with Liu Wanting go."
"..."
"You are brilliant, Cousin," Cui Yunchu praised sincerely.
Tang Qingwan paused in her steps and looked back at Cui Yunchu, seemingly not understanding where her abrupt words came from.
Cui Yunchu smiled and said, "The dignified Crown Prince of a nation actually faked being drunk in front of you to escape blame. Aren't you amazing, Cousin?"
Tang Qingwan curled her lips into a smile, lifted her skirt, and entered the Cui Manor. "Yunchu, I love talking to you more and more."
Being able to say anything that makes people feel happy, praising them until flowers bloom from the words, is also a kind of skill.
By this time, most of the candles in the manor had been extinguished. Especially Old Madam Cui's courtyard, which was completely quiet. She had likely already fallen asleep, so Cui Yunchu didn't go to disturb her.
She parted ways with Tang Qingwan at the fork in the veranda.
However, Cui Yunchu didn't return to the Chu Garden. Instead, she picked a spot on the veranda and sat down.
Xing'er looked around. Aside from the faint light cast by the glazed lamps, there wasn't a single shadow. "Miss, what are you doing sitting here?"
"Waiting for someone." Cui Yunchu tilted her head, resting it on her fist, her gaze fixed in the direction of the festooned archway.
Time ticked by, and even when the moon rose above the willow branches, there was still no movement. Cui Yunchu frowned and sat up straight.
She looked up at the moonlight. It shouldn't be. At this hour, Cui Yunfeng shouldn't be someone so lacking in a sense of propriety.
"You, go to the Feng Garden and see if the Second Miss has returned."
Xing'er then remembered, "The Second Miss should have been behind our carriage. You've been waiting here ever since we got back. I suppose the Second Miss... hasn't returned yet."
Speaking up to this point, Xing'er also realized the seriousness of the matter.
Cui Yunchu naturally knew, which was why she couldn't sit still anymore. "Go and check first."
If she truly hadn't come back, that would be no small matter.
That man, Prince An, seemed easy to talk to, but his temperament was sinister and he acted like a madman, especially when it came to matters concerning Yunfeng.
Thinking of what Prince An had done after Cui Yunfeng got married in her previous life, Cui Yunchu's heart leapt into her throat.
But it shouldn't be. Although the family had already expressed disapproval of the affection between the two of them, they hadn't formally intervened yet. How could Prince An...
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and go," Cui Yunchu urged anxiously.
