Farewell Flower Festival

Just two days after the coming-of-age ceremony, gossip about the new princess Chao Yan was flying everywhere.

Gossip one: she is Mu Tianling’s concubine.

Gossip two: her relationship with the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince is not simple.

Gossip three, she was pregnant with Mu Tianling's child but had a miscarriage. She was kicked out of Prince Ling's Mansion and had to do business in public.

There are so many gossips that you can put them together to make a book.

When the most outrageous gossip about miscarriage reached Chao Yan's ears, she was so shocked that she spat out a mouthful of tea three meters away. Which lunatic dared to make up such a story about her should be struck by lightning!

But Shen Cheng ran over to ask her if it was true, but was frightened by Chao Yan's killing look and quickly admitted his mistake.

Shen He was furious when he heard these rumors. He sent his guards to the streets to capture a dozen people who had spread the rumors.

After hearing about this, Chaoyan rushed over to take a look. Shen He was interrogating a ruffian named Li Er, and Shen Cheng was also there.

Before, this Li Er was sitting by a tea stall on the street and talking nonsense with people. He made the story of Chao Yan's miscarriage sound very detailed and successfully attracted the attention of the guards. When two guards came over, he thought it was his creditor who had sent people to arrest him, so he ran away, but was caught by the guards before he ran even a meter away.

"Your Highness, I am innocent. I only heard it from others. Even if I had ten times the courage, I would not dare to make up rumors about the princess."

"Then who did you listen to?"

Hearing Chao Yan's voice, Li Er wanted to look up and take a peek, but was warned by Shen Cheng and immediately behaved himself. He said that he heard it from his cousin, and mentioned that his aunt worked in the Shangshu Mansion. It seemed that he wanted to use the name of the Shangshu Mansion to gain some face for himself.

Hearing the name Shangshu Mansion, Chao Yan asked, "Is it Shangshu Liu's residence?"

Li Er nodded hurriedly, saying that his aunt was an elder in the mansion and had taken care of the young masters and young ladies in the mansion, deliberately exaggerating his aunt's respectability.

When Chaoyan thought of Miss Liu, she felt a little sour in her heart, wondering if it was because she turned love into hate that she made up these gossips to slander her, in order to ruin her reputation and prevent her from getting married?

At this time, a servant came to report that Mu Tianling had arrived.

After Mu Tianling brought Qianfeng over, he first apologized to Shen He and assured that he had never done anything inappropriate towards Chao Yan. Shen Cheng muttered, "We've held hands before," but before he could finish his words, he was pinched by Chao Yan. She gave him a killing look and Shen Cheng fell silent.

"Why is Your Highness here?" Chao Yan asked, with a subtle hint of coldness in her tone, as if she was still upset about Miss Liu.

Mu Tianling replied: "I heard that the prince is investigating the person who spread the rumor. I came to see if I can help."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will release him after I have asked all my questions." Shen He asked Shen Cheng to see the guest off. Shen Cheng hurriedly asked Mu Tianling to leave, seemingly with a lot of questions to ask him.

After Mu Tianling said goodbye, Chao Yan glanced at his back twice more. When Shen He noticed it, she smiled slightly awkwardly, pretending nothing had happened, and asked if they should invite Li Er's cousin over to ask.

On this side, Shen Cheng quietly asked Mu Tianling what he thought of Chao Yan while he was sending him away. Mu Tianling replied, "There are many ideas. Which one do you want to hear, young prince?"

Shen Cheng was confused. What did "having a lot of ideas" mean? This didn't sound normal, so he just stated his thoughts directly, "I advise Your Highness not to have any ideas about my sister. My father has already found a good son-in-law. Your Highness, don't waste your thoughts."

Mu Tianling Oh~? He asked, "Who is the son-in-law?"

"My eldest brother," Shen Cheng explained, "is my sworn brother. He is not at home now. When he comes back, it will be time to arrange a marriage for Xue'er."

Hearing the word "engagement", Mu Tianling's expression darkened, and a gloomy low pressure emanated from his body. He smiled and asked, "When will the engagement be?"

Shen Cheng felt that his situation was a bit dangerous at the moment, and he kindly comforted him, "Your Highness, there are many good girls in the capital." Before he could finish his words, Mu Tianling asked, "What does it have to do with me?" Shen Cheng was speechless. Mu Tianling said, "There are many good girls in the capital, young prince, hurry up." Shen Cheng was speechless, thinking why was he bringing this up?

After seeing Mu Tianling off, Shen Cheng pondered the conversation between the two and decided that he should have a good chat with Chao Yan. On his way back, he was intercepted by Chao Yan.

Chao Yan asked him what he had said to Mu Tianling. Shen Cheng asked her whether she liked Mu Tianling or not. She blushed and turned to look at the sky.

Under Shen Cheng's questioning, Chao Yan said that she would go to the store to have a look. When she was about to slip away, she looked down at the clothes she was wearing, looked at Shen Cheng with a smiling look, and called him "brother" in an especially affectionate way. Shen Cheng felt a chill on his back and felt like he was falling into a trap.

"Brother, please lend me some clothes."

"...?"

……

As soon as Mu Tianling returned to the Jiuxing Division, someone came to tell him that someone was looking for him outside. When he came out, he saw a "young gentleman" kicking stones with his head down.

Hearing someone cough behind her, Chao Yan turned around and saw Mu Tianling walking towards her. The two hadn't spoken to each other for a few days. She couldn't control her feet for a moment, so she ran over and jumped, hooking her hands around his neck.

This scene stunned the two gatekeepers.

Mu Tianling was also startled by Chao Yan's bold action. After he reacted, he raised his hands in time to support her and hugged her like a child. The smile on the corner of his mouth was warmer than the lake water in March.

Chao Yan nestled on his shoulder and didn't want to get down, wanting him to hold her for a while longer, like a greedy child. It wasn't until she saw two people standing at the door that she realized there were outsiders present. Her face flushed instantly, and she asked Mu Tianling to put her down quickly. He teased, "Are you shy now?"

At her urging, he held her for a few more seconds before putting her down.

Chaoyan winked at him, indicating that there was someone at the door. Mu Tianling took her over, and the two officers guarding the door immediately lowered their heads and acted like ostriches.

"What did you see just now?" Mu Tianling asked indifferently.

The two of them quickly shook their heads, indicating that they saw nothing.

"I'm a woman." Chao Yan added and followed Mu Tianling in.

After two seconds, the two realized that Chao Yan was a woman disguised as a man, and they were not so surprised anymore.

On the way, Mu Tianling casually asked about Shen Ming's sworn brother and asked Chao Yan what her impression of him was. She said it was okay. Mu Tianling's face darkened and she changed the subject, saying that she was not familiar with Shen Ming and wanted to visit around.

Mu Tianling first took her to visit his office. When they arrived, he asked everyone inside to leave and let Chaoyan walk around by herself.

After she walked around twice, he asked her to come over and sit down for a while and poured her some tea.