He smiled, his eyes radiating a subtle heat. He was merely saying something ordinary, but the way he said it made it sound different.

Yu Qingwu blushed and gently pushed against Xie Jin Yan's chest. "Xie Jin Yan, behave yourself. The First Prince and Consort Liu will be at the banquet later. They barely escaped the last incident, so they must hate you. They're bound to cause trouble today. You should think about how to deal with them."

She averted her gaze, deliberately changing the subject, and walked away as she spoke.

Xie Jin Yan naturally noticed Yu Qingwu's discomfort. That was what made her so endearing.

She appeared cold and ruthless, but deep down, she was incredibly shy.

Even after being married for over half a year, he could still make her blush with a few playful and suggestive words.

Watching Yu Qingwu's hurried departure, a smile tugged at Xie Jin Yan's lips, and he quickly followed her.

They left the East Palace and went straight to the Imperial Garden.

In the spring, hundreds of rare flowers were in full bloom.

Yu Qingwu was dazzled as soon as she entered. After all, it was the royal garden. She hadn't felt anything special when she'd come before, but now, seeing the vibrant display of flowers, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

However, she quickly regained her composure and sat down with Xie Jin Yan at their designated seats.

By then, everyone had arrived except for Emperor Wei and Empress Zhou.

After greeting the Crown Prince, everyone's attention turned to her.

Among them, several gazes were particularly intense: Qiu Shiyi Niang, the First Prince Xie Qiyun, Xie Ruizhi, and… Xu Fengxia and her fourth brother, Xu Zi'an.

According to their family's rank, the Xu siblings were seated at the very end.

Xu Fengxia's eyes were red-rimmed, and she kept talking to Xu Zi'an.

Xu Zi'an, in turn, kept looking over at them with blatant malice in his eyes.

Xu Fengxia must be complaining to Xu Zi'an, telling him that this lowly merchant's daughter was bullying her, probably hoping that Xu Zi'an would stand up for her.

Xu Zi'an was just an empty-headed nobleman’s son. His entire family was useless. Their official positions were all obtained through Xie Ruizhi's connections. How could he possibly stand up for Xu Fengxia?

He would probably just whisper in Xie Ruizhi's ear…

"Your Highness, do you think… Sixth Princess will try to embarrass me for Xu Si's sake?" Yu Qingwu rested her cheek on her hand, gazing at the whispering siblings in the distance for a moment before finally asking Xie Jin Yan.

Xie Jin Yan was nonchalantly eating pastries. Hearing Yu Qingwu's question, he elegantly chewed and swallowed the fruit in his mouth before leaning close to her ear, casting a disdainful glance at Xu Zi'an and Xu Fengxia. "Xie Ruizhi may be a little foolish, but she still knows what's important. Besides, this is a formal occasion. If she embarrasses you for the sake of Xu Zi'an, she'll be slapping my face and giving Xie Qiyun and the Fifth Princess an opportunity to laugh at our palace…"

"However, knowing her personality, she'll probably ask the Emperor for rewards and promote that Xu Si's position. What a useless thing, lowering herself so much for such a counterfeit."

"Counterfeit? What do you mean?" Yu Qingwu was still trying to figure out how to deal with all the troublesome matters later. Hearing Xie Jin Yan's sudden remark, she was taken aback, then looked at him in surprise, lowering her voice. "Your Highness, are you saying… the person who saved Sixth Princess back then wasn't Xu Si Gongzi?"

Save Xie Ruizhi?

With Xu Si's weak physique, it would be a miracle if he wasn't the one being rescued. If he could rescue Xie Ruizhi from the bandits, that would truly be a strange thing.

Casting a disgusted glance at Xu Zi'an in the distance, Xie Jin Yan scoffed, "The one who saved her was his illegitimate older brother, the so-called bastard who was kicked out of the Xu family years ago. However, his illegitimate brother's jade pendant accidentally fell into his hands, and Xie Ruizhi saw it later and mistook him." With Xu Si's weak physique, it would be a miracle if he wasn't the one being rescued. If he could rescue Xie Ruizhi from the bandits, that would truly be a strange thing.

Casting a disgusted glance at Xu Zi'an in the distance, Xie Jin Yan scoffed, "The one who saved her was his illegitimate older brother, the so-called bastard who was kicked out of the Xu family years ago. However, his illegitimate brother's jade pendant accidentally fell into his hands, and Xie Ruizhi saw it later and mistook him." With Xu Si's weak physique, it would be a miracle if he wasn't the one being rescued. If he could rescue Xie Ruizhi from the bandits, that would truly be a strange thing.

Casting a disgusted glance at Xu Zi'an in the distance, Xie Jin Yan scoffed, "The one who saved her was his illegitimate older brother, the so-called bastard who was kicked out of the Xu family.

Speaking of this, Xie Jin Yan became angry. He lowered his voice, glanced at Xie Ruizhi, who looked worried in the distance, and said irritably, "If it weren't for the sake of that stupid girl's reputation, I would have beaten that Xu Si counterfeit to death long ago."

"So… Your Highness knew that Xu Si was a counterfeit, but you still let him act arrogantly, let him deceive your sister?" Yu Qingwu was shocked by Xu Zi'an's shamelessness and even more confused by Xie Jin Yan's behavior. She frowned and looked at Xu Zi'an, who had a villainous look on his face, and asked Xie Jin Yan in confusion.

"Your Highness, why don't you tell Sixth Princess the truth?"

"I wanted to tell her, but do you think she likes Xu Si simply because he saved her?" Xie Jin Yan chuckled softly, a little helpless.

He sighed softly, his dark eyes looking at Yu Qingwu tenderly, and smiled as he asked, "Shijie, Shifu also saved you, but you've always only regarded him as a teacher, haven't you?"

"So, love between a man and a woman is often without reason. The so-called debt of saving a life is just an excuse, a fig leaf to cover up one's own humility."

Xie Jin Yan's voice was soft, as if he was talking about everyday matters, but his eyes were filled with helplessness and anger.

And Yu Qingwu, for a moment, didn't know how to answer.

Yes, love between a man and a woman is often so inexplicable.

Perhaps, even without the debt of saving a life, Xie Ruizhi would still like Xu Zi'an.

In that case, even if she was told that Xu Zi'an was a counterfeit, Xie Ruizhi might not believe it, and might even think that her older brother and empress mother were deliberately making up lies to deceive her in order to break her and Xu Zi'an apart.

But is she just going to let her continue like this? Is there no other way?