Ning nodded in agreement with the suggestion of the old lady of the Chu family.
An indescribable feeling welled up and fermented in Song Wanchu's heart.
Since when had the people around her all thought that she should rely on Liang Yuzhou and must rely on him?
When she first came to the Chu family, their past was a taboo that no one dared to mention.
Even her elder brother, who cared about her the most, hadn't shown up for several days, as if he had already accepted that she would return to Liang Yuzhou.
Chu Yueying noticed Song Wanchu's embarrassment. She blinked her big black eyes like grapes and said with a smile, "Sister Wanchu doesn't need to tell Taoist Priest Qingzhou. Taoist Priest Qingzhou has his heart set on Sister Wanchu. He must have already thought of a way to deal with this."
The old lady of the Chu family smiled. "Ying'er is right. We were just being too impatient and overthinking."
Song Wanchu was grateful to Chu Yueying for saving her from the awkward situation with just one sentence.
That afternoon, she gave Chu Yueying a gold hairpin inlaid with an oriental pearl. The style was simple and elegant, yet noble.
The little girl liked it very much and said she would wear it to the banquet tomorrow.
Song Wanchu originally wanted to move back to Yungui Alley.
But the Crown Prince had said yesterday that if she wanted to go back, he would escort her personally.
However, the Crown Prince didn't show up all day. Song Wanchu couldn't go back alone without the Crown Prince's permission. That would be very impolite and show disrespect to the Crown Prince.
She could only go back to Yungui Alley if the Crown Prince mentioned it himself.
But Song Wanchu knew that the Crown Prince would never say such a thing.
His seemingly casual concern yesterday was actually a clever way to keep her in the Chu family.
For three consecutive days, Song Wanchu had to accompany the guests at the banquet. The Crown Prince only chatted with her a few times.
He never summoned her alone, nor did he do anything inappropriate at any time or place.
But the string in Song Wanchu's heart was always tightly wound.
On the day of the banquet, she dressed up a little. If she dressed too simply, it would seem that she didn't take the banquet seriously.
She didn't want to give the Yue family something to talk about, because if the Yue family had any complaints about her, it would implicate the Chu family.
"Okay, let's go."
Song Wanchu closed the lid of the rouge box and was about to get up when a gray pigeon landed on the window lattice at some point and cooed happily.
Nanzhi had sharp eyes. "Miss, there's a note tied to the pigeon's leg."
She took off the note and casually scattered a handful of roasted almonds on the windowsill. After the pigeon finished eating, it flapped its wings and flew away.
Song Wanchu unfolded the note. It was the handwriting she was most familiar with.
"I miss you and yearn for you. Not being able to see you, I only hope that our hearts understand each other and our original intentions never change."
Her cheeks flushed with heat. She crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the dressing box.
Liang Yuzhou, when did he learn to say such cheesy love words?
To put it plainly, he was saying that he was jealous because she would be at the same banquet as the Crown Prince today. He hoped that she would make things clear to the Crown Prince and not be tempted by any of the Crown Prince's promises.
She couldn't help but think of the night he climbed into her boudoir through the window. He kissed her passionately and said he needed a little sweetness to neutralize the sourness.
He was already in love, but when he felt her resistance, he used his strong will to restrain his desires.
He knew that she would have a long time alone with the Crown Prince when they had a heart-to-heart talk, and he accepted it.
The tolerance he showed was completely different from the domineering and possessive man he used to be.
It seemed that he was really learning to respect her.
Because of Liang Yuzhou's note, Song Wanchu still felt the heat on her face hadn't dissipated even when she got on the carriage.
The banquet was held at noon. The Chu family arrived at the Yue family half an hour early.
The Crown Prince went to the government office to discuss affairs early in the morning. The Chu family didn't dare to be arrogant and waited for the Crown Prince together with the Yue family.
The old lady of the Yue family and the old lady of the Chu family met and nodded coldly at each other.
Then they didn't say anything more.
Since the most respected ancestors of the two families didn't communicate, the people below had nothing to say either.
The Yue family stood in the main position, and the Chu family stood in the guest position. They all waited at the gate for the Crown Prince's carriage.
It was like two forces confronting each other.
The old lady of the Yue family's eyes swept over Song Wanchu's face. There was a hint of malice and pride in her eyes.
Yue Chengkong glared angrily at Song Wanchu's beautiful face. His venomous gaze seemed to pierce two holes in her face.
This promiscuous woman didn't wear any makeup last time, but today she was all dressed up. Wasn't she here to seduce the Crown Prince on purpose?
Liang Yuzhou had even gone to great lengths to avenge her and ended up looking like a freak. But this woman was going to cuckold him today!
Liang Yuzhou deserved it.
Only by thinking like this could Yue Chengkong feel a little better.
Song Wanchu didn't care at all about the way the Yue family looked at her.
The Crown Prince's carriage arrived.
The old lady of the Yue family stepped forward to greet him and led the guests to kneel down and pay their respects.
She originally thought that as the wet nurse of the princess, she was a respected and honorable person in the royal family, so the Crown Prince would definitely not let her kowtow three times.
But the Crown Prince didn't show any intention of helping her up. He sat there with a cold and solemn face, watching her kowtow three times before saying indifferently, "Rise."
The old lady of the Yue family had a smile on her face, but she was seething with anger inside.
She had heard that the first time the old lady of the Chu family paid her respects to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince helped her up personally after she kowtowed once.
Why didn't she, the wet nurse of the princess, have such treatment?
The Chu family was just a lowly merchant family, yet they had outshone the Yue family?
A look of displeasure flashed across the old lady of the Yue family's eyes.
The Chu family was getting too much attention. They had to find a way to suppress them!
The Crown Prince's eyes passed over the crowd and landed on Song Wanchu, who was standing at the end of the line.
Although she had her head down, her peerless beauty couldn't be hidden.
Her eyebrows were delicately arched, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and there was a touch of red on her lips, like a newly bloomed lotus in summer, showing its tender stamen naturally without any artificial adornment.
The Crown Prince couldn't take his eyes off her face.
After everyone was seated, Yue Chengkong eagerly poured wine for the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince casually asked, "Is Lord Yue feeling better?"
He stared at Yue Chengkong's face as if he was trying to see something from it.
The old lady of the Yue family had secretly invited a famous martial artist doctor for Yue Chengkong. He used a special powder to cover the words "shameless" on Yue Chengkong's face.
She also specially prepared a medicine for him. After taking it, his voice would become hoarse to cover up the fact that Yue Chengkong had become a eunuch.
Yue Chengkong looked at the three fingers left on his right hand. He was filled with grief and indignation, but also showed great determination. "Your Highness, I'm fine now. Although I've lost two fingers, I can still pick up a weapon and defend the Great Zhou's territory."
The Crown Prince had heard many high-sounding words, so he just smiled faintly. "Has the murderer been caught yet?"
Yue Chengkong's face tightened. "This person is very cunning. It will take some time to catch him."
Before the Crown Prince came, he had torn down all the wanted posters in the city. He didn't dare to let the Crown Prince know that the person he was trying to arrest was Liang Yuzhou.
Because he was afraid that the Crown Prince would follow the clues and find out that the real reason he was injured and crippled was that he wanted to force Song Wanchu to marry him!
The Yue family wanted to use the Crown Prince's infatuation with Song Wanchu to make the Crown Prince and Liang Yuzhou fight against each other.
The Crown Prince was second only to the emperor, and no matter how capable Liang Yuzhou was, he couldn't go against the imperial power.
Once Liang Yuzhou was dead, the Yue family's great revenge would be avenged. The Crown Prince would also spare the Yue family because they had helped him get Song Wanchu.
It was a perfect plan!
Yue Chengkong thought his mother's plan was flawless.
The old lady of the Yue family glanced at Song Wanchu and said slowly, "I heard that a few days before the Crown Prince came to Yunzhou, Miss Song suddenly broke off her engagement with her adopted brother. And today she's dressed up so beautifully. She must toast the Crown Prince three cups to show her respect."