C16

This was the first time they looked at each other in this life. Countless feelings flowed through Gu Xiaoran's heart. It was like she was electrocuted, but more of it was sadness. In his previous life, Zhan Chuyan not only broke his heart, but he also lost his life for her.

What kind of attitude should she have towards Zhan Chuyan?

Gu Xiaoran lowered her eyes as a myriad of emotions flashed across her eyes. When she looked up, Zhan Chuyan had already shifted his gaze away, as if his gaze just happened to pass by her.

Sorrow flashed through her eyes as Gu Xiaoran smiled wryly in her heart. She must take back her debt of blood in this life. As for matters of the heart, she could not easily give her heart up to others without being certain.

Especially Zhan Chuyan.

Holding the teacup in front of her, Gu Xiaoran sipped her tea quietly. It was as if everything that had just happened had never happened, and he was still indifferently sitting in his seat.

After announcing the results of Floral Fairy and the top three this year, the emperor, Shu Yuze, made an excuse to give the young man space to leave the palace banquet.

In the imperial study, Shu Jinghan was standing in front of Shu Yuze. He almost got Gu Xiaoran, but he changed his mind because of Royal Father and ended up like a joke in the end.

Shu Jinghan had a bad feeling about this.

Shu Yuze, who was sitting on the soft seat, originally thought that Shu Jinghan would impatiently express his dissatisfaction. However, he didn't expect that from the moment Shu Jinghan entered the study room, he hadn't even fart.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Looking at Shu Yuze's sulking look, he finally couldn't help but smile, "What, are you still angry at Wu Tie?"

Due to the emperor's love for him, he was more patient and doting on Shu Jinghan in front of him compared to his other children. One must know that the other children, even if he did not seek justice after making these decisions, did not dare to say anything else.

Shu Jinghan was a smart person, so he naturally knew when to stop. When the emperor said that, he twitched his mouth, walked to Shu Yuze's side and pinched his shoulder as he spoke.

"Your son is not angry with Royal Father, it's just that …" He paused for a moment and sighed, "I just feel like I'm making things difficult for Royal Father."

The facts proved that it was right to give in at the right time. Shu Jinghan had grasped all of this perfectly, and it was right to the emperor's heart.

Hearing Shu Jinghan's words, the emperor's heart was somewhat comforted. At any rate, Shu Jinghan understood him, so he didn't ask for Shu Jinghan to tell him about the arranged marriage.

"Not so difficult." The emperor patted Shu Jinghan's hands before continuing, "If that Miss Gu's attitude is the same as yours, then I can't say anything about bestowing the marriage, but …"

The Emperor, a shrewd man, left half the sentence unfinished. Shu Jinghan clearly understood the meaning behind the other half of the sentence.

It just meant that Gu Xiaoran didn't agree. As the emperor, he couldn't possibly disregard the wishes of others and snatch away the treasures. It was truly disgraceful of the royal family.

Shu Jinghan knew all of this clearly. He knew that the Emperor also had his own difficulties. The real problem was still with him. He could only nod, "It's my fault that I let Royal Father worry about me."

It was already a quarter of an hour before Shu Jinghan returned to the palace banquet. While Shu Jinghan was leaving, Gu Xiaoran was attacked by a group of girls who admired Shu Jinghan.

The one in the lead was Qidiao Xue.

"I heard that the Gu family's Royal Lady has never attended a palace banquet before, just like my daughter?" Qidiao Xue sat down in front of Gu Xiaoran as if it was a common occurrence.

The faint trace of jealousy in the depths of her eyes was still visible to Gu Xiaoran.

It seems like the person who came was not kind or kind. Gu Xiaoran thought in her heart, but she still put on a happy expression on the surface, "That's right, this is my first time participating in a palace banquet like this. "The palace is indeed a royal palace, with a majestic and resplendent atmosphere.

She acted like a country bumpkin entering a city, looking around just to keep the people in front of her away from her and keep quiet.

The girls in front of him all admired Prince Han when she looked like this. They couldn't help but to say, "I really don't know what Prince Han likes about her. Just look at this country bumpkin and you'll know that it's his first time entering the palace."

"That's right. Prince Han is a phoenix among men. If I say that I really like her, then only her face has some looks. "

"Say, do you think Prince Han only fancied her because she was good-looking?"

As soon as she finished her sentence, the girls all looked at Gu Xiaoran's face as if she was playing monkey tricks on the streets. They pointed at her face and said, "She is quite pretty, but there are so many more beauties than her in the capital. Why do you only have your eyes on her?"

"Could it be that the secrets in the room are more powerful?"

One of the girls blurted out, and immediately realized what she had said. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and her face was slightly flushed.

Even if Gu Xiaoran could endure it, she definitely wouldn't allow others to slander her like she did now. When she heard the young girl's words, a trace of a confused smile appeared on her face.

"It seems like this young lady is quite knowledgeable about this area."

With just that one sentence, the young girl's face turned red. It was so red that it was awkward. It was as if she didn't expect Gu Xiaoran to retaliate like this.

Qidiao Xue looked at the girls and shivered, then quickly spoke up again to smooth things over. "It's not wrong to say this if you're anxious. I'm sure this young lady has no ill intentions, so Miss Gu doesn't have to take it to heart."

As expected of Floral Fairy. Gu Xiaoran thought for a while and quickly responded to Qidiao Xue's words, "I don't have anything to mind. After all, I didn't say it out loud."

You want her to break her teeth and swallow them? He really thought that she was an easy target.

Gu Xiaoran didn't want to become enemies with anyone, because she firmly believed that one more friend meant one less enemy. However, these people admired Shu Jinghan these days, even if he could take a step back on these matters.

In the future, if Shu Jinghan didn't give up and let her misunderstand in front of everyone again, she would still be attacked by others.

It would be better to make these people fear her today. Even if he wanted to provoke her in the future, he would have to consider his own abilities. In this way, she would be able to save herself a lot of trouble.

Qidiao Xue felt a little awkward, but Gu Xiaoran's words were not directed at her. After calming herself down, Qidiao Xue's face returned to normal.

On the other hand, the girls on the other side didn't have to suffer such grievances. They muttered, "How can a narrow-minded person be worthy of Prince Han. She's the only one who can catch on to one thing."

"Yeah, some people just like to put on airs."

If it were someone else, they would definitely have a change in expression or have a quarrel with them, making the matter even more chaotic. If it was the previous life, Gu Xiaoran might have been willing to go along with it.

But after her rebirth, she had already seen many things and things clearly, so how could she not know what their goal was?

With a faint smile, Gu Xiaoran said slowly, "If you feel there's a problem with what I said, you can come and testify to Prince Han. Anyway, isn't what I said there?"

Although she didn't like Shu Jinghan and even hated him, it didn't mean that she couldn't use Shu Jinghan to suppress others, especially these arrogant young mistresses.

No one thought that Gu Xiaoran would talk about Shu Jinghan, especially the girl who said that. Her face changed and she unconsciously stepped back.

If Prince Han knew that she had said those words, wouldn't she ruin herself?

"It's quite lively. What are you talking about?" Shu Jinghan's voice suddenly came from behind them. The girls who came to pick a fight were all surprised. Their backs were stiff as they consciously opened up a path, "Greetings, Prince Han."

Qidiao Xue was the first to stand up. She stood up gracefully as panic flashed across her eyes, but it didn't take her long to regain her composure. A faint blush appeared on her face.

Shu Jinghan's gaze swept across everyone present and waved his hand, "No need to be overly courteous. This is originally a palace banquet, so there's no need to be restrained."

Subconsciously looking in Gu Xiaoran's direction, Qidiao Xue was undoubtedly the calmest compared to the girls whose faces had turned white from fright.

Just because she knew Gu Xiaoran wouldn't complain in front of Shu Jinghan. Even she didn't know why she was so adamant about Gu Xiaoran's decision. It might have something to do with Gu Xiaoran's refusal to grant her a marriage.

"Aren't you going to take a look around?" Seeing that the girls were still surrounding him, Shu Jinghan frowned slightly but quickly returned to normal. He spoke as if nothing had happened, but his tone was as if he was telling someone else: Don't stand in the way of me and Gu Xiaoran being alone.

None of them were easy to deal with, so the young ladies naturally understood. Although he was unwilling, in order to leave a good impression in Shu Jinghan's heart, he didn't want to expose what just happened. They could only tactfully retreat, leaving behind Qidiao Xue who was still standing in her original spot.

He wanted to say something to Shu Jinghan, but he didn't give Qidiao Xue the chance. It was as if he didn't see her open her mouth slightly, "I came over from the east just now and saw that the top three ranks are all discussing today's matter. Shouldn't Floral Fairy go over to take a look?"

Even though he was doubtful, his tone was firm. He had no doubt that he would order them to leave. Even though Qidiao Xue wanted to shamelessly stay here, because of Shu Jinghan's words, she gave up on her own thoughts and retreated.

The silence around them was finally restored, but Gu Xiaoran was not at ease. This was because her greatest enemy was standing right in front of her. She needed to be careful, so naturally, her nerves would tighten.

"Can I sit here?" Shu Jinghan started to ask, but before Gu Xiaoran could reply, he had already sat on the opposite stone bench.

The corner of her mouth twitched. Gu Xiaoran bit the bullet and nodded her head. When she saw the happiness on Shu Jinghan's face, her eyebrows wrinkled, but she quickly recovered.

Shu Jinghan originally wanted to wait for Gu Xiaoran to speak, but a quarter of an hour had passed since he sat in front of Gu Xiaoran. She drank her tea and stopped drinking, not even saying a word to him.

For the first time, a woman ignored him.

"Why didn't you agree to the proposal by Wu Tie today?" After thinking about it, Shu Jinghan still didn't give up just because of Gu Xiaoran's coldness. Instead, he shamelessly asked Gu Xiaoran.

What was coming had finally come.

Gu Xiaoran thought to herself. She felt that Shu Jinghan was the same as in her previous life. The more people he couldn't get, the rarer he would be. He immediately changed his attitude when he got his hands on it.

"Prince Han must be joking, that's just a joke."

He answered plainly without any emotion, as if he was answering a very ordinary question.

Shu Jinghan was getting a bit anxious. Could it be that she took what Royal Father said earlier as a joke and rejected it? Thinking of this possibility, Shu Jinghan reached out his hand to grab Gu Xiaoran's hand, but was subconsciously dodged by Gu Xiaoran.

It was a bit awkward, but everything that happened now was nothing to Shu Jinghan. He seriously looked at Gu Xiaoran as he spoke word by word, "What if I really ask Wu Tie to give me a marriage, will you agree?"

He looked at Gu Xiaoran, who was standing in front of him with a face full of hope, as he tried to hear the affirmation of "yes" from her mouth.