Hearing this, Yu Qingwu was slightly stunned, quite surprised.

　　She raised her eyes and gazed at the man's handsome face, momentarily stunned before chuckling, asking him with a hint of tears in her eyes, "Why is Your Highness so certain? What if this concubine truly still has feelings for him?"

　　Feelings for him?

　　If she truly had someone else in her heart, she wouldn't dare say it so blatantly.

　　Moreover, if she truly still harbored feelings for Xiao Fengyun, she wouldn't have shielded him so openly in front of Xiao Fengyun just now.

　　Xie Jin Yan smiled, reached out and gently flicked her nose, scoffing in response, "Yu Qingwu, you and I have been fellow disciples for nearly ten years, and husband and wife for so long. If I can't even discern what my own wife is thinking, wouldn't I be a useless Crown Prince?"

　　"Besides, if you truly had Xiao Fengyun in your heart, even to protect him, you would never dare to reveal such an expression. It's precisely because you no longer have any affection for him that you dare to be so blatant."

　　"In the end, you feel you misjudged someone, and for a moment, you feel disgusted, like you swallowed a fly, yet there's also a hint of sadness and indignation at your own blindness. How should I put it? Perhaps at this moment, you'd rather he, Xiao Fengyun, died than see his image collapse like this…"

　　Sure enough, Xie Jin Yan had perfectly guessed her thoughts.

　　Indeed, that was exactly how she felt at the moment.

　　She'd rather Xiao Fengyun died than learn about this disgusting side of him.

　　But it was just as well. This way, she could consider herself clear of Xiao Fengyun, and she wouldn't have to feel guilty for the past affection.

　　From now on, they would just be fellow disciples with an ordinary relationship.

　　Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu's previously disillusioned and low mood instantly became much lighter, and she no longer felt the fear and restraint she had felt earlier.

　　She raised her lips and chuckled, proactively hooking her arm around Xie Jin Yan's, looking at his handsome face, which she used to find extremely annoying, and found it much more pleasing to the eye. With a hint of coquetry, she snorted, "Your Highness truly lives up to your name. You're indeed insightful and meticulous. This concubine's little thoughts can't be hidden from you at all."

　　"Of course. Who am I? I am the Crown Prince of Da Wei. Do you think just anyone can be the Crown Prince?" This man… he truly knew no shame, not the least bit modest.

　　Yu Qingwu's somewhat depressed mood was completely dispelled by Xie Jin Yan's self-admiration.

　　Or perhaps it was because their relationship had been exposed, and there was no more psychological pressure. Her tightly knitted brows relaxed even more.

　　She raised her eyes and stared at the man for a moment, chuckling as she retorted, "Xie Jin Yan, can't you be a little more humble? Who praises themselves like that…"

　　Praises himself?

　　He was stating a fact, okay?

　　But in the end, Xie Jin Yan didn't say these words.

　　He raised an eyebrow, gently took Yu Qingwu's hand, changed the subject, and asked softly, "Shijie (Senior Apprentice Sister), what do you want to eat? Things got so chaotic just now, I didn't eat much, and now I'm starving."

　　That's right, Yu Qingwu hadn't felt anything at first, but after Xie Jin Yan said that, she also felt a bit hungry.

　　But even if they were hungry, the Shimen (Sect) wasn't the Crown Prince's residence; they couldn't eat whatever they wanted.

　　Now that Shifu (Master) and the others were making such a ruckus, it didn't seem appropriate for her to ask Ning Yu to cook.

　　Frowning slightly, Yu Qingwu pondered for a moment and pulled Xie Jin Yan toward the kitchen.

　　That's right, she planned to cook herself.

　　Although she didn't have Ning Yu and Gao Minyue's amazing culinary skills, she could still cook a little. It wouldn't be anything extravagant, but it would be edible, and it would definitely fill their stomachs.

　　It had been more than half a year since Yu Qingwu had been in the kitchen, but she was still quite skilled. In less than half an hour, she made two bowls of yangchun noodles. The noodles were freshly kneaded by her, and the flour was newly bought by the cook. With the addition of scallions, lard, and soy sauce, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

　　"Shijie's skills haven't diminished over the years," Xie Jin Yan leaned in, gently sniffing, and then picked up his chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth.

　　Compared to many years ago, his eating habits seemed more elegant.

　　Yu Qingwu sat opposite him, also slowly putting noodles into her mouth.

　　"Shijie, how long has it been since I last ate the noodles you cooked?" Yu Qingwu was burying her head, putting noodles into her mouth when the man opposite her suddenly asked.

　　"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Yu Qingwu was slightly stunned, raising her head in confusion.

　　In the dim candlelight, Xie Jin Yan's eyes held a gentle smile. He put down the chopsticks in his hand at some point, suddenly raised his eyes to look at the dark ceiling, gestured with his hand, and sighed, "If I remember correctly, the last time we ate together in this kitchen was seven years ago. At that time, I was twelve years old, and you were thirteen. But girls always grow taller than boys first. I only reached your chin…"

　　"But at that time, Xiao Fengyun was already very tall."

　　Xie Jin Yan smiled, but his eyes looked a little lost. His tone was still calm, as if he were telling someone else's story. "At that time, everyone said you were a match made in heaven, but I didn't think you and Xiao Fengyun were a good match at all."

　　"He didn't dare to do anything for you, all he knew was to put on airs and care about his face. But even so, you still liked him more, following behind him all day, calling him 'Shixiong' (Senior Apprentice Brother). I got angry just looking at it, so I often made trouble for him, and you always scolded me, so I hated him even more…"

　　"And I became increasingly unhappy with you, thinking in my heart that if one day I was as tall as him, I would make you regret it, regret that you chose him and scolded me. But later, I don't know how, you and I grew further and further apart…"

　　"Looking back now, the last time you cooked for me in this kitchen seems like a lifetime ago."

　　Perhaps touched by the scene, Xie Jin Yan unknowingly said a few more words.

　　Clearly, he hadn't touched a drop of wine, but he acted as if he were drunk.

　　Perhaps because she was used to Xie Jin Yan's wicked and domineering appearance, Yu Qingwu was a little unaccustomed to seeing him so sentimental at the moment.

　　But thinking about it, she seemed to have been too harsh on Xie Jin Yan back then, even though she thought she was doing it for his own good at the time.

　　She sighed and looked up at him, "Jin Yan, now that I think about it, I do seem to have been too harsh on you in the past."

　　That's right, at that time, although she intended to be good to Xie Jin Yan, thinking of using his identity as the Crown Prince to seek revenge, she was also strict with him because she really wanted to treat him well.

　　Especially later, when he had conflicts with Senior Apprentice Brother Xiao, she reprimanded him and even fought with him.

　　Each time, Xie Jin Yan remained silent. As he grew into a young man, she still taught him as always. So, on that day, when she gave him shoes, he pushed her into the water.

　　Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu suddenly smiled faintly, a hint of apology appearing in her clear eyes as she looked at Xie Jin Yan and said, "Jin Yan, actually, you must have held some resentment when you pushed me into the ice lake that year, right?"