To Ziyu, Xiao Huayong was indeed almost like a romantic rival. Her Princess had always been cool and composed, like a peony standing proudly among flowers, but it seemed she had become tainted by Xiao Huayong’s heat, losing her former carefree nature.

“This meat porridge that Lady Ziyu worked so hard to make for Youyou – Youyou, don’t let Lady Ziyu’s efforts go to waste,” Xiao Huayong said, noticing Ziyu’s displeasure.

Only then did Shen Xihe notice Ziyu’s unhappiness. Her expression darkened slightly as she took the bowl from Ziyu and handed it to Xiao Huayong: “Please don’t think poorly of it, Your Highness.”

Xiao Huayong accepted it then. Ziyu felt lost – though Shen Xihe hadn’t reprimanded her, she was never again brought along on outings. Knowing she had erred, Ziyu had no choice but to seek forgiveness from Shen Xihe.

She knelt outside the door for an hour before Shen Xihe would see her: “Ziyu, I indulge you because you are my maid, not so you can disregard others. He is the Crown Prince, the heir to the nation – must he watch your mood?”

Ziyu’s face turned pale: “Princess, please forgive me. This servant was improper and will never dare such behavior again.”

“You are demoted to third rank, and will handle kitchen duties from now on,” Shen Xihe deliberately disciplined her.

When Xiao Huayong learned of this, he met Shen Xihe with smiling eyes: “I wasn’t upset by her rudeness. She’s your maid, and I can tolerate anyone connected to you. But I wanted to know if you would discipline her for my sake.”

He couldn’t be compared to her father and brothers, but surely he ranked above her maid?

Understanding Xiao Huayong’s childish meaning, Shen Xihe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Your Highness, those around me must know and maintain proper etiquette. When I learned she offended you, punishment was inevitable.”

This was merely displeasure with a servant’s behavior, not protection of him!

Shen Xihe wasn’t trying to emphasize anything or deliberately discourage Xiao Huayong, but simply stating a fact.

“Oh,” Xiao Huayong responded glumly. “So it’s just about maintaining Youyou’s rules.”

Previously, Shen Xihe would have thought his dejected tone was mostly an act, but now she felt somewhat uncomfortable and even a bit guilty. So she said: “Your Highness and I are to be life partners – you shouldn’t lower yourself to compete with a maid.”

This cheered Xiao Huayong somewhat, and he began teasing Shen Xihe again: “I don’t like the phrase ‘partners in life’ – I prefer… ‘sharing a bed and pillow’…”

Shen Xihe’s face suddenly burned hot. She was so embarrassed and angry that she wanted to whip him with her riding crop.

Why… why was he always so frivolous?

Seeing Shen Xihe sitting stiffly on horseback with pink-tinged cheeks, Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but burst into joyful, hearty laughter: “Hahaha…”

He was still laughing!

In her anger, Shen Xihe raised her whip and spurred her horse forward, not wanting to look at him.

Unable to contain his mirth, Xiao Huayong quickly urged his horse to follow. To divert Shen Xihe’s anger, he said: “Tubo is sending a princess to the capital for a marriage alliance.”

Tubo was determined to form a marriage alliance – without one, they seemed unsettled. After Emperor Youning refused to marry a princess to Tubo, and after several discussions, he decided to accept a princess from Tubo instead.

“Will His Majesty take her into the imperial harem?” Shen Xihe asked.

Though the imperial harem symbolically accepted one or two new members each year, Emperor Youning was well past the age of youthful impulses and showed little interest in matters between men and women, rarely visiting the harem. Shen Xihe thought it unlikely he would take the Tubo princess into the harem.

Sure enough, Xiao Huayong shook his head slightly: “It will be either one of my brothers or a royal relative or important minister.”

“Why couldn’t it be you?” She couldn’t stand seeing his gleeful schadenfreude.

Xiao Huayong replied immediately: “Because I have you!”

His constant frivolity made Shen Xihe’s teeth itch with irritation: “If the Tubo princess insists on marrying no one but you, Your Highness, would you still find it so amusing?”

“If she truly has such discerning eyes to recognize this precious jade…” Xiao Huayong mused thoughtfully, then noticed Shen Xihe’s unchanged expression and felt somewhat deflated. “Well, I’ll just cough up blood in front of her – that should scare her away.”

Shen Xihe was again amused by his serious manner – always either fainting or coughing blood, as if afraid people might forget he was delicate and not to be provoked.

She couldn’t help but suspect that Xiao Huayong’s frequent use of such tactics wasn’t just because they were effective, but more importantly, because they reminded everyone that the Crown Prince had a short life expectancy. Perhaps this was precisely why no one at court suspected him.

“However… Youyou has reminded me that I should take some preventive measures,” Xiao Huayong suddenly said seriously.

His silver eyes darkened like an abyss, and no one could know what he was thinking.

Just as Shen Xihe was about to speak, a strange breeze brought an odd fragrance to her nose. Her expression suddenly changed: “Your Highness, quick, let’s go!”

This was an incense that attracted fierce beasts. Someone had planted it here – any predators in these mountains would soon be drawn to it. She had used this method against Huangzhong Temple before, letting them die torn apart by beasts, leaving no evidence.

She didn’t know if this was meant for her or Xiao Huayong.

After Shen Xihe’s warning cry, she immediately turned her horse. The horse seemed to sense the danger too, raising its head with a whinny.

Xiao Huayong’s eyes darkened as all emotion left his face. He moved to protect Shen Xihe from behind, and sure enough, rushing sounds came from behind them. As Shen Xihe had grown more interested in hunting, Xiao Huayong had changed locations – no matter how beautiful a spot, they couldn’t keep returning to the same place.

The mountains stretched endlessly here, and even if Xiao Huayong had wanted to have people clear such a vast area, it would have been impossible. These past two months, he had stayed by Shen Xihe’s side, and they never ventured deep into any forest, staying on the outskirts, including now. They shouldn’t have encountered any tigers.

He hadn’t expected someone to plot against them so carefully, clearly having figured out their patterns of outings over these two months and setting an ambush early. Since he planned each outing’s location himself, for someone to set up an ambush in advance meant there must be a spy among his people.

Usually, Xiao Huayong wouldn’t fear this, but today Shen Xihe was with him.

Xiao Huayong took out a bone whistle and blew it – first to summon his gyrfalcon, and second to alert Tianyuan who wasn’t with them.

Almost as soon as the whistle’s sound faded, huge, fierce bodies lunged toward them with savage speed.

Not one tiger, but three, surrounded him and Shen Xihe from three directions.

The tigers were agitated, stimulated by the incense. Fortunately, they hadn’t entered the area where the incense was planted and hadn’t been contaminated by its scent.