“Chancellor Liu?” she ventured.
“Princess, you have a keen eye,” Chancellor Liu approached her. “I won’t mince words. Regarding the matter of the selection of consorts, I hope you can persuade the Crown Prince. If you’re willing, we can be allies from now on.”
Di Ronghua smiled faintly. “I have no interest in allies. Besides, Miss Liu probably wouldn’t sincerely want to be my ally either.”
Liu Xijiao’s eyes widened abruptly. “My father is showing you respect by speaking to you, and yet you’re acting so pretentious?”
Juye immediately flared up. “Our princess is the Crown Prince’s favorite! How dare you speak to her like that?”
Liu Xijiao’s face darkened. “You insolent maid! Who gave you the right to interrupt when your betters are speaking?”
Di Ronghua’s expression turned cold. “Liu Xijiao, have you forgotten how you were kicked out of the Crown Prince’s residence before?”
Liu Xijiao’s face paled.
“Princess, why must you be like this?” Chancellor Liu’s voice grew stern. “Even if the Crown Prince favors you now, how long can a man’s affection last? Isn’t it better to have one more friend than one more enemy?”
Di Ronghua’s face suddenly lost some color.
Not because of Chancellor Liu’s words, but because a wave of nausea suddenly rose in her stomach.
“Juye, let’s go back.”
Just as Juye was about to nod, Liu Xijiao blocked their path.
Di Ronghua’s gaze turned icy. “Move aside,” she said slowly, her red lips parting. “Otherwise, just based on the fact that he still favors me, I can make your life very difficult.”
Liu Xijiao’s eyes widened further. “You…”
But then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure in dark robes approaching from a distance. She bit her lip and said, “I only wanted to befriend the princess. Why must you be so harsh?”
Xiao Hanjin’s gaze sharpened slightly. Ignoring Liu Xijiao’s words, he spoke in a calm, indifferent tone, “Chancellor Liu, why are you still in the palace?”
Chancellor Liu remained composed. “Your Highness, I happened to run into the princess and stopped to exchange a few words.”
Xiao Hanjin gave a faint hum.
Juye couldn’t help but interject, “Your Highness, they said you wouldn’t always favor the princess, and they asked her to persuade you to hold the selection of consorts!”
The expressions of everyone present changed. No one expected a maid to be so bold as to repeatedly interrupt when her superiors were speaking.
Liu Xijiao and Chancellor Liu instinctively looked at Xiao Hanjin, but the man’s gaze was fixed on Di Ronghua.
Di Ronghua suppressed the nausea in her stomach and met his gaze. After a moment, she spoke, “What is it?”
Xiao Hanjin’s eyes were dark. “Is what Juye said true?”
Di Ronghua nodded. “More or less.”
After she spoke, the man’s eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze lingering on her face as if waiting for her to continue.
The atmosphere grew tense, and everyone fell silent, watching her.
After a moment of silence, Di Ronghua added, “Although they asked me to persuade you, I have no interest in such thankless tasks. But if you want to hold the selection of consorts, you can go ahead. There’s no need to worry about what you’ve said before.”
[I don’t need to abolish the harem like your brother did, because apart from you, I will never marry anyone else.]
That was what he had said to her once—a promise he made because, during a period before she agreed to marry him, she had been resistant to him. She didn’t believe he could emulate her brother’s example of having no other consorts.
But now… she was telling him not to worry about that promise.
Xiao Hanjin closed his eyes briefly. “Di Ronghua.”
