A night passed in a daze.

Morning light reflecting off white snow shone in through the window. Chu Yi pressed his temples and opened his eyes.

By this time, it was already nearly the end of the hour of chen.

He sat up from the couch, vaguely remembering that something seemed to have happened last night.

Heavy snow.

Fruit wine.

Crimson lips.

Was it a dream, or had it really happened?

“Your Highness has finally awakened.” Chengxu pushed open the door and walked in. “The palace nannies have already come to request your presence three times.”

Chu Yi remembered.

Today was the cuju tournament with the foreign envoys.

He was a key member. If he was absent, the Great Jin side would most likely lose.

While putting on his clothes, he asked: “Did anything happen last night?”

As soon as he asked this question, he saw Chengxu’s dark face seemingly染上 tinged with a suspicious blush.

Chu Yi’s fingers paused.

He vaguely remembered those tempting lips…

Could it be that in front of Chengxu and the other servants, he had kissed Yun Chu…

He had actually done something so bold?

Had he gone mad?

His Adam’s apple rolled heavily as he asked: “Yun Chu… what was her reaction?”

“Miss Yun… doesn’t know yet.” Chengxu’s dark face turned even redder.

Chu Yi abruptly stood up.

Had he taken advantage of Yun Chu being drunk to commit such a scoundrel’s deed?

What should he do now?

Go find Yun Chu and confess?

Or act as if it never happened?

Chu Yi had never been so conflicted before. This was more troublesome than discussing how to suppress bandits.

Chengxu hunched his shoulders and said: “I also don’t know why I suddenly hugged Tingxue for a moment and scared her to tears. What does Your Highness think I should tell Miss Yun about this matter…”

Chu Yi: “…”

There was no way to continue this conversation.

He walked outside and looked toward the gateway. Yu’er had gone to school, and he could faintly hear Yun Chu teaching Changsheng to read.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked over and stood at the door of the warm side room: “Changsheng, Father Prince is going to the palace. What would you like to eat? I’ll bring it back for you tonight.”

The little girl’s soft, sweet voice came out: “Eat, eat candy.”

“Alright, Father Prince will bring you candy.” Chu Yi paused and said: “Miss Yun, what would you like to eat?”

Yun Chu’s voice quickly responded: “The roast duck from last time tasted very good. I’ll trouble Your Highness.”

Chu Yi’s tense heartstrings immediately relaxed: “No trouble at all, it’s on the way.”

The corners of his lips curved upward, his mood quite pleasant as he led his horse toward the palace.

On the road, Chengxu followed behind with a worried face asking: “Your Highness still hasn’t told me what to do.”

Chu Yi tugged at the corners of his lips: “Quite a few people in the military camp have married wives. Tonight have them gather at Desheng Tower, and you might as well seek their advice.”

Chengxu’s eyes widened: “Desheng Tower is famously expensive. Even an ordinary table of food and wine costs at least seven or eight taels of silver.”

Chu Yi’s horse stopped at the palace gate as he said coldly: “You can’t catch a wolf without letting go of the child. Think it over yourself—what’s more important, silver or a wife?”

Chengxu’s face crumpled.

Silver was important.

A wife was of course also important.

Did he really have to choose only one?

Couldn’t he have both?

At this time, the cuju match had already begun.

On the Great Jin side, the Crown Prince was leading a group of nobles against the foreign envoy team. In the first half hour of the opening, the other side had scored three goals. They were losing badly.

“Third Brother, you’ve finally arrived!” The Crown Prince saw Chu Yi as if seeing a lifeline. “Young Lord Pingjin, you go down and let Third Brother take the field!”

The current Young Lord Pingjin was the newly appointed heir. The previous one had been determined by Master Ding Yiyuan’s divination to cause the Marquis Pingjin household to end in his generation, so the Marquis of Pingjin had hastily changed heirs.

The newly appointed Young Lord Pingjin was a scholar, completely unskilled at cuju, just there to make up numbers.

Now that Chu Yi had arrived, he immediately gave up his position.

Chu Yi took the field, and everyone’s morale immediately soared.

The opposing team members all raised their vigilance, with more than half of them specifically marking Chu Yi.

However, they still couldn’t keep up with him.

Chu Yi turned, leaped with a flying kick, and the ball went through the goal.

“Excellent! Wonderful!” The Crown Prince was extremely excited. “Indeed, it still has to be Third Brother!”

He walked over and patted Chu Yi’s shoulder: “If Princess Guli sees how brave and martial you are, she’ll certainly agree to marry you without hesitation!”

As he spoke and turned his head, he saw that Princess Guli, who had been watching the match from the sidelines, wasn’t looking at the playing field at all, but had turned her head and was talking with Prince Gongxi, Chu Mo, at her side.

He was somewhat astonished: “Why does Princess Guli seem to be chatting quite happily with Second Brother?”

Chu Yi glanced over briefly, his lips curving upward.

It seemed Second Imperial Brother’s heroic rescue last night had won the princess’s heart.

His mood improved greatly.

With a turn, he blocked an incoming ball and kicked it straight toward the opponent’s goal.

Cheers rang out across the field.

Prince Gongxi imperceptibly blocked Princess Guli’s line of sight, his voice extremely refined: “The Princess must be tired from standing. Why not sit over there and have some tea? This is Great Jin’s most famous Yinshan Maojian tea. The Princess might not be accustomed to it, so I had them add sugar.”

Princess Guli’s face was full of shyness.

Last night, after requesting permission from the Great Jin Empress, she had taken two maidservants on a night tour of the capital.

The capital’s nighttime was much livelier than their Hongnan Kingdom, with people everywhere and street vendors selling all sorts of trinkets she’d never seen before.

She had looked around carelessly and accidentally got separated from her maidservants.

While searching for them, she actually encountered three or four thugs. Although she knew some martial arts, she was completely outmatched by several thugs.

Just as she was about to lose her virtue, the man before her—Prince Gongxi—suddenly appeared and shielded her behind him.

Prince Gongxi, a refined scholar, had his arm slashed to protect her, the flowing blood staining his clothes.

She asked with concern: “Your Highness, does your arm still hurt?”

Prince Gongxi smiled: “It’s just a minor injury, not worth mentioning.”

Princess Guli picked up the tea and took a sip. The rich tea fragrance with added sugar tasted a bit strange, but it wasn’t unacceptable.

“The Princess is only sixteen this year, correct?” Prince Gongxi sighed. “At such a young age, having to learn to be a mother to someone else’s children—it really is too difficult for the Princess.”

Princess Guli looked utterly confused: “What do you mean, be a mother?”

“This…” Prince Gongxi had the appearance of someone who had misspoken. “Should I not have said that?”

Princess Guli immediately pressed: “Your Highness, if you have something to say, just say it. Don’t hold back.”

“My father emperor intends to arrange a marriage between you and Third Brother. I can see that you’re also quite satisfied with Third Brother.” Prince Gongxi spoke slowly. “If you marry Third Brother, you’ll have to be the legitimate mother to Third Brother’s son and daughter…”

Princess Guli couldn’t believe it: “Didn’t Prince Pingxi not marry? How could he have children?”

“He hasn’t married, and no one knows who the mother of those two children is either.” Prince Gongxi shook his head. “Third Brother was young at the time and was indeed somewhat wild, but he’s reformed over these years. Princess Guli must not misunderstand.”

Princess Guli pressed her lips together tightly.

Yesterday she had indeed taken a liking to Prince Pingxi, but later when Prince Pingxi threw the candy she had personally made onto the ground, that fondness had faded.

Combined with Prince Gongxi having saved her, there was already completely no place for Prince Pingxi in her heart.

Now, hearing that Prince Pingxi actually had children before marriage, her previous favorable impression had unknowingly turned into disgust.