It became quiet in the room, and only Shao Wanru’s sobs could be heard occasionally.

Shao Wanru lowered her head and blushed. After a moment of confusion, she discovered the two of them were so intimate at the moment. Chu Liuchen sat in the rattan chair, holding her, who was crying bitterly, in his arms.

When she indulged in crying just now, she didn’t notice it. Now she, who had returned to herself, felt ashamed and buried her head deeply. In fact, she didn’t feel like crying now and was wondering how to get out of this awkward situation.

“What’s going on? Are you done with it?” Chu Liuchen looked down at Shao Wanru, who almost buried her entire face in his arms, and asked her. He was in a good mood, showed an elegant and soft smile and reached out to touch Shao Wanru’s hair, which made her heart beat so fast that it almost jumped out of her throat.

With her fair and tender fingers trembling, she slowly let go of Chu Liuchen’s sleeve, bit her lip embarrassedly, trying to get out of Chu Liuchen’s arms. Unexpectedly, with a sudden effort, he pulled her back into his arms with his hands around her waist and asked, “Would you like to cry for a little longer?”

His teasing tone made Shao Wanru, who was too embarrassed to deal with the situation, fly into a shameful rage. She pushed him hard, raised her face, put on an indifferent look and said seriously, “Prince, let me go!”

She, who was sullen with her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, was obviously very nervous and shy, but she still tried to put on a fierce look. At the sight of this, Chu Liuchen couldn’t help laughing, stretched out his other hand and gently pinched her delicate face.

Her skin was as smooth as a piece of fine jade. Seeing that she gradually blushed again, he involuntarily chuckled and reached out to pinch her little face again.

Shao Wanru reached out and pushed his hand away, and then pushed him away. She almost fell from Chu Liuchen’s lap because of the rebound force. Fortunately, Chu Liuchen reached out to hold her so that she could get her footing in front of the chair.

“Sit down!” Knowing that Shao Wanru’s cheeks were burning hot with a blush, Chu Liuchen pointed at another rattan chair in front of him, narrowed his eyes and said with a smile.

This rattan chair was not as big as the one he was sitting in, but suited Shao Wanru well.

Seeing that he dropped the topic, Shao Wanru sat in the rattan chair with a blush and tucked a strand of her loose hair behind her ear. She looked a little unkempt and not dignified enough. However, Chu Liuchen was increasingly pleased with her and kept looking at her up and down, causing Shao Wanru, whose face had just returned to normal, to blush again and feel burning hot all over.

She felt hot all over as if she was about to be burned.

“It’s too hot over there. You can actually sit here with me. This chair is big enough for us to share!” Chu Liuchen patted the chair he was sitting in and said with a faint smile.

Shao Wanru glared at him fiercely, thinking he was so evil that although he knew why she blushed, he still suggested she sit with him.

“I’m not feeling hot!” She, ashamed and annoyed, said grumpily, while clenching the handkerchief in her hand and avoiding looking at his wickedly handsome face.

He did it on purpose!

Chu Liuchen moved and looked sideways at Shao Wanru’s flushed face. Then he stood up, reached out to pull his large rattan chair towards Shao Wanru, pulled away the table between them and said impatiently, “It’s quite a hindrance!”

Shao Wanru was stunned as she watched him push the table away, pull his rattan chair over and sit down beside her.

He did it so naturally and even considered the table a hindrance. What was wrong with the table, which was supposed to be placed between two chairs?

In addition to shame and annoyance, she somehow felt a trace of warmth in her heart, which eased the depressing feeling she had in the nightmare just now. At least in this moment, she felt real and that she didn’t live a miserable life as she did in the nightmare.

Now she was living a real life, and what had happened in the last life was gone.

Sunlight shone in diagonally through the window. The warm sunshine in winter warmed her heart at this moment.

She moved slightly and leaned to one side. Chu Liuchen sat in such a large chair, but he still leaned towards her, which embarrassed her.

“Don’t move. It’s nice to lean against each other!” As Chu Liuchen said, he grabbed Shao Wanru’s sleeve, pulled her, who had leaned to one side to stay away from him, to his side, and said with his arm around her shoulder, “After the consort selection, I can finally come to visit you justly!”

Shao Wanru blushed and looked at him speechlessly. Well, he also knew that it was not justifiable for him to visit her now!

“Imperial Grandmother has learned this. During this period, you should live with the other candidates in the imperial palace. If the First Miss from your mansion intends to do something to hurt you, I’ll deal with her!” Chu Liuchen said with a trace of gloom across his sharp eyes.

Knowing that he was worried about her, Shao Wanru lowered her head and turned over the handkerchief in her hand. She shook her head and said, “Don’t do anything to Shao Yanru. Duke Xing’s Mansion is not simple, and nor is she. It’s not a good choice to intervene rashly. I can deal with her!”

In this life, she had seized the decisive opportunities and never been blinded by the so-called kinship.

Shao Yanru was no longer Shao Zhaoyi who was in a prominent position, and Shao Wanru was no longer the helpless female painter who could only be tortured by her after entering the imperial palace and was even set up and killed by her in the end.

Nowadays, she and Shao Yanru were almost equal in status.

She even seemed to be of nobler birth with Rui’an Great Elder Princess as her maternal grandma, and her father, the former heir of Duke Xing’s Mansion, made her identity as the lineal Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion more justifiable.

“Well, be careful. If you can’t deal with her, just tell me. No matter who is behind her, I won’t spare her!” Chu Liuchen said with a nod in a clear and cold voice, not looking as gentle as he usually did in front of others, but this was the real side of him. How could Chu Liuchen, who was born in the imperial palace where he was threatened by growing crisis, really be an innocent teenager as handsome as someone coming out of a painting?

“I will be careful!” Shao Wanru nodded, and said after hesitating for a moment, “I heard that this matter is also related to the Xu State. It’s said that my Third Sister was hurt by a poison from the Xu State!”

She had to tell Chu Liuchen about this, lest he accidentally got involved in this matter which was supposed to be a conflict among the candidates, but now became a conflict among the officials.

What Shao Yanru said to threaten Shao Caihuan that day was not a complete exaggeration. It was not a simple thing that a tribute from the Xu State, which was supposed to be stored in the national treasury, was missing. If it was really discovered to have something to do with Duke Xing’s Mansion, Duke Xing’s Mansion would inevitably be implicated and even face an uncertain result despite its great power.

“This matter has been settled. My uncle broke into a furious rage in the main hall. A lot of officers working in the national treasury get involved in this, and Vice Minister Wang also got into trouble. Although he’s not discovered to have something to do with this, it is certain that his daughter got the incense and poisoned someone with it. So he has been demoted!”

Knowing that she, who stayed in the imperial palace, was ill-informed, Chu Liuchen looked at her and said with a smile.

As they began to talk business, the blush on Shao Wanru’s face faded away, and she looked natural now. If it weren’t for his hand around her waist making her lean against his chest, she would have felt more at ease at this time.

Knowing that she was not strong enough to push him away, she simply let him hold her. Anyway, he had always been very domineering. She had thought so before they made their relationship clear. After they made it clear, now she found that he was not only domineering, but even fiercely protective of her.

At the thought of this, she, whose face had just returned to normal, blushed again.

“How should we deal with Wang Yuxin?” Seeing that Shao Wanru blushed again, Chu Liuchen blinked and asked in a languid tone.

“Let her go!” Shao Wanru bit her lip, suppressed the shyness in her heart, and said after thinking for a while.

Wang Yuxin was in a difficult situation now. As she got into big trouble and even implicated her father, the whole Wang’s Mansion would not protect her. Even if she were to marry into a family living in a far away place, she could only marry a man who was ignorant of what she had done and much inferior to her.

In the last life, Wang Yuxin was Shao Yanru’s helper. Although it was the same in this life, Shao Wanru had gotten rid of this helper early. Now Wang Yuxin’s fate was in her own hands!

“Okay. Tomorrow, I will introduce her to a businessman who can be a perfect husband for her!” Chu Liuchen thought for a moment and said evilly.

“A businessman?” Shao Wanru raised her head and asked in surprise. A businessman was too humble for Wang Yuxin, who was arrogant and set her mind on being selected in the consort selection. How could she bear to end up marrying a business man?

“Exactly, but I’m afraid it’s not easy to find a businessman to marry her now.” Chu Liuchen said in a languid tone.

Shao Wanru blinked with a sneer and pinched her handkerchief with her fingers. She had always been a cool person who would not have any sympathy for someone who had harmed her. Wang Yuxin deserved this.

“When you are at leisure, I will take you to my mansion and pick a nice courtyard!” Chu Liuchen looked at her delicate side face and said with a playful smile. Her long eyelashes cast irregular shadows on her eyes, making her look lovely. He, who originally intended to tease her, now unconsciously looked at her with a serious look.

“Why?” Shao Wanru, who failed to understand what he meant, raised her head in astonishment, looked sideways at him and asked.

“You should pick a nice courtyard for our wedding. Since we are going to live there later, you should pick one with which you are pleased!” Chu Liuchen said.

His words made Shao Wanru blush again. She gritted her teeth secretly, thinking he didn’t feel ashamed to say that at all.

Chu Liuchen laughed in a muffled and low voice, which made him, who usually talked in a clear voice, sound a little hoarse. Nevertheless, it gave an impression that he was laughing sincerely. She was melted by his sweet smile and somehow felt a little embarrassed and annoyed.

Shao Wanru simply ignored him and turned her head to look at the bookshelf on one side. He had always been a prince who rarely showed a sincere smile. Why did he act like a completely different person now?